| Iowa Hawkeyes–No. 21 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 9, 2002 Iowa City, Iowa |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Williamsburg (IA) (Williamsburg, Iowa) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Kaden Wetjen (born March 9, 2002) is an American college football wide receiver and return specialist for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
In high school, Wetjen ran track and was a three-year football letterman as a running back, wide receiver and defensive back. [1] [2] As a senior, he scored 31 touchdowns and had six interceptions on defense. [3] He also earned first-team all-state honors. [4]
After graduating from high school, Wetjen attended Iowa Western Community College where he continued to play football as a wide receiver. [5] After two seasons at Iowa Western, Wetjen entered the transfer portal. He eventually opted to walk-on at Iowa over offers at several smaller schools. [6] After the 2024 season, Wetjen was named the winner of the Jet Award as the nation's top return specialist. [7] He was recognized after leading the FBS in kickoff return yards and coming second in punt return yards, including a 100 yard kickoff return touchdown and an 85 yard punt return touchdown. [8]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led NCAA Division I FBS | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick returns | Punt returns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2020–21 | Iowa Western | 7 | - | 4 | 144 | 36.0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 3 | 72 | 24.0 | 0 | 26 | 416 | 16.0 | 2 |
| 2021 | Iowa Western | 11 | - | 18 | 304 | 16.9 | 1 | 5 | 60 | 12.0 | 0 | 7 | 129 | 18.4 | 0 | 31 | 459 | 14.8 | 2 |
| 2022 | Iowa | 0 | 0 | Redshirt | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Iowa | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 0 | 14 | 335 | 23.9 | 0 | 7 | 63 | 9.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Iowa | 13 | 1 | 3 | 46 | 15.3 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 0 | 26 | 727 | 28.0 | 1 | 26 | 328 | 12.6 | 1 |
| 2025 | Iowa | 4 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 1 | 6 | 213 | 35.5 | 1 | 7 | 235 | 33.6 | 1 |
| NJCAA career | 18 | - | 22 | 448 | 20.4 | 3 | 7 | 69 | 9.9 | 0 | 10 | 201 | 20.1 | 0 | 57 | 875 | 15.4 | 4 | |
| FBS career | 31 | 1 | 7 | 72 | 10.3 | 1 | 10 | 69 | 6.9 | 1 | 46 | 1,275 | 27.7 | 2 | 40 | 626 | 15.7 | 2 | |