Nice column today from Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register.
Chad Leistikow
Des Moines Register
Aug 16, 2023
IOWA CITY − The parade of home-grown University of Iowa student-athletes who have become national sensations continues to be remarkable.
A recent sampling includes:
Ben Kueter is determined to be successful in both football & wresting at the Division I level. Kueter is a 2022 junior-world freestyle wrestling champion at 97 kilos (213 pounds).
Kueter’s story will be one of the most unique yet. Because even though in August 2022 he became the first male Iowa high schooler to win a junior-world wrestling title since fellow City High product Jeff McGinness in 1992, Kueter is currently spending most of his athletic hours learning how to play middle linebacker for the Hawkeyes’ football team. He will wrestle for the Hawkeyes’ high-profile program, too, but it’s football season currently – a message wrestling coach Tom Brands has reinforced to Kueter.
“He was like, ‘During football, play football. Just enjoy football, have fun with that,’” Kueter said at Iowa football’s media day. “I’m not really wired like that. I’m here for wrestling and football, so I’m going to try to get wrestling workouts during the football season. I’m going to do that as long as I can.”
The journey to becoming a Division I athlete is daunting in one sport, let alone two. In recent years, two accomplished athletes tried to pull off a two-sport plan and couldn’t, at least not to their planned degree. Connor McCaffery’s health issues began in his freshman year, and he wound up leaving baseball behind for basketball. Brecht gamely tried to juggle football and baseball, and he ultimately defaulted to the sport that gave him the highest professional ceiling.
Football and wrestling are arguably the two most physically grueling endeavors, especially at a place like Iowa with such high standards in both sports.
Can Kueter, 19, really pull off this demanding double – and excel at a high level – for four to five years?
That’s the plan.
“Oh, yeah. I’m in the greatest place in the world to do that,” Kueter said. “The coaches are great. The resources are great. It’d be stupid of me not to do it for as long as I could.”
During a recent non-practice day for football, Kueter went into head coach Kirk Ferentz's office and asked for permission to leave the team hotel and take part in an Iowa wrestling workout.
A crowd of community members, teammates, coaches and friends celebrated Kueter's Junior world championship title, Aug 18, 2022, at City High School.
“Can you handle it?” Ferentz asked.
“I definitely can,” Kueter told him.
“I went there for like an hour,” Kueter said, “and came back and got right back into my football stuff.”
There are a few built-in advantages for Kueter as he embarks on his two-sport quest.
No. 1: He’s not needed to be an immediate contributor in either sport.
In wrestling, heavyweight Tony Cassioppi is returning for his sixth-year senior season. Kueter’s time in Brands' starting lineup will likely begin during the 2024-25 season, so it’s almost a lock he’ll take a wrestling redshirt. In football, Iowa has two senior starters at inside linebacker in Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins, plus plenty of third-year guys to provide quality depth.
“He’s not going to necessarily see the football field right off the bat,” said linebackers coach Seth Wallace. “Our program, by design, has been built on development. And a lot of young guys, especially when you talk about the front seven, a lot of those guys don’t play coming right out of high school.”
No. 2: Kueter’s strength plan in football fits what his body needs in wrestling.
He arrived in June at 213 pounds. After just a few months of training (and constantly eating), Kueter’s weight is already up to 228. The football strength staff has set his eventual target weight at 240 to 245 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame. As a heavyweight wrestler (collegians are capped at 285 pounds), Kueter’s preferred weight would be in the 240-245 range. So, he’ll never have to worry about weight-cutting when transitioning from helmet to singlet.
In football, the hope is that he can become a Jack Campbell-type thumper in the middle of Iowa’s defense. Kueter is known for his physical style. During one play at the recent Kids' Day at Kinnick scrimmage, Kueter ripped past the offensive line and walloped freshman running back Terrell Washington Jr. for a 3-yard loss.
“Wrestlers sometimes are so aggressive that they might be a little bit too fast,” said defensive coordinator Phil Parker. “But I think he’s really picked up some of the stuff we’re asking him to do, and we’re really pleased with the progress he’s had.”
Iowa likes its linebackers to learn all three spots – middle, weak-side and outside – eventually, but for now Kueter is locked in at middle linebacker.
From Kids Day this past Saturday:
“The biggest thing is learning the playbook,” Kueter said. “That’s always difficult to learn as a freshman.
“It’s pretty complex to me right now, so just starting at one (position) is great. Once I get that down, I’ll go to the next thing.”
Just this week, Kueter was named USA TODAY Sports high school boys wrestler of the year for 2023. He is one of only six American wrestlers since 2000 to make a junior men’s freestyle world final the summer ahead of his senior year of high school. Others on that exclusive list include former Iowa phenom Spencer Lee (twice), three-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks and Olympic heavyweight gold medalists Kyle Snyder and Gable Steveson.
Be sure to click on the play button in the tweet that follows.
If Kueter can pull off elite status in one sport, that’d be something. He’s going all-in to try to accomplish it in two.
It will be fascinating to watch how this chapter of his story unfolds.
“You look at everything he’s accomplished up to this point, I think it’s very important to recognize there’s something there,” Wallace said. “I don’t know if I’d bet against that. I’d let him just kind of run the race.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 28 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.
Leistikow: At Iowa football fall camp, Ben Kueter determined to excel in two-sport plan
Chad LeistikowDes Moines Register
Aug 16, 2023
IOWA CITY − The parade of home-grown University of Iowa student-athletes who have become national sensations continues to be remarkable.
