Hawks in the NFL: Proud to be a Hawkeye

Week eight of the NFL season wasn’t all perfect. In fact, this article is going to contain some less than stellar news about your favorite former Hawkeyes. That said, some things are bigger than play on the field and guys like Carl Davis will make you proud to be a Hawkeye fan.

As always, keep in mind, this is not meant to be a full update on every former Hawkeye in the NFL. This is more catered to the former Hawkeyes who stood out or had something interesting or important happen to them this past week.

Hope you enjoy and go Hawks!

CARL DAVIS

On the field this season, Carl Davis’ performance has been inspiring, as just five months ago, it was unclear whether or not Davis would ever play another down in the NFL and now, he’s turned into a solid fixture on the inside for the New England Patriots.

That said, Davis has also become an inspiring figure off of the field in regards to his social work and community outreach. I’ll let you go ahead and read through the tweet below, but seeing this sort of stuff is so awesome to see, especially when it’s coming from a former Hawkeye.

TRISTAN WIRFS

The streak is over...

You heard that right, Tristan Wirfs’ 22-game streak of not giving up a sack ended on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints after former all-pro talent, Cameron Jordan, successfully barreled through Wirfs en route to a strip sack.

That said, Wirfs dominated the matchup for the most part, as that was really the only play where Jordan or any other Saints pass rusher did anything to beat Wirfs out on the edge.

GEORGE KITTLE

Although there’s a fair share of bleak or uneventful news this week, there was some good news out San Francisco 49ers practices, as the return of George Kittle is now confirmed.

After being placed on injured reserve early on in the season, this is the first week Kittle has been on the practice field in sometime and we all know the NFL is more fun to watch with him being part of it.

IHMIR SMITH-MARSETTE

HEY!!! Look who it is!

For the first time this regular season, former Hawkeye wide receiver, Ihmir Smith-Marsettte, had made it on to this list and it’s for a pretty notable reason, as Smith-Marsette became the first former Hawkeye wide receiver to catch a pass in an NFL game since Tim Dwight back in 2007.

Sure, Smith-Marsette’s catch only went for six yards, but given his playmaking ability and smoothness as a route runner, this could be the first of many for the young rookie.

MICAH HYDE

Despite what a source like Pro Football Focus (PFF) might tell you, Micah Hyde is having a career year in terms of playmaking, pass coverage and just flat out being a leader for a promising young team.

This week proved to be no exception, as Hyde was able to add a successfully scooped fumble his stat sheet along with some excellent reps in pass coverage. It’s no surprise to see Hyde back in this list, as we’ve talked about week after week, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

MEKHI SARGENT

This is the rough reality of the NFL world…

After impressing the Tennessee Titans coaching staff and fans throughout the preseason, Mekhi Sargent looked on the fast track to become a legitimate backup running back in Tennessee behind Derrick Henry. However, last week, Sargent was waived and then resigned to the Titans’ practice squad and then this week, Sargent has now been released outright following an injury to Derrick Henry…

Who would’ve saw that coming with an injury at the running back position. Regardless, as fans of Sargent’s, we do hope this isn’t the end of his stay in the NFL and we wish him the best moving forward.

DAVIYON NIXON

Continuing the unfortunate news trend, it was announced last week that standout rookie defensive lineman, Daviyon Nixon, has seen his inaugural season in the NFL come to end after suffering a knee injury during practice.

This is hard to see, as Nixon had been flashing a lot this season in a number of games. That said, we wish him the best of luck with his recovery!