By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa football players Logan Jones, Ethan Hurkett, Aaron Graves and Xavier Nwankpa all hope to play in the NFL some day. But all four recently decided that it would be in their best interest to stay in school for another year.

Each of them still has unfinished business, room to improve and a financial incentive to stay in school thanks to the money now being raised from name, image and likeness.

“That definitely factors in,” Hurkett said of NIL money. “The (NFL) is obviously really good money. But the NIL kind of helps to level that playing field a little bit, I think.”

Hurkett and Graves have started every game this season at defensive end and defensive tackle, respectively, while Jones has started every game at center and Nwankpa has started nine games at strong safety and 24 games overall over three seasons.

Each of the four players has his own reasons for coming back, but it mostly comes down to wanting to be a Hawkeye for another year, and having to improve on the field.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Graves has been a key contributor at defensive tackle since his true freshman season in 2022. He became a starter for the first time this season and finished the 2024 regular season with eight tackles for loss and six sacks.

Graves tested the NFL waters, and what he was told by those with knowledge and experience with the NFL draft convinced him that returning to college would be his best option.

“I didn’t really get into it that much,” Graves said. “It was basically, just like, ‘yeah, we think you’re probably a third-day pick right now.

“And I was like, ‘okay, that’s all I need to hear. I’m coming back.’ So, it was a pretty quick conversation. It wasn’t anything too long.”

Nwankpa in dealing with the draft has relied on the opinion and knowledge of Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker, and they both apparently believe that another year as a Hawkeye would be in Nwankpa’s best interest.

It would be easy to accuse Parker of being self-serving in this case since he also coaches the defensive backs, but Nwankpa truly believes that Parker is being fair and honest about his situation.

“Coach Parker has been a great teacher for me, someone I can lean on,” said Nwankpa, a former five-star recruit from Southeast Polk High School. “So, if he thinks there’s more things you can come back and do, I agree with that as well.

“So, I’m just able to come back and learn some more from him.”

The Iowa players are currently preparing to face Missouri in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tennessee.

These extra practices help with player development, even in the case of the veteran players.

Parker has told Nwankpa where he needs to improve in order to make the NFL, and now Nwankpa has another year to meet that challenge.

“Clean up some footwork and just making some quick reads,” Nwankpa said of what he needs to work on. “Just little things that I’ve been able to do, but haven’t always done. Just the little details and stuff, just cleaning those up will just allow me to go play faster.”

Nwankpa has struggled at times this season, including being out of position on a long touchdown pass in the 20-19 loss to Iowa State.

But he also recognizes that he has room to improve, and that the NFL can wait until he’s more ready.

Nwankpa had scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the country, but he chose Iowa for several reasons, including wanting to stay close to home.

But it was also the people in the Iowa program and the culture that convinced Nwankpa to be a Hawkeye.

He hasn’t been disappointed.

“It’s been all that and more,” Nwankpa said of his three years as a Hawkeye. “The people you come in with, you really build a brotherhood here. It’s been great.”

As for Logan Jones, the All-Big Ten center looks forward to another year of learning under Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, whose area of expertise is the offensive line, and under Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett.

“I think any time you get an opportunity to represent this university and play for coach Ferentz and coach Barnett, two guys that I have a lot of respect for, I’m not going to pass that up,” Jones said. “So, to be able to come back and complement coach Ferentz, he’s an o-line guy, and coach Barnett, they’ve done a great job of developing o-linemen, and I think that’s what I need is one more year so that I can play a lot longer in the NFL.”

Jones thought this would be his last season playing college football, but he started thinking differently as the 2024 season progressed.

He and Hurkett are roommates, so they’ve had plenty of time to discuss the NFL draft and what it means to be a Hawkeye.

“Anytime you get a chance to come back and play here, you’re not going to pass that up because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Jones said. ”

Jones will be among three starters returning on the offensive line next season, along with right tackle Gennings Dunker and guard Beau Stephens.

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QB Additions: Incoming quarterbacks Hank Brown and Jimmy Sullivan will enroll at Iowa for the spring semester and will travel with the team to the Music City Bowl.

“They can travel with us to the bowl game but they can’t play,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Brown recently signed with Iowa after having played the last two seasons for Auburn, while Jimmy Sullivan is a member of Iowa’s 2025 recruiting class and a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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Injury report: The Iowa football team isn’t just preparing for a bowl games. It’s also getting healthier.

Kirk Ferentz said Friday in a press conference that junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan is fully recovered from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the final two regular-season games, and that freshman receiver Reece Vander Zee is also now healthy after missing the last four regular-season games due to an injury.

“He feels fully confident,” Kirk Ferentz said of Brendan Sullivan. “The injury is in the history now, it’s passed.”

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Bill Belichick’s latest career move: Kirk Ferentz was asked to comment on North Carolina’s decision to hire six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as its next head coach.

Ferentz coached under Belichick with the Cleveland Browns in the 1990s.

“To me what it says is he loves coaching,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I think that’s pretty evident. The other logical thing, if you watch his press conference, he talked a little bit about his dad. His dad was a career college coach at Naval Academy, most of his career. Coincidentally a couple years at UNC, which is interesting. I don’t know if that was fate or not. I got to know his dad. His dad was an amazing person. You can see where Bill’s love of football came from because his dad was all about football all the time.

“I remember catching him in one of the last conventions I was at, probably 20 years ago. I was having a refreshment with a friend of mine. Saw him come in, go to the elevator. It was probably about 11:00. At this time he’s probably 85 years old. Ran over to say hello to him, figuring it would be a quick ‘how do you do’. We stood there for an hour. He’s quizzing me about special teams, going right down the list. That love and passion for football probably stems right from that.

“Football is football, pro, college or high school. If you’re coaching, then you love coaching. I think it’s not a surprise at all. I think it’s probably a genius move at UNC.”