Merriweather better prepared for opportunity
Last season opportunity knocked for Kaevon Merriweather and he ended up in the starting lineup at safety. But, one game in a foot sprain sidelined him for a few weeks and by that time his job was gone to someone else. Instead of sulking, Merriweather looked at it as an opportunity to get better by learning from his teammates and spending more time studying film. The result is he's off to a strong start in 2020.
Q: Last year you were a starter and then you sprained your foot before the second game of the season. How difficult was that and how did you get yourself back into a position to start this year?
MERRIWEATHER: Last year I did get hurt and it was a difficult position for me because I looked at last year as a season for me to grow. Last year I took the injury as a way for me to grow as a player, especially for me only have two years of playing in high school. I learned as much as I could from Geno Stone, from what Jack (Koerner) was doing, and from Dane (Belton) at the Cash position.
I looked at the way that offenses were attacking us in the Big Ten so I would be prepared for this year. This summer I did everything I could that Coach Parker was asking me to do and that put me in position to contribute this year.
Q: You guys have some crazy interceptions. Like 11 straight games with an interception and 61 picks since 2017. Can you explain why you guys have been so successful intercepting passes?
MERRIWEATHER: That’s simple, we are in the film room basically all the time. We put in the extra hours in the film room and see what the offenses are trying to do. Coach Parker does a great job of breaking down the other team’s offenses and he knows what potential can hurt us going into the game. We go through all that during the week and then the defensive back do extra film work. So anything that can potential hurt us, so we instinctively react to it.
Q: Does 11 games in a row impress you?
MERRIWEATHER: Oh yeah, that’s definitely impressive. We have to attack the ball and it’s definitely not as easy as it might seem.
Q: You said you did everything Phil Parker wanted you to do. What did he want to see from you?
MERRIWEATHER: He just wanted to see me hustle to the ball and play a little harder. He wanted me to be in the film room and read my keys a little bit better and play a little bit faster. He also wanted me to be a little bit more of a leader in the room.
Q: You have sat behind NFL players the last couple of years in Amani Hooker and Geno Stone. How did that help you? Also, can you discuss your huge hit in the first game of the year?
MERRIWEATHER: Geno and Amani were two great people that I looked up to. In my freshman year, every time I had a chance to ask Amani a question, he was right there to help me. He would always tell me to just watch what he was doing in practice and I would put that in the back of my mind the way he could instinctively see things and especially the way he watched film. I also looked at the way Jake (Gervase) did things on the field. Geno was a tremendous player and I watched film with him last year and the way he reacted and saw things. Those were great guys for me to follow and come after.
Then with the hit it gave me a lot of confidence. I got my feet wet and it said I could play at this level and do what I needed to do.
Q: How much do you pride yourself on your physical player and have you talked to Coach Parker about his playing days?
MERRIWEATHER: I am a bigger guy, so I think sometimes I can be almost too physical and I know I had a couple of missed tackles out there that I need to clean up on and wrap up the ball carrier. We joke with Coach Parker all the time about his playing days and about how hard of a hitter he was back in the day.
Q: With Coach Parker there’s almost a geometry to football from the hash mark to the sidelines. How challenging is that mentally to get yourself in the right position so that physically you can make the play and not have to think about it on the field?
MERRIWEATHER: It’s not as challenging as you might think. The more time you spend here there more you get used to it. Starting off in my freshman year, he always preaches dividers, hash marks, and understand where you need to be at. The more time you are here under Coach Parker the more you get adjusted to it. It’s not difficult, but it helps that he preaches the landmarks, dividers, and you can see it on the field. You can see it with the interceptions. Every step and every inch helps and it helps you on the field.
Q: How much credit do you give the defensive front on those interceptions?
MERRIWEATHER: We give all the credit to our defensive front. You see that every single snap against every single front, They are rushing the quarterback and making him make tough throws and scramble out of the pocket, which helps us out in the back end. Our defensive front is doing a tremendous job.
Q: Was it hard to stay positive last year dealing with adversity last year?
MERRIWEATHER: It was definitely hard seeing someone else play the position last year, but I looked past that and used it as a year for me to grow mentally as a player. I actually think that year helped me more and helped me prepare for this year.
Q: We haven’t talked to you since June. How would you describe the steps that the program has taken since then to eliminate racial disparity?
MERRIWEATHER: There have been a lot of positive steps that have been taken towards eliminating racial discrimination. You have a lot more players in the Hawkeye Leadership Group that listen to the players and being that feeback back to Coach Ferentz. You also have the previous players who talk to Coach Ferentz and communicate with him. I think a lot of the steps have really helped us. Having that open line of communication between us and the players is a positive thing. Just being able to go in and talk to our coaches about anything that we see as wrong that’s going on is a positive step that the program has taken.