Before every game, Iowa football’s kickers establish the maximum distance they feel comfortable attempting a field goal from.

Ahead of the Hawkeyes’ matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, true freshman Drew Stevens decided the Northwestern 36-yard line would mark the top of his range.

With 1:20 left in third period, the South Carolinian tested his estimate. Iowa had the ball at the Wildcat 36-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-15, the Hawkeyes decided to bring Stevens out for a 54-yard field goal attempt.

“You don’t really have time to worry about it,” Stevens said of the distance of the attempt after Iowa’s 33-13 win.

Stevens ultimately converted on the 54-yarder, clearing the crossbar by just a few feet.

“It was a great feeling,” Stevens said. “It’s always a great feeling when you PR in something. It is all your hard work paying off.”

Stevens added that he treated his career-long like he would any other kick. He noted that he’d made a few 54-yard attempts in practices leading up Saturday’s game.

Stevens’ 54-yard conversion tied for the seventh-longest field goal in program history. Tim Douglas holds the Iowa record for longest field goal make. He converted a 58-yard field goal attempt against Illinois in 1998.

Marshall Koehn is the only kicker that has recently come close to Douglas’ record. Koehn made a 57-yard field goal against Pittsburgh at Kinnick in 2015.

Stevens went 4-for-4 against Northwestern on Saturday. Stevens’ other makes came from 29, 24,  and 25 yards out.

The 18-year-old has started for the Hawkeyes since Week 3. In six contests, the walk-on has gone 11-for-12 from the field and converted on all 12 of his extra-point attempts.

Stevens’ lone miss was in Iowa’s 9-6 loss at Illinois.

Before Saturday, Stevens’ longest make in a college game was from 51 yards. That conversion happened during Iowa’s 27-10 win over Rutgers at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Sept. 24.

Stevens was engaged in a kicking battle with sophomore Aaron Blom during the Hawkeyes’ spring, summer, and fall training periods.

Blom started the Hawkeyes’ Week 1 and 2 games against South Dakota State and Iowa State.

Blom went 1-for-3 in the Hawkeyes’ first two games. He went 1-of-2 against the Jackrabbits.

Blom’s lone attempt against Iowa State came with conditions that weren’t conducive to a make. Blom faced a 48-yard field goal attempt through torrential rain to tie the game, 10-10. As his kick missed the mark, time expired on the game. The Hawkeyes ultimately lost the 2022 Cy-Hawk Game, 10-7.

Though Blom hasn’t taken the field since the Iowa State game, Stevens mentioned his comfort level has stayed the course throughout the season.

“I would almost say that I am doing as well as I am right now because of Aaron and because of how good he is,” Stevens said. “It has always pushed me to try to be better and be the best player that I can be.”