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Iowa Football: Top Northern Iowa Players To Know
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- Iowa Football: Top Northern Iowa Players To Know
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Kirk Ferentz reflects on the life of late UNI tight end Parker Sutherland.
Iowa plays another football game in just three days.
The season always seems to slip by in the blink of an eye, and it's hard to believe the non-conference finale against Northern Iowa (3 p.m., FS1) is already here.
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Here are five Panthers to know ahead of this in-state clash.
QB Jaxon Dailey
Any success UNI will have in this game will undoubtedly begin with quarterback Jaxon Dailey. If you're from Central Iowa , you've probably heard his name. Before Dailey arrived in Cedar Falls, he was already making headlines for Southeast Polk High School. With future Hawkeye Xavier Nwankpa leading the defense, Dailey guided the Rams to their first-ever state championship (they would go on the next three after he graduated, too).
After finding minimal success at Arkansas State, Dailey transferred back to his home state. He didn't see any game action in 2024, but emerged as the starting quarterback near the end of the 2025 campaign, throwing for 352 yards and two touchdowns in the season finale against playoff bound Youngstown State .
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That success has carried over to the early portion of this year. Dailey has completed 70.6% of his passes for 529 yards, three touchdowns (all of them came last weekend) and one interception.
Not only is Dailey an accurate passer, he's also very reliable in the red zone . The Panthers have often used the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Dailey in goal line situations, which is something Iowa often did with Mark Gronowski last year.
Dailey has only taken one snap against a Power Four team (against Oklahoma his sophomore year at ASU), so it will be interesting to see how he performs in a raucous environment. Either way, he's UNI's top player to watch.
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One more cool note: Dailey's father, Mike, played for the Hawkeyes under Hayden Fry in the early 1990s.
LB John Powers
While Dailey is the captain of the offense, John Powers is the leader of this Panther defense. Powers is also a Central Iowa prospect, having spent his high school career at Bondurant-Farrar High School. UNI fans remember his father, Rich, as one of the best wrestlers to come through the program, and Powers is making a name for himself on the gridiron.
The fourth-year has slowly increased his role in the defense since arriving in Cedar Falls, and it's culminated in what should be an excellent senior season if he stays healthy. Powers is always looking to make a big play for this defense, and he did just that by intercepting a Drake pass on the third play from scrimmage last weekend. Powers leads the Panthers with 17 tackles thus far.
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TE Brady McCullough
UNI likes to spread the ball around the field, but if there's one target it will lean on against the Hawkeyes, it's probably going to be tight end Brady McCullough. The fourth-year from Ankeny (players from Central Iowa is a common theme here) missed the entire 2025 campaign due to an injury but has emerged as a reliable target early on, leading the Panthers with 123 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
UNI loved to get the 6-foot-4 McCullough open down the seam during its victory over Drake, so that could be something Iowa should look for.
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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io
