83 Days Until Hawkeye Football: Jameson Witte & Alex Eichmann

Our next Hawkeyes are a pair of freshmen who likely need some seasoning before they see the field.

Jameson Witte - RS Freshman

O’Fallon, MO (St. Dominic)

6’5”, 265 lbs

2022 Projection: Reserve defensive lineman

Witte accepted a preferred walk-on opportunity for Iowa in 2020 after playing just two seasons of football throughout his high school career. He accepted the offer over similar opportunities at Oklahoma State and Missouri as well as scholarships at lower levels, according to Rivals.

Many of Witte’s highlights come in stopping the run and shows an ability to shed blocks while maintaining gap integrity. He also displays a quick twitch ability in getting off the line as well as quick hands in defending passes.

As he mentioned in his interview with Rivals, with just two seasons under his belt, he probably has a higher ceiling than many walk-ons.

In his two years as a Hawkeye, he’s yet to see any game action. The next step for him is finding his way onto the field in blowouts and taking advantage of any opportunity he’s given.

Alex Eichmann - Freshman

Sussex, WI (Hamilton)

6’2”, 190 lbs

2022 Projection: Reserve wide receiver

Eichmann comes to Iowa City as a legacy recruit, whose grandfather captained the 1966 football team. In his interview with Hawkeye Report, Eichmann noted Iowa’s ability to turn walk-ons into contributors, which is certainly true at wideout where guys like Matt Vandeberg, Riley McCarron, and Nick Easley turned non-scholarship offers into big seasons.

He was a first team all-conference selection in high school on both offense and defense as he tallied 14 touchdowns on 47 catches and 897 yards. He added 52 tackles and 2 interceptions on defense.

His highlights show impressive straight-line speed in turning some pretty routine throws into long gains. Considering the depth of the position, there’s certainly an opportunity for him to pass some scholarship players and get onto the field into the coming years.