Anthony Nelson put on quite a show in his first college game. The redshirt freshman registered 2.5 sacks against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 3 and also forced two fumbles.

For his efforts in the pass rush against the Redhawks, Nelson has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

“You like to think a guy’s going to improve as he gets older and keeps going, but what [Nelson] did today is really what he does in practice. He’s a guy we have been excited about, going back to the spring,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said in his postgame press conference. “He really did some good things. And even in ball prep, we saw him do some good things.

“He’s not near at the physical maturity that he will be before he graduates, but he’s a good football player, and I thought he made a real nice account of himself today.”

To see the way Nelson wasted the Miami offensive linemen on numerous occasions and to hear Ferentz say he is not even near where he will be physically in the coming years paints a pretty encouraging picture for the Urbandale native.

Iowa’s pass rush was (and still is) one of the biggest question marks on the team, but if it continues to get production out of the young 6-7 defensive end, that will surely bolster a unit that needs to play beyond its years.

Nelson’s production will be needed more so after sophomore Parker Hesse left the Sept. 3 game with a strain. Ferentz said the injury wasn’t going to keep Hesse out for very long, but he didn’t go to much detail about a timetable.

— by Blake Dowson