O’Meara has stellar day
The lopsided outcome of Saturday’s season opener against Eastern Illinois was not only different for the Iowa football team compared with a year ago against Northern Iowa, but also for senior running back Paki O’Meara.
He blocked a punt and then scooped up the football and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown Saturday as Iowa rolled to a 37-7 victory at Kinnick Stadium.
O’Meara also rushed for 34 yards on just four carries as the backup to Adam Robinson.
Iowa's Paki O'Meara runs in for a touchdown after blocking an Eastern Illinois punt in the first quarter Saturday. Matthew Holst/Press-Citizen
It was quite a change from a year ago when O’Meara started at running back in the season opener against Northern Iowa, but was benched after losing a fumble in a game that Iowa struggled to win 17-16 at Kinnick Stadium.
O’Meara played sparingly at running back for the rest of the season.
“I’m definitely looking forward to this year,” said O’Meara, who graduated from Cedar Rapids Washington High School. “It was nice to get a couple carries and run the ball a little bit.”
The carries could be hard to come by, though, with sophomore Jewel Hampton scheduled to return from his one-game suspension next Saturday against Iowa State.
Hampton and Robinson are expected to get most of the carries, while O’Meara is expected to contribute mostly on special teams.
“Special teams are definitely something exciting, and I love doing it,” O’Meara said. “Hopefully, I can get a couple more carries next week as well and just keep trying to get yards.”
By blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown, O’Meara matched what Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn did against Penn State last season.
Well, sort of.
Clayborn bulled over his blocker, whereas O’Meara squeezed between two blockers.
“His looked a little better,” O’Meara said of Clayborn. “He ran that guy over. I had to squeeze in there a little bit.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
