Iowa football: Hawks who could play for a local AAF team

With the kickoff of the inaugural AAF season last Saturday, I look what former Iowa football players would make sense to play for an Iowa-based team.

The American Alliance of Football League debuted this past weekend, and to most, it was considered a huge success. Television ratings were high, and Twitter was buzzing for days following the games. Not only did football fans love being able to just watch football, but fans loved the pace of the game, the greater transparency into refereeing calls, and the lack of rules designed to protect the quarterback.

Then I saw a Twitter user pose an interesting question: Would the AAF be successful in Iowa?

That really got me thinking because one of the beauties of the AAF is that they do try to focus a bit on regions when selecting players. It’s why former first-round draft pick Trent Richardson makes so much sense with the Birmingham Iron. In a state that loves their Iowa football, an AAF team could find a great deal of success both on the field and off the field by bringing in former Iowa football players who fans loved.

Let’s be honest, there are quite a few guys that Hawkeye nation would love to see take a few snaps of professional football that are still in their prime, and as we’ve seen with a few undrafted Hawks this past year (Ben Niemann and Ike Boettger), these guys just need a chance.

While Des Moines would initially make the most sense, the only big football stadium that would work would be Drake University’s, but they would have to battle Drake Relays for time. If we are focusing just purely on Hawks who would make sense in the AAF, the league would be smart to put the team in eastern Iowa, say, the UNI-Dome? UNI needs the money, and the dome would be a safe haven from the cold weather that typically torments midwestern folk this time of year.

With that being said, here are five former Iowa football players that would be great for a new AAF team in Iowa.