Drew Stevens ready to enroll
After a standout senior season and two all-star games, kicker Drew Stevens is ready to begin his college career. That will take the 6-foot-1, 175-pound South Carolina native to Iowa City where he will be an early enrollee, joining the Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on this semester. We caught up with Stevens as he gets ready to make the move to talk about the transition process and much more.
Q: First, when do you make the move to Iowa City?
STEVENS: My whole family is coming to move me in - my parents, two brothers, and my sister. We fly to Des Moines Friday night and should get to Iowa City on Saturday.
Q: Have you found out what number you will be wearing?
STEVENS: I have requested #18, my high school number, and I guess with Austin Spiewak being done it may be available. It would be cool to wear Chad Greenway's number and my high school number, but it really doesn’t matter to me what I wear.
Q: What are your thoughts and emotions going in this semester? What are you looking forward to?
STEVENS: I am ready to get started, especially in the weight room, and meeting all the guys will be fun too. I lucked out with no class on Tuesdays, so my first day of class is actually Wednesday.
Q: Which coaches do you stay in touch with the most and what has been their message?
STEVENS: Coach Woods is my main contact and we talk regularly. I have had a lot of conversations with the support staff and the strength and conditioning coaches about expectations too. Coach Woods says just be ready to work, nothing is given.
Q: You had a chance to play in a couple all-star games after the season was over. How did those go and what was the experience like?
STEVENS: First I played in the North/South Touchstone Bowl, which has the top 88 players in South Carolina. It was a great time. I was voted a captain, the first kicker ever in the 74 years of that game. I went 2/2 on PATs and 2/2 on field goals (38 and 36 yards) with the second field goal being the game winner with less than 1:40 in the fourth quarter. I had 8 points, an 80-yard kickoff, and we won 20-17. I also played last Saturday in a local game called Border Bowl which is South Carolina versus Georgia. It was a good time, but not the level of the North/South game. I only got two kickoffs, the opener and after a safety, and team SC lost 16-0.
Q: Lastly, just looking back at your decision now that you are getting ready to report, what do you think it was about Iowa that made it the right fit for you?
STEVENS: To be honest, as soon as the offer was made to me I was in. I liked the other schools too and had some full scholarship offers, but a chance to play for Kirk Ferentz in a Power 5 conference and for a team as tight as Iowa with a chance to win the Big Ten West almost every year was too good to pass up.
As a senior this past season, Stevens made 9/12 field goals with a long of 51 yards and was 36/36 on PATs. He finished his high school career with 123 points and 12 school records for North Augusta.