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

By Andrew Wade

IOWA CITY, IA - NOVEMBER 14: Runningback LeShun Daniels #29 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field in the first half against the Minnesota Gophers on November 14, 2015 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IA - NOVEMBER 14: Runningback LeShun Daniels #29 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs up the field in the first half against the Minnesota Gophers on November 14, 2015 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images /

Ricky Stanzi

Stanzi’s presence in an upstart AAF league would be less about his journey back to the NFL and much more about putting butts in the stands for a team in Iowa. At the age of 31 and having spent five seasons already bouncing around the NFL with another two seasons spent hanging out in the country up north playing in the Canadian Football League, his pro prospects are pretty slim at this point.

That being said, there was another quarterback hailing from the great state of Iowa that didn’t latch on to a professional team until late in his 20’s and he went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Stanzi may never be the great Kurt Warner, but maybe an opportunity in the AAF would provide him one last chance to see if the door will remain open for him.

I can guarantee fans would love to see Stanzi “The Manzi” playing in a uniform back in the state of Iowa.

He is arguably the most beloved quarterback of the Kirk Ferentz era, finishing his career with a 26-9 record which included three bowl wins and Kirk’s only major bowl win of his career, the 2009 Orange Bowl.