Edited release
12/24/22
Iowa senior quarterback Spencer Petras was announced as the second winner of the Duke Slater Golden Gavel Award, which was voted upon by a group of Iowa media members who cover the program on a regular basis.
In a release from Iowa Athletics, Petras received 88 percent of the votes by local media. During a team meeting Friday morning, Petras was presented with an engraved gavel by Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.
By description, “The Golden Gavel will go to the Iowa football player, who not only is most cooperative with local media, but exhibits themself with professional integrity in all interactions.”
Dochterman said that few athletes have handled themselves with more professionalism in the face of adversity than Spencer Petras. He was roundly criticized for his team’s lack of offense early in the season, but patiently and maturely answered all the media’s questions.
The award is named after Duke Slater, who was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame and a 2021 inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Safety Kaevon Merriweather was the inaugural winner in 2021.