Kaden Wetjen, Iowa’s All-American walk-on, is ‘98 percent’ sure he’ll return in 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Maybe don’t write it in Sharpie yet, but it looks like Iowa football will have another year of Kaden Wetjen (and his electrifying punt and kick returns).

“I’ll say I’m 98 percent sure,” Wetjen told reporters after a pre-bowl practice in Nashville.

Wetjen’s return — well, 98 percent chance of a return — is a major win for the Hawkeyes’ special teams units after the Williamsburg native had a remarkable year as the primary punt and kick returner in 2024.

Wetjen averaged 25 yards per kick return and 12.5 yards per punt return on his way to being named the Big Ten’s 2024 Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year. He also earned first-team All-America recognition from the Football Writers Association of America as a punt returner and second-team recognition from Sporting News.

“I was pretty honored to get that,” Wetjen said of the All-America nods.

Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods said Wetjen has “really improved a bunch” in 2024.

“You go back to a year ago — he probably told you a couple stories where I ripped him pretty good his first year here and then again his second year,” Woods said. “And then finally he’s starting to come around and has really proven to be a really good player, really good asset for our team.”

Woods is unsurprisingly “excited” for another year of Wetjen while still eyeing room for continued growth.

“I think there’s more for him to prove,” Woods said. “I think there’s more for him to improve upon as well.”

The “main thing” that makes up the lingering 2 percent of doubt would be if Wetjen had a favorable path to the NFL.

“But from what I’ve heard from the coaches, they think it’d be best off that I come back next year,” Wetjen said.

(Draft prognostications are far from an exact science, but Wetjen is not one of the nearly 300 draft prospects that Pro Football Focus has ranked.)

Wetjen’s likely return to the Hawkeyes in 2024 is despite him confirming to reporters on Friday he still has not been put on scholarship yet. He does not seem to be dwelling on it, though.

“I’m just here playing football, man,” Iowa’s All-American walk-on said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Wetjen does have other things on his radar, though, including the desire to play gunner on the punt coverage unit in 2025 — something that would likely make him more appealing to NFL teams.

“I’ve had a couple reps in this bowl prep, so it’s been fun,” Wetjen said. “But (Woods) still wants me at returner right now. That’s the main focus. But next year, we’ll see.”

Wetjen also hopes to be a “big part” of the 2025 offense. The speedy 5-foot-10 wideout only has one reception for 33 receiving yards and four carries for 33 rushing yards heading into Monday’s bowl game against Missouri.

Looking farther ahead, the door could potentially be open for Wetjen to play collegiately in 2026 as well. Wetjen arrived at Iowa in 2022 with three years of eligibility (plus a redshirt year) after playing one year at Iowa Western Community College.

But the NCAA is in a legal pickle after a federal judge granted an injunction that prohibited the organization from counting Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s years at a junior college against his NCAA eligibility.

The NCAA consequently approved a one-year blanket waiver for former junior college transfers who would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25. It is unclear what that means for Wetjen, though, considering he will not exhaust his eligibility until the 2025-26 academic year.

“I haven’t looked into it that much, but I was kind of hoping it applied to me,” Wetjen said.

Granted, Wetjen might “get a little too old” at that point to continue playing college football in 2026.

“I don’t want to be 35 years old playing college football,” the 22-year-old Wetjen said.

First, though, he needs to officially decide on returning — 100 percent, not just “98 percent” — in 2025.

“I don’t even know when the deadlines are,” Wetjen said. “My main focus is just finishing this year. … But yeah, I’ll most likely be back.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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