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Week 3 rewind: 3 Iowa Hawkeyes seeing stock rising, falling

Riley Donald
·4 min read
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Saturday night, and eventually into the wee hours of Sunday morning, saw the Iowa Hawkeyes move to 2-1 with a 27-0 shutout of Nevada. In a game that took nearly seven hours from kickoff to the clock hitting zero, the circumstances were some that many players, coaches, or fans have never dealt with before.

That said, there were positives to take away from this game. The Hawkeyes got some things going offensively and were able to string together some drives. Even more promising, the Iowa offense showed some big-play ability, a very welcome sight from an offense that was looking anemic.

The Hawkeyes defense did their thing. Whether it is 7 p.m., 10 p.m , or 1 a.m., the defense is going to be lights out week in and week out. Nevada could not get anything going on a wet field and the Iowa defense didn’t let them sniff an ounce of success.

Let’s get into a handful of Iowa Hawkeyes and some that are seeing their stock take a rise.

Stock Rising: Kaleb Johnson, RB

Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

My, oh, my, welcome to the party, Kaleb Johnson! The freshman running back exploded for 103 yards on just seven carries, adding two touchdowns. The first was a rush of 40 yards and another of 55 yards.

Johnson was a sparkplug in the backfield and showed off explosiveness. His speed and big-play ability should see more time as the season continues.

Stock Falling: Levar Woods' chances of staying at Iowa

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The stock of Levar Woods staying at Iowa is what is falling here. As far as Woods, his own personal stock is increasing. Another week, another A+ special teams performance by the Hawkeyes including perfect field goal execution and multiple punts downed inside the opponent’s 5-yard line.

Levar Woods is an Iowa alum as well as a former linebacker there, but he deserves and will likely get a chance somewhere else. The question: Does Levar Woods wait for an elevation at Iowa or receive that externally?

Stock Rising: Joe Evans, DE

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

A bit under the radar as the Iowa defense has been swarming this year, Joe Evans is becoming a very pleasant surprise on the defensive front. The combo of Evans and Lukas Van Ness has been great up front and I believe Evans is reaping the rewards of teams having to pick their poison.

With three tackles for loss and two sacks already, Evans is already positioning himself as a cornerstone for the Hawkeyes’ defense.

Stock Falling: Tight end production

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

It would be ridiculous to say that LaPorta’s and Lachey’s  stock is falling due to any undoing of their own. Their place on this list is more so a factor of being the top target for the Hawkeyes and receiving tons of eyes and defensive attention.

Combined, the two tight ends have 15 catches, which is a strong output. The downside is those catches total just 97 yards, an average of 6.4 yards per reception. With Iowa getting wide receivers back, the Hawkeyes’ tight ends are a matter of time before production increases.

Stock Rising: Drew Stevens, Kicker

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

The Hawkeyes needed to get an answer to their field goal kicking questions and Drew Stevens provided a resounding answer to that against Nevada. In his first game, the freshman was perfect with field goals from 43 and 33 yards along with three extra points.

The Hawkeyes will need a trusted kicker this season and Stevens appears to have put those nerves to bed.

Stock Falling: Run blocking

Syndication: The Des Moines Register

First off, kudos, as the Hawkeyes did rush for 162 yards on 35 carries, an average of 4.6 yards per carry. But, on further analysis, take away Kaleb Johnson’s runs of 40 yards and 55 yards, the offense had just 67 rushing yards on 33 carries, roughly 2 yards per carry.

The pass protection was fine, only surrendering three sacks, but also providing Petras time on some downfield plays. Entering Big Ten play, the run blocking will need to see the biggest improvement.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire