Iowa heavyweight Ben Kueter announces return to football for spring

Iowa wrestling heavyweight Ben Kueter announced  he’d return to the Hawkeyes football team this coming season. In a tweet following the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Kueter said he was ready to get “back to football.”

Kueter, who played linebacker for Iowa as a freshman, announced last season he would focus solely on wrestling for the 2024-25 year. It paid off on the mat as Kueter went 20-9 and finished in eighth place, becoming an All-American.

CLICK HERE to watch Unstoppable on Prime Video — The true story of the indomitable spirit of Anthony Robles

But, his heart is still on the gridiron and Kueter wants to do both. It looks like he’ll suit up with a helmet and shoulder pads in 2025.

“College wrestling is a grind and I freaking love it!!,” Kueter wrote on Twitter. “All American… back to football.”

Kueter turned it up late in the season, finishing third at the Big Ten Tournament and then making a run at NCAAs. Finishing on the podium was just the next step and he has three years of eligibility remaining in a weight class that clears out with graduating seniors.

Citing team and individual goals on the wrestling mat, Kueter wanted to put football on hold last year. He made a promise to return to the field, and he’ll do just that.

“First off, I would like to thank Coach Wallace and Coach Ferentz for letting me live out a dream of mine,” Kueter wrote last summer. “Coach Wallace is the reason I chose to play football at Iowa. Secondly, I would like to thank my football brothers for making this last year so enjoyable. I’ve made bonds with those guys that will last a lifetime.

“With that being said, I would like to announce that I will be transitioning to just wrestling for the next 10 months in order to win a World title, NCAA title, and a NCAA team title. To meet these goals will require my full attention for the next 10 months, but this is not the end of my football career. I will start back up in spring ball. Thank you to the best fans in the world and GO HAWKS!”

As a member of the Class of 2023, Kueter was a four-star recruit out of Iowa City (Iowa) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 30 linebacker in the class and the No. 294 overall prospect in the class.