2023 Iowa Football Position Preview

During his tenure as Iowa’s head coach, Kirk Ferentz has always been a huge believer in winning all there phases of a football game. Of course the top two are offense and defense, but he also places an equal importance on special teams play.

Which brings us to our final fall camp preview piece of this week, special teams.

From a place kicker and punter perspective, Iowa might have the best duo in the country heading into the 2023 season. Drew Stevens had an outstanding freshman year and Tory Taylor continues to be one of the best punters in the country (and hopefully not as overworked as he has been the last two years).

The return game is also a place where Iowa has thrived. Last year Iowa saw punt returner Charlie Jones bolt after spring ball. While some worried about what might happen at that position, eventually Iowa settled on Cooper DeJean and he was outstanding.

So, let’s look at the Iowa special teams group this year, starting with the depth chart.

DEPTH CHART

PK : Drew Stevens

P : Tory Taylor

LS : Luke Elkin

THE STORYLINE

While some folks like to kind of mock the mantra of punting is winning, there is no question that punting can be weapon and a way to win college football games. Just look at what Tory Taylor has done the last two years.

For his career, Taylor is averaging 45.4 yard per punt and has placed 47% of his kicks inside opponents 20 yard line. One area that Iowa would like to improve upon is not making the Aussie punter work so hard. In the last two seasons, Taylor has punted 162 times. That’s a lot and I think we have seen some fatigue from him late in the year.

He’s a preseason All American this year, as he should be. He’s as good of a punter in all aspects of the job, as there is in the country.

Speaking of being as good as anyone in the country, it’s hard to find a better first year field goal kicker than Drew Stevens. He made 16 of 18 field goal attempts as a true freshman, including 2-2 from 50 yards and beyond.

He’s already on the Lou Groza Award watch list this season and he’s been a preseason All Big Ten selection by several outlets.

At long snapper, Luke Elkin rarely hears his name mentioned during a game and that’s usually a good thing for his position.

We didn’t list the kickoff and punt returns in the two deeps because it’s still early. However, if Iowa doesn’t have Cooper DeJean returning punts, then there may be a riot at Kinnick Stadium on September 2nd. He’s going to handle those duties. The big question mark is kickoff returns. Kaleb Johnson worked there last year and he may return, but it will be interesting to see what special teams coordinator LeVar Woods might do.

WHAT ABOUT THE BACKUP KICKER/PUNTER?

This story really exploded earlier in the week when it was revealed that backup placekicker and punter, Aaron Blom was involved in the sports gambling investigation and he was also accused of wagering on an Iowa football game. If that is true, then his playing career is officially over.

Which brings us to the situation in Iowa City in fall camp. Iowa didn’t have any other backup kickers or punters in camp when it started. They have found their punter in Carroll, IA native Ty Nissen. He just finished a stint at Iowa Western Junior College and the Hawkeyes have invited him to become a walk-on. He will be insurance behind Tory Taylor.

The place kicker situation is a bit more unsettled. Iowa has hit the portal looking for options to bring into camp. Right now, the backup placekicker behind Stevens is likely wide receiver Alec Wick, who was a very good soccer player at Iowa City Regina and handled kicking duties on the football field as well.

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