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Special teams are an afterthought to many, but when they show up in football games, they show up in a huge way. Senior Kaden Wetjen and the Iowa Hawkeyes proved that last week.
Wetjen got free and returned a Northwestern punt 85 yards for a touchdown which continued the second-half avalanche Iowa poured on the Wildcats en route to a 40-14 dismantling.
The return earned Wetjen the honor of Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. The touchdowns and those honors lead to Kirk Ferentz applauding the growth and success he has seen from Kaden Wetjen this year.
“I’ll start with that. He’s got a good energy, too. That’s never been an issue with him. Consistency has been an issue, and not in a bad way, but he goes. He goes and he sometimes is a ready, fire, aim guy.
“I don’t mind telling you going into the season I was a little worried about him, judgment, fielding balls. I’ll say that; I’ll admit it now. But he’s certainly earned my trust. He’s doing a really good job back there.
“I’ll say this, too. People don’t realize how hard a job that is. I think that’s one of the hardest jobs on the football field maybe outside of playing quarterback is obviously really tough and challenging. But making good judgments back there and keeping the ball from hitting the ground, all those kinds of things, just start there. If you just field balls clean, you’re ahead of the game typically in the punt return game, and then he’s doing that plus I think I said he’s trying to get somewhere every time. He’s got the ball, he wants to score.
“His teammates did a really nice job, too, but to have a good returner who’s got an aggressive attitude like that, that’s a big part of being successful, so I can’t say enough about what he’s playing right now, and I think he’s having a lot of fun doing it, too,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-football-applauds-kaden-wetjen-001509688.html
Author : Hawkeyes Wire
Publish date : 2024-10-30 00:15:09
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