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Iowa football: Two Hawks selected for 2019 Pro Bowl

By Andrew Wade

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 09: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers runs for a 52-yard play after making a catch against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 09: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers runs for a 52-yard play after making a catch against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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The 2019 Pro Bowl rosters were announced last night, and two former Iowa football players made the cut. Here’s which guys made the cut.

Although the Pro Bowl is somewhat of a popularity contest these days, it is exciting when Iowa football players can be recognized for their hard work.

Last night, two former Hawkeyes were honored with a selection to the 2019 Pro Bowl. Having two Hawks in the Pro Bowl is great, but with the season many former Iowa football players are having, it honestly should have been more, but I digress.

The two players are San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, who is having a season for the ages, and 12-year NFL veteran guard Marshall Yanda. While this will be Kittle’s first Pro Bowl appearance, it is actually Yanda’s seventh.

Kittle is currently tenth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,154 and 21st in the NFL with 72 receptions. Furthermore, he is 16th in the NFL in 1st down catches with 51, which is over two-thirds of his total catches. Considering how horrid the 49er’s quarterback situation has been this year, this production is even more impressive.

Yanda, meanwhile, is ranked as the 3rd best guard in all of pro football according to Pro Football Focus. There is a chance with the type of career Yanda has had thus far that he could even be a dark horse candidate for the Hall of Fame one day.

Both are very deserving candidates, but I am shocked that Desmond King and Austin Blythe were left off the Pro Bowl roster. King has been the top rated cornerback in the NFL and has had a few explosive plays that generates notoriety. Blythe, on the other hand, plays a position marred by popularity and whose fans can vote the most. Either way, his performance on the Los Angeles Rams has been nothing short of impressive.

There is still a chance though that both of these guys ultimately end up on the roster as there are more often than not quite a few players who choose to drop out of the Pro Bowl due to injuries or other circumstances.

The University of Iowa is the new tight end university. dark. Next

The 2019 Pro Bowl is set to take place January 27th in Orlando at Camping World Stadium at 3 PM EST.