Caden Buhr’s quick commitment to Iowa football fills quiet-but-pressing need at kicker

IOWA CITY — Caden Buhr’s last few weeks have been “really, really hectic and really, really crazy,” but in the best possible way.

This week alone, the Bettendorf kicker announced his commitment to Iowa football on Sunday, will take his high school final exams on Thursday and will move to campus next Sunday as he enrolls for the spring semester.

“It’s a quick turnaround, but I’ve always wanted to be there (at Iowa),” Buhr said in a phone call with The Gazette shortly after announcing his commitment to the Hawkeyes. “I had everything set up so I could enroll early if the opportunity came, and it did.”

Buhr’s busy month of January appears to resolve what was a quietly pressing roster need for the Hawkeyes — a second kicker in 2025 behind three-year starter Drew Stevens.

Kicker depth did not appear to be a concern for the Hawkeyes a couple months ago. But then incoming freshman Scott Starzyk flipped his commitment from Iowa to Arkansas in late November, and 2024 backup Tripp Woody entered the transfer portal in December (and committed to Syracuse).

That left the Hawkeyes with only Stevens on the roster ahead of the 2025 season.

Stevens’ stellar 2024 season — 20-of-23 on field goals, with the only misses coming from 51, 58 and 56 yards — leaves little concern about what he can do for the Hawkeyes in the fall.

But as the two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist approaches his final year of eligibility, the addition of a highly-touted incoming freshman like Buhr has its obvious benefits. (Kohl’s Kicking Camps gave Buhr a five-star rating and ranked him No. 25 among kickers in the 2025 recruiting class.)

Buhr received his preferred walk-on opportunity at Iowa — standard practice for the Hawkeyes’ incoming kickers — “about three or four weeks ago.” The Bettendorf native (and longtime Hawkeye fan) “committed right on the spot.”

“It was an easy decision,” Buhr said. “It’s always where I wanted to play. It’s always where I wanted to go. So the second I got offered, it was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going.’”

Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods was Buhr’s “biggest reason” for his commitment.

“His ability to produce great specialists and the way he goes about special teams is just really elite,” Buhr said. “Everything he does is at an elite level.”

The Bettendorf native already has plenty of leg power. He hit a 57-yard field goal in a high school game in 2024 and is “definitely comfortable in any conditions from 55” yards or closer.

“Depending on the conditions, I’d say I could get a 60 for sure,” Buhr said.

Before Buhr can take any more steps toward becoming elite, though, he first has some studying to do for finals.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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