The Robert Morris transfer defensive back enters his first season as a Hawkeye.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
Since May 28, we've been counting down the final 100 days until the Hawkeyes swarm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
Each day of the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number.
Loyal readers of the countdown already know this, but in case you're new, here's how this works: if a player wears No. 21 and we're 21 days from kickoff, that's the player that will appear on the day's countdown piece.
We've had to mix things up in the past due to Iowa not issuing a jersey number for every day in the countdown, but we've been on course for the most part.
Today marks 18 days until the season opener, so that means it's time to take a look at the player who wears No. 18 - defensive back Xavier Styles.
Get to know him here.
Bio
Hometown: Lakewood, Ohio
High School: St. Edward High School
Year: Third-Year
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 207 pounds
Other notable players to wear No. 18: We only have to go back one season to find a pretty good Hawkeye who wore No. 18. That former Iowa player is Drew Stevens, who was a four-year starting placekicker for the Hawkeyes and surpassed Nate Kaeding for the most field goals in Iowa history (76).
Styles' Career So Far
Styles grew up in the Cleveland suburbs in a town called Lakeland, where he played his high school ball for the St. Edward Eagles. Styles was lightly recruited out of high school, so he decided to make the short trip east to the Pittsburgh area to begin his career at Robert Morris.
The 6-foot-1 Styles played in just two games during his freshman season, but his playing time took a sharp uptick in 2025. He tallied 36 tackles, two forced fumbles, six pass break-ups, and one interception during the Colonials disappointing 3-9 campaign, earning third-team All-Northeast Conference as a result of his stellar performance.
Ranked as a three-star transfer portal prospect by 247Sports, Styles announced he would become a Hawkeye on Jan. 11, joining Villanova safety Anthony Hawkins as a fellow FCS transfer in Iowa's secondary.
The Hawkeyes' secondary is wide-open in 2026, but defensive coordinator Phil Parker does have plenty of options at his disposal. Returning starters Zach Lutmer and Deshaun Lee are sure to find roles on the defense again, but outside of that, there's a lot of spots up for grabs.
Styles will certainly get his chance to prove that he can at least be a rotation player in the secondary this year, so it will be interesting to see what Iowa comes up with on opening day.
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This is easily the biggest giveaway we've ever done on this site, and it's a great opportunity for two lucky fans to experience the joy of attending a Hawkeye football game at Kinnick Stadium.
Click here to automatically become a member to enter the contest! Additional contest details can be found in our community section, too!
HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
