“Despite changes, football has always remained at heart a blood sport.” Observer’s Khy Champman wrote a piece on November 30, 1999,  and termed football to be “choreographed savagery.” Despite changes aimed at improvement and keeping players’ health paramount, blood and “choreographed savagery” are still the central themes. The most recent casualty was Iowa’s ace DB after a brutal loss against Oregon.

Both Hawkeyes and Ducks came out with their world-class defenses and shut out the offenses entirely. The result was a grueling tussle of defensive dominance. Amid that, Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa State’s DB, was central to it. He notched up 8 tackles and kept the hopes alive. But by doing so, the 21-year-old still had to give it all, including his blood.

In the post-game presser, a reporter asked “How are you doing physically?” Iowa’s DB described the kicks he took from the front and how he still stayed strong in the game. “I’m good…I got kicked in front, was coughing up a little blood, but just wanted to get back out there with the guys, trying to get them all,” said Nwankpa. His efforts were good, but not enough to stop the third loss for the season.

Iowa’s D line allowed Oregon to rush for a whopping 261 yards, while the Ducks accumulated 112 yards in the air. But that doesn’t discredit the quality of Kirk Ferentz’s team. The Hawkeyes are still 17th in rushing defense nationally and 4th in total defense. Xavier Nwankpa’s contributions have surely played a major part in Iowa doing so.

The 6’2″ and 213 lbs DB has notched a whopping 51 tackles so far and is the leading tackler for his team. For instance, against Penn State, the guy notched up 10 tackles and made things tough for the Nittany Lions. Owing to his performances, Iowa won 25-24 as he capped it off with another 6-tackle performance against Minnesota. Moreover, this isn’t the first time Xavier has taken a severe physical hit and given it all for his team, even if that meant getting soaked in blood.

Xavier Nwankpa is redefining determination at Iowa

Iowa faced Penn State recently and, as usual, had a close game. The Hawkeyes limited the Nittany Lions to just 173 rushing yards despite having RBs like Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. The receiving game for the team also didn’t shape up, since Penn State was able to notch just 93 yards. In what was the best performance of the season so far for Xavier Nwankpa? He tore the outer flesh of his ear.

“One of the better games. You have expectations coming in, but you want to live up to those and exceed those. I don’t think (the pressure) really ever got to me. Obviously, when I wasn’t playing my best, I was upset at myself that I wasn’t meeting my own expectations, and obviously, I wouldn’t meet the outside views (either). Ultimately, I just want to play my best brand, and when I do that, I’m happy with myself,” said Nwankpa after the game.

The senior Iowa DB tackled Penn State’s QB, Jaxson Smolik, and drove his whole frame into the QB. As expected, the tackle was inch-perfect. But immediately, Nwankpa was standing on the sidelines, grabbing his right side of his helmet as his hand was soaked in blood. Despite that, the DB was exuberant in his persona, celebrating after the tackle, and his teammates and coaches applauded his grit. The feat will surely be remembered for some time now, as the senior DB charts his NFL destiny.