FROM CONCH TO TITAN: MEKHI SARGENT SHINES IN NFL

 

By Ralph Morrow

September 14, 2021

It was quite an accomplishment when Key West grad Mekhi Sargent made the 53-man Tennessee Titans cutdown squad on Aug. 31. He was to start the season Sunday, Sept. 12, as the Titans’ No. 3 running back against the Arizona Cardinals with Derrick Henry getting most of the carries. 

The NFL Network’s Good Morning Football crew also chose Sargent as one of three running backs — and the only non-drafted player — to make their “Rookie Risers” list. The other two were Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris and New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson. 

The Titans’ network page said Sargent was “easily the team’s best back during the exhibition slate.” 

The University of Iowa product got plenty of opportunity to show what he could do in the preseason and made good, gaining 51 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the final game against the Chicago Bears. In two previous games, against Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the Conch gained 78 and 58 yards, respectively, both times on 16 carries. He caught a pass in each game. 

In the Bears game, CBS analyst Charles Jones “raved” about him, according to Alex Seats of 247Sports. 

In Sargent’s senior year at Key West High School, he rushed for 2,094 yards and 27 touchdowns, wrote Marc Morehouse for the Iowa Gazette in 2019. 

“This was a bit of a quest for (Key West football coach) John Hughes,” Morehouse wrote. “He pointed the way to Iowa Western. The Iowa Western coaches saw Sargent at a University of Florida football camp.”

“’My coach at Key West basically led my tour to go to juco,’ Sargent said in 2019. “I didn’t know anything about junior college. He said, ‘That’s an opportunity for you. I think you can go to juco and make the most of it and move forward.’ I took that route and I’m thankful.”

Sargent ended up redshirting his first season at Iowa Western. He didn’t even know you could do that at a junior college.

“My mom, Yolanda Gardner, kept me mentally stable,’ Sargent told Morehouse in 2019 in Iowa. “I just kept working hard, on the scout team and in the weight room. I’d just pay attention to the older guys and do the right things and my time came.”

“‘He put up 1,000 yards as a sophomore and just kept going from there,’ Hughes said. ‘He became kind of a household name throughout South Florida. There were coaches and teams that were just tired of playing him because he was such a physical force. He ran so hard. He was one of those heavy contact guys. You felt it when he hit you.’”

Iowa in the NFL: Highlights from week one

 

BySEAN BOCK 10 hours ago (September 14, 2021)

 

Week one of the NFL season concluded on Monday night. 

There were a handful of former Hawkeyes in action throughout the weekend and a good amount of them put together strong performances. 

Here were some of the highlights of week one. 

TJ Hockenson is poised for a breakout year after strong week one 

Detroit dropped a tough loss to San Franciso, but Hockenson at the tight end position was a big bright spot for the Lions. 

Hockenson finished the game with eight receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. Detroit's wide receivers are not as strong this year, so the Lions could rely on Hockenson a lot in the passing game. 

 

Jared Goff with his first TD as a Lion, courtesy of TJ Hockenson! #OnePride pic.twitter.com/deBjCqyPl9

— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) September 12, 2021

Fellow former Iowa tight end George Kittle's team might've won the game, but Hockenson had the better stat line in the game. 

“There’s plenty of meat still on the bone,” Detroit tight ends coach Ben Johnson said previously of Hockenson. “We’re looking forward to getting even more from him. The sky’s the limit for this kid. I really look forward to seeing him take that next step.”

 

Former Iowa linebackers making plays

 

Kansas City should be one of the best teams in the NFL this year and likely the Super Bowl favorite. 

Niemann and Hitchens have played key roles for the Chiefs at the linebacker spot the past few years and teamed up on Sunday against. Hitchens forced a Cleveland Broncos' fumble in the third quarter and Niemann recovered it. The Chiefs ended up winning the contest, 33-29.  

