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Iowa losing AJ Epenesa to the 2020 NFL Draft

For the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, Tuesday morning brought an expected personnel loss.

In a statement, AJ Epenesa confirmed that, “after long discussion with my parents and loved ones, I have decided to follow another childhood dream and enter the 2020 NFL Draft.” The defensive end is widely viewed by most draftniks as a Top-20 talent.

“Over the last three years, I have had the amazing opportunity to play for the University of Iowa,” the Iowa Hawkeyes football player wrote. “I got to live my childhood dream and represent the black and gold. ...

“My time at Iowa has been everything I have dreamt it would be. I couldn’t be more grateful and proud to have been given the opportunity to be a part of The Swarm and play in Kinnick Stadium in front of 70,000 Hawk fans! I will never forget the many great memories that have come from Iowa!”

Epenesa will finish his collegiate career with 26½ sacks. Nearly a dozen of those sacks came in 2019, with seven of those coming in the final four games.

Each of the past two seasons, the Illinois native was named first-team All-Big Ten. In 2017, he was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team.