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Kaden Wetjen named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week

On3 imageby: Tom Kakert09/22/25HawkeyeReport
Kaden Wetjen(3)
Kaden Wetjen goes back to back for Big Ten Special Teams Award. (Photo: Hawkeyesports.com)

Kaden Wetjen has gone back to back.

Not just back to back in taking a return for a touchdown, but as the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week. This time he had the share the honors, but Wetjen’s 100 yard opening kickoff return gets him the honor for a second straight week. He shares the weekly honor with Michigan’s Dominic Zvada.

He amassed a game-best 183 all-purpose yards in the win over Rutgers. The 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown is the sixth in school history and the second of Wetjen’s career. He is the second Hawkeye to return an opening kickoff for a touchdown (C.J. Jones vs. USC in the 2003 Orange Bowl). It is Wetjen’s second career 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (2024 Music City Bowl vs. Missouri) and it is the 45th 100-yard return for a touchdown in Big Ten history (25th in a league game and first since 2023).

Wetjen, who was last week’s Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week, has four career combined return touchdowns (two punt, two kickoff), which ties Kahlil Hill for the second-most all-time (Tim Dwight, 5). It marked the second straight week that Wetjen returned a kick for a score (95-yard punt return vs. UMass on Sept. 13). Wetjen has returned both a punt and kickoff for a touchdown each of the last two seasons. 

In addition to the 100-yard kickoff return, the 2024 Jet Award recipient also had a 43-yard punt return and a 24-yard kickoff return. It marked Wetjen’s second straight and fifth career game with 100+ return yards. 

It is the third of Wetjen’s career as he was also honored once during the 2024 season.

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