#NFLHawks@AnthonyHitchens causes the fumble 🤝 @bniemann95 recovers it!pic.twitter.com/EEOFSYUU0E

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) September 12, 2021

In other former Iowa linebacker news, Josey Jewell also forced a fumble in the Denver Broncos' 27-13 win over the New York Giants. 

James Daniels holds his own against one of the league's best 

 

There wasn't a lot going for the Chicago Bears on Sunday night in the 34-14 loss to Los Angeles Rams, but former Iowa offensive lineman James Daniels did a good job of taming arguably the NFL's most dominant player in Rams' defensive tackle Aaron Donald. 

 

“I’m stronger,” Daniels said previously. “I feel like my technique is better and so I feel like right now, I’m a way better player than I am when I got hurt last year.”

 

Riley Reiff plays well in Cincinnati debut 

 

The story of Cincinnati's Sunday afternoon win against the Minnesota Vikings was the return of quarterback Joe Burrow. The Bengals' run game was also effective, and a big reason for that was the play of former Iowa offensive lineman Riley Reiff. 

However, the biggest impact he had was in the passing game. 

Per Pro Football Focus, Reiff had a pass-blocking grade of 78.8 with no pressures allowed. 

  

Detroit Lions' Jamaal Williams, T.J. Hockenson two of few bright spots in loss

 

Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Published 6:00 a.m. ET Sept. 13, 2021

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett breaks down the Detroit Lions' 41-33 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and looks at players who helped and hurt their stock Sunday at Ford Field:

Three up

RB Jamaal Williams: Williams made the most of what was a mildly surprising start Sunday, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown on nine carries and catching eight passes for another 56 yards. Williams was the Lions’ tone-setter on offense, and along with D’Andre Swift, gave a glimmer of hope that the Lions will finally be able to run the football.

OLB Trey Flowers: Flowers has been the consummate team player since he came to Detroit, and his play Sunday embodied that. He finished with a modest four tackles and no sacks, but had the Lions’ key defensive play, coming from the far side of the field to knock loose a Deebo Samuel fumble late in the fourth quarter on what almost was a third-and-13 conversion that would have iced the game. The Lions need more pass rush out of Flowers and their entire defensive front, but his forced fumble was the hustle play of the game.

 T.J. Hockenson:  Hockenson is going to have a big year — make that a huge year — if he stays healthy. Hockenson was the Lions’ only downfield receiving threat Sunday. He finished with eight catches for 97 yards and scored the Lions’ first touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Jared Goff, when he ran a beautiful route in the red zone. At this rate, and given how little the Lions have at receiver, Hockenson seems like a fair bet to be the team’s first 100-catch receiver since Calvin Johnson in 2012.

Three down

CB Jeff Okudah: We don’t know how serious Okudah’s lower-leg injury is yet, but, while this may sound dramatic, the reality is a worst-case scenario Achilles injury could doom his career. Apart from the injury, Okudah had another rough showing on the field Sunday. He got beat for a long touchdown when he couldn’t locate the ball, and he gave up a key third-down conversion on the 49ers’ first touchdown drive. After a promising training camp, Okudah looked too much like the same player he was a rookie.

S Will Harris: It wasn’t just Okudah who struggled in the secondary. Harris and cornerback Amani Oruwariye, both of whom drew mention from general manager Brad Holmes for their strong preseasons, also had rough days. Oruwariye gave up the 49ers’ first touchdown to Trent Sherfield, and Harris had a facemask penalty and a handful of missed tackles, including one on Elijah Mitchell’s long touchdown run.

 OT Matt Nelson: The Lions shuffled their offensive line after Taylor Decker suffered a finger injury in the middle week, moving right tackle Penei Sewell to left tackle and inserting Nelson in Sewell’s place. Sewell had a couple slip-ups but fared mostly well in his NFL debut. Nelson had a bit of a rougher day, allowing a sack to Dee Ford, multiple other pressures and drawing a holding penalty that was declined. In his defense, the converted defensive tackle was asked to pass block an unsustainable 57 times.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.