One more season ahead of Kaden Wetjen giving Hawkeyes many happy returns

IOWA CITY — It was jokingly suggested to Kaden Wetjen Friday that he go to Iowa’s football office and demand some back pay from Hawkeyes Coach Kirk Ferentz.

Wetjen just laughed. “I'm not really that kind of guy,” he said. “I mean, I love KF and I would never do that.”

Iowa got an awful lot of mileage out of walk-on Wetjen of Williamsburg in 2024. The man was named the Big Ten’s Return Specialist of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten for finishing first in the conference in kickoff return average (28 yards) and third in punt return average (12.6).

Wetjen was the only FBS player in 2024 to return a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns. He didn’t get his first score until the eighth game, but from the start of the season forward he seemed like one of those rare players who could break a return for a touchdown every time he got the chance.

Postseason honors were followed by preseason accolades as Wetjen enters his senior season. He’s trying to get more done this season, which is playing time and production at wide receiver.

“The things that make him really good as a return guy, obviously, would tie into being a good receiver,” Ferentz said. “He's fast. He's fearless. It's just getting all the details down. I think he's really working hard to do that.

“We're hopeful that he'll be contributing a lot offensively.”

Four years ago, Wetjen was playing at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs after his stellar Williamsburg career that included scoring 31 touchdowns and intercepting six passes his senior season.

Iowa Western has been a consistent big winner in junior college football, but it’s still a long way from all-Big Ten. It’s a long way from the Big Ten, period.

“We ate at the cafeteria with the rest of the students,” Wetjen said. “I’m here, eating catered food every night. I feel like a king, man.”

Wetjen had a good freshman year at Iowa Western as a kick returner, and caught 18 passes. He got an invitation to walk on at Iowa. He red-shirted in 2022, was fourth in the Big Ten in kickoff returns in 2023, then handled both return duties last year.

“The description of him was like a couple years ago he went hard,” Ferentz said. “We didn't know where he was going, mainly because he didn't know where he was going. Then he evolved into a really good special teams performer.

“At the start of last year, I don't mind telling you, I was a little curious and anxious and whatever, and boy, he just played great as a return guy. Our goal for him is to take that now and carry that over to offense. I think he's on that road.”

Ferentz put Wetjen on scholarship after last season ended in one of the easiest decisions he ever made as a coach. The player could have turned pro, but has just eight career rushes and three catches at Iowa. He knew he needed some credentials as a receiver to spark real NFL interest.

“That was kind of the goal (last year),” Wetjen said, “but obviously I didn't really get the offensive attention that I was hoping for, and most of that was on me. I still needed to work on the offense and learn coverage and all that, so that was kind of a big emphasis for this year.”

Coincidentally, Wetjen returned to the Omaha-Council Bluffs area last April to receive the Jet Award, given to the nation’s top kick returner. It’s named on behalf of former Nebraska great Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers.

On a Big Ten team with plenty of players who came in heralded as recruits or transfers, the 5-foot-9 Wetjen is now a big man on campus. It’s a long way from Council Bluffs.

“My family talks about it all the time,” Wetjen said. “They ask me, like ‘How does it feel?’

“It’s kind of surreal, man.”

Surreal and good. It’s better to be a vital performer on the school’s football team when you don’t have a U-Bill coming from the university every month.

“With all the NIL stuff now and kind of being a more-known name, it kind of helps,” Wetjen said. “But, I mean, I still got school to pay off. Man, that's the biggest thing.”

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