Parker Hesse
Hesse has been receiving a lot of praise from this year, and for good reason. His constant motor and stout run defense have been instrumental for the Iowa football team. He’s a big reason the Hawks are top ten in most defensive categories. Similar to Hooker, Hesse’s stellar play continued versus Maryland.
One of our keys to Iowa coming away victorious was being able to stop the run successfully. As you saw on Saturday, Maryland runs a relatively unique offense predicated on motions and deception. For a defense, it’s incredibly important to remain in your assignment and not let the opposing team break containment. It requires a high football IQ, which bodes very well for the high-motor Hesse.
On multiple occasions, Hesse read the play correctly and stopped the play before yards were gained. Early in the second quarter, on the first play of the second quarter to be exact, Hesse quickly analyzed the situation and took down the Maryland back seven yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Again..Parker Hesse...the QB and contain was his key...he shut that down, and makes the tackle on the shovel pass...that is just high end play
— Hawkeye Nation (@hawkeyenation) October 20, 2018
Hesse finished this day second on the team with five tackles and first on the team with two tackles for loss. He also added a critical sack on third down in the third quarter forcing a Maryland punt.
Parker Hesse with a another tackle for loss, a sack, on third down. Maryland forced to punt into the wind with one second remaining in the third period. #Hawkeyes
— HawkeyeFBNotes (@HawkeyeFBNotes) October 20, 2018
His performance had Iowa football fans talking everywhere.
Parker Hesse pound for pound best DL in country
— Caleb Hamer (@HawkeyeHamer) October 20, 2018
#HawkeyeFootball Parker Hesse might be the most underrated defensive player in the #bigten.
— Rod Knudsen (@KnudsenRod) October 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/MamaLava6/status/1053714677203722240
As expected when the Iowa football defense pitches a shutout against a strong running team like Maryland on a day that featured less than ideal conditions, we had three defensive or special teams guys.
Now the Hawks set their sights on a huge Big Ten matchup against #16 Penn State.