Heading into 2019, junior defensive end AJ Epenesa was considered a lock for the top-10 of the 2020 NFL Draft, and expectations were sky high from Iowa football fans everywhere. After a relatively slow start with limited statistical production (the advanced analytics painted a real nice picture of Epenesa’s performances), the Hawkeye legacy broke out against previously top-10 ranked Minnesota to claim this week’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award.
Interestingly enough though, all of Epenesa’s production came in the second half, and one could point to the adjustment that the Iowa football team made as a big part of this.