BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — University of Iowa senior quarterback Nate Stanley was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. Stanley was the 244th player picked overall. Junior defensive back Geno Stone was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the seventh round of Saturday’s NFL Draft. Stone was the 219th player picked overall.
Stanley is the third quarterback selected in the Kirk Ferentz era, joining Ricky Stanzi (2011) and C.J. Beathard (2017).
Stanley earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from league coaches after leading the Hawkeyes to a 10-3 overall record. Stanley started all 39 games over the past three seasons, posting a 27-12 record. He is the second Iowa quarterback to win three bowl games. Stanley was named a Permanent Team Captain on offense, becoming just the second Hawkeye ever to be a three-year team captain.
Stanley was named Most Valuable Player for offense and earned the Hayden Fry Award for offense. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for three straight years and was recognized with the Big Ten Conference Sportsmanship Award.
Stanley is a native of Menomonie, Wisconsin. He ranks second in career passing yardage (8,302), completions (673), attempts (1,155), and touchdowns (68), and is third in total offense (8,198). As a senior he completed 237-399 attempts for 2,951 yards and 16 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
The Vikings went 10-6 during the 2019 regular season to earn a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Minnesota knocked off New Orleans in the Wild Card game before falling in the Divisional Round to the San Francisco 49ers. The Vikings had the 16th ranked offense, averaging 353.5 yards per game, and Minnesota ranked eighth in scoring, averaging 25.4 points under quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Stanley joins former Hawkeyes Riley Reiff and Jaleel Johnson on the Vikings’ roster.
Iowa football has had a defensive back selected in four consecutive drafts, including Desmond King (San Diego) in 2017, Josh Jackson (Green Bay) in 2018, Amani Hooker (Tennessee) in 2019, and Michael Ojemudia (Denver) in the third round this season. Stone is the 16th defensive back selected in the Kirk Ferentz era.
Stone was named second-team All-Big Ten by league coaches and the Associated Press and was honorable mention by conference media. Stone was named a Permanent Team Captain on defense and was recognized with the Hayden Fry Award for defense.
Stone is a native of New Castle, Pennsylvania. He started all 13 games in 2019 and had 21 career starts. He ranked third on the team with 70 tackles, including three tackles for loss. Stone was second on the team with three forced fumbles and had four pass break-ups and one recovered fumble.
Baltimore was 14-2 overall in 2019 and it won the AFC North Division. The Ravens had the NFL’s second-ranked defense, allowing 300.6 yards per game and Baltimore had the third-best scoring defense, surrendering 17.6 points per game.
Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978, including 10 first round selections. Stanley is the 75th player coached by Ferentz at the University of Iowa to be selected in the NFL Draft.
