Hawkeye Football Countdown: #70 Beau Stephens

Welcome to the official countdown to kickoff! Each day through September 4th we’re highlighting a member of the Iowa football team whose number corresponds with the number of days remaining until football returns to Kinnick Stadium. You can find each of the previous players highlighted in the Countdown to Kickoff stream here. You can also find the full Iowa roster here.

Beyond our actual countdown, we’re also filling in the players we’ve missed. For the most part, those are players who have been added to the roster after we’ve gotten past their number on the countdown.

Up next is #70, offensive lineman Beau Stephens!

Our countdown continues with a big ol’ hoss from Missouri (pronounce it as Mizz-urr-uh) to get a little more of that twang in there.

Beau Stephens - Freshman

Blue Springs, MO (Blue Springs HS)

6’6”, 300 lbs

2021 Projection: Backup Offensive Line/Redshirt

Iowa appears to have gotten a good one when they signed Beau Stephens. He hails from the same high school as current Hawkeye running back coach Ladell Betts. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or if I’m Hawkeye nerd of the month but I immediately recalled which former Hawkeye played his prep ball at Blue Springs when I sat down to write this. We do take our Hawkeye football kinda seriously.

Stephens was born to play football. He was a five-time letterman in football in high school. That’s saying something in any sport; football more than others as an 8th grader running around with seniors is a drastic difference in size and knowledge of the game. Stephens was also a three-time captain. Finally, he wouldn’t be a Hawkeye lineman if he didn’t play multiple sports in high school. Stephens played both basketball and wrestled in high school.

Looking at his HUDL a few things stand out. First of all, he likes contact. A lot. He doesn’t just hit people, he has the mentality that he is going to go through people. Second, he moves quite well for a big dude. He was terrific on both sides of the ball in high school and his highlight tape is fun to watch.

A few other interesting things about Stephens. He loves to fish. He also appears to be an aspiring cook/chef. He seems like he will be the type of kid who comes in, works hard, and wins over his teammates and coaches. It will be fun to watch his development over the years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sneaking into the two-deeps at some point sooner rather than later. Iowa has a terrific track record of developing offensive linemen. Stephens already has the size and mentality to see the field. Once he gets his technique up to Iowa’s standards, he will help the squad. Go Hawks!