Iowa football: Three players who stood out in the win over Iowa State

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 08: Runningback Sheldon Croney #25 of the Iowa State Cyclones is brought down during the first half by defensive back Michael Ojemudia #11 of the Iowa Hawkeyes on September 8, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Michael Ojemudia

Personally, I am impressed with how well the Iowa secondary has performed, and this award could have gone to three different secondary players with how well everyone performed yesterday. The standout though was Michael Ojemudia.

Is he the next great corner in Iowa’s defense? Last year it was Josh Jackson, the year before it was Desmond King. Based on two games this season, it sure seems like it. Others agreed.

Michael Ojemudia has had a fantastic game. Imagine that, a fourth-year junior CB at Iowa coming into his own as a first-time season starter?
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) September 9, 2018

Often times, it’s easy to just rely on interceptions as a metric for quantifying the talent of a corner. In Ojemudia’s case, interceptions don’t tell the full story. What truly impressed me was his glue-like coverage on Iowa State and his willingness to participate in run defense. Multiple times, Ojemudia came up with big stops in the open field.

Twice, he brought down First-Team Big 12 half back David Montgomery in the open field in the first quarter, which is no easy feat for anyone let alone a corner. Furthermore, he had a huge pass breakup in the fourth quarter with 4:47 remaining on the clock against ISU’s top returning wide receiver Hakeem Butler.

On the day, Ojemudia would finish with six total tackles and one pass defended.

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