IOWA CITY -- Amid Iowa's struggles against Michigan State in its 32-20 loss to the Spartans on Saturday, special teams wasn't one of them for the Hawkeyes.
In particular, the kick return game with Kaden Wetjen was successful. The Iowa Western Community College transfer took five returns back for 145 yards, an average of 29 yards per return with a long of 39 yards.
"Probably the only positive I could say was the kick return game," head coach Kirk Ferentz said after the loss. "It was a little bit of a surprise. I think Michigan State has only had four returns against them, and they had done a really good job. I thought that unit did a really good job, and that Wetjen gave us a little spark out there."
"It's obviously a great honor to hear that from [Ferentz]," Wetjen said on Tuesday. "Even though we didn't get a win, I think we moved forward as a kick-returning unit. I don't know if you guys could see, but the seams I was running through were the biggest I've had all year. So, all the credit goes to those guys for locking their butts off like that."
Wetjen feels like the unit is one step away from breaking a big one.
"I know we'll push forward as a unit and should pop one here soon," he smiled. "It's frustrating, obviously, when it's always one guy. But I mean, it's the difficulty of getting a kick return in college is so high. So that's kind of what levels it off. I know we'll get one here soon."
That seems to be the belief among the media and fanbase as well.
"I usually I don't listen to outsiders," he said. "But all my friends and family are like, 'Man, you're that close.' I'm like, 'don't worry, we'll get it here soon.' So, it's all encouraging."
It didn't all come together at once for Wetjen, though — he's had to wait his turn.
As a JUCO product, Wetjen received offers from several FCS schools and Group of 5 UMass out of Iowa Western, but he chose to walk-on with the Hawkeyes. He then redshirted with the Hawkeyes in 2022, before seeing minimal action on offense and taking over in the return game after Cooper DeJean went down with an injury near the end of the 2023 season.
"It's a good point about [Wetjen] having patience, because you've got a guy like Cooper who's really exceptional," Ferentz said. "I'm sure he would have loved to have been in there the last couple years, too."
It's all reminiscent of one of Iowa's current stars, who had to wait behind Jack Campbell for a few years.
"Being patient there and then stepping in, it's kind of like the Jay Higgins story," Ferentz added. "And [Kaden is] doing a great job, and he certainly did a nice job the other night."
Though it may have been difficult to show patience while sitting behind an All-American in the return game, Wetjen is grateful for what he was able to take from DeJean during their shared time in black and gold.
"Watching film with him, and obviously, I was good buddies with him here," Wetjen said. "I mean, just watching him return, you can just learn visually as a returner just how to do stuff and what works, what doesn't. So, that aspect of it helped me out a lot."
Pairing his own experience on the field with what he's learned from DeJean has Wetjen in the best headspace he's been in since he became a Hawkeye.
"My confidence is through the roof this year," he said. "I know with the experience I've had, how to do stuff. And it's been paying off this year so far, so hopefully it continues."
