Aaron Graves’ eyes were filled with tears.

It was June 25, 2019. Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz had just called the 15-year-old and offered him a full-ride scholarship to his dream school.

By the time the call ended, Graves was committed to the Hawkeyes. 

“He would get letters from Notre Dame, Stanford, Penn State, and all these schools, and he would grab them and just throw them in the garbage. He wouldn’t even open them,” Graves’ father, Mark, told The Daily Iowan. “He was going to be a Hawkeye.”

The freshman arrived in Iowa City and didn’t expect to play a snap in his first season. Instead, he was just hoping to take some lessons from D-line veterans like Noah Shannon, Joe Evans, Deontae Craig, and John Waggoner who were above him on the depth chart.

But Graves fit right in with Iowa’s stout defense that has been among national leaders over the last several years in interceptions, scoring, and total defense. 

“They set a really high standard for themselves in our group, and that’s something I want to carry through my career,” Graves said. 

All-around athlete

Graves, who hails from Dayton, Iowa, started athletics around kindergarten. He tried several sports throughout his childhood including soccer, basketball, track, football, baseball, and wrestling.

With two older brothers, Graves always had someone to chase around and play catch with in the yard. 

The young athlete knew he wanted to play for Iowa football at 8 years old after attending several games at Kinnick Stadium.

He didn’t let anything get in the way of reaching that goal.

It was the first high school football practice of Graves’ career at Southeast Valley High School.

Varsity head football coach Mike Swieter had never seen Graves play but had heard great things about the defensive lineman. 

He knew Mark, who was and remains an assistant coach for the Jaguars, and previously coached Graves’ two older brothers, twins Zach and J.J. 

Swieter was well aware that football talent likely ran in the family — and it took only a day of practice to convince him that Graves was a generational player. 

“The very first practice, I walked up to him, and I said, ‘You’ll be on varsity for the rest of your career,’” Swieter told the DI.

Swieter said Graves was “hurting” the upperclassmen when the Jaguars started training with pads on. On the makeshift practice field surrounded by corn stalks in Gowrie, Iowa, Graves was a man among boys. 

As a 6-foot-5 freshman in a town of less than 1,000 people, Graves’ size was usually the first thing people noticed about him.

But it was the 230-pounder’s skill and attention to detail that made him rise above the rest.

“Size, strength, footwork, handwork, knowledge of the game, everything,” Swieter said. “I’ll probably never get the chance to coach another individual, another athlete like him.”

Swieter used Graves’ size to the Jaguars’ advantage against their smaller 2A-school opponents and rotated him at offensive guard, offensive tackle, defensive end, and nose guard.

Mark said it was a joy to coach his son and that he made sure to treat him just like any other player. When the pair went home, they never talked about football unless Graves brought it up first. 

“At home, I just tried to make sure I was a dad and not a coach,” Mark said. 

One thing he did talk about with his son frequently was that he might not always be the biggest, fastest, or most gifted player on the field, but he can always be the hardest worker and best listener.  

“I think that’s how he still approaches life,” Mark said. “He’s not the guy that comes up and says, ‘I want this many tackles or this many sacks.’ He just says, ‘What can I do today to really improve?’”

Graves was initially recruited by former Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan and current special teams coordinator LeVar Woods. They first noticed the standout freshman when they came to watch Southeast Valley running back and current Iowa linebacker Kyler Fisher play in 2018.  

During the visit, Swieter took the two Iowa coaches into the gym where Graves was practicing with the basketball team. As the biggest player on the court, he shot 46.8% from 3-point range with 5.6 boards per game as a freshman. 

Swieter, who’s in his 23rd year as head coach, said having two of his former players now competing for the Hawkeyes means everything to him and the Southeast Valley community. He added that it would be a dream come true to have both Graves and Fisher start for Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s defense. 

“Aaron’s done a great job since he’s been here,” Fisher said. “It’s really cool because I played with him in high school and so the connection between us is there. He’s got a lot to build on, and I’m excited for him.”

Kelvin Bell took over defensive line duties and helped with Graves’ recruitment following Morgan’s retirement in 2019. 

When Graves performed well at his second Hawkeye football camp on June 23, 2019, the Iowa staff knew they could not pass up on his talent. Graves said Bell pulled him aside after the linemen camp to tell him he did a good job and that the coaching staff would be evaluating him.

A couple of days later, Graves became the youngest player to be offered a full ride at Iowa under Ferentz. 

“He will come in here looking like the rest of the guys that have been here three or four years,” Bell said. “He’s physically ready to go.”

Mark, who also served as the head football coach at Southeast Webster-Grand and coached at Iowa Central Community College for nine years, appreciates Ferentz’s authenticity and the culture he has built over his 20-plus years with the Hawkeyes. 

“There’s no other football coach in the U.S. that I would trust more with my kid than Kirk Ferentz,” Mark said. 

Graves also wrestled and threw the shot put for the Jaguars during high school. 

Swieter emphasized how important it is to be a multi-sport athlete. He said the skills Graves’ worked on in wrestling and basketball, such as hand-eye coordination, leverage, flexibility, and quickness translated over to the gridiron. Iowa coaches encouraged Graves to be involved in lots of activities.  

Because Graves was fully committed so young, he spent most of his time training to play in the Big Ten while other kids were visiting schools and attending exposure camps.

Mark said Graves started going to Premier Athlete Training in Ames, Iowa, for personal one-on-one workouts. He would make the 40-minute drive once or twice a week during the school year and five times a week during the summer. On top of that, Graves visited the high school weight room every morning. Even if Graves wasn’t lifting, he still showed up to help the younger players.

