‘Everybody loved Cody’ as staff, players cope with loss of former teammate

IOWA CITY — Joe Evans heard some news that “hit me hard” on Sunday. It was news no one would want to hear, especially about a 23-year-old former teammate.

Cody Ince, an Iowa offensive lineman from 2018-21, died the day before.

Evans’ first emotion was “shock.”

“My next thought was just thinking about all the memories that I had with him,” Evans said Tuesday.

Evans is certainly not the only one on Evashevski Drive with that sentiment.

“Everybody loved Cody,” center Logan Jones said. “That says a lot about him.”

Head coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement he and his wife Mary are “heartbroken” over Ince’s sudden death.

“Cody was a tremendous young man, valued teammate, and contributor to our program,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement. “He loved football, fishing and hunting, and believed in the importance of family and friendships.”

Evans arrived at Iowa as part of the same recruiting class as Ince in 2018. In Ince’s four years as a Hawkeye, he was “someone you always wanted to be around.”

“He invited me over to his place to have brisket,” Evans said. “Best brisket I’ve ever had. He was a great cook.”

Jones was still on the defensive line when Ince was on the team, but in their limited interactions together, Jones could “see how much playing here meant to him” and “how humble the guy is.”

Former teammates have chimed in as well.

“You showed me what true leadership looks like and how to be a great teammate,” former Iowa wide receiver Arland Bruce IV said in a tweet.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. commented on the online obituary’s “tribute wall,” saying Ince was “not only a great teammate, but an amazing person!”

“Always smiling and cracking jokes, but he took his job on the field personally, and I loved that about him,” Tracy wrote. “He used to always bring in deer jerky or sunflower seeds, and he made sure I got some every time. It’s the little things that I will remember!”

Some of Ince’s former teammates will help send him off at his celebration-of-life ceremony Saturday in Amery, Wis. Jack Heflin, Landan Paulsen and Levi Paulsen are among the honorary pallbearers, according to the obituary.

“One of the best guys to ever be around, and I’m really going to miss him,” Evans said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com