Iowa’s University has a long tradition of creating great football players. After the 2011 season, Iowa was tied for the 11th-most players currently in the NFL. And that number has only increased since – the 2012 draft saw Marvin McNutt, Riley Reiff, and Shaun Prater suit up for the NFL – with six other players regarded as potentials, many of which went on to star in the NFL too.
Unfortunately, the NCAAF Championship hasn’t been kind to them this year – Unibet Iowa currently quotes them way down in eighth place. Every team could a bad year though – and the Hawkeyes will already be planning a major comeback in 2022.
Historic Greats
We couldn’t make a list of the best Hawkeyes without mentioning Emlen Tunnell: a defensive back who left the team after 1947. As a Hawkeye, Emlen played quarterback and halfback before settling on defense, and led his team in passing in 1946 and receiving in 1947.
After joining the NFL, he joined the New York Giants after initially going undrafted. He played ten seasons for the giants, and another two for the Green Bay Packers. A Nine-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time NFL champion, Tunnel finished his career with 79 interceptions – an NFL record at the time, which was later surpassed by yet another Hawkeye. Notably, Emlen was also the first African American elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967.
After retiring, Emlen returned to the Giants where he acted as a scout and assistant coach before passing away in 1975. A true great, for sure.
Paul Krause: Class of 1963
As a Hawkeye, Krause played two ways at Iowa – as both a receiver and a defensive back. He then tied the then-Iowa record of six touchdown pass receptions in a season.
Moving into the NFL after the Washington Redskins chose Krause 18th overall in the 1964 draft, Krause went on to have a long tenure as a pro football player. He was selected for the Pro Bowl eight times, led the NFL with 12 interceptions in his rookie year, and after three years with the Redskins moved to the Minnesota Vikings, where he stayed for eleven years.
Out of 16 seasons as a professional player, he only missed two games due to injuries, showing remarkable strength in a sport as rough as the NFL. He still holds the NFL record with 81 career interceptions and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
Krause is still serving as the commissioner at Dakota County, Minnesota District 6.
Modern Era
The class of 1981 included Andre Tippett, a player who has gone on to rack up the kind of accomplishment list that leaves other players in the dust. As a Hawkeye, he was a key member of the first Iowa Rose Bowl team in over 20 years, and still holds a school record of 86.9 rushing yards per game. That’s right up there with some of the best players in the NFL, though some way behind Vital’s mammoth record of 115.3.
Tippett was drafted by the New England Patriots in 1982 and went on to be selected for the Pro Bowl on five separate occasions. He was the AFC Linebacker of the Year for three consecutive years between 1985 and 1987 and recorded 100 sacks during his career – currently ranking fourth in all-time NFL history. He was also a key member of the 1985 AFC Championship team.
He was a member of the NFL’s 1980 All-Decade team, holds the Patriot record for career sacks, as well as a top-three result for the Patriots in single-season marks for sacks. He retired in 1993 after playing his entire career with the patriots – that’s eleven years with the same team. Not quite a record, but impressive, nonetheless.
Today, Tippett is a coach with Pop Warner.
Bob Sanders: Class of 2003
A four-year starter for the Hawkeyes, after beginning his Hawkeye career halfway through his freshman year, he was one of the key players in the first Iowa undefeated conference slate in 80 years, which occurred in 2002. The next year he was made captain and was a key player in the top-10 scoring defense. He had numerous other accomplishments as a Hawkeye, but it is his NFL career that truly stands out.
Sanders was the 44th pick of the 2004 draft, joining the Indianapolis Colts, where he stayed for six years. A two-time All-Pro selection and Super Bowl Champion (XLI), Sanders was named the 2007 AP NFL Defensive player of the year and played three more seasons with the Colts before joining the San Diego Chargers, where he remains today.
Unfortunately, his career has been plagued by injury – at only 5’8” and 206 pounds, but with the style of a 6’8”, 320-pound player, you are sure to get injured a whole lot. Unfortunately, this means Sanders has only played anything approaching a full NFL season twice. Maybe it’s time to bulk up, Sanders!
