Paul Hufford was a football player for the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 from 1982-1984. He was twice named All-Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 and was the first player to win the Big Ten’s Defensive Lineman of the Year

Big Ten Conference football individual honors

Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the Chicago Tribune awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the conference.-Player of the Year:Sanctioned by AP and UPI;...

 award in 1984.

Background

Paul Hufford was born in Keokuk, Iowa

Keokuk, Iowa

Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...

, but he moved to Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon, Iowa

Mount Vernon is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, adjacent to the city of Lisbon. The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of a Cornell...

, before high school. Hufford was a standout athlete at Mount Vernon from 1976-1980. He lettered in four sports and won state championships in wrestling and track. Despite suffering a knee injury his senior year of high school, he earned a scholarship to the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

, where his older brothers, Joe and Mike Hufford, were football letterwinners.

Iowa career

Paul Hufford earned football letters from 1982-1984. As a junior in 1983, he was an all-Big Ten selection at defensive tackle. Paul Hufford served as a captain of the 1984 Hawkeye football team, and Iowa finished with an 8-4-1 record and a victory in the 1984 Freedom Bowl

Freedom Bowl

The Freedom Bowl was an annual post-season college football bowl game played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California, from 1984 to 1994. Beginning with the 1995 season, the Freedom Bowl's WAC tie-ins were merged with that of the Holiday Bowl and the game was dissolved...

. He was an all-Big Ten selection for the second time, and the Big Ten named him the first winner of its Defensive Lineman of the Year

Big Ten Conference football individual honors

Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the Chicago Tribune awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the conference.-Player of the Year:Sanctioned by AP and UPI;...

award after his senior season in 1984.