Iowa has produced multiple special teams talents at the NFL level in recent years. The likes of Tory Taylor, Luke Elkin, and Caleb Shudak have been picked up by NFL teams within the last five seasons.
The Hawkeyes figure to have more representation on special teams after the 2026 NFL Draft. In addition to wide receiver and return specialist Kaden Wetjen, Iowa will be sending All-Big Ten kicker Drew Stevens to the next level this year. He is projected to be one of the top specialists in the upcoming class.
A four-year starter at the collegiate level, Stevens was a second-team All-Big Ten member in 2022 and a third-team All-Big Ten performer in each of his remaining three seasons. He holds such Iowa program records as most career field goals made and most field goals made from beyond 50 yards.
PFSN spoke exclusively with Stevens about breaking program records, his game-winning kick against Michigan State this past year, his preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft, and much more.
In your time at Iowa, you broke Nate Kaeding’s record for most field goals in program history. Knowing the successful NFL career he had, what did that honor mean to you?
DS: “[Nate Kaeding] was the first one to text me. Timestamp-wise, he’s the first guy to text me, ‘congratulations on breaking it’. It speaks to the volume of what kind of person he is, which I really appreciated, especially because he helped me essentially to [break the record]. He doesn’t have to do that. We’ve had dinner a few times; it’s at his restaurant. He practically owns half the restaurants in Iowa City, so that was a cool and interesting [thing]. It speaks volumes of who he is. I’m just grateful to be even said in the same sentence as that guy’s name, because he’s on every wall and owns half of Iowa City. The guy’s cool. He’s a legend.”
Walk me through that game-winner you had against Michigan State this past year. What was going through your mind before the kick, then run me through the emotions you faced after you nailed it through.
DS: “In the moment, I’m kind of thinking of nothing. Some people argue you can’t actually think of nothing, but I actually don’t. I can’t really remember what I was doing in that moment. That’s why your practice and your training so important, so when you get in moments like that, you don’t need to think, because it’s all repetition, it’s all stuff you’ve done so many times that it’s natural to your body.
“Going into the kick, I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go through it like this’. That’s really all there is to it. But after the kick, then I come back to reality. The focus lightens a little bit, then you realize what you just did, and then all the emotions come through.
“I’ve said this in the press and media before that I missed a kick like that on my senior night in high school. It was like a game-tying field goal. I think that we lost that game because of me, because I didn’t give us a chance to go into overtime, and it felt similar in that situation. I felt like I had a second chance. That was my opportunity, which most guys don’t get. It was almost like a moment of gratefulness being in that moment. I am so lucky to be able to get opportunity like that, because a lot of guys don’t.”
Iowa has had some great special teamers during your time there. Guys like Tory Taylor, Kaden Wetjen, Luke Elkin, and obviously yourself. What is it about the Hawkeyes that does special teams so well?
DS: “I think it’s the attention to detail that has been forced out of us. I mean, we don’t really get the recruits that an Oregon or an Ohio State or a Georgia gets. We don’t just bleed five stars, so we have to pay that much more attention to detail.
“I think special teams is the epitome of having close attention to detail, just because there’s so many small things that go into being successful on special teams, whether it’s kicking, punting, long, snapping, scheming. We’re Iowa football; that’s just what we do. We need the nitty-gritty. We want to take you into deep water and win games that way. Special teams is the number one way to be able to get just another edge that we might need to win a game.”
You got invitations to the Senior Bowl and the Combine this year. What were your experiences like?
DS: “I did pretty good results-wise at both of them, so obviously, that might amplify what I thought of both of those experiences. Unbiasedly, I think they were both really good experiences. It’s kind of like you get that feeling, and it’s like, “whoa”. You kind of get a rush of, ‘Oh, this is legit’. You’re actually in the thick of it right now. You can think about, since you got to college, the goals you set for yourself, where you want to be in the next four years, and stuff like that.
“Then, it’s little immediate moments you get when you get there. Obviously, when you settle in, you get that rush, like, ‘oh, this is it’. This is what you’ve been training for. This is the big thing. It’s a surreal moment, to be cliché.”
How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
DS: “Dude, I’m simple. I love to play video games. It’s a good way to just get off your feet, relax, and it keeps you out of trouble. You don’t want to go downtown and drink or go play other pickup sports, which I do like playing a lot of golf. I like to think that there’s not a lot of risk to injury in that sport, unless you have a bad back or something.
“But yeah, I like to play a lot of video games, a lot of golf. Actually, I like to cook. I say I like to cook; I like to look something up, whether it’s TikTok or Instagram or some something like that, just follow the instructions and try it. The off-the-brain cooking is very minimal. It’s just about steak, chicken, maybe some mac and cheese.”
What are some of your favorite video games to play?
DS: “Obviously, sports games are cool, and I definitely have played them, but I’m not a big fan of multiple games, like the same kind of game comes out every year. You just got to keep buying it and buying it. My favorite game is Rocket League. Especially when [me and my buddies] start talking crap. It’s so fun.”
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Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
DS: “Somebody that performs in clutch moments, which is something that’s very hard to teach, and then also, somebody who’s not satisfied unless he’s better than everybody else.”
Great article!! #1 Kicker in the DRAFT!!