A lot of ex-Hawkeyes make NFL teams

Rookie punter Ryan Donahue beat out a veteran who did nothing to lose his job.

Rob Bruggeman, Mitch King, Bryan Mattison, and Seth Olsen, who had spent time on NFL practice squads in the past, made 53-man rosters.

Fifth-round draft pick Julian Vandervelde stuck with the Philadelphia Eagles. So did sixth-rounder Tyler Sash with the New York Giants.

A quick recap of former Iowa Hawkeyes who were on the NFL bubble heading into this weekend's final cuts:

Donahue replaced Nick Harris, who had been the Detroit Lions' punter for over seven seasons. Harris didn't act a bit like bitter man in this Detroit News story. Facts are facts, and here are the facts:

"They told me it came down to two things -- my contract and my age," (Harris) said. "They said they wanted to get younger and cheaper and that it had nothing to do with performance."

Harris stood to make $1.4 million this season; Donahue will earn the rookie minimum of $375,000.

Bruggeman, from Cedar Rapids Washington, persevered after not getting drafted in 2009, and will be the Atlanta Falcons' No. 2 center at the season's start.

Defensive tackle King, from Burlington, has stuck with the New Orleans Saints.

King had been on practice squads in Tennessee, St. Louis and New Orleans, and played four regular-season games with Indianapolis last season.

Mattison is in his fourth season out of Iowa, but has just two appearances in NFL regular-season games. He switched from the defensive line to the offensive line last year, and will be the No. 2 center with the Baltimore Ravens.

Olsen is an offensive guard who graduated from the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad last year to the Vikings' roster this year.

Vandervelde is a backup offensive guard for Philadelphia. Sash, a safety, got a lot of preseason work with the Giants. He was the team's leading tackler in preseason games.

Linebacker Jeff Tarpinian, a rookie undrafted free agent, made the New England Patriots' roster. Nine rookies from Iowa made NFL squads. They are Donahue, Reisner, Sash, Vandervelde, Tarpinian, and draftees Christian Ballard, Adrian Clayborn, Karl Klug and Ricky Stanzi.

By my count, 36 ex-Hawkeyes are currently on NFL teams. Among those who were late cuts this weekend are safety Brett Greenwood (Pittsburgh), running back Albert Young (Jacksonville), lineman Matt Kroul (N.Y. Jets), and defensive linemen Ken Iwebema (Arizona) and Colin Cole (Seattle).

NFL teams can start signing practice squad players today.