IOWA CITY - Braeden Jackson didn’t just flash against Northern Iowa. He showed he can handle the whole job.
The Iowa running back turned in a breakout night in the Hawkeyes’ 55-0 win at Kinnick Stadium, piling up 125 rushing yards on 11 carries in just his second appearance in an Iowa uniform. He also caught a 24-yard touchdown from Hank Brown in the first quarter and broke free for a 62-yard rushing score in the fourth.
Most of the buzz around Jackson centered on his speed, and fair enough. He has plenty of it. But Brown came away just as impressed by something less obvious: Jackson’s awareness.
“He was able to pick up a field corner blitz, which you just don’t see from a young running back like that,” Brown said. “Just his awareness to be able to see that and react on the fly and pick it up is super encouraging.
So he’s come a long way, and from the moment he’s got here we’ve known he’s fast, that’s no surprise. But seeing him grow in other areas has been awesome.”
That kind of detail matters because Jackson didn’t arrive in Iowa City with much fanfare. The Ankeny Centennial product racked up 1,397 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground as a senior, but the offers never piled up. Iowa extended a preferred walk-on offer on Dec. 9, 2024, and Jackson accepted four days later after talking it over with his father, Fred Jackson.
Fred Jackson knows the long road. He played at Coe College, where he became a two-time Iowa Athletic Intercollegiate Conference MVP, then went undrafted before carving out a path through indoor football in Sioux City and eventually onto the Buffalo Bills’ roster. He spent nine seasons in the NFL, from 2006-2014.
Braeden Jackson said that background has been invaluable.
“He taught me from a very young age really how to watch film and pick up on different linebackers’ tendencies or seeing what the defense is trying to do, really just teaching me all types of things about football,” Jackson said. “That’s one thing that I feel like I have an advantage just because I can still reach out to him as that resource.”
Jackson’s development has shown up everywhere Iowa has asked him to work. He said he’s gone from roughly 185 pounds when he arrived in college to his listed 206 now. Time on the scout team, along with film study, has helped him learn how to build a run and identify what a defense is trying to do before the ball is even snapped.
That preparation showed up on Saturday, not just in the highlight plays but in the quieter ones too, including the block that helped keep Brown protected.
“We've seen marked improvement with each phase last year, then transitioning in the spring, and then this summer,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I'm not going to stand here and say I'm totally shocked or surprised.
I think we all felt he was capable. But yeah, he looked really good out there.”
Iowa still expects to work veteran backs Kamari Moulton and L.J. Phillips Jr. back into the mix, but Jackson gave the Hawkeyes another strong option in a deep running back room. And he did it on a day that carried a little extra meaning, with family in the stands and his 20th birthday arriving alongside his biggest college moment so far.
“I just try to stay ready so I don’t have to get ready,” Jackson said. “Even if I’m on scout team like how I was last year, I would still look at the film, I would still pay attention in all the meetings, obviously, have a general thought process and a standard that I try to hold myself to.”
For Jackson, the message is clear: the work hasn’t changed, and neither has the path. He’ll keep earning chances the same way he got this one.
In Other News...
Braeden Jackson Just Added To Iowas Walk-On Tradition
Braeden Jacksons name already carries some football weight in Iowa circles, and now the walk-on running back has given Hawkeye fans another reminder of why that tradition still resonates. In a notable game, he flashed the kind of burst and versatility that can turn a roster afterthought into a real storyline, piling up 125 rushing yards, adding 24 more as a receiver and finding the end zone twice.
It fits the family history, too. Jackson is the son of Fred Jackson, the former Coe College standout who went from unrecruited long shot to a nine-season NFL career with the Buffalo Bills, and Braeden followed a similarly determined path after a strong high school career as both a football player and track star. He chose to walk on at Iowa in part because of his fathers connection to the coaching staff, and performances like this only deepen the sense that the Hawkeyes may have found another name worth remembering. [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 🡒]