By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In this age of NIL and the transfer portal in which the search for money and a path of least resistance is a never-ending pursuit for some student-athletes, Iowa football player Kaden Wetjen is refreshingly old-school.

The Williamsburg native joined the Iowa football team as a walk-on receiver in 2022 after having played his freshman season for Iowa Western Community College.

Wetjen has since become arguably the top return specialist in college football as he was the recipient of the 2024 Jet Award, which recognizes that very thing.

He was also finally put on scholarship in January, and with that also comes some NIL money, which is always nice.

But it’s also nice and refreshing to see an old-fashioned success story, the kind where a kid chases a dream more than money, and where just having an opportunity is worth something.

Wetjen shared with the media this past Thursday how he learned that he would be put on scholarship.

He was eating dinner with some of his friends at a sports bar in Williamsburg when he received a call from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz with the good news about being put on scholarship.

“I saw coach Ferentz calling, and I was like, yep, I better take this one,” Wetjen said. “He told me that, and I told (my buddies) and the family. and they were all super excited.

“So, it was a cool moment.”

Asked if he then offered to buy dinner for his friends, Wetjen said:

‘That’s the first thing they said, too. I’m like, I don’t have the money yet guys. Sorry, you’re going to have to wait a little bit.”

While some college athletes now seem driven mostly by money and will often choose the highest bidder, Wetjen’s slow rise from obscurity to stardom has taught him to appreciate everything that has been given to him, including a scholarship, albeit for just one year.

“It’s just awesome,” Wetjen said. “And I told them just being a walk-on, that motivated me even more. So I’m kind of glad I came in as a walk-on. Just super excited to be with the guys this year and have that walk-on mentality.”

Wetjen recently attended the Jet Award ceremony where he had the opportunity to meet former Iowa football star Tim Dwight for the first time.

Dwight was a consensus All-America return specialist for Iowa as a senior in 1997. The Iowa City native returned five punts for touchdowns as a Hawkeye, and he also returned a kick for a touchdown in the Super Bowl as a rookie for the Atlanta Falcons in 1999.

Dwight also excelled as a receiver for Iowa and he currently ranks third on Iowa’s all-time receiving list with 2,271 receiving yards on 139 catches.

Wetjen has yet to make much of an impact as a receiver as he only had three catches last season for 46 yards.

But he plans on speaking with Dwight this summer about handling both roles as a receiver and return specialist.

“He just told me to stay in touch and I told him we’d talk more about that this summer,” Wetjen said. “That was the first time meeting him so it was kind of just seeing what’s up with him and just meeting him as a person.

“So, we’ll probably get more into that this summer.”

Wetjen has watched enough of Dwight on film with Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods to appreciate how talented Dwight was as a return specialist.

“It’s just awesome to see,” Wetjen said. “I’ve watched film with coach Woods and he make guys look stupid out there. So, just try to watch his film and do the same thing.”

Getting Wetjen more involved in the passing game was on Tim Lester’s to-do list this spring as Iowa’s offensive coordinator.

Wetjen is one of the fastest and quickest players on the team, so it would make sense to have him more involved in the passing game.

The Iowa running game made significant improvement in Tim Lester’s first season as offensive coordinator in 2024, leading the Big ten in rushing (197.2) for just the fourth time in program history and for the first time since 1960.

The performance of the passing game, on the other hand, left much to be desired.

Wetjen could have pursued a career in the NFL after what he accomplished last season as a return specialist, which included returning both a kick and a punt for a touchdown. But he wants to improve his NFL stock and he believes that playing more as a receiver will help that cause.

“I just felt it was my best decision to come back,” Wetjen said. “I really wanted more receiver film as well. So, that’s the plan for this year. And hopefully, it will pay off.”

Former Iowa receiver and return specialist Charlie Jones made a similar decision that would go on to pay huge dividends for him.

Jones played for Iowa in 2021 and 2022, but was used mostly as a return specialist where he became a star.

Jones then transferred to Purdue in hopes of improving his stock as a receiver. He would go on to be named the Big Ten Receiver of the Year in 2023 and now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Wetjen probably could have shopped around for a new school and a better NIL deal.

But in true old-school fashion he loves being a Hawkeye and being near his family and friends

And being on scholarship just makes it even better.

Wetjen was giving his acceptance speech at the Jet Award Ceremony when he had what he describes as a “big reflection moment.”

“I had a bunch of coaches there from Iowa and it was just kind of cool to get back with those guys and really where I came from and how I got to this point,” Wetjen said. “So, it was just cool to kind of realize that.”