Iowa football: Which four Hawks make up Mount Rushmore?
By Andrew Wade
Nile Kinnick
This is undoubtedly the least surprising inclusion on this list. After all, there’s a reason why Nile Kinnick’s name also serves as the name of the Iowa football team’s stadium.
Kinnick is the only man in the history of Iowa football to win the Heisman Trophy award, and he is the most revered former player in Hawkeyes history.
The former student body present of the University of Iowa, Kinnick carried a beleaguered Iowa program that won just two games total in the past two seasons to six wins in 1939 and a final ranking of 9th in the nation. Kinnick wasn’t just the quarterback, he was the cornerback, punter and kick returner. He literally did it all, and he was a great student to boot. As the years have passed, the legend of Nile Kinnick continues to grow about what this kid couldn’t accomplish.
Unfortunately, Kinnick was killed during World War II. Even before that, however, his football career was over after he chose to pursue law and politics.
Post-humorously, Kinnick was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and was named to Sports Illustrated’s All-20th Century team.
Kinnick is the first guy that would be put up on the Iowa football team’s Mount Rushmore.