The Iowa football program is off to a 3-0 start and although the offense has struggled at times, there has been a bright spot at half back, Mekhi Sargent.
Mekhi Sargent is one of the newest members of the Iowa football program, having transferred from junior college Iowa Western Community College. The former Reiver had and outstanding 2017 season at Iowa Western, leading the team in rushing and garnering First Team All-American honors. Despite his success, he remained largely under-recruited by big schools before Iowa came along.
Even after signing to play with Iowa, Sargent was never thought to really be in the battle for the starting running back spot after Akrum Wadley left. Most outsiders felt it was likely to be Toren Young or Ivory Kelly-Martin, or a little bit of both like the LeShun Daniels/Akrum Wadley years.
Injuries and productivity have played it’s part, but so far through three games, Sargent is making his case to be an integral part of this running back group, even when Kelly-Martin returns. Against Northern Iowa, Sargent had arguably his best game yet in a Hawkeye uniform.
He received 15 carries and turned that into 72 yards and two touchdowns in addition to catching one pass for 48 yards. Through three games, Sargent leads the team in rushing touchdowns.
This is all old news to Kirk:
"I’ve kind of been saying over the last couple weeks that we have seen him during camp really start to get warmed up, now it’s good to see that go to Kinnick. But I thought he really played well tonight and he’s a really tough, he’s kind of a deceptive guy, he’s a little tougher than you might give him credit for. He breaks tackles and if you don’t get him down, he’ll keep going."
Although the true sophomore has only been with the program for a few months, Kirk is thoroughly impressed with not Mekhi Sargent the player, but Mekhi Sargent the person.
"I can’t say enough about him. Every time you talk to him, first of all, he’s a great young guy, he’s just got a really humble approach, he’s got a real appreciation for being here, and he’s a good football player on top of it. He’s an outstanding teammate, I think he’s got a chance to be a really good football player here before he leaves here and, boy, that’s exciting for us."
That is high praise for Sargent, and should be really exciting for the Iowa football program. The three lead guys at this point are all sophomores, and all add value in different facets of the rushing attack. As Kelly-Martin returns, it will be interesting how offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz disperses the limited number of carries to the three young talented backs.
Have too much talent at the running back position is a good problem, and I’m excited to see how Sargent fits into it.