A recent sampling includes:
- Keegan Murray of Cedar Rapids, who became the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
- Caitlin Clark of West Des Moines, the reigning unanimous national player of the year in women’s basketball and arguably college sports’ most recognizable current athlete.
- Brody Brecht of Ankeny, owner of a 104 mph fastball and a projected top-five pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft.
Ben Kueter is determined to be successful in both football & wresting at the Division I level. Kueter is a 2022 junior-world freestyle wrestling champion at 97 kilos (213 pounds).
Kueter’s story will be one of the most unique yet. Because even though in August 2022 he became the first male Iowa high schooler to win a junior-world wrestling title since fellow City High product Jeff McGinness in 1992, Kueter is currently spending most of his athletic hours learning how to play middle linebacker for the Hawkeyes’ football team. He will wrestle for the Hawkeyes’ high-profile program, too, but it’s football season currently – a message wrestling coach Tom Brands has reinforced to Kueter.
“He was like, ‘During football, play football. Just enjoy football, have fun with that,’” Kueter said at Iowa football’s media day. “I’m not really wired like that. I’m here for wrestling and football, so I’m going to try to get wrestling workouts during the football season. I’m going to do that as long as I can.”
The journey to becoming a Division I athlete is daunting in one sport, let alone two. In recent years, two accomplished athletes tried to pull off a two-sport plan and couldn’t, at least not to their planned degree. Connor McCaffery’s health issues began in his freshman year, and he wound up leaving baseball behind for basketball. Brecht gamely tried to juggle football and baseball, and he ultimately defaulted to the sport that gave him the highest professional ceiling.
Football and wrestling are arguably the two most physically grueling endeavors, especially at a place like Iowa with such high standards in both sports.
Can Kueter, 19, really pull off this demanding double – and excel at a high level – for four to five years?
That’s the plan.
“Oh, yeah. I’m in the greatest place in the world to do that,” Kueter said. “The coaches are great. The resources are great. It’d be stupid of me not to do it for as long as I could.”
During a recent non-practice day for football, Kueter went into head coach Kirk Ferentz's office and asked for permission to leave the team hotel and take part in an Iowa wrestling workout.
A crowd of community members, teammates, coaches and friends celebrated Kueter's Junior world championship title, Aug 18, 2022, at City High School.
“Can you handle it?” Ferentz asked.
“I definitely can,” Kueter told him.
“I went there for like an hour,” Kueter said, “and came back and got right back into my football stuff.”
There are a few built-in advantages for Kueter as he embarks on his two-sport quest.
No. 1: He’s not needed to be an immediate contributor in either sport.
In wrestling, heavyweight Tony Cassioppi is returning for his sixth-year senior season. Kueter’s time in Brands' starting lineup will likely begin during the 2024-25 season, so it’s almost a lock he’ll take a wrestling redshirt. In football, Iowa has two senior starters at inside linebacker in Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins, plus plenty of third-year guys to provide quality depth.
“He’s not going to necessarily see the football field right off the bat,” said linebackers coach Seth Wallace. “Our program, by design, has been built on development. And a lot of young guys, especially when you talk about the front seven, a lot of those guys don’t play coming right out of high school.”
No. 2: Kueter’s strength plan in football fits what his body needs in wrestling.
He arrived in June at 213 pounds. After just a few months of training (and constantly eating), Kueter’s weight is already up to 228. The football strength staff has set his eventual target weight at 240 to 245 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame. As a heavyweight wrestler (collegians are capped at 285 pounds), Kueter’s preferred weight would be in the 240-245 range. So, he’ll never have to worry about weight-cutting when transitioning from helmet to singlet.
In football, the hope is that he can become a Jack Campbell-type thumper in the middle of Iowa’s defense. Kueter is known for his physical style. During one play at the recent Kids' Day at Kinnick scrimmage, Kueter ripped past the offensive line and walloped freshman running back Terrell Washington Jr. for a 3-yard loss.
“Wrestlers sometimes are so aggressive that they might be a little bit too fast,” said defensive coordinator Phil Parker. “But I think he’s really picked up some of the stuff we’re asking him to do, and we’re really pleased with the progress he’s had.”
Iowa likes its linebackers to learn all three spots – middle, weak-side and outside – eventually, but for now Kueter is locked in at middle linebacker.
From Kids Day this past Saturday:
“The biggest thing is learning the playbook,” Kueter said. “That’s always difficult to learn as a freshman.
“It’s pretty complex to me right now, so just starting at one (position) is great. Once I get that down, I’ll go to the next thing.”
Just this week, Kueter was named USA TODAY Sports high school boys wrestler of the year for 2023. He is one of only six American wrestlers since 2000 to make a junior men’s freestyle world final the summer ahead of his senior year of high school. Others on that exclusive list include former Iowa phenom Spencer Lee (twice), three-time NCAA champion Aaron Brooks and Olympic heavyweight gold medalists Kyle Snyder and Gable Steveson.
Be sure to click on the play button in the tweet that follows.
If Kueter can pull off elite status in one sport, that’d be something. He’s going all-in to try to accomplish it in two.
It will be fascinating to watch how this chapter of his story unfolds.
“You look at everything he’s accomplished up to this point, I think it’s very important to recognize there’s something there,” Wallace said. “I don’t know if I’d bet against that. I’d let him just kind of run the race.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 28 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.
Leistikow: At Iowa football fall camp, Ben Kueter determined to excel in two-sport plan
The junior world wrestling champion/middle linebacker outlines his path to conquer the daunting double.
www.hawkcentral.com
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