Iowa's Austin Blythe, Marshall Koehn eye NFL destinations

IOWA CITY — Austin Blythe and Marshall Koehn arrived on Iowa football's doorstep from different directions.

Blythe, a four-year starter at center and guard for Iowa, was a four-star recruit from Williamsburg, about 30 miles west of Iowa City. Koehn, the Hawkeyes' kicker the last two seasons, walked on at Iowa after starring at Solon, 12 miles north of Iowa City. He didn't earn a scholarship until late in his career.

Both had high individual moments. Blythe was a finalist for the Rimington Award as the nation's top center. Koehn booted a 57-yard field goal on the game's final play to beat Pittsburgh.

This weekend, their NFL destinations likely follow a similar path as their roads to Iowa. Blythe figures to be a mid-round draft pick. Koehn probably endures the post-draft free-agent frenzy. But like at Iowa, both will have a chance to chart their own course in professional football, as will many of their former teammates.

Blythe, a 6-foot-2, 298-pound offensive lineman, met with several teams at the NFL scouting combine in February and has taken one undisclosed visit to an NFL team. Among draftable centers, Blythe registered the most bench-press repetitions (29), ranked about midpoint in his 40-yard dash time (5.36 seconds) and was among the shortest in arm length (31 inches). Pro Football Focus graded Blythe as the second-best run-blocking center in the draft, and he's considered among the top seven centers available by most evaluators.

'I think his best position is center, and I think he'll be a really good, zone-blocking center,' said Dan Shonka, national scout and general manager for Ourlads Scouting Services. 'He can pull and get around the corner when he has to.'

'I like Blythe a lot,' said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock. 'It happens to be a very deep center class. I've got him kind of in the middle of my sixth-round stack, I believe. That doesn't mean I don't like him. I like him a lot. There are just a lot of centers out there. But I do believe he's draftable, and he'll play a lot of years.'

'I would draft him,' Iowa offensive line coach Brian Ferentz said. 'Tough, dependable, reliable, experienced, smart, go down the list, athletic. And I know in the NFL they get caught up on measureables and value to the team based on what position. The guy can play center or guard and he's done it at a high level at a good program, and he's got pretty good pedigree, I would take him.'

Blythe started 45 consecutive games to finish his career and was a four-year member of the team's leadership council. He's reserved and understated, and his draft-day celebration will include just a few family members.

'I just want to keep it small with the people who have really supported me the last five years or so,' Blythe said.

Koehn set social media ablaze at the NFL scouting combine by running a 4.61 40-yard dash time. He won the position group, which included specialists, tight ends and offensive linemen. Koehn's shoes were made by adidas, which paid him $10,000 for the victory.

'I don't know if I would have predicted that,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'I'm not surprised. He's really fast. He's really fast. Plus he got paid for it, that's even better.'

Koehn has met with four NFL teams — Miami, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and the New York Giants — for workouts on campus. Only one punter and one long snapper were selected last year, so Koehn expects to ink a free-agent deal after the draft.

'I'm just trying to pinpoint my best options now as far as where I think I have the best opportunity to go in and compete for a job,' Koehn said. 'I'm just looking for a place where I could fit in terms of having a good chance of competition.

'I've got it narrowed down to two or three teams where I could come in and have a chance to compete.'

Blythe and his wife, Kiley, are expecting their first child in the next few weeks, which adds to the excitement over his destination.

'I've worked my whole life for this, to be able to be at this point right now, with it being this close and having the dream kind of be realized at this point,' Blythe said. 'It's really fun and really exciting and a little bit of anxiety. It's really just to find out where me and my family are going to be starting our lives together, basically. That part of it is fun.'

As for Koehn, he'll watch the draft with his family but without expectations. Then he'll sort through the offers.

'It'll be nice to figure out where I'm going to go,' Koehn said.

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