Former Hawkeye Brandon Wegher signs with NFL team

Brandon Wegher, the well-traveled former Iowa Hawkeye who became an NAIA record-holder, has gotten a chance to continue his football career in the NFL.

The Sioux City native tweeted Monday that he had signed a free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers.

As with most undrafted free agents, Wegher will have an uphill path to actually making an NFL roster or practice squad. But at least he's got his foot in the door. His journeyman career began with instant fame at Iowa in 2009. He scored eight touchdowns during that magical 11-2 season and rushed for 113 yards and a score in the Hawkeyes' 24-14 Orange Bowl victory — Kirk Ferentz's sole BCS bowl win in his 16 years.

But Wegher left the Hawkeyes for personal reasons and encountered legal troubles, too. He eventually stuck at Morningside College in his native Sioux City, where last season he set an NAIA season record with 2,610 yards.

Wegher participated in Pro Day at Iowa State in late March. He measured 5-foot-10, 213 pounds and ran 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He declined then to revisit his departure from Iowa.

"It's personal still," he told The Register. "I was in a low place, and I needed to make some changes in my life."

Another Iowan who participated in Iowa State's Pro Day also landed in an NFL camp. Maquoketa native Tyler Rutenbeck of the University of Dubuque has signed with the Washington Redskins — the same team that drafted Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff No. 5 overall. Rutenbeck measures 6-2, 186 and ran 4.45 in the 40.