By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One thing stood out the first time I interviewed Iowa freshman kicker Drew Stevens earlier this season besides that he looked so young, and just like your average college student.

What really stood out during the interview with Stevens at a weekly press conference in September was his confidence, and his composure.

Stevens wasn’t cocky, but he made it abundantly clear that he was ready and able to excel as Iowa’s kicker, and wow, has he ever.

Stevens made all four of his field-goal attempts in Saturday’s 33-13 victory over Northwestern, including a personal best from 54 yards.

Stevens has now made 11-of-12 field goals on the season, and he also handles Iowa’s kickoffs, and does that quite well, too, with 23 touchbacks on 33 kickoffs.

Iowa has had some outstanding kickers under Kirk Ferentz, from Nate Kaeding to Keith Duncan to Caleb Shudak, and now Stevens is showing signs that he could be the next great one.

It’s still early, but to have made all but one of his 12 field-goal attempts, including two from at least 51 yards, is impressive.

Stevens said back in September that his range stretched to about 55 yards, and he proved it against Northwestern after Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods convinced Kirk Ferentz that 54 yards was within Stevens’ range.

Barely.

“The 54-yarder was right where LeVar said his line was, and Drew had a really nice kick” Kirk Ferentz said.

Stevens combined with junior punter Tory Taylor gives Iowa one of the best kicker/punter combinations in the country.

Taylor won the starting job before he ever played in a game for the Hawkeyes and has performed at an extremely high level since the start of the 2020 season.

Stevens, on the other hand, was the backup field-goal kicker behind sophomore Aaron Blom in the first two games.

But after Blom missed two of three field-goal attempts, Stevens was given a chance to handle field goals in addition to kickoffs, and he has since thrived in both roles.

That same confidence and composure that Stevens displayed during the September interview carries to the field.

He also has a humble and appreciative side, too, as he showed while being interviewed by the media after the victory over Northwestern.

“I am always comfortable,” Stevens said from the podium to a room full of reporters. “My comfort level really hasn’t changed. I would almost say that I am doing as well as I am right now because of Aaron (Blom) and because of how good he is. It has always pushed me to try to be better, and to be the best player that I can be.”

That was a classy move by Stevens to praise his fellow kicker because imagine how Blom must have felt about losing the starting job so quickly.

It was obviously the right move to have Stevens kick field goals, but that still doesn’t make it any easier for Blom because he’s a competitor.

Stevens also praised Taylor as his holder on field goals, what Luke Elkin does as the long snapper, and the help he gets from the rock-solid Iowa defense

“It’s pretty comforting knowing Luke Elkin and Tory Taylor both are pretty robotic with the snap and hold and getting it down,” Stevens said. “At the end of the day, if I do mess up, because I am human, the defense has my back.”

The fact that Stevens attempted four field goals against Northwestern shows just how much the Iowa offense struggled in the red zone, a problem that has lasted throughout the season.

Iowa’s next game is against Purdue on Saturday in West Lafayette, Indiana, and much of the attention will be on Purdue receivers Charlie Jones and Tyrone Tracy Jr., both of whom transferred from Iowa to play their final season.

The vaunted Iowa defense versus the explosive Purdue offense will be the main storyline, but games like this are sometimes decided by turnovers, or by field goals.

Stevens said back in September that he welcomes the pressure that goes with kicking game-changing field goals because to perform under pressure is what truly defines a great kicker.

He didn’t make any bold predictions. He just said that he would be ready when the times comes.

Stevens came to Iowa from North Augusta, South Carolina as a walk-on. He enrolled last January and then participated in spring practice.

That allowed him to get a head start on his freshman season, and now he’s kicking with the poise of a veteran.

When told about Stevens being extremely confident, former Iowa kicker Rob Hougtlin wasn’t surprised.

“You have to be confident because so much of kicking is mental,” said Houghtlin, who made some of the biggest field goals in program history, including one from 29 yards as time expired that lifted No. 1 Iowa past No. 2 Michigan 12-10 in 1985 at Kinnick Stadium. “So much of it is about staying strong mentally, staying confident and staying focused on the next kick.”

Stevens was one of two true freshmen that played a significant role in the win over Northwestern as true freshman running back Kaleb Johnson led Iowa with 88 rushing yards.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak and lifted Iowa’s record to 4-4 overall, including 2-3 in conference play.

Iowa has a history of playing in close games under Kirk Ferentz, with some of them decided by game-winning field goals.

Duncan made game-winning field goals against both Michigan and Nebraska, while Kaeding made a game-winning field goal against Texas Tech in the 2001 Alamo Bowl, giving Kirk Ferentz his first bowl win as the Iowa head coach.

Football is a rugged and violent sport, but it also helps to have a reliable kicker, and Iowa appears to have yet another one.

And he’s only freshman.