Iowa
Brad Fitzgibbon Values Iowa Football Offer
Brad Fitzgibbon’s relationship with Iowa has grown over time. The Chicago Marist defensive lineman spoke with HN about that after he visited campus for a spring practice in early April.
The bond continued building since then. Hawkeye DL coach Kelvin Bell watched him work out at Marist a few weeks ago. They talked often since then.
“So, when he asked to get on call (Thursday) night, I assumed it would be to catch up some more. But then he offered, and it was an honor,” Fitzgibbon told HN.
The scholarship was added to reported offers from Kansas, Michigan State, Arizona, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Iowa State and others. He’s set up official visits to East Lansing, MI (May 31) and Lawrence, KS (June 7).
Fitzgibbon (6-4, 280) will officially visit the Hawkeyes.
“We are setting up a date,” he said.
Bell has played a big role in putting the Hawkeyes in good position with Fitzgibbon.
“I have been connecting with Coach Bell for some time. He’s been honest in how he handles his recruiting process and the value an offer holds from Iowa due to only a handful being extended to his players,” he said.
“When I visited, coach Bell spent a few hours with me and my family, so I really had a great grasp of who he is as a person and coach after that.”
Fitzgibbon looks forward to his Iowa official visit. He hopes to get a feel for how he’d fit in with the program.
“I want to spend time with the players and learn more about their culture. I also want to hear more about how they plan on developing me specifically. Academics are important to me, so I’m looking forward to talking with them about their resources for student-athletes,” he said.
Fortunately for Fitzgibbon, he has an inside source with the Hawkeyes. Second-year cornerback John Nestor is a former high school teammate.
“I played my sophomore year on varsity with Johnny his senior year. He’s my guy. He brings fire every second he can and was a great leader for me to look to being an underclassman on varsity,” Fitzgibbon said.
“I’ve talked with him and seen him often since he’s been at Iowa and got to see him practicing this past visit. He has nothing but top notch things to say about the football program, coaches, fans and university. He’s definitely doing his part pulling for Iowa.”
While the Hawkeyes are getting strong consideration, Fitzgibbon is close with staffs at other schools. He thinks enough of Michigan State and Kansas to set up official visits.
“I have truly met some of the most awesome guys in this recruiting process and built really strong relationships beyond just talking football, so it is going to be really tough. But reality is that I can only go to one school, and I have to think of where I can see myself the most and who I trust the most to develop me into the best football player and person I can be,” he said.
The 247Sports Composite ranking has Fitzgibbon as a three-star prospect, the No. 80 DL nationally in ’25 and the 23rd best player overall in Illinois for the cycle. The On3 Industry Ranking also sees him as a three-star recruit. That site puts him No. 74 on the D-Line and 22nd in his state.
Fitzgibbon shines during his junior highlight video. He consistently pushes the pocket with his head up and eyes on the target before disengaging and making the stop.
Ben Kueter won a world championship his senior year at Iowa City High.
University of Iowa wrestling’s heavyweight, and dual-sport athlete, has earned a chance for another.
Kueter posted a 5-0 record, sweeping a best-of-3 series with Virginia Tech’s Jimmie Mullen to win the 125-kilogram men’s freestyle title at USA Wrestling’s U20 World Team Trials on Saturday at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy won the U23 79-kilogram freestyle title, while former Iowa City West prep Hunter Garvin and University of Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker made the Greco-Roman U23 national team.
Kueter earned 5-4 and 5-3 victories to secure a spot to compete in the age-level World Championships sept. 2-8 at Pontevedra, Spain.
“I was joking with my coach,” Kueter said in a post-match interview with USA Wrestling. “I don’t remember the last time I wrestled five matches in a day. It’s funny. (Iowa assistant coach Ryan) Morningstar, he coaches us in Junior Duals. I think that was the last time I wrestled five matches in a day. It’s a good three years ago.”
Kueter, who was 3-1 for the Hawkeyes in his redshirt season, opened with a 10-0 technical superiority over Indiana’s Connor Barket and outscored his first three foes by a combined, 29-9. He beat Mullen in the first two bouts, avoiding a winner-take-all finale.
“It felt good,” Kueter said. “I think my first match was my slowest and sluggish. After that I just kept getting better. My composure was better.”
Kueter also plays linebacker for Iowa football. The World Championships conflicts with the Iowa-Iowa State football game on Sept. 7, according to flowrestling.com’s Andy Hamilton. Kueter was able to train and compete at Worlds in 2022 and returned to play for the Little Hawks’ football team. He has hopes it will work with the Hawkeyes but will trust the football and wrestling staffs to make the best decision.
