Kaevon Merriweather Welcomes Another Shot at Michigan

Iowa Safety Faces Home-State Team Again Saturday

Iowa's Kaevon Merriweather (26) laughs before a game against South Dakota State on Sept. 3, 2022 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - With a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception already to his name, fate came Kaevon Merriweather’s way one more time in the closing minutes of Iowa’s victory at Rutgers Saturday..

Quarterback Evan Simon, facing a fourth-and-28 from the Iowa 42, forced a desperation pass down the right sideline. Right in Merriweather’s wheelhouse.The smart play would have been to knock it down. And that’s what Kaevon did. Teammate Jack Campbell pointed a finger to his head, congratulating Merriweather for making a smart play.

“The honest truth?” Merriweather said, a big smile breaking out on his face. “I saw the ball. I saw all that green in front of me. And I started smiling. I was thinking six. I was so happy. And when I tried to take off I forgot about the ball. I definitely tried to catch it. I heard somebody say “drop it.” So that kind of threw me off a little bit.”

Coming clean is no surprise, because that’s just Merriweather’s nature. He was named the Big Ten’s co-defensive player of the week Monday after returning a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and picking off Simon and returning it 33 yards in the third quarter.

“I was pretty surprised,” Merriweather said of his honor. “I really didn’t think I did anything crazy. I played off what the game was giving me. (Sebastian) Castro made a huge play. Without him that fumble recovery wouldn’t have happened. That pick, I was just sitting in a zone. It really wasn’t anything spectacular.”

That fumble recovery led to the first touchdown of Merriweather’s college career. It’s a play that the senior from Belleville, Mich., will always cherish.

“I was grinning ear-to-ear when I got it,” he said.

When he replays his good fortune, the play unfolds in slow motion.

“I saw the ball and I thought, “Oh, snap, that’s a fumble,’ ” he said. “So I picked it up and started running. I was like, “There’s no way I’m going to score. There has to be a flag or something. In the back of my head I’m thinking, “This can’t be right.’ ”

As he neared the end zone, Kaevon started thinking about how he’d celebrate.He came up with a dance out of Detroit, the Blade Dance.

“I decided to do that, which was kind of fun,” Keavon said.

The next challenge for Merriweather and his teammates is another Michigan staple. The fourth-ranked Wolverines come to Kinnick Stadium Saturday, where Iowa won five of its last six meetings against Top Five foes.

“I think the way Kinnick gets rowdy, that’s just something you can’t prepare for,” Merriweather said.

Kaevon grew up a Michigan fan. His favorite player was quarterback Devin Gardner, who grew up 15 miles away from him in Inkster, Mich. Gardner started for the Wolverines from 2012 to 2014.

“Me and my mom used to go and watch his games all the time, and I was a huge Michigan fan because of him,” Merriweather said. “I looked up to him every time I watched him play.”

The Wolverines didn’t recruit Merriweather, something that doesn’t bother him.

“I wouldn't expect them to recruit me,” Merrriweather said. "I was a zero-star recruit.”

Merriweather got more attention at Belleville High School for his basketball skills. Western Michigan even offered him a scholarship.

“I’ll tell you a funny story about that,” he said. “I don’t tell too many people about this, but I actually tried to commit to Western Michigan after my last AAU basketball game (before his senior season). But my coach told me to wait a little bit. If he had given me the green light to commit, I probably wouldn’t be playing football right now. It’s just crazy how God works. I was upset at the time. But God had a better plan for me. Clearly that plan was greater than what I could have ever imagined.”

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker saw something in Merriweather at Belleville, and offered him a scholarship late in the process.

“Phil had a feeling about him, and we made an offer to him, and luckily he accepted,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Five college seasons later, Merriweather is preparing for a game against those Winged Helmets of Michigan.

“Seeing those helmets does give me some juice,” Merriweather said. “I love playing against my home-state school.”

Merriweather fits the mold of so many Iowa players of the past, lightly recruited guys who became quality contributors.

“He’s just kind of gradually gotten better every year, in every phase,” Ferentz added. “That’s what a lot of our good players have done. He was a prospect, a good prospect who became a good football player and certainly had a big night the other night. But he’s been one of our leaders and respected by everybody, not just the defensive guys but everybody on our football team.”

This is one more chance for Merriweather to beat the Wolverines. He is 0-2 against Michigan, but celebrated a victory over Michigan State in 2020.

One of those Maize and Blue losses was a humbling 42-3 decision in last season’s Big Ten Championship game.

“One thing Coach Parker always talks about is that there are six or seven plays that make the game,” Merriweather said. “You never know what those six or seven plays are. When those plays came, our eyes weren’t in the right spot. We weren’t where we needed to be, and they hit us on a lot of big plays.”

None were bigger than a 67-yard first-quarter touchdown run by Blake Corum, followed by a 75-yard scoring connection between running back Donovan Edwards and Roman Wilson on the first play of the Wolverines’ next possession.

Merriweather is looking for a better scenario on Saturday.

“Forty-two points, that’s not how we play football here,” he said. “We want to play way better than we did last year.”