Ex-ISU QB in betting probe enrolls at JUCO
- Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Citizen WriterApr 18, 2024, 04:14 PM ET Close College football press reporter.
- Signed up with ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.Former Iowa State starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who had his staying NCAA eligibility revoked after being charged in the state’s investigation into sports wagering among college professional athletes, has actually registered at Iowa Western Community College.Dekkers, who began for ISU during the 2022 season, was among a group of athletes from ISU
and Iowa who pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of underage betting in September. As part of their plea deal, they received a fine and no other penalties. The group initially dealt with an intensified misdemeanor charge of damaging records that carried an optimum charge of 2 years in prison.Editor’s Picks< img src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2022/0502/r1007564_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center "width="65
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1 Related Dekkers left Iowa State after being charged in August, while continuing to take online classes from home. He informed ESPN that the NCAA rejected his final years of eligibility since of a single $15 bet put on Iowa State football in 2021– a game in which he played as the backup quarterback– that was linked to his account. Dekkers appealed the NCAA’s initial choice and got the last judgment in late February. He is on track to graduate from Iowa State in May.Iowa Western is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and won its third national title in 2023. An Iowa Western spokesman verified that Dekkers is registered and eligible.
“I chose that going to JUCO was the best route in order to continue to play football and try to get to the next level,” Dekkers informed ESPN. “I’ve devoted and worked my entire life for this sport and my dream. I can’t let one error specify my whole entire career. That’s not who I am. I can’t give up because something gets hard.”
Dekkers had 3,044 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions for Iowa State in 2022. The Hawarden, Iowa, native trained in neighboring Sioux Falls during the fall before heading to Iowa Western in March.
“To understand that I’m able to be around a group of guys once again, collaborate with a group of guys once again and play football again, it’s truthfully been a breath of fresh air,” Dekkers said. “In this circumstance, it would have been really easy to just stop and never play again, and just leave. But for myself, I just could not do it. I’ve worked too difficult for everything and I will continue to work every single day for my dreams.”