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The latest Tweet by Olympics states, 'The
answer is, Nate Ebner! The American participated in the rugby sevens tournament
at Rio 2016 and won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots a few months
later! @Patriots | @NateEbner'
Oct 5, 2021 Updated 8
hrs ago
Former Iowa offensive lineman Marshal Yanda
discusses his selection to the America Needs Farmers Wall of Honor at Kinnick
Stadium during a Tuesday news conference in Iowa City.
IOWA
CITY — Lessons learned growing up on a farm served Marshal Yanda well
throughout a football career that included stops at North Iowa Area Community
College and Iowa before he played 13 seasons in the NFL.
Yanda, who on Saturday will become the ninth
former Hawkeye to earn a spot on the America Needs Farmers Wall of Honor at
Kinnick Stadium, is the part of the fifth generation to grow up on his family’s
dairy farm five miles north of Anamosa, Iowa.
"To be
a part of this group and be a part of this week is special," Yanda said
Tuesday. "Growing up on a farm you learn things by hard work and
discipline and sacrifice, things that really transitioned to football for me
for sure."
Yanda said
his parents taught him the value of hard work as he and his sister worked hours
daily assisting in the family business.
"As a
football player, I was pretty strong in the weight room, but people always
talked about how I had that farm strength, that natural strength, that core
strength," Yanda said.
That strength allowed Yanda to grow as a player,
competing at Iowa in the 2005 and 2006 seasons when he learned value of
preparation and focus that served him well as he developed into one of the top
guards in the NFL.
He earned all-pro recognition seven times and
spent his entire 13-year career with the Baltimore Ravens.
Throughout
his career until his retirement from the game in 2019, Yanda would return to
Iowa to train during the offseason, something he saw as an advantage.
Saturday, he
will join former Hawkeyes Casey Wiegmann, Jared DeVries, Bruce Nelson, Robert
Gallery, Dallas Clark, Chad Greenway, Aaron Kampman and Matt Kroul in having a
spot on ANF Wall of Honor.
Kevin
Brockway | CNHI Sports Indiana
September 28, 2021
Michigan State players celebrate
following their overtime win against Nebraska on Saturday in East Lansing,
Michigan.
Al Goldis | Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON
– Through the first month of the season, Big Ten football has produced some
head-scratching results.
The league
doesn’t look as top-heavy as anticipated, with Ohio State falling at home to
Oregon for its first regular season loss since falling to Purdue in 2018. Penn
State has posted the conference’s best non-conference win to date, knocking off
Auburn in a night affair in Happy Valley.
Nebraska is
still Nebraska, struggling to find its way under fourth-year coach Scott Frost.
Illinois is off to a 1-4 start under first-year coach Bret Bielema, unable to
capitalize on the momentum from its season-opening win over Nebraska. Iowa is
the early frontrunner in the Big Ten West, capitalizing on nine turnovers
forced through its first four games to get off to a 4-0 start.
Here’s a
look at the three biggest surprises through the first month of the season and
three biggest disappointments:
SURPRISES
1. Michigan State: The Spartans are off a 4-0 start when some
preseason magazines predicted they could end up last in the Big Ten East.
Kenneth Walker III has made an impact for MSU, leading the Big Ten in rushing
at 138.5 yards per game.
Michigan State opened the season with an
impressive win at Northwestern, then went down to Miami and pummeled the
Hurricanes 38-17. Last Saturday, Michigan State found a way to beat Nebraska
23-20 in overtime despite being outgained 442-254, thanks to a fourth-quarter
punt return by Jayden Reed to tie the game and a Matt Coghlin field goal to win
it.
Mel Tucker is doing a nice job in the second year
of the MSU rebuild and is the early frontrunner for Big Ten coach of the year
2.
Maryland: Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is playing at a high level
for the Terrapins, leading the Big Ten in passing at 335 yards per game.
Maryland has posted wins over West Virginia and Illinois on its way to a 4-0
start, but a bigger test will come Friday hosting No. 5 Iowa.
3. Purdue: Off
to a 3-1 start, the Boilermakers are winning games with defense, with the
three-headed defensive coordinator duties of Brad Lambert, Ron English and Mark
Hagen working effectively.
Purdue
ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring defense (14.3 points per game) and fifth
in total defense (298.5 yards allowed).
Standout
defensive end George Karlaftis is healthy and has posted two sacks through
Purdue’s first four games.
Getting
wide receiver David Bell back from a brutal concussion sustained in Purdue’s
lone loss at Notre Dame will be critical to the offense for the second half of
the season.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
1.
Wisconsin: The two losses for the Badgers have come at home against
Penn State and in Chicago against Notre Dame. In both games, quarterback Graham
Mertz struggled, posting a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1-6.
Wisconsin
also has been just so-so establishing the run, averaging 203.3 yards rushing
with five rushing TDs.
Mertz will
need to raise his level of play with No. 14 Michigan coming to town Saturday.
2. Indiana: The
Hoosiers entered the 2021 season with a preseason No. 17 ranking, but that
quickly went by the wayside following a 34-6 loss at Iowa.
IU also
self-destructed with four turnovers in a 38-24 home loss to Cincinnati, blowing
an early 14-point lead.
IU
quarterback Michael Penix Jr., coming off his second torn ACL rehab in three
years, looked back to his old self with 373 passing yards at Western Kentucky.
But Penix will face a more ferocious pass rush Saturday at No. 4 Penn State and
needs to prove he can make better decisions with bodies coming at him.
3. Ohio
State: The home loss to Oregon may not look as bad if the Ducks
win the Pac-12 and emerge as a College Football Playoff team. But something is
amiss in Columbus.
Quarterback
C.J. Stroud was held out of Ohio State’s 59-7 win over Akron, perhaps due to
injury or perhaps for head coach Ryan Day to evaluate the other quarterbacks on
the roster.
Also, OSU
linebacker K’Vaughn Pope quit in the middle of the Akron game, upset about
playing time after being subbed out. Pope threw his gloves into the stands
before leaving the field.
Stroud is
expected to return for OSU’s next game at Rutgers on Saturday, but a porous
defense must show signs of progress before an Oct. 30 showdown against No. 4
Penn State.
