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Iowa football: Hawkeye superlatives for the 2019 season

By Andrew Wade

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) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 13: Tyler Fryfogle #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the ball while defended byGeno Stone #9 of the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 13: Tyler Fryfogle #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers runs with the ball while defended byGeno Stone #9 of the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Rising star: Geno Stone

My selection for rising star shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read my articles in the last few months. Anytime I mention Geno Stone it’s usually quickly followed by words describing how talented he is.

I also write this often, but people keep forgetting that it wasn’t just Amani Hooker’s unique skill set that allowed the Iowa football team to move to a more modern 4-2-5 defense, it was also the emergence of Stone as a defensive weapon.

Moreover, when people talk about Stone, they talk about his team-leading interceptions, which to be fair, were great, but he’s not just a ball-hawk, he’s an elite coverage safety who can also play in the box if needed.

Last season, he forced the highest incompletion percentage of any returning Big Ten safety, and it wasn’t even close and he allowed just a 58.3 quarterback rating, which is absurdly low.

The only thing that could impact his emergence is that instead of being the third guy in the safety group, he is the guy in the safety group. He is the leader, and defenses will be game planning for him, not fourth-round draft pick Amani Hooker.

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