Patrick Kennedy had no thoughts of leaving Iowa.

Not even for a guaranteed lineup spot somewhere else.

Not even for NIL money.

Being with the Hawkeyes, Kennedy said on Tuesday, was all that matters.

“I love it here, and this is a place that I believe is the best fit for me,” Kennedy said. “And it makes no sense in my head to go somewhere and hate it, but get paid (and) you just hate being there. I love being here.”

Kennedy, a senior, could get his chance at 174 pounds for the second-ranked Hawkeyes in Friday’s dual at Bellarmine. He is listed as one of the two choices in the weight class, along with eighth-ranked Nelson Brands.

It is a traffic jam of talent at the upper weights in the Hawkeyes’ lineup, and Kennedy’s resumé is as impressive as the others. He has been a qualifier for the NCAA Championships the last two seasons, and is coming off a summer in which he was a U23 national champion at the U.S. World Team Trials.

Kennedy was comfortable with returning to the Hawkeyes.

“I think a lot of people nowadays, they chase the money, they chase getting a bag, and things like that,” Kennedy said. “But for me, I love it here, and I love the people around here when we're not wrestling — we're out cutting wood, or bow fishing with your teammates.

“And, you know, I grew up not with a lot of money, and so it's like, if I finish wrestling, I go put my work boots on. That's my life. So what? Like, I don't care, because I love being here. It was my choice. And, you know, it's how the world works sometimes, and but you can't freaking cry and be a baby about it. You put your boots on and go to work.”

Iowa coach Tom Brands said Kennedy is like a “player-coach” with the team.

“He is a guy that does it right,” Brands said. “His lifestyle is intact, and he knows

where the improvements have to come, and he addresses them every day. He's the epitome of what you want out of a stable mate. He's loyal, he's driven. He sticks up for his teammates. He holds them accountable.”

“It's just when we all have the same goal in mind, you kind of have to lift each other up and lift yourself up,” Kennedy said. “And so you see something that doesn't maybe sit well with you, you say it, or you really try to lead by example. There's a standard of the program, of yourself, and you don't let that thing slip at all.”

Kennedy said when he gets his chance, he knows how he wants his wrestling to look, taking his cue from something television analyst Shane Sparks said. 

“He said you want to see the scoreboard exhausted and tired,” Kennedy said. “That's kind of a good saying. I like that. And so that's kind of how I wanted to be.”

How The Bellarmine Dual Came Together 

It’s the first time Iowa and Bellarmine, which has completed its transition to NCAA Division I competition, have met.

Bellarmine coach Ned Shuck wrestled at Iowa from 2000-05.

Brands, who was an assistant at Iowa when Shuck wrestled there, described him as a “detail guy.

“Hard worker, do it the right way, attitude, hustle, those types of things,” Brands said.

It is a big moment for Bellarmine’s program to get the Hawkeyes to come there. It’s Iowa’s first dual in Kentucky since 1977.

“Here's the thing, when removed from the position that I'm in, there probably is a role to promote the sport,” Brands said. “But the best way that you can promote the sport as a competitor, whether you're a coach or an athlete and even a donor or a supporter or a fan, is you want your team to put on an incredible display of wrestling, and that means that there is carnage left when you're done. And that's what we’ve got to focus on. We’ve got to focus on that type of entertainment, that type of wrestling, scoring points, putting points on the board, building leads, doing it the right way. And I think then the promotion takes care of it.”

Petersen’s Opportunity 

Kale Petersen was in Iowa’s lineup at 125 against Stanford last Saturday. It would have been the first dual competition for the redshirt freshmen.

He won by forfeit.

Just preparing for a match, though, was good experience for him

“Definitely kind of disappointing that I didn't get to wrestle,” Petersen said. “But also a good thing, kind of getting that routine in check, getting down to weight. I've been down to weight a handful of times now. So yeah, I mean, I would say both good and bad, but you’ve got to take it and work with it.”

Petersen said he found out he wasn’t going to get to wrestle during weigh-ins.

“They didn't have a 125-pounder,” Petersen said. “So I was like, ‘All right. Sweet.’”

Petersen and Joey Cruz are listed as the two options at the weight for Friday’s dual.