Hawkeye football produces second-most NFL Pro Bowl players this season

 

December 24, 2025 

Tommy Lang

 

The University of Iowa football program has produced the second-most NFL Pro Bowl players this season as compared to other colleges.

Five Hawkeyes were named Pro Bowl players on Tuesday, including Pro Bowl veterans George Kittle of San Francisco, Tyler Linderbaum of Baltimore and Tristan Wirfs of Tampa Bay. Cooper Dejean of Philadelphia made his second Pro Bowl in as many NFL seasons, and Jack Campbell of Detroit is making his Pro Bowl debut.

Iowa’s five Pro Bowl players ties Notre Dame for second, with Georgia leading the way with six. Just behind the Hawkeyes and Fighting Irish with four Pro Bowl players this season are Alabama, USC, Florida State and Oklahoma.

2026 NFL Pro Bowl AFC, NFC rosters: The league's top players

 

NFL Nation

Dec 23, 2025, 10:37 AM ET

The rosters are set for the 2026 NFL Pro Bowl Games, and the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks lead the way with each having six players chosen.

 

The Pro Bowl Games rosters are determined by a combination of votes from fans, coaches and players.

 

The Pro Bowl Games include a skills competition and a 7-on-7 flag football game scheduled for Feb. 3 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

 

Here's a team-by-team look at the players chosen for this season's games, with the number of times each player has been honored. This file was updated with the takeaways from each NFL Nation reporter and a did-you-know fact.

 

Baltimore Ravens (6)

Pro Bowlers: WR Zay Flowers (2), S Kyle Hamilton (3), C Tyler Linderbaum (3), FB Patrick Ricard (6), LB Roquan Smith (4), P Jordan Stout (1)

 

The Ravens' six Pro Bowl selections are their fewest since 2021, which is also the last time Baltimore didn't reach the playoffs. This also marks the first time since 2022 that quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has 18 touchdown passes and six interceptions, didn't receive a Pro Bowl invitation. Stout becomes only the second punter in Ravens history to make the Pro Bowl, joining Sam Koch who went to the Pro Bowl in 2015. Linderbaum is the first Baltimore offensive lineman to go to three consecutive Pro Bowls since guard Marshal Yanda went to six straight (2011 to 2016). Flowers, who made his second Pro Bowl, remains the only Ravens player to make the Pro Bowl as a wide receiver in the team's 30-year history. Hamilton is the only defensive back in Ravens history to make the Pro Bowl three times in his first four seasons in the NFL.

 

Did you know? Ricard joined a select group by becoming one of seven Ravens to be selected to six or more Pro Bowls. Of those previous six, three are in the Hall of Fame (Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed) and two others are semifinalists for this year's Hall of Fame class (Terrell Suggs and Yanda). The only undrafted player who has made more Pro Bowls for the Ravens than Ricard is kicker Justin Tucker (seven). -- Jamison Hensley

Former Wisconsin Badgers tailback Montee Ball given one of college football's highest honors

 

Montee Ball rushed for 5,140 yards and 77 touchdowns in his college career at Wisconsin, setting numerous records along the way.

 

Benjamin Worgull

Dec 9, 2025

Montee Ball (28) scores a touchdown getting past Nebraska's Andrew Green (11) during the second half as the University of Wisconsin earned a 70-31 win over Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten Championship football game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 1, 2012. | Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

 

For likely the final time in his career, Montee Ball got to shine on one of college football's biggest stages.

Finding out in January he would be selected by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College football Hall of Fame to be in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class, Ball officially took his place in the Hall during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

"It's such an honor just to play for a wonderful University, a wonderful athletic program," Ball said at his induction press conference. "Of course it's buying into the system. We had a wonderful coach at the time, Bret Bielema, and just literally listen to his philosophy, understanding the guys that he wanted to put on the team, put the puzzle together, and, of course, run the football."

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In a post on social media, Bielema called Ball one of the best players he's "ever had the honor to coach." In reality, it was also one of Bielema's best recruiting finds.

