Xavier Nwankpa
Xavier Nwankpa is an American college football safety for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Nwankpa attended Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. During his high school career he had 16 interceptions. He was selected to play in the 2022 All-American Bowl. A five-star recruit, Nwankpa committed to the University of Iowa to play college football. He was the highest rated recruit to ever commit to Iowa.
College career
Nwankpa played in 12 games his true freshman year at Iowa in 2022 and made his first career start in the 2022 Music City Bowl, where he had an interception returned for a touchdown. He finished the season with 12 tackles. He returned to Iowa as a starter his sophomore year in 2023, making 12 starts, recording 42 tackles, one sack, and one interception. Nwankpa started 10 games as a junior in 2024, recording 41 tackles. During his senior season in 2025, Nwankpa moved to free safety and established a career high in tackles. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after the win over Penn State and, after the regular season, named third-team All-Big Ten by conference coaches.