Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season! 

If you have already been diagnosed with football fever and haven't been reading this countdown, you're missing out. Since May 28, HawkeyeRoundtable.com has been counting down the 100 days until the Hawkeyes storm out of the tunnel to take on Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. 

Each day of the countdown primarily features an article profiling the Iowa player that wears the respective jersey number for that day, and that's exactly what today has brought. 

We've reached the 84-day mark until the 2026 season-opener at Kinnick Stadium, so it's time to take a look at the two members of the Hawkeye football team that wear No. 84 - defensive end Joseph Anderson and wide receiver Apollo Payne. 

Get to know them here: 

Hometown: St Louis, Missouri 

High School: Westminster Christian Academy

Year: Sophomore 

Height: 6-foot-6 

Weight: 241 pounds 

Other notable players to wear No. 84: One of the best players in recent Iowa football history happened to wear No. 84 during his career - tight end Sam LaPorta. LaPorta wrote the next chapter of Iowa's legacy at the tight end position, finishing his career with the most receptions in school history. LaPorta immediately carried his success over to the NFL with the Detroit Lions, earning Pro Bowl honors and guiding Detroit to the NFC Championship Game in his rookie season. 

Hometown: Swisher, Iowa 

High School: Prairie High School 

Year: Redshirt freshman 

Height: 6-foot-3 

Weight: 210 pounds 

Other notable players to wear No. 84: Another notable Hawkeye to wear No. 84 is former wide receiver Nick Easley. Easley only spent two seasons for Iowa after transferring in from Iowa Western Community College, but he immediately became a strong target for quarterback Nate Stanley, recording 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons. 

Both players didn't see much action last season. Payne's first appearance in an Iowa uniform came in the 47-7 rout of Massachusetts in Week 3, while Anderson played in four games and registered his first career tackle in a lopsided win over rival Minnesota in late October. 

Anderson, a four-star prospect out of high school per 247Sports, and Payne, a walk-on, will likely find themselves on the deep end of Iowa's depth chart, but there is an interesting note that Hawkeye fans will like here. Payne's father, O.J., played in six games for Iowa's legendary 2002 team that went 11-1, won the Big Ten title, and narrowly missed out on playing for a BCS national championship. 

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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]