Iowa football fourth-year Kaden Wetjen has been named the recipient of the 2024 Jet Award, given to the nation’s top return specialist, per an announcement from from the Jet Award Foundation on Tuesday. Wetjen becomes the first Hawkeye to win the award in its 14-year history and is the 15th player under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz to earn an individual national award.
Wetjen will be presented the award at The Jet Award Gala on April 10 in Omaha, Nebraska.
The BEST Returner in the Nation@WetjenKaden has won the @TheJet_Award!#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/SjawMGzhbX
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) January 7, 2025
The senior totaled a Football Bowl Subdivision-best 1,055 combined returning yards over the course of the 2024 season, including two touchdowns, one of which came via a 100-yard kickoff return in the Music City bowl against No. 19 Missouri. The return tied for the longest in Hawkeye program and Music City Bowl history and Wetjen is one of only five Hawkeyes to achieve a 100-yard score.
Hailing from Williamsburg, Iowa, Wetjen joined Iowa as a walk-on prior to the 2022 season after beginning his career at Iowa Western Community College, where he collected 952 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, helping the Reivers to the NJCAA National Championship Game, where they were defeated by future Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and New Mexico Military Institute.
After mostly sitting behind standout returner Cooper DeJean for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Wejten broke out as one of the most electric return specialists in college football in 2024, gaining praise for his crafty rushing ability and speed in the open field. His other touchdown of the 2024 campaign came against Northwestern on Oct. 26, which was also the first score of his Iowa career. For his performance, Wetjen earned first-team All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America.
It appears that Wetjen will return to Iowa City for his senior season. The senior said before the bowl game that there is a “98 percent” chance he comes back for the 2025 season unless he receives an NFL offer. Despite his success with the Hawkeyes, Wetjen hasn’t received a scholarship yet, but Ferentz hinted at the likely possibility of Wetjen earning a scholarship offer during the offseason, saying that “discussions are ongoing” during a press conference before the Music City Bowl.