IOWA CITY — Iowa football’s Kaden Wetjen has won the 2025 Jet Award, which honors college football’s top return specialist. In doing so, Wetjen has made history, becoming the first two-time Jet Award winner after also earning the 2024 honor.
Nebraska legend Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers, for whom the award is named, said the following about Wetjen, per a release: “Kaden is special. He’s a threat every time he touches the ball, and winning the Jet Award twice is truly historic. He’s more than deserving, and I’m proud to congratulate him as a two-time winner.”
After scoring two return touchdowns in 2024, Wetjen managed to outperform that mark last season. Wetjen finished the 2025 season with four return touchdowns — three punts and one kickoff. He accumulated 476 kick return yards and 563 punt return yards.
For the second consecutive season, Wetjen was named the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year. Wetjen was also named a 2025 consensus All-American.
Wetjen is an incredible underdog story. A standout at Williamsburg High School, Wetjen began his college career at Iowa Western Community College. He is undersized, listed at just 5-foot-9, but possesses great speed and elusiveness. After transferring to Iowa as a preferred walk-on, it wasn’t until his third season in the program that he broke out. Wetjen established himself as a dangerous special teams weapon for the Hawkeyes in 2024.
But Wetjen rose to even greater heights in 2025. He now has the most combined return touchdowns (punt and kickoff) in program history with six, passing Tim Dwight against Michigan State in November. Wetjen has cemented himself as one of the all-time special teams greats at Iowa.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa football’s Kaden Wetjen is first two-time winner of Jet Award
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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