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Iowa football: Preseason watch lists are in love with AJ Epenesa

By Andrew Wade

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackles Mohamed Ibrahim #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first quarter of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 06: A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackles Mohamed Ibrahim #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first quarter of the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The hype train continues for Iowa football player AJ Epenesa as he was named to another preseason list, this time the Bronco Nagurksi Award watch list.

It’s a good thing Iowa football player AJ Epenesa is incredibly humble and appreciative of his unworldly talent because if he wasn’t, he would have quite a bit ego at this point.

This season has seen preseason awards and recognition roll in by the truckload. Epenesa has been named a preseason All-American and preseason All-Big Ten while also being named to the Bednarik Award watch list, which I firmly believe he has a chance of winning.

He’s also been called out as the star of the Iowa football defensive line that Bleacher Report Lead Draft Analyst Matt Miller says is the best in the nation and he’s quite often regarded as a top-5 or top-10 player in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Now, he’s been named to the 2019 Bronco Nagurksi Award watch list. The Nagurski Award is awarded to the best defensive player in the nation.

That’s a pretty darn good preseason if you ask me, now he just needs to back it up.

If you listen to the true junior talk though, the concern of will he or will he not back up the hype goes out the window.

The son of a former Iowa football player (Eppy Epenesa), AJ understands what it means to work hard. Outside of the rare five-star talent he brought to the Iowa football program, Epenesa is the prototypical Hawkeye.

He doesn’t need accolades, and he doesn’t need to be flashy. He just loves football, and he will work harder than anyone else to be better. Also, being stupid athletic and talented while weighing 280 pounds and standing 6’6” certainly helps too.

Expectations are already sky-high for this kid, but given his work ethic and demeanor, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me to see him break the single-season sack record, and stake claim to each and every one of the national awards handed out to defensive lineman.

Next. Possible landing spots for recently released Mike Daniels. dark

Buckle up Iowa football fans, guys like AJ Epenesa don’t come around often so we should enjoy the ride of his dominance.

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