“It might be a little different this year,” Kueter said. “Maybe I can’t go. Just talk to the coaches but the football coaches are all about wrestling and the wrestling coaches are all for football.
“At the end of the day, they’re going to make it work. I’m there to compete for the University of Iowa.”
Kennedy went 7-0 to win the 79-kg title. He blanked Cornell University’s Julian Ramirez, of Spartan Combat Regional Training Center, 10-0, in two straight matches of the best-of-3 series.
Kennedy scorched the competition, outscoring his opponents, 75-4, overall. He said Iowa Coach Tom Brands preaches a lifestyle to help look back and be able to accept with the results. Kennedy was.
“I feel satisfied with how I competed,” Kennedy said. “So, it was good.”
Interestingly, Kennedy wasn’t expecting to compete until a conversation with Iowa NCAA finalist and Hawkeye Wrestling Club member Jacob Warner. Kennedy was considering an international tournament when Warner expressed his regret not getting to compete in a past U23 tournament due to injury.
“That was kind of the turning point,” Kennedy said. “It’s never hard for me to be in the room and be around the guys but sometimes you need expert advice, and Jacob Warner has expert advice.”
Garvin, a three-time state champion and four-time finalist for West and an All-American for Stanford in March, won Greco-Roman and Freestyle titles. He earned the 77-kg spot on the U.S. National Team, competing at the U23 Pan American Championships on June 21-22 in Colombia.
Garvin swept Brendon Abdon, of Arkansas RTC, recording a pin in the first match and ending it with an 8-4 decision.
“I love it,” said Garvin, who added a freestyle national crown. “I’m out there having fun. I’m having a blast. I love that I’m just trying to put on a show for people, my teammates, friends, loved ones or whoever just watching.”
Garvin was joined by Voelker, a former West Delaware two-time state champion, who competed at the U20 World Championships in 2023. Voelker beat New York Athletic Club’s Michael Altomer, 7-5 and 8-0, for the 97-kg spot.
UNI’s Cory Land and John Gunderson and Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson won age-level titles. Johnson claimed the U23 70-kg championship in freestyle.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com
What the Supreme Court did NOT do was find that we broke the law. But that’s what the GOP put into a news release, which they waved in front of the media while screaming. The media fell for it.
Twice in the past four years, the Democratic National Committee has asked my office to turn over allegations of wrongdoing by Iowa’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds. Guess what: We didn’t give them a dang thing.
Why? Because Iowa law requires the Auditor’s Office to “keep confidential” allegations of misconduct and information received in the course of an audit. That information is protected, regardless of whether the person requesting it wants to attack the alleged wrongdoer or the tipster letting us know where to point our flashlights.
The people who passed this law thought confidentiality was so important there’s a section in the Iowa Code that says people working in the Auditor’s Office can be fired for breaching it. Those tipsters, some of them scared to speak out against powerful interests, need to know we will protect their identity so they can offer information without fear of retribution.
So, you might understand the frustration I felt when the Auditor’s Office was sued for trying to follow our obligation not to turn over confidential records, which might make future whistleblowers think we’d sell them out. The lawsuit stemmed from an open records request, made by the same conservative who claimed when I ran in 2018 that, if elected, I must legally be impeached, period. We responded the same way we do for everyone asking for open records: We turned over what we could, and withheld records protected by the law.
The first judge to hear the case ruled we followed the law. On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court ordered a “re-do,” ruling it didn’t have enough evidence to make a decision, sending the case back to the lower court for more proceedings. What the Supreme Court did NOT do, was find that we broke the law. But that’s exactly what the GOP put into a news release, which they waved in front of the media while screaming. The media fell for it. We appreciate the corrections issued by two Iowa media entities, but in this day and age, complete lies can travel around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.
There’s one other aspect to the suit — whether or not we should have turned over an email sent from a private account, about entirely public information, that was already public and already in the hands of the person who filed the lawsuit. You might think that’s a silly reason to file a lawsuit — to get a copy of something already in your possession — but some lawsuits are all about politics.
So, we’ll make our case soon in another courtroom as to why we were legally required to withhold those records, both the emails from our office and the allegations about the governor. I’ll also keep fighting to protect whistleblowers. And, because truth doesn’t mind being questioned, I’ll be at a town hall in your community in the coming months. The dates, times, and locations of all 100 are already posted on our website. Come on out to compliment me, criticize me, or provide a confidential tip. If you’ve read this far, you know you can trust us to keep it confidential.
Rob Sand is Iowa’s auditor of state.
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