Iowa football: Five most marketable Hawkeyes in Kirk Ferentz era
By Andrew Wade
Bob Sanders
The diminutive Bob Sanders was and still is, a fan favorite among Iowa football fans.
Known for his aggressive playstyle despite his incredibly small frame, Sanders developed a reputation at Iowa as “The Hitman”. Big Ten receivers didn’t dare come across the middle unless they wanted to be lit up by the former two-star recruit, and that translated similarly over into the NFL for his brief, but awesome NFL career that included winning Defensive Player of the Year.
Had college players been able to benefit from their own likeness two decades ago, Sanders could have capitalized big-time.
His play was superb, and he put himself on the local and national radar quickly after earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten as a freshman before proceeding to earn two more All-Big Ten honors and All-American honors as well
He is one of the guys who could have probably earned money outside of the local community too as he hailed from Pennsylvania and had a penchant for bone-jarring hits causing fumbles that would have been shown on the likes of ESPN.