It had been bubbling for weeks and it was only a matter of time until the eruption happened. That eruption was both the fans inside a packed Kinnick Stadium cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes as well as the 85-yard punt return by Kaden Wetjen.
Wetjen, the Hawkeyes’ return specialist, has been on the cusp of breaking one all year with seemingly being one block or broken tackle away on a handful of occasions. He did return a punt earlier this year for a touchdown but it was ultimately called back by a penalty.
This past weekend, he finally got what was long overdue when he creased the Northwestern Wildcats and sent Kinnick Stadium into a frenzy. The punt return touchdown has also earned Kaden Wetjen the honor of being named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week.
B1G Special Teams Player of the Week ➡️ @WetjenKaden #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/1e9wB5fg4k
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) October 28, 2024
The senior Iowa native from Iowa Western Community College by way of Williamsburg High School has been explosive for Iowa this year.
Wetjen has returned 17 kickoffs with an average of 25.4 yards per return. He is No. 12 in the nation in average kickoff return yardage.
He has returned 19 punts for 13.7 yards per punt return and one touchdown. Wetjen’s 13.7 yards per punt return is good for No. 8 in all of college football.
Kaden Wetjen has gone from a sparingly used gadget player on offense to a weapon that the Hawkeyes can boast on special teams and can flip a game on its head in an instant.
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