Ben Kueter’s football career is back on hold. 

Iowa’s two-sport, All-American heavyweight is reportedly set to undergo hip surgery Friday that will sideline him for the football season. Kueter is expected to make a full recovery in time to wrestle again for the Hawkeyes next winter. The news was first reported Thursday night by the Des Moines Register.

Kueter’s mother, Tina, shared details of her son’s condition Thursday night on Facebook. 

“He was having hip issues this fall that were thought would go away,” she wrote. “Turns out, it didn’t go away. He is having an arthroscopy with a hip repair. The recovery is extensive but sounds like he will be brand new and feel so much better! Flexibility and range of motion will be back to normal!”

Kueter entered college with aspirations of juggling two of the sports he starred in at Iowa City High School. On the mat, he won a 2022 U20 World title and became the seventh wrestler in Iowa history to go through high school undefeated. As a football player, he was a four-star linebacker prospect who picked up scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota and Missouri. 

Days after he won the U23 World Team Trials — and weeks after Iowa’s top three linebackers elected to utilize their final of year of eligibility with the Hawkeyes — Kueter opted to go all in on wrestling during his second year on campus. 

He claimed a silver medal at the U23 World Championships in September and compiled a 21-9 record on his way to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships as a redshirt freshman. All nine of his defeats came against seniors.  

Kueter had yet to make his way to the podium in Philadelphia when he expressed his plan to return to the Iowa football program this fall. 

"College wrestling is a grind and I freaking love it!! All American… back to football," he wrote in a post on X.

Gods plan❤️🐤 https://t.co/OV2XheqIjU

— Ben kueter (@Benkueter1) April 4, 2025