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How Iowa football’s Nathan McNeil has found his way into a prominent role in the running back room
The Hawkeyes offered the Florida-native during his season year. Now Nathan McNeil has worked his way into the rotation a year later.
Oct. 9, 2025 2:16 pm
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IOWA CITY — It’s a rarity to spot a true freshman talking to media members during game week. Honestly, it’s not common to interact with them in their first preseason or even spring football.
Most times, fans get their first look at these young players leading up to a bowl game or heading into their redshirt freshman season.
That’s not the case for Iowa running back Nathan McNeil.
The true freshman, just days after his first bye week of the season, stood in front of a litany of cameras, phones and tape recorders.
It’s the Tuesday before Iowa travels to Wisconsin, and McNeil knows he can expect a heavy load against the Badgers.
“What’s it like standing in front of this many cameras like this?” one reporter asks him.
McNeil cracked a smile.
“It’s something.”
The 5-foot-11 rookie has played in all five games this season, effectively using up his redshirt season. Not that the Hawkeyes mind, though. Head coach Kirk Ferentz has been impressed with the young running back since he arrived on campus in January, and with a deep, but injured, running back room, Ferentz has relied on McNeil.
“We didn't have this planned coming into it,” Ferentz said. “Just 'cause of the injuries, it's created an opportunity. You just never know if you're fourth, fifth team, then all of a sudden you're in there playing some. He's done a great job with it.”
McNeil was a three-star recruit in high school and a top 100 running back through 247sports. He didn’t have any offers in high school, taking unofficial visits to a few schools and getting offered by Rhode Island and Arkansas State before getting his shot with the Hawkeyes.
Through five games this season, McNeil is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He’s got 89 rushing yards on 18 carries, and is hungry for his first collegiate touchdown.
“I always knew I was able of playing at this level of competition,” McNeil said. “I just needed other people to see it.”
His Iowa offer, however, didn’t come from running backs coach Omar Young. Instead, McNeil got the offer from Ladell Betts, who took a job as the RB coach for the New York Giants during the offseason.
Betts took his time with McNeil, too. He didn’t offer McNeil until October of his senior year, and the freshman committed in November.
“I started talking to coach Betts and like he told me it's gonna be slow,” McNeil said. “Because he just wanted to see more out of me. So, after a couple of games, I kept showing him film and stuff.”
McNeil enrolled in the spring and relinquished the rest of his senior year to get started in Iowa City that much sooner. Betts left for New York in February, and Young was hired a month later.
By training camp, McNeil was fifth in line in a deep running back room. Kamari Moulton, TJ Washington Jr., Xavier Williams and Jaziun Patterson all had just enough experience to take the step in front of the line. As the first five games came and went, however, those four experienced an injury that pushed McNeil further up the line.
“Once he got on the field, it became apparent to us he's a little better maybe than we gave him credit for,” Ferentz said. “He just seems to just handle everything pretty much in stride. It doesn't really overwhelm him. So it's been really good.”
Suddenly, against Indiana and now Wisconsin, McNeil is a running back the coaches are relying on in high-intensity Big Ten matchups, and he’s got offensive coordinator Tim Lester helping guide him through the workload.
“He talks to me before some games and just like, am I ready?” McNeil said. “Talks me through some stuff, too. He’s very helpful with that, and knows that I could do it.”
As a college freshman, it’s hard to find a way into the depth chart outside of a handful of appearances. Call it a little luck mixed in with McNeil’s determination, but he’s found a way to do just that.
He proved exactly what he believed in high school: he can play at this level, and has a chance to show it on Saturdays. And he did it just one year after getting his offer from Betts.
“I'm ready to go,” McNeil said. “I'm ready to play the next level, and show them what I could do with this.”
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