The next Epenesa headed to Iowa
One member of the Epenesa family departs Iowa City and another one is ready to enter the Hawkeye football program.
A.J. Epenesa is off to chase his NFL dreams that will officially be realized in a little over a week while younger brother, Eric Epenesa is set to arrive on the Iowa campus this summer as a preferred walk-on to the Hawkeye program.
Currently the Epenesa brothers are doing something that they normally don’t get to do, spend time together at home.
Since A.J. left for Iowa City three years ago his trips back home to Edwardsville, IL have been relatively short stays. With A.J. putting his name into the NFL Draft and the University of Iowa closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he has been back home with his family riding out the current period of isolation. That means time with Eric and training with him as well.
The Epenesa’s have a close friend who has a gym on their property, so A.J. and Eric have been training daily with workouts provided by Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle. Call it Eric’s early introduction to what it’s like to train like a Hawkeye.
“They do a lot of warm-up type stuff that are kind of like stretches, so that’s been different,” Eric Epenesa said. “We usually alternate between upper body and lower body days, but sometimes we aren’t feeling it with one of them and we just go to the other one.”
A.J. is also helping his brother with some on the field type drills that Eric hopes will help him stick out once the players are allowed to return to Iowa City.
“He’s been helping me with some on the field drills and techniques that Iowa does, so my hope is that I can make an impression to the coaches once we get started this summer.”
Eric Epenesa, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 185 pounds, is hoping to get an early look on special teams. He was recruited to Iowa by special teams coach LeVar Woods and one of the positions he played at the high school level was long snapper. He hopes to get a look at that position in fall camp.
“I think I’m pretty good at long snapping and honestly, that’s probably my quickest way to get on the field,” he said. “This summer I am going to try and find someone to work with me on it before camp so I can continue to improve.”
While he wasn’t a five star recruit like his older brother, A.J. Epenesa feels that Eric will bring the type of qualities that are a hallmark of the Hawkeye program.
“Iowa’s getting a guy who is going to work really hard each and every day and I think he’s going to be someone who will do whatever it takes to help the team during his career,” A.J. Epenesa said.
One thing that Eric Epenesa will already have is plenty of familiar faces on the Iowa roster. He’s been around the program the previous three years and knows many of the veteran players and he’s also building friendships with the incoming group of freshman that will be joining him this summer.
“We were talking about this the other day, I probably know more of the older guys on the team than I do guys in my own class,” he said with a laugh. “I’m getting to know some of the other guys more. We have been playing some video games and things like that, so it’s been fun.”
Iowa's Class of 2020 walk-ons:
Eric Epenesa - 6-foot-3, 185-pound LB from Edwardsville, IL
Liam Reardon - 6-foot-1, 190-pound LS from Chicago, IL
Jameson Witte - 6-foot-5, 265-pound DL from O'Fallon, MO
Wyatt Wegener - 6-foot-2, 190-pound WR from Algona, IA
Josef Smith - 6-foot-4, 205-pound LB from Britt, IA
Asher Fahey - 6-foot-5, 265-pound OL from Waukon, IA
Sean Ormiston - 5-foot-11, 197-pound LB from Lena, IL
Gaven Cooke - 6-foot-1, 180-pound DB from Kentfield, CA
Zack Lasek - 6-foot-8, 245-pound DE from Ainsworth, IA
Andrew Wilson - 6-foot-4, 225-pound TE from Sterling, IL
Jamison Heinz - 6-foot-0, 191-pound WR from Humboldt, IA
Jake Fisher - 6-foot-2, 180-pound DB from Treynor, IA
Jeremy Chaplin - 6-foot-2, 245-pound DT from Waverly, IA
Jack Johnson - 6-foot-0, 180-pound WR from West Des Moines, IA
Isaiah Wagner - 6-foot-4, 212-pound WR from Pleasant Hill, IA
Aaron Blom - 5-foot-11, 165-pound K from Oskaloosa, IA