Iowa Football Showing Up on Watchlists

Hawkeyes Receiving Preseason Recognition

Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Sebastian Castro (29) tries to tackle Devon Booth of Utah State as the Hawkeyes take on Utah State at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. / Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa senior Sebastian Castro was named to the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) announced Wednesday. A day later, Hawkeye senior linebacker Jay Higgins was named to the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. 

The Thorpe preseason watch list is selected by a screening committee whose members compile a list of players based on previous performance in NCAA Division I college football and preseason All-America lists. Castro (5-foot-11, 205-pounds) was one of 42 defensive backs named to the watch list. 

Castro has also been named a 2024 Athlon preseason fourth-team All-American and second-team All-Big Ten selection. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native was included on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List on Tuesday.

As a junior, Castro was a Pro Football Focus first-team All-American and an Associated Press third-team All-American. He also was named Phil Steele honorable mention All-America and second-team All-Big Ten. Castro was voted second-team All-Big Ten by league media and honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches.

Castro led the team with eight pass break-ups and three interceptions in 2023. Those totals ranked fourth and ninth in the Big Ten, respectively. He finished the year with 67 tackles (47 solo, 20 assists), including eight tackles for a loss.

Higgins (6-foot-2, 232-pounds) recorded 171 tackles (79 solo, 92 assists) during the 2023 season, which led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally. The total tied the program record for tackles in a single season.

The Indianapolis native is a preseason All-American and Phil Steele Preseason National Defensive Player of the Year.  He was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List earlier this week.

Now in its 20th season, the Allstate Wuerfel Trophy is college football’s premier award for community service. The trophy is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of Florida who parlayed his success on the football field into a lifetime of service and humanitarianism.

Higgins volunteered more than 50 combined hours last year with groups such as Safe Haven Animal Shelter in South Amana, Iowa, the Community Crisis Services and Food Bank, Special Olympics, Dream City and University of Iowa Student-Athlete Academic Services.

Higgins, Castro, and Hawkeye linebacker Nick Jackson were named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List for the national defensive player of the year on Tuesday. Iowa and Georgia have the second-most Nagurski preseason honorees. Former Hawkeye cornerback Cooper DeJean (2023) and linebackers Josey Jewell (2017) and Pat Angerer (2009) were finalists for the prestigious award. 

Iowa senior offensive lineman Logan Jones (6-foot-3, 293-pounds)  was recognized on the 2024 Outland Trophy Watch List, presented to the nation’s most outstanding interior lineman on offense or defense. He's Iowa’s first Outland Trophy preseason honoree since Tyler Linderbaum (2021). Jones started at center in 13 games, missing the Nebraska game due to injury.

 

The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native was voted third team All-Big Ten by conference media and honorable mention All-Big ten by league coaches. 

 

The Hawkeyes open the season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State inside Kinnick Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).