Hunter Dekkers

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Hunter Dekkers
FB-ISU-HunterDekkers-2022MediaDay.jpg
Dekkers speaking to the press during Iowa State's media day in 2022.
Houston Gamblers
Position Quarterback
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (2001-07-04) July 4, 2001 (age 24)
Hawarden, Iowa, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Sioux (Hawarden, Iowa)
College Iowa State (2020–2022)
Iowa Western (2024)
NFL draft 2025: undrafted
Career history
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Hunter Dekkers (born July 4, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Gamblers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones and Iowa Western Reivers.

Contents

Early life

Dekkers grew up in Hawarden, Iowa on a cattle farm. He attended West Sioux High School, where he was a member of the football, basketball, baseball, and track teams. [1] Dekkers set Iowa high school career records for most passing yards with 10,628 and touchdown passes with 126. [2] [3] Dekkers committed to play college football at Iowa State after considering offers from Purdue, Kansas State, and Indiana. [4]

College career

Dekkers played in three games as a true freshman before redshirting the season, completing five of seven pass attempts for 114 yards and one touchdown, and rushing for one touchdown. [5] He spent his redshirt freshman season as the backup to starter Brock Purdy, completing 20 of 36 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns and rushing four times for 61 yards and one touchdown in four games. [6] Dekkers was named Iowa State's starter entering his redshirt sophomore season. [7] [8]

In May 2023, agents of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant at Dekkers' apartment as part of a larger investigation into illegal sports gambling activity by several Iowa State athletes. [9] On August 1, 2023, Dekkers was one of seven players indicted on records tampering charges related to his underage use of the gambling platform DraftKings. [9] On September 3, Dekkers pled guilty to underage gambling and received a $645 fine. The charging affidavit said Dekkers placed 26 wagers on Iowa State sporting events, including a 2021 football game against Oklahoma State, when Dekkers was the team's backup quarterback. [10] In all, he was accused of placing 366 bets that totaled more than $2,799, including 297 when he was under the age of 21, Iowa's minimum age for sports gambling. [11] [12]

Dekkers sat out the 2023 season after his appeal to the NCAA for reinstatement was denied. He played the 2024 season for Iowa Western Community College, [13] leading it to an 11–2 record and a spot in the national title game, which it lost to Hutchinson Community College. He then entered the 2025 NFL draft; he went undrafted. [14]

Statistics

SeasonTeamGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCompAttPctYardsAvgTDIntRateAttYardsAvgTD
2020 Iowa State 30—5771.411816.910260.23124.01
2021 Iowa State 40—203655.61935.421113.446115.31
2022 Iowa State 12124–830245766.13,0446.71914129.689730.82
2024 Iowa Western131311–228844964.13,8068.53210154.444−11−0.81
Iowa Western career 131311–228844964.13,8068.53210154.444−11−0.81
Iowa State career 19124–832750065.43,3556.72215130.3961461.54

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill
6 ft 1+7⁄8 in
(1.88 m)		207 lb
(94 kg)		31+3⁄8 in
(0.80 m)		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		4.65 s1.63 s2.70 s4.24 s7.25 s
All values from Pro Day [15]

New Orleans Saints

In April 2025, he was invited to New Orleans Saints rookie minicamp. [16] On May 12, 2025, Dekkers officially signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent. [17] On July 31, the Saints released Dekkers. [18] On August 6, Dekkers re-signed with the Saints. [19] However, he was waived by New Orleans once more on August 14. [20] Dekkers was signed to the practice squad on August 27. [21] He was released again on September 4, and was re-signed to the practice squad on September 9. [22] Dekkers was once more waived by the Saints on September 10, and was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad on September 18. [23] [24] On September 24, Dekkers was placed on the practice squad injured reserve after suffering a shoulder injury. [25] On December 31, the Saints moved Dekkers to the active roster before the season's final game, a move that would allow the team to sign him to a futures contract in the offseason. [26]

Houston Gamblers

On January 12, 2026, Dekkers signed with the Houston Gamblers of the United Football League (UFL). [27]

References

  1. ↑ Olson, Max (September 8, 2022). "Iowa State's Hunter Dekkers hype train: Why the Cyclones believe in their new QB's quiet rise". The Athletic . Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Iowa high school football: West Sioux's Hunter Dekkers breaks all-time passing touchdown record". The Des Moines Register . September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Journal Siouxland Male Athlete of the Year: Hunter Dekkers loved competing for West Sioux". Sioux City Journal . August 26, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Iowa State Football: 2020 in-state QB Hunter Dekkers commits". Ames Tribune . June 23, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Brock Purdy has 25 Iowa State football records and is on the verge of setting even more". The Gazette . August 22, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell talks Hunter Dekkers, defense". The Des Moines Register . August 2, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Hunter Dekkers' journey to starting Iowa State QB can be traced back to a 'flawless' summer camp". The Gazette . September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Hunter Dekkers, taking over for Brock Purdy, hopes to add deep-ball element to Cyclones attack". weareiowa.com. August 19, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Dochterman, Scott (August 2, 2023). "Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers charged with tampering amid sports gambling investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  10. ↑ Dochterman, Scott (April 26, 2024). "Five current and former Iowa, Iowa State athletes plead guilty to lesser charges in state gambling probe". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  11. ↑ Kraft, R. J. (May 13, 2025). "Ex-Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers, banned by NCAA for sports betting, signed by New Orleans Saints". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  12. ↑ Hines, Travis; Peterson, Randy. "Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers accused of betting on ISU sports, including football". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ Birch, Tommy. "Former Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers speaks publicly on gambling investigation for first time". The Des Moines Register.
  14. ↑ "Former Iowa State QB to enter NFL Draft straight from JUCO". Iowa State Cyclones On SI. January 9, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Hunter Dekkers RAS". RAS.Football. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Dekkers to Saints".
  17. ↑ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves following Rookie Minicamp". NewOrleansSaints.com. May 12, 2025.
  18. ↑ Sanders, Dylan (July 31, 2025). "Saints waive rookie quarterback Hunter Dekkers, sign a third punter for training camp". Saints Wire. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  20. ↑ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  21. ↑ "New Orleans Saints announce roster moves". NewOrleansSaints.com. August 27, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Hunter Dekkers: Returning to New Orleans". CBSSports.com. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Hunter Dekkers: Let go by New Orleans again". CBS Sports.
  24. ↑ Sigler, John. "Saints re-sign rookie quarterback less than a day after releasing him". Saints Wire. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  25. ↑ "New Orleans Saints send rookie QB to injured reserve, file multiple roster moves". saintswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  26. ↑ Sigler, John. "The New Orleans Saints quietly made a move at quarterback this week". Saints Wire. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  27. ↑ "UFL Announces Quarterback Rooms and Allocated Players Ahead of 2026 Draft". www.theufl.com. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
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