How ANF Honoree Brandon Myers Went From Grainfield to Gridiron

PHOTO: CONRAD SCHMIDT Former Hawkeye and NFL tight end Brandon Myers, pictured here at his former high school, Prairie City-Monroe, credits his farming background for his success in football.

Growing up close to his grandparents’ farm near Prairie City, Iowa—population 1,700—Brandon Myers loved spending fall weekends working in the fields.

“I drove the grain cart and listened to Jim Zabel (44BA) call Hawkeye football games,” says Myers. “I remember a lot of Tim Dwight (99BS) and Tavian Banks (97BS) touchdowns. I always thought it would be cool to run out of the tunnel at Kinnick Stadium.”

Myers later became a four-year letter winner at tight end and led the Hawkeyes to three bowl game wins. He says his farming background helped him develop the determination to succeed on the field.

“Farmers know that no matter how they’re feeling, they have to go do their job because people are depending on them,” says Myers, who spent eight seasons in the NFL and now owns a window cleaning business in Peoria, Arizona. “It’s the same with football. You’re not always going to feel great or have the energy, but you have teammates depending on you.”

The University of Iowa Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Iowa Farm Bureau recently selected Myers as the 12^th Hawkeye to be added to Kinnick Stadium’s America Needs Farmers Wall of Honor, which recognizes Hawkeyes who embody the tenacity, work ethic, and character of Iowa farmers. He was honored Oct. 12 during Iowa’s annual ANF football game.

“It’s very humbling to be recognized,” says Myers, who joins a distinguished list of past recipients that includes Robert Gallery (03BA) and Dallas Clark (07BA). “It’s a big deal for me—especially when I think about where I came from and my upbringing in rural Iowa. To follow some of the guys who have come before me, I’m honored.”

Watch a video on Myers’ farming background.