As Tory Taylor's star-studded Iowa Hawkeyes career finally comes to a close, the search for a replacement weapon became the highest priority for the special teams unit this offseason. Sunday, Iowa got that weapon.
Punter Rhys Dakin of Mazenod College in Melbourne, Australia — and the famous ProKick Academy that produced Taylor and dozens of other FBS punters — announced his offer and commitment to the Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon:
Dakin is the 21st member of Iowa's 2024 recruiting class, and is projected to be the only scholarship punter on the roster. Rising senior Ty Nissen joined the team as a walk-on prior to the 2023 season after spending two years at Iowa Western CC.
Taylor leaves gargantuan shoes for Dakin to fill, after winning the Ray Guy Award and being named a unanimous All-American this season. Taylor is 20 yards away from breaking Johnny Pingel's 1938 record for most punting yards in a season.
Dakin's coach at ProKick Australia shared a video of Dakin bombing a punt with a 5.66-second hangtime:
- SDE
- TE
- ILB
- OLB
- OT
- WR
- CB
- DT
- RB
- PRO
