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Cy-Hawk matchup brings familiar foe for Iowa’s Xavier Nwankpa years after high-profile recruitment
Iowa State was one of first schools to offer scholarship to Nwankpa out of high school
IOWA CITY — When Iowa lost to Iowa State in 2022, Xavier Nwankpa heard some trash talk.
There were, of course, the Iowa safety’s high school teammates at Southeast Polk who either went to Iowa State or were committed to go to Iowa State. But the trash talk also was much closer to home — “my dad especially.”
It underscores the importance of Saturday’s Cy-Hawk rivalry to Nwankpa individually and for the state as a whole.
“It’s a really big game,” Nwankpa said. “I got obviously high school guys (at Iowa State), my family connection. … Ultimately just trying to go get a win for the Hawkeyes.”
The Iowa-Iowa State rivalry, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said, is a “really good game for our state.”
“It’s probably a little underappreciated outside of our state in terms of the intensity of the rivalry and the way the players go after it each and every time,” Ferentz said Tuesday in the opening remarks of his weekly news conference. “It’s really good football.”
Nwankpa in particular has some history with the Cyclones. Iowa State was the second school to offer a scholarship to Nwankpa. (Nebraska was the first.) It took another three months before the Hawkeyes followed suit.
“That was really cool,” Nwankpa said of the Iowa State offer. “My dad went to Iowa State to run track, so it was his alma mater. He wanted me to go there.”
Nwankpa said he had a “pretty good relationship with (Iowa State) throughout the process.” Iowa State made the cut for the five-star recruit’s top 12 schools at the beginning of 2021, but he narrowed off the Cyclones when announcing his top seven schools a few months later. His three finalists were Iowa, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Iowa’s recruiting win of the Southeast Polk standout has worked out quite well since his arrival in 2022.
This week’s Cy-Hawk game is expected to be Nwankpa’s 16th career start on a secondary that has thrived in recent years. Iowa’s 5.06 passing yards allowed per attempt last year ranked second in the country behind Ohio State, and Iowa allowed 4.59 passing yards per attempt in its first game of 2024.
“Still can’t beat me in Clash Royale yet, but other than that, he’s a pretty good football player,” linebacker Nick Jackson said of Nwankpa. “He’s physical. He’s big. He’s built like a linebacker, moves like a DB. … It’s just a great feeling to have him back there.”
Fellow safety Quinn Schulte said Nwankpa has “gotten a lot smarter” in his three years at Iowa.
“The mental side of the game for him has really grown,” Schulte said.
Iowa will be seeking its first win over Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium since 2018. (The game did not happen in the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, and Iowa lost in 2022.)
The Cyclones could present a formidable challenge for Iowa’s defense.
Rocco Becht, in his second season as Iowa State’s starting quarterback, went 20-of-26 for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in last weekend’s season opener. Becht also has the benefit of a receiving corps that includes Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins.
“He’s a really good player,” Nwankpa said of Becht. “He’s developed from Year 1 to Year 2. That’s something everyone does, but he’s grown in a lot of areas. He able to make a bunch of plays.”
If the Iowa secondary can hold Becht and the Cyclones in check, a different member of the Nwankpa family will be able to do the trash-talking this year than in 2022.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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