Two Iowa Special Teamers Earn All-B1G Honors

It was a history-making year for Kaden Wetjen, as the return specialist will go down as one of the best Iowa Hawkeyes to ever do it. Following in Tim Dwight's honor, Wetjen was the first player to ever win the Rogers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year award in back-to-back seasons.

To no surprise, he took home first-team honors as one other Hawkeye cracked the list as well. There was also an honorable mention, so in total, three Iowa players made a lasting impact on special teams.

All-B1G First Team - Kaden Wetjen

Back ✌️ Back

The first ever 2x Rogers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year!@WetjenKaden x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/oG4RJvxrDd
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 3, 2025

Had Wetjen not made the first team, people would have said this list was rigged. Wetjen, who finished the year with a receiving, rushing, punt, and kick return touchdown, surpassed Dwight as the best returner in Hawkeyes history. If he somehow is able to come back next season, he could go down as one of the greatest of all-time.

Nebraska clearly watched film, as they refused to punt to Wetjen in the season finale. Their strategy worked, for the most part, but Iowa cruised to an easy win to finish the season 8-4. Part of that is due to Wetjen's abilities as he finished the year with 538 punt return yards and 427 kickoff return yards.

In total, Wetjen had 1,192 all purpose yards. That isn't something to take into consideration when looking at top special teams players, but it goes to show how versatile he is and just how much he has meant to this Iowa team.

All-B1G Third Team - Drew Stevens

All-B1G Special Teams ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/y2kNFOrzrq
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 3, 2025

Voters were split on Stevens, as the Big Ten Media named him to the third team while the coaches saw him as an honorable mention. Either way, one set of third place votes is good enough to include him in this list.

Stevens drilled a 58-yarder against Oregon which tied him for the longest field goal in Hawkeyes history. He stands alone with 74 field goals which are the most in program history. This year, he made 37 of his 38 extra points as he drilled 20 of his 26 field goals. That 76.9% was the second lowest of his career which goes to show just how perfect he's been throughout his career. Now that Stevens has graduated, Iowa has a huge kicking void to fill.

Honorable Mention - Rhys Dakin

Punters are athletes too, and it's important to mention Dakin who was named honorable mention by the media. Dakin, a sophomore, only had to punt 39 times this season but averaged 43.2 yards with a long of 65.

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