Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Jay Higgins earn Big Ten end-of-season awards

IOWA CITY — Three Iowa football players have been named the best in the Big Ten at their respective positions following the 2024 season.

Kaleb Johnson is the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year, and Jay Higgins is the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday morning. Kaden Wetjen, meanwhile, is the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year.

Johnson and offensive linemen Connor Colby and Logan Jones were first-team all-Big Ten honorees. (Both coaches and a media panel selected Johnson and Colby to the first team; Jones was a media selection.) On the defensive side of the ball, Higgins was the Hawkeyes’ lone first-team all-Big Ten honoree.

Offensive lineman Gennings Dunker was a second-team selection by coaches and a third-team selection by media. Tight end Luke Lachey and offensive linemen Beau Stephens and Mason Richman were honorable mentions.

Defensive backs Sebastian Castro and Jermari Harris were third-team selections by coaches and media. Four Iowa defensive linemen — Aaron Graves, Ethan Hurkett, Yahya Black and Deontae Craig — were all-Big Ten honorable mentions along with linebacker Nick Jackson and defensive back Quinn Schulte.

Punter Rhys Dakin received all-Big Ten second-team recognition from media and third-team honors from coaches. Kicker Drew Stevens is a third-team honoree. Longsnapper Luke Elkin was named a second-team honoree by media and an honorable mention by coaches.

Johnson’s end-of-season award — and the recognition of many of the offensive linemen ahead of him — follows a star-studded 2024 season in which he racked up 1,537 rushing yards and a program-record 21 rushing touchdowns. He was the first Hawkeye to surpass 1,500 rushing yards in a season since Shonn Greene’s 1,850 yards in 2008.

Higgins’ honor comes as he has 118 total tackles in 2024, with likely more to come as he plans to play in Iowa’s postseason bowl game. Higgins was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the best linebacker in college football, although he was surprisingly not a finalist.

Wetjen, a Williamsburg native, has led the Big Ten with 576 kick return yards and 312 punt return yards this season. He averaged 25 yards per kick return and 12.5 yards per punt return in the regular season.

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