Kaevon

Merriweather

Merriweather was lost in a roster crunch in November, and the Buccaneers are bringing him back with Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards dealing with injuries. He has two career starts and 24 tackles in 25 games with the Bucs so far in his career.

Merriweather (6’0/205) was a star high school basketball player who earned a hoops scholarship offer from Western Michigan but chose to attend Iowa when it became apparent that football is a more realistic path to the professional sporting realm. A versatile chess piece who has the chops to play free safety, box, or in the slot, Merriweather became a full-time starter in 2020 for the Hawkeyes’ ferocious defense that allowed just 14.0 PPG, but really emerged last year when he held opponents to a 42% catch rate, 7.9 yards per reception and a sparkling 11.7 NFL passer rating when targeted, for an 88.1 PFF overall grade. He ran a 99.9th percentile 1.49s 10-yard split but ran only a 4.62s 40-yard dash (60%) for a very respectable 7.87 RAS. A cerebral player, Merriweather recorded just one penalty in his entire career and has the athleticism to crash down on short passes with a vengeance. While Merriweather doesn’t have the demonstrable ball production of his 2023 safety group contemporaries, he shows enough versatility and potential to warrant a long look in training camp.

Merriweather (6'0/210) has not played in a game since Iowa’s season opener due to a foot injury. In that win over Miami University the sophomore defensive back, who appeared in nine games as a freshman, tallied five total tackles. Sophomore Jack Koerner has started each of Iowa’s last three games a free safety in place of the injured Merriweather.

Merriweather (6'0/210) sprained his foot during practice on Friday, an injury that ruled him out for Saturday’s 30-0 beating of Rutgers. The Hawkeyes will face stiffer competition next week when they visit the rival Cyclones, and according to HC Kirk Ferentz the sophomore safety is unlikely to be available. If Merriweather does have to sit out, redshirt sophomore Jack Koerner will be asked to fill the void.

Merriweather (6'2/195) appeared in nine games as a freshman, tallying one tackle with the majority of his playing time coming on special teams. Heading into 2019 he’s a candidate to start alongside Geno Stone at safety, which is incredible given the fact that he didn’t begin playing football in high school until his senior year. According to VanHaaren, Stone has taken Merriweather under his wing, and the mentorship could prove beneficial to the Hawkeyes this fall.

Merriweather (6'2/195) was used sparingly on defense as a true freshman this past season, but saw the field a fair amount on special teams (he is one of three Hawkeye freshmen not taking a redshirt for the year). While we didn’t have a chance to see much of it in tangible form, Dochterman passes along that “reviews have been positive about his development” and notes that Merriweather should be in competition to start at safety come the opening of spring practice. He is very much a work-in-progress, having focused on basketball for much of his high school career before trying his hand at football during his senior season. We’ll keep an eye on his progress as the offseason unfolds. Count Merriweather’s as a name to remember.