Kaden Wetjen

IOWA CITY — University of Iowa senior Kaden Wetjen has been named to the Jet Award Midseason Watch List, which honors the most outstanding return specialist in college football.

Wetjen, who was the recipient of the 2024 Jet Award, leads the nation in combined return yards for a second straight season. He has 573 combined return yards (262 kickoff, 311 punt) through seven games. Wetjen is No. 1 in the NCAA in punt returns (25.9), and third in kickoff return touchdowns (1) and punt return touchdowns (1).

Wetjen made history in Week 3 when he returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Hawkeyes’ victory over UMass. The return tied a Big Ten and Iowa record (Michigan State’s Al Brenner at Illinois, 1966 and Iowa’s Bill Happel vs. Minnesota, 1984) and was the longest punt return in Kinnick Stadium history. Wetjen finished the contest with a career-high 216 return yards and a career-best 236 all-purpose yards. The 182 punt return yards are the fourth-most in a single game in Big Ten history.