One could make a strong case that special teams are the strongest phase of Iowa’s football team heading into 2025. For a second offseason in a row, significant losses are being felt on defense. Nobody’s ready to give a nod to the offense despite any preseason feeling that the quarterback and receiver rooms are at a College Football Playoff level.

Meanwhile, kicker Drew Stevens and Rhys Dakin, the punter, are All-American caliber. Competently replacing graduated long snapper Luke Elkin is imperative. Iowa can lean on a strong history at the position in figuring out how to keep the operation running smoothly.

Stevens enters his senior season ranked seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list. His 54 career field goals are the fourth most in Hawkeye history. His eight field goals from 50 or more yards are the most ever around here.

While Stevens may never reach the cult status of Keith Duncan with Iowa fans (who can?), he’s quietly done his job kicking off and putting the ball through the uprights. If he scores his three-year average of about 82 points this season, the South Carolina product will rise to second on Iowa’s all-time scoring list behind only Nate Kaeding, who is 128 points ahead of him.

At this point of his career, he understands what he needs to do.

“When I hit a good rotational ball, I rarely miss, like ever,” Stevens said. “In tracking (statistics), I don’t miss when it’s on the sweet spot. So, that really is what the main focus is for me right now. What do I need to do with my body to get the rotation to be like that?”

A third-team all-Big Ten selection by league coaches and media in 2024, Stevens was named a second-teamer on The Athletic’s 2025 Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Postseason kicker honors rely heavily on opportunity with voters often just leaning on statistics. They don’t account for circumstances, which makes the process pretty flawed.

An intense personal critic, Stevens is motivated by failure no matter regardless of if honors come his way or not.

“It’s almost like a confidence booster because when I get upset, I focus in more. It’s just natural. I know statistically, if I get upset, I’m going to performer better. That’s just how it goes. You can look at the data. We had a mood thing in our notebook where you have to circle how are you feeling this morning. I’m sure there’s a data correlation there,” he said.

Stevens could see his statistics spike or drop no matter what becomes of Iowa’s offense. Opportunities are frequently random. More important to he and the team is that he makes the makeables. Hitting a clutch kick or two would add to his legacy and Hawkeye success.

He doesn’t feel like he’s already arrived, either.

“If you are ever sitting there and think you have all of the answers figured out, you lost. You’re already done because you never have it figured out. There’s always something you can do to get better at whether it’s mental or physical or both,” he said.

In addition to preparing for his opportunities, Stevens is tutoring is potential successor this season in true freshman Caden Buhr from Bettendorf. He sees similarities between himself and his pupil.

“We’re different people but there are definitely a lot of similarities. One that I really like about Kaden is when he maybe has a bad practice, he doesn’t just brush it off. It digs at him. It eats down. That’s something you can’t teach. That’s why I really enjoy it. He is pissed off when he messes up. I love that because it’s totally me,” Stevens said.

Dakin was on The Athletic’s preseason all-conference first-team. Pro Football Focus (PFF) also tabbed him on its Preseason All-Big Ten Team. What makes him different than Stevens is that he’s just beginning his career. Barring injury or an unlikely collapse of skills, Iowa has this position locked down for the next three seasons. That’s a luxury.

A few hiccups occurred early in his first season, but Dakin smoothed out his performance and improved as the year progressed. He credited building repeatable practice and game routines for greater consistency.

“Just how I approach each rep, in game and then in practice, is really what I’ve sort of found important; building off of last year, the mental side of things,” he said.

Iowa felt good about Dakin when recruiting him to replace fellow Australian Tory Taylor, a program legend and current Chicago Bear. Dakin didn’t disappoint as a true freshman last year, joining Stevens as a third-team all-league pick by the coaches and landing on the media’s second team. He was on the Football Writer’s Association of America and PFF all-freshman teams.

Dakin averaged 44.1 yards per punt, which ranked 24th nationally. Measuring achievement at the position goes well beyond that statistic, however. Consider that more than half of his punts were fair caught. In addition, and perhaps most impressively, 29 of his 64 attempts resulted in opponents’ drives starting inside their own 20 yard line. This will be his second season playing American Football. He’s on the Tory Taylor track.

“I can’t see myself anywhere else in the country. This is where I want to be and where I want to stay. So, I really feel comfortable being in Iowa. I’m well acclimated to all of the culture. I’ve got family in Arizona. I can always go over there and feel at home, but I really feel at home here. I really love it here,” Dakin said.

It was announced on Friday that Stevens and Dakin were on the watch lists to be national player of the year at their respective positions. It’s great to kick off the season in the discussion and then let performance do the talking.

Ike Speltz, a redshirt freshman from Van Meter, was listed as the starting long snapper on the team’s spring depth chart. Then the program added Bryant Worrell, Boston College’s starter at the position in 2024, in late April.