Xavier Nwankpa

Xavier Nwankpa attended Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa and had a very successful high school career playing football, baseball and track and field. In his football career he had 16 interceptions and was selected to play in the 2022 All-American Bowl. Nwankpa was a five-star recruit and became the highest rated recruit to ever commit to the University of Iowa. As a true freshman in 2022, Nwankpa played in all 13 games and made his first career start in the 2022 Music City Bowl, where he had an intereption and returned it for a touchdown. In 2023 as a sophomore, he played in all 14 games with 12 starts at strong safety and recorded 42 tackles, one sack and one interception. Nwankpa entered 2024 as a third-team All-Big Ten selection.