As the college football regular season has officially come to a close, Sporting News released its end-of-season All-American teams, with three Iowa football stars highlighting the announcement.
In the release, Hawkeyes‘ senior linebacker Jay Higgins, running back Kaleb Johnson, and punt returner Kaden Wetjen were recognized. Higgins and Johnson both were named to the first-team All-American roster, while Wetjen landed on the second-team squad.
As a result of the nominations, Higgins became a unanimous consensus All-American, while Johnson became a consensus All-American.
As for Higgins, the 6-foot-2, 232-pound senior was also honored as the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten.
A semifinalist for the Lombardi, Lott IMPACT, and Butkus awards, Higgins has racked up 118 total tackles this fall, which ranks second most in the Big Ten and 13th-most nationally. He also is the only player in the nation with over 100 tackles and four interceptions (tied for the most amongst linebackers from a Power 4 conference).
Johnson’s impressive honors include a first-team All-America honoree by Walter Camp, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News, and second-team by the Associated Press (AP) and American Football Coaches Association of America (AFCA).
The junior running back was also voted Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and finalist for the Doak Walker Award. He posted school single-season records in points (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing scores (21). Johnson (6-foot, 225 pounds) rushed for 1,537 yards in 12 games, sixth-most in the country and third-most in program history.
Regarding Wetjen, the second-team Sporting News honoree was tabbed a first-team All-American punt returner by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and was previously awarded the 2024 Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, and is a finalist for the Jet Award.
Wetjen, a 5-foot-10, 196-pound senior, is second in the FBS in punt return yards (312) and sixth in kickoff return yards (576) this season, including an 85-yard punt return touchdown against Northwestern.
These honors now provide Iowa with the distinction of being the only school to have a consensus All-American each of the last six seasons.
In program history, the Hawkeyes now have 33 consensus All-Americans, including 18 total in the Kirk Ferentz era and 12 over the last 11 seasons. The Hawkeyes have had multiple consensus All-Americans seven times throughout their illustrious history (1981, 1984, 2002, 2003, 2017, 2023, and 2024).
Iowa will play in the Dec. 30 TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. No. 19 Missouri in Nashville, Tenn., at 1:30 p.m. CT, with the game televised on ESPN and on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.
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