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Iowa

Three Hawkeyes make preseason watch list

On3 imageby: Tom Kakert07/29/25HawkeyeReport
Dunker and Jones
Gennings Dunker and Logan Jones earn preseason Big Ten honors.

Three University of Iowa football players were named to preseason watch lists, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) announced on Tuesday.

Senior Aaron Graves was named to the 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List for the national defensive player of the year. Graves was previously tabbed as a 2025 preseason second team All-American by Phil Steele and a candidate for the 2025 Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Senior offensive linemen Gennings Dunker and Logan Jones were recognized on the 2025 Outland Trophy Watch List, presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman on offense or defense.

Graves (6-foot-5, 295 pounds) started all 13 games at defensive tackle in 2024, recording 33 tackles, including eight tackles for a loss (six sacks), three forced fumbles, three pass break-ups and two quarterback pressures. His three forced fumbles led the Big Ten. The native of Dayton, Iowa, was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last season. Off the field, Graves was a second-team Academic All-American.

Former Hawkeye cornerback Cooper DeJean (2023), and linebackers Josey Jewell (2017) and Pat Angerer (2009) were finalists for the Nagurski award.

The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the five finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

Dunker (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) started 11 contests as a junior and was a dominant force on the right side of Iowa’s offensive line that was recognized as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2024. The Lena, Illinois, native was a second-team all-conference honoree, as well as an Academic All-District selection. Dunker helped pave the way for Iowa’s offense rushing for more than 200 yards in seven games last season.

Jones (6-foot-3, 302 pounds) was also a preseason Outland Trophy candidate a year ago. He started 12 games as a junior, and was a first-team all-conference selection and an honorable mention All-American by Phil Steele in 2024. The native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, anchored the Hawkeye offensive line that allowed just 17 sacks and helped Iowa rush for 2,564 yards, the most since 2002. Jones was tabbed a preseason second-team All-American by Walter Camp, and a third-team All-American by Athlon and Phil Steele earlier this month.

Established in 1946, the Outland Trophy is named after Dr. John H. Outland, who is one of only a few players in college football history to be named an All-American at two positions. The recipient of the 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced in December.

Four Hawkeyes (Brandon Scherff, 2014; Robert Gallery, 2003; Alex Karras, 1957; Cal Jones, 1955) have won the award. Only three programs in the nation (Nebraska, Alabama, Oklahoma) have had more than four Outland Trophy recipients.

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