Iowa football star welcomed birth of baby boy before Nebraska win

For the Iowa Hawkeyes, winning the final regular-season game against the rival Nebraska Cornhuskers is always special. This year, it had even more added meaning for one of the Hawkeyes' leaders.

Aaron Graves, one of the stars of Iowa's elite defense, mans the interior of the defensive line and has been a staple of success for the Hawkeyes. This week, he also became a staple of success for the type of man that the Iowa Hawkeyes football program and Kirk Ferentz create.

This week, Aaron Graves became a father. His son was born on Thanksgiving, and Graves chose to play in this game. After the Hawkeyes' win, Graves gave an emotional and special response to what it meant to him to play today, with now having a newborn son.

"How much I love him, and I told Aubrey when I left, 'I'm not leaving you here in the hospital to lose, so we better win this freaking game.' I told the defensive line, too, before the first drive started, I was like, 'Guys, I did not leave my baby in the hospital to lose this game, so we better come out firing on all cylinders,'" Graves said postgame.

"We played really hard today, and I'm proud of this team and how we played this whole season and this game and close it out. The way we came out in that second half, too, was really fun. Fun to be a part of this group the whole year," Graves continued.

Aaron Graves has been elite for the Hawkeyes this year on the defensive line. Starting all 12 games, he has tallied 36 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and broken up 2 passes.

While at Iowa, Graves has played four seasons, registering 121 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, an interception, and 6 pass deflections, during his outstanding career.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football star welcomed birth of baby boy before Nebraska win