In the fall of 2017, the buzz in the St. Louis region when it came to tailback was centered around Ronnie Wingo, a 6-2 back who had been clocked as fast as 10.78 in the 100 meters during high school. Wingo (who eventually committed to Arkansas) was generating most of the attention in the 2009 class, making Ball fly slightly under the radar in that region.

Rushing for over 3,000 yards (tops in the state) and 32 touchdowns his junior season, Ball got a host of junior day invitations to places like Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, the latter giving him his first scholarship offer and making him a high priority. Even as more offers and interest came in, the Tigers appeared to be the top school for Ball heading into Summer 2008.

Holding a one-day camp at Lindenwood University in Missouri, Wisconsin got a close look at Ball and pulled the trigger. Recruited by then-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren, Ball quickly fell in love with Wisconsin and the opportunities he had within the UW offense. Taking a visit less than three weeks after he was first offered, Ball committed shortly thereafter.

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Helping Wisconsin win three-straight Big Ten titles, Ball was a two-time Big Ten Running Back of the Year, the 2011 Big Ten offensive player of the year, a consensus All-American and left college as the NCAA record holder in rushing (77), total touchdowns (83) and points scored in a single season (236).

He still holds the latter record, as well as being the only tailback to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive Rose Bowls.

"It was such a privilege to play with such a wonderful offensive line," Ball said. "Going into the Big Ten Championship game, understanding if we win it, we get to Pasadena. We understood that we didn't want to get to the finish line and stop, so we wanted to run through it."

The success for Ball took time. Coming to the program as the all-time leading rusher and scorer in the state of Missouri (8,222 yards and 107 TDs), Ball had a non-descript 2009 season that turned into a slow start to 2010, including totaling just 219 yards in the first seven games. However, Ball scoring the game-winning touchdown in a critical road win at Iowa turned his career around.

Breaking the 125-yards barrier the final five games of the season, Ball became a household name the next year with 1,933 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also caught six scores, tying Barry Sanders for most touchdowns in an FBS season, and made him a 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist.

Ball returned for his senior season and, despite suffering an off-the-field concussion to slow the start to his season, delivered 1,830 yards and 22 touchdowns to win the 2012 Doak Walker Award.

"In order to improve on the football field, i must study more tape, i must work out harder, I must ruin faster and get better," Ball said. "That's what I did."

A total of 17 former University of Wisconsin players or coaches have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame since 1955, including six in the past 25 years.

Year Inductee
1955 George Little (Coach)
1955 Dave Schreiner
1958 Harry Stuhldreher (Coach, elected as Notre Dame player)
1962 Phil King (Coach, elected as Princeton player)
1962 Pat O'Dea
1972 Robert Butler
1974 Elroy Hirsch
1975 Alan Ameche
1988 Marty Below
1993 Pat Harder
1996 Pat Richter
2010 Barry Alvarez (Coach)
2013 Ron Dayne
2016 Tim Krumrie
2019 Joe Thomas
2023 Troy Vincent
2025 Montee Ball

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Big Ten puts 10 players on AP All-America first team

 

Associated Press

Dec 15, 2025, 12:11 PM ET

Four players from Ohio State Buckeyes are among 10 first-team picks from the Big Ten on the Associated Press All-America team released Monday, a group headed by repeat selection Caleb Downs of the Buckeyes and AP Player of the Year Fernando Mendoza of Indiana Hoosiers.

 

The AP has named an All-America team every year since 1925, and Notre Dame's two first-team picks this season increased its all-time lead to 87.

 

Downs, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, has made the first team each of his two seasons at Ohio State after landing on the second team as a freshman at Alabama in 2023. He is one of 12 players on the 27-man first team who did not start their careers at their current school. Downs is joined on the first team by fellow Buckeyes Jeremiah Smith, Kayden McDonald and Arvell Reese.

 

Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy over the weekend, led the top-ranked Hoosiers to a 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff after transferring from California. He has thrown a nation-leading 33 touchdown passes and is the catalyst of one of the most productive offenses in the country.

 

A total of 18 schools are represented on the first team, including seven of the 12 in the CFP.

 

Iowa has had at least one first-team player seven straight years and in 10 of the last 12. This is the fourth year in a row Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State have had at least one.

