Finishing their 2020 regular season at 6-2, the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes were slated to face the Southeastern Conference’s Missouri Tigers in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, but the game was canceled after the Tigers experienced a reported rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

On Monday, the Hawkeyes added an in-state graduate transfer from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) ranks, as Northern Iowa Panthers safety Xavior Williams announced he will join the program, choosing Iowa over the Big 12’s Kansas State Wildcats and Atlantic Coast Conference’s (ACC) North Carolina State Wolfpack.

A product of Notre Dame High School in Burlington, Iowa, Williams, who plans to enroll in January, brings plenty of experience to the Hawkeyes’ secondary as the 2021 season will be his sixth year of eligibility.

In 2019, he played in all 15 games for the Panthers, recording 50 tackles (0.5 for loss), two fumble recoveries, and one interception, helping the program advance to the FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals, where they fell to the James Madison Dukes, 17-0.

Northern Iowa did not play in 2020, with the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) suspending their season due to COVID-19.