Rock Rapids native Zach Lutmer is becoming a playmaker for the Iowa defense

If there is one type of player that Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz loves, it is a local Iowa kid.

If you are a corn-fed Iowa kid and you play high school football, you will be getting a call from the Iowa coaching staff about coming to Iowa City to play for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes do not always get the highest-ranked recruits, nor do they top the list of the best recruiting classes every year, but they are adept at taking who they do get and turning them into quality football players and men.

A prime example of that is wide receiver/return specialist Kaden Wetjen.

Wetjen, a Williamsburg, Iowa, native, was not heavily recruited out of high school and ended up going to Iowa Western Community College before receiving only two FBS offers: one from Iowa and one from UMass.

Wetjen has become a dynamic player in both the return game and on offense, and started as a local kid who was heavily underrecruited.

Another prime example: sophomore defensive back Zach Lutmer.

Lutmer has bided his time, and worked hard for more snaps after joining the program in 2023. Lutmer played in one game as a true freshman in 2023, but ended up redshirting.

Last season, Lutmer played mostly on special teams, but he registered 14 total tackles (11 solo, three assisted) and had one interception.

Lutmer put in the work, and has become a Swiss Army knife for the Hawkeyes this season.

Through eight games this season, Lutmer has nearly tripled his amount of tackles with 43 total (23 solo, 20 assisted) and has added four passes defended, two interceptions, and one sack.

Lutmer has put together a solid stretch of games, including a dynamic pick-six in Iowa's dominating 41-3 victory over Minnesota in the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale over the weekend.

Lutmer jumped a wheel route to the tight end on the outside and took an interception to the house as Iowa put the game away early.

Lutmer is only a sophomore and has many great years ahead of him in a Hawkeye uniform if he can continue to make plays like that for the Iowa defense.