As he shared via Twitter on Thursday, kicker Tripp Woody from Waxhaw, North Carolina and Charlotte Christian High School has committed to Iowa as a preferred walk-on (PWO).
He chose the Hawkeyes, though he received interest from Michigan State, Rutgers, North Carolina State and Duke.
"I loved the family culture the school and football program has," Woody told me after his announcement on Thursday. "[Iowa is the] only school I’ve been to that when I stepped on campus, I never wanted to leave. I know Drew Stevens and Keith Duncan, and they really helped make this decision easy for me. I'm happy to be a Hawkeye!"
Woody worked with the same individual trainer that former Iowa kickers Duncan and Stevens did during their prep days in North Carolina, Dan Orner.
Under the instruction of Orner, Woody finished the season 41-44 on PATs and 10-14 on field goals. His long for the season was from 50 yards.
Holding down kickoff duties for the Knights, Woody booted 67 kicks for a total of 3,771 yards -- a 56.3 yard average -- and added 51 touchbacks. Also serving as the team's punter, he punted 26 times in 2023 with an average of 39.6 yards per punt and a long of 56 yards.
Woody joins Kyler Gerardy, Drew Larson, Grant Glausser, Graham Eben, Trent Cakerice, Cole Marsh and DJ Vonnahme as the eight PWOs in Iowa's 2024 class. The recruiting class currently has 20 scholarship commits as well.