 

Punter Cole Maynard gave Western Kentucky its first-ever first-team pick. Defensive lineman Landon Robinson is Navy's first since 1975, and kicker Kansei Matsuzawa is the first since 1986 for Hawaii.

 

The AP All-America team was selected by a panel of 52 college Top 25 poll voters.

 

First-team offense

Wide receiver: Makai Lemon, Southern California, junior, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Los Angeles.

 

Wide receiver: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State, sophomore, 6-3, 223, Miami Gardens, Florida.

 

Wide receiver: Skyler Bell, UConn, senior, 6-0, 185, New York.

 

Tackle: Francis Mauigoa, Miami, junior, 6-6, 335, Ili'ili, American Samoa.

 

Tackle: Spencer Fano, Utah, junior, 6-6, 308, Spanish Fork, Utah.

 

Guard: Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon, senior, 6-5, 318, Denver.

 

Guard: Beau Stephens, Iowa, senior, 6-5, 315, Blue Springs, Missouri.

 

Center: Logan Jones, Iowa, graduate, 6-3, 202, Council Bluffs, Iowa.

 

Tight end: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt, graduate, 6-4, 235, Denton, Texas.

 

Quarterback: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana, junior, 6-5, 225, Miami.

 

Running back: Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame, junior, 6-0, 214, St. Louis.

 

Running back: Ahmad Hardy, Missouri, sophomore, 5-10, 210, Oma, Mississippi.

 

Kicker: Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawaii, senior, 6-2, 200, Tokyo.

 

All-purpose: KC Concepcion, Texas A&M, junior, 5-11, 190, Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

First-team defense

 

Edge rusher: David Bailey, Texas Tech, senior, 6-3, 250, Irvine, California.

 

Edge rusher: Cashius Howell, Texas A&M, senior, 6-2, 248, Kansas City, Missouri.

 

Interior lineman: Kayden McDonald, Ohio State, junior, 6-3, 326, Suwanee, Georgia.

 

Interior lineman: Landon Robinson, Navy, senior, 6-0, 287, Fairlawn, Ohio.

 

Linebacker: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech, senior, 6-1, 235, Wichita Falls, Texas.

 

Linebacker: Arvell Reese, Ohio State, junior, 6-4, 243, Cleveland.

 

Linebacker: CJ Allen, Georgia, junior, 6-1, 235, Barnesville, Georgia.

 

Cornerback: Leonard Moore, Notre Dame, sophomore, 6-2, 195, Round Rock, Texas.

 

Cornerback: Mansoor Delane, LSU, senior, 6-0, 190, Silver Spring, Maryland.

 

Safety: Caleb Downs, Ohio State, junior, 6-0, 205, Hoschton, Georgia.

 

Safety: Bishop Fitzgerald, Southern California, senior, 5-11, 205, Woodbridge, Virginia.

 

Defensive back: Jakari Foster, Louisiana Tech, senior, 6-0, 211, Piedmont, Alabama.

 

Punter: Cole Maynard, Western Kentucky, senior, 6-1, 180, Mooresville, North Carolina.

 

Iowa's Kirk Ferentz to coach 28th season with Hawkeyes in '26

 

Adam Rittenberg

Dec 3, 2025, 03:57 PM ET

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, the nation's longest-tenured coach in the FBS, will return in 2026 for a 28th season with the Hawkeyes.

 

Ferentz, 70, confirmed his expected return Wednesday, telling reporters he has the support of his wife, Mary, and is in good health. In September, Ferentz surpassed Ohio State's Woody Hayes for most coaching wins at a Big Ten school.

 

He guided Iowa to an 8-4 record during the regular season, his fifth consecutive season of eight or more wins. Ferentz is 212-128 overall at Iowa, where he was hired in late 1998.

 

"I don't envision stopping in the near future," he said.

 

Ferentz is under contract through the 2029 season and told the Des Moines Register this summer that he expects to sign another contract at some point.

 

Iowa has appeared in 21 bowl games under Ferentz, and will learn this year's bowl destination Sunday.