Swieter said even when the multi-sport athlete was participating in basketball and wrestling, Graves never missed a workout. Swieter would tell Graves to take some time to recover, but the competitor refused to waste a day when he could be getting better. 

Graves enjoyed a stellar freshman football season and earned first-team All-District honors after racking up 67 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. He continued his dominance all throughout high school and led the Jaguars to their first state title as a team captain in 2021. 

“In the state championship, weighing 260 or 270 pounds, he played every single play on offense, defense, and special teams,” Swieter said. “He was the punter, the kicker and everything. He never came off the field. That’s special in itself, let alone to be a big guy and do that.”

Graves set school records for sacks in a game, career sacks, career tackles, longest punt, and best punting average. 

His accolades continued off the football field.

Graves ended his prep basketball career as Southeast Valley’s all-time leading scorer with 1,356 career points. He averaged 22 points and nine rebounds per game on the hardwood his senior season. 

On the mat, Graves, a heavyweight, placed fourth at the state wrestling tournament in his junior and senior years. He placed fifth in the track and field state championships as a senior and holds the school record for shot put throw at 53 feet 9.75 inches.

Graves was named the 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year and became the first athlete from Iowa to receive MaxPreps Male National Athlete of the Year honors. 

On top of his athletic endeavors, Graves still made school a priority. 

His parents said he was in the gifted and talented program since elementary school and took the ACT in fifth and eighth grade. 

He was taking the same classes as a junior or senior would his freshman year, but he needed more of a challenge. 

Graves’ mother, Amber, was a school nurse at Iowa Central Community College. She reached out to the academic staff and got Graves enrolled in college classes. Graves took college courses every summer and earned his associate’s degree. He graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA. 

“I’d almost use the ‘freak’ word,” Ferentz said. “ I don’t want to do that. But he came in here with like 60 credits. He’s graduating next spring as a second-year guy.”

Amber said Graves managed his time well and was always responsible for doing his homework. He would bring his computer with him to wrestling meets on the weekends and complete his school work in between matches, as well as in the car or on bus rides to games. 

Although Graves said he is not a “huge video game guy,” when he got some free time back home he played the Wii.

“I’m pretty dangerous at Mario Kart,” Graves said with a smile.

“I think the biggest thing is he’s always stayed true to who he is, and he’s never let his fame get to him,” Swieter said. “He’s never once sat there and been like, ‘I’m this big-time player, so this is the way it’s gonna be.’”

Off to Iowa City

Graves transitioned from 2A competition to fighting for a spot on one of the best defenses in the nation — and he impressed Phil Parker and the coaching staff instantly. 

“It would be stupid on our part to redshirt him. He belongs on the field with the older guys,” Ferentz said following Graves’ performance throughout his first fall camp with the Hawkeyes. 

Graves was one of eight true freshmen to see the field in 2022. In the third game of the season against Nevada, the exercise science major exploded off the edge and bullied his way to the quarterback for his first career sack. 

In 12 games, he registered 15 total tackles, six tackles for loss, and three sacks. 

Graves said he had a hard time understanding the playbook at first, but seeing the field last season helped build his confidence. He said at spring practice in April that most of the progress he has made is due to his work in the offseason. 

He came into Iowa’s facility four or five times a week in the winter, and Bell gave him a list of stuff to work on, such as pass rush fundamentals and getting separation, for 45 minutes to an hour. Graves said these drills helped him develop better field vision and anticipation

Graves has put on 20 pounds since arriving in Iowa and is up to 295. He attributed much of his weight gain to his frequent Chipotle order —a burrito bowl with double rice, double chicken, queso, and guacamole.

Graves said he thinks his weight gain will help him defend the run game better and that he worked hard on his speed rush during spring ball and fall camp.  

“From a mental standpoint, he has really put his foot on the gas when it comes to understanding the game and understanding how he can play in the game,” Bell said of Graves at Iowa football media day on Aug. 11. “The arrow is definitely going up, and I’m excited to have him this year.”

One of Graves’ biggest priorities outside of playing football and earning his degree is his Christian faith. Every Monday, he attends meetings for Athletes in Action Iowa, a college athlete ministry that seeks Christian followers in every sport at the university. 

The sophomore also worked on his golf game over the summer. He joked that he’s not the best on the links, but he enjoys it a lot. 

“I’ve probably driven the ball like 240 [yards],” Graves said. “I’m not too great. It’s not very straight. It’s probably 200 straight and then 40 or 50 yards to the right.”

Graves’ workload was expected to grow this season but has increased even more with Shannon facing a one-year suspension because of sports gambling. 

Graves was listed as the second-string left defensive tackle behind junior Yahya Black heading into the season opener. 

In the Hawkeyes’ 24-14 win over the Utah State Aggies, Graves recorded five total tackles, including one for an 11-yard loss. 

Amber said their other four kids and their significant others or friends tried to come to as many games as they could last year and will again this season. The Graveses have a tailgate spot about a block and a half away from Kinnick Stadium

Amber said her favorite part of game day is giving Graves a hug during the Hawk Walk after he gets off the bus.

“I feel a little lost if I don’t get to do that before the game,” she said.

Mark said if Graves could go back in time, he wouldn’t change a thing about his decision to play for Iowa or ever regret the blood, sweat, and tears he shed to get where he is today.  

Mark and Amber could not imagine a better place for their son to display his talents and chase his dreams of playing in the NFL.

“It kind of brings tears to my eyes every time I see the Swarm come out,” Amber said. “You just know all the hard work that went into those kids being able to run out of that tunnel. It’s great to see it all come together.”