NFL roster cutdown day usually brings more bad news than good, and for Iowa, it hit hard. Thirteen Hawkeyes were among the players let go, including four rookies, while Aaron Graves of the Baltimore Ravens, Ethan Hurkett of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mark Gronowski of the Miami Dolphins and TJ Hall of the New Orleans Saints are all searching for new opportunities.
But three undrafted Hawkeyes found a way to beat the odds and land on 53-man NFL rosters.
Hayden Large was one of the summer’s most unexpected success stories. The Bears tight end’s road to this moment has been anything but ordinary.
During his senior year, he suffered a devastating leg injury in an inter-squad scrimmage when his hamstring popped and took part of his pelvis with it. A doctor told him he would never play football again, but Large was back on the field by basketball season.
Dordt College was one of the few lower-level programs still playing football during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and it was the only offer he had. Large made it count, starting his first game and spending three seasons there before transferring to Iowa, where he played tight end and fullback.
The Hawkeyes’ offense never gave him easy numbers, but his role and reputation kept growing. He earned a reputation as the heart and soul of the team, and that same approach carried over to Chicago, where he impressed in preseason and emerged as a special teams force.
With the Bears’ top three tight end spots already set, his path was as the fourth tight end and on special teams. On Sunday, he got the news he was waiting for and made the roster.
Xavier Nwankpa’s path looked different, but the payoff was just as real. A former five-star prospect and one of the highest-ranked recruits to choose Iowa, he arrived with major expectations and played right away, appearing in all 12 games as a true freshman and starting once. He became a fixture in the secondary, opening 22 games at strong safety before moving back to free safety in his senior year, the spot that fit him best.
Despite all that pedigree, Nwankpa went undrafted and answered the snub with a simple line for the 32 teams that passed on him: "Bet. Watch this."
He followed it up with a strong preseason and a viral Chiefs practice moment when he flattened former Nebraska running back and fellow rookie Emmett Johnson after Johnson tried to make him miss in the open field. That hit only added to the sense that Nwankpa was making a real push for a roster spot.
He did exactly that, and now joins a Kansas City secondary dealing with injuries and trades.
Drew Stevens had a much calmer path through cutdown day. The Commanders had already made the decision earlier this month, signing him as an undrafted free agent and bringing him in to battle veteran Jake Moody for the starting kicker job. Washington cut Moody on August 17 and named Stevens the starter.
Stevens leaves Iowa as the program’s all-time leader in career made field goals and career made field goals over 50 yards. Like many college kickers, consistency came and went, but the leg strength was never in doubt. He didn’t hear his name called in the draft, but he quickly found a home in Washington, and now he heads into his rookie season as the Commanders’ kicker.
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