Nine Hawkeyes receive NFL Combine invites

IOWA CITY — The official invitations are in, and nine Hawkeyes have a trip to Indianapolis in March.

The NFL has invited nine Iowa football seniors to its 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in its announcement Wednesday morning. A total 319 prospects were included in the league’s announcement. Four defensive players all received an invite, along with the senior trio of Iowa’s offensive line.

The Joe Moore Award-winning trio is highlighted by Logan Jones, the reigning Rimington Trophy award winner. Gennings Dunker and Beau Stephens also garnered significant interest during their Senior Bowl appearances in January, with Dunker even receiving a shout-out from popular podcast “New Heights,” hosted by former Eagles center Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Notably missing from this year’s senior class includes quarterback Mark Gronowski and defensive lineman Aaron Graves.

Gronowski was the East-West Shrine Bowl MVP and the ReliaQuest Bowl MVP, after taking the title of the NCAA’s all-time winningest quarterback during his lone season at Iowa, ending his career with 58 wins. Gronowski’s thrown for over 12,000 yards and rushed for over 2,300 yards in his career — with 1,741 passing and 545 rushing yards recorded with the Hawkeyes. The signal caller also had 10 passing touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns last season.

Graves was an AP All-Big Ten Second Team member, as well as a finalist for the Pop Warner and William V. Campbell trophy. Starting in every game in 2025, Graves recorded 37 tackles, 6.5 tackles-for-loss, five sacks and an interception. He’s recorded 122 tackles, 25 TFLs and 6.5 sacks in his career.

Here are the Hawkeyes heading to Indianapolis:

The NFL combine begins Feb. 23, with television coverage available on NFL Network and NFL+ beginning Feb. 26.

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