Iowa football: Hawkeye superlatives for the 2019 season

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 13: Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs with the ball against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 13: Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes runs with the ball against the Indiana Hossiers at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 06: The Iowa Hawkeyes hoist the Floyd of Rosedale trophy after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Iowa defeated Minnesota 48-31. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 06: The Iowa Hawkeyes hoist the Floyd of Rosedale trophy after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the game on October 6, 2018 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Iowa defeated Minnesota 48-31. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Comeback kid: Shaun Beyer

There were really just two candidates for this: Shaun Beyer and Brady Ross.

I chose Beyer for three reasons. First, he is coming back from a season-ending leg injury. Second, the biggest thing he is known for is the punt game mistake against Wisconsin. And third, he’s had quite a journey in his Iowa football career transitioning between wide receiver and tight end and getting stuck behind two first-rounders.

If he wins the number one tight end job (and I believe he will), he will be in line to run away with this superlative in 2019. To this point, he has more tackles and more fumbles caused than catches or yards. Those numbers are 2 and 1 respectively so you can see there isn’t much room to go down.

One of our Dear Old Gold writers Ryan Sikes predicted that Beyer would haul in 31 catches for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns, which compared to last year wouldn’t be great, but compared to a standard year in the Iowa football program for a tight end is pretty solid.

I agree with him, and if he obtains those targets, there’s no question who is the 2019 comeback kid.