Iowa football: 30 greatest players in Hawkeyes history

Marvin McNutt, Iowa Hawkeyes. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

The Iowa football program is filled with incredible tradition, rich history and great players. Here are the top 30 Hawkeyes of all time.

Since 1899, the Iowa football team has been a consistent player in the college football landscape, as they racked up 651 wins (40th all time). Although the 40th all time doesn’t seem impressive, there’s one important caveat to know.

Out of the 39 teams in front of the Iowa football program, only one (University of Florida) was founded at the same time or after the Hawks. The other 38 teams had slight, to sometimes, significant, head starts.

The other numbers don’t lie though.

In their shorter lifespan, the Iowa football team has produced one Heisman Trophy Winner (18th all time), 27 consensus All-Americans (28th best) and 257 NFL draft picks (also 28th best), while spending the 24th most weeks in the AP Polls.

But it’s not just numbers that make this program special. It’s the fans, it’s the righteousness of how the program does things and it’s the beauty of Kinnick Stadium on an autumn Saturday morning.

It’s these things that truly make the Iowa football program special. In the 120 seasons of play, this special program has had a ridiculous amount of talent play in the black and gold.

It’s truly hard to comprehend how many great players have walked through Kinnick Stadium or donned the TigerHawk on their helmet. It’s even more difficult to define which of these great players is better than others, but we did it.

Here are the top 30 players all time in Hawkeyes history.