I came back not to be mediocre, not to leave anything in the weight room or the training facility. I came back to accomplish special things. The words came from Jared DeVries last January, when the defensive tackle extraordinaire declared he was returning for his senior year at Iowa rather than make himself eligible for the National Football League draft. Today, DeVries is on a team that, at 3-4, is unmistakably mediocre.
Time remains for that to change, but the writing appears to be on the wall.
A photo on the cover of the Gazette's Sunday sports section was worth a thousand words. DeVries' large hands covered his face as he dejectedly sat on the sideline during the final seconds of the Hawkeyes' 14-7 loss at Indiana. The Iowa defense couldn't have performed much better or appeared any more prepared through three quarters. But it allowed touchdown drives of 99 and 75 yards after that. I didn't, or we didn't.