Chad Greenway talks about his latest honor and about his Hawkeye legacy
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – From his family's pig farm in South Dakota to the ANF Wall of Honor and everything in between, Chad Greenway's life has been one spectacular journey.
The former Iowa All-America linebacker and retired NFL veteran is in Iowa City this weekend to take part in two special events.
Greenway is this year's recipient of the American Needs Farmers Wall of Honor. He was honored at a news conference on Friday in which he talked about how playing football for Iowa under Kirk Ferentz changed the course of his life.
"To be the first non-Iowan to win this award is pretty special," Greenway said. "Just thinking back to when coach (Reese) Morgan and coach Ferentz were driving down one of those gravel roads to come recruit me when nobody else was doing that means a lot to me.
"To be able to tie this whole thing together and to be honored on a wall that represents farmers, with my background and how I grew up, to honor my parents is a really special thing to me."
Greenway also will serve as Iowa's honorary captain for Saturday's game against fourth-ranked Penn State at Kinnick Stadium.
A native of Mount Vernon, S.D., Greenway played at Iowa from 2002-05 and was named first-team All-Big Ten as a junior and senior. Iowa played in four consecutive bowl games with Greenway on the team and won Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004.
He also earned second-team All-American honors as a junior and a senior.
Greenway also played 11 seasons in the NFL, all as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. He retired after the 2016 season.
"Do I miss football?" Greenway said. "No, not really. I played my 11 years with the Vikings. Obviously I had a good run here at Iowa. I think for me one of the big things was I wanted to retire without having the regret of missing out on something or not leaving everything that I had to the sport, to my family, to everybody that put me in a position to be in the NFL During my 11th season I knew mentally that I was prepared to be done.
"Obviously the NFL season is rolling along and I really feel the draw to want to be back around the guys in that environment. But I don’t necessarily miss the game, I don’t miss the competitions."
Greenway has plenty to keep him busy as the married father of four daughters.