Iowa has built a reputation on finding the guys everybody else missed and turning them into real players. The list already includes names like Parker Hesse, Jake Gervase and Kristian Welch - all walk-ons who made the leap from overlooked arrivals to Iowa standouts and then on to the NFL.
Braeden Jackson has a chance to follow that same path.
Last Saturday, the little-known running back showed up in a big way, piling up 125 rushing yards, 24 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He did it as a walk-on, and that alone fits the Iowa template. But Jackson’s story reaches back much further than one breakout game.
It starts 27 years ago with Fred Jackson, a 160-pound running back from Arlington, Texas, who was completely ignored by Division I programs and headed to Cedar Rapids anyway. He landed at Coe College and turned that chance into a remarkable career.
Fred Jackson was a two-time Iowa Conference MVP in 2002 and 2003, a seven-time All-American in football and track, and the owner of Coe records for kick return touchdowns and single-game kick and punt return yards. He finished as the school’s third all-time leading rusher with 4,054 yards and 47 touchdowns, and he still holds Coe records in the outdoor 4x100m relay and indoor 4x200m relay.
His route to the pros was just as unconventional. Fred played two seasons in minor-league arena football for the Sioux City Bandits from 2004 to 2005, earning $200 a week while holding down a day job.
He then spent 2006 in NFL Europe with the Rhein Fire. The NFL finally came calling when he was 24, after Coe alumnus and Buffalo Bills general manager Marv Levy remembered his college film and brought him into training camp in 2006.
Jackson made the most of it. In 2009, he became the first player in NFL history to top 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 kickoff return yards in the same season.
Over nine NFL seasons, mostly with Buffalo, he became the Bills’ third all-time leading rusher, trailing only Thurman Thomas and O.J. Simpson.
These days, Fred lives in Ankeny, Iowa, next door to his twin brother and former Coe teammate Patrick. He stays active in youth athletic development, runs the Fred Jackson Youth Football Camp at the DMACC campus in Ankeny and coaches youth sports.
Braeden’s path has followed the family blueprint. Despite huge senior-year numbers at Ankeny Centennial High School, he was overlooked by Division I schools.
He set a school record with 1,964 all-purpose yards and scored 27 touchdowns as a senior, including six in one game. Like his father, he also made his name on the track.
As a senior, he won the Sprinter of the Year Award, was a Mr. Iowa Track recipient and claimed four state titles.
He owns the Ankeny Centennial record in the 200 meters and state records in the 4x100 relay and 4x200 relay.
With no D1 scholarship offers on the table, Braeden had two real choices: stay local and go the JUCO route, or bet on himself as a preferred walk-on at Iowa. The connection that helped open the door was personal - Fred’s friendship with Hawkeyes associate head coach Seth Wallace, who was also his old Coe teammate.
Now Braeden is listed as the starting specialist for kickoff returns against Michigan on Saturday. He’s not just taking the field; he’s stepping into a family story built on patience, production and betting on yourself.
And he’s not the only former walk-on in the conversation. Kaden Wetjen, another well-known return man, is now wearing the black & gold with the Steelers.
In Other News...
Braeden Jackson Just Made Iowas Backfield Picture A Lot Tougher
Braeden Jackson turned a lopsided afternoon into something worth watching for Iowa. In the Hawkeyes 55-0 win over Northern Iowa, the second-year running back piled up 125 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns, continuing the kind of steady rise that has made him easy to notice in a crowded backfield. A preferred walk-on who arrived in December 2024, Jackson has been one of the quieter development stories on the roster, but his progress has been hard to miss.
What stands out most is how much cleaner and more complete his game looks now. Iowa quarterback Hank Brown and head coach Kirk Ferentz have both pointed to Jacksons improved awareness and physical development, and his background helps explain why he keeps trending up. As the son of former NFL running back Fred Jackson, he has had the benefit of football knowledge at home, and it is starting to show on the field in a way that could make the Hawkeyes backfield even harder to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Ferentz Sends Iowa Fans A Promising Message Before Michigan Test
Iowa is heading into its first Big Ten game of the season with a familiar kind of test waiting on the other side, and Kirk Ferentz spent part of the buildup offering a reassuring look at his roster. The Hawkeyes are set to face No. 18 Michigan on Sept. 26, and Ferentz said the recovery process is moving in the right direction for several key players, including Kamari Moulton and Bryce Hawthorne, as the team tries to get healthier at an important point on the schedule.
The matchup itself brings the bigger challenge, of course, and Ferentz made clear that Iowa will need its defense locked in against a Michigan offense led by quarterback Bryce Underwood. For a Hawkeyes team trying to open conference play on solid footing, the combination of improved health and a stern test against a ranked opponent gives this week a little extra weight, even before the game kicks off. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Looks Like A Real Threat To Unbeatable Texas Narrative
Week 4 brings one of those early-season moments where the national conversation can shift fast, and Tennessee is positioned to be part of it. The matchup with Texas has the feel of a test case for how sturdy the Longhorns really are, with the piece pointing to team rankings and recent form as the kind of evidence bettors and fans lean on when trying to spot an upset before it happens. Iowa also enters the frame for a Big Ten clash with Michigan, giving Hawkeyes readers a familiar kind of intrigue: a defense-driven game where the numbers matter as much as the name on the helmet.
The broader upset board stretches beyond the spotlight games, with Tulsa over Arkansas also getting a look as part of the Week 4 analysis. For Iowa followers, the Michigan angle is the one that stands out most, since it fits the usual Hawkeye appetite for a game that could turn on field position, execution, and one swing sequence. The story also folds in a sportsbook promotion, but the real draw is the same one that keeps these September columns relevant - identifying where the early-season hierarchy might crack before the rest of the country catches up. [Read more 🡒]