Iowa cornerback is Jekyll off-the field, Hyde on it

IOWA CITY - Sophomores Micah Hyde and Keenan Davis became fast friends as impressionable freshmen last year living in Iowa's dorms. That friendship continues off the field to this day.

But when the two face off against one another in practice, it's a competition within a competition. The talk gets personal. They push and shove after plays. It's intense, partly because of the cornerback's Jekyll-and-Hyde personality.

“We're highly recruited when we came in, and they threw us both in,” Davis said. “I think everybody on our team has a little rivalry, and I think me and Micah, we just came to it. We started getting mad anytime one of us would beat the other.

“You can a difference between us two and when we go against somebody else. We try to push ourselves to the limits when we go against each other.”

Red-shirt freshman Jordan Cotton also can speak about Hyde's personality shift. Cotton calls Hyde his best friend on the team, but the mood quickly changes on the practice field.

“We get along pretty good. But when we're on the football field, we're not friends on the football field,” Cotton said.

Hyde, a Fostoria, Ohio native, shrugs and laughs about his rivalry with Davis or Cotton. His toughness and attitude in part have turned him from talented backup to first-team cornerback within a couple of months.

Hyde, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 185 pounds, played mostly on special teams last year as a true freshman. But it was a critical stretch in the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech that showed Iowa fans that Hyde is the future at cornerback.

In the first half, starting Iowa cornerback Shaun Prater left the game with cramps. Iowa had two players on the bench with starting experience, but Hyde got the call. He didn't disappoint his coaches.

“He has a lot of skill,” Iowa defensive backs coach Phil Parker said. “I think it showed last year in the bowl prep. He really worked hard and got himself in position. When Prater went down for a couple of plays, we were confident enough to put him in the game.”

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said when the staff recruited Hyde, he was unsure if Hyde would play cornerback or safety. After one season at cornerback, Hyde has become the starter, leaping ahead of players with more experience like Jordan Bernstine, Greg Castillo and William Lowe.

“With every opportunity, he's taken it and run with it, including spring practice,” Ferentz said. “But that was a yearlong progression. We liked what we saw, liked his maturity level. ... Now it's his job to keep improving.”

Hyde replaces all-Big Ten cornerback Amari Spievey, who was a third-round draft pick by Detroit. Hyde may not play the position as physically as Spievey, wide receiver Marvin McNutt says, but he's just as efficient.

“He's a work horse, and he's got one of the best ball skills that I've seen out of a corner,” McNutt said.

Hyde was a do-it-all player in Fostoria, and earned numerous honors in Northwest Ohio. In his prep career, he threw for 7,864 yards and 65 touchdowns, and rushed for 3,443 yards and 46 touchdowns. He intercepted eight passes and kicked 108 extra points. He was named the Ohio Division IV Offensive Player of the Year as a senior and played in the prestigious Big 33 Game on the all-Ohio team against Pennsylvania's all-stars. Hyde even set a Big 33 record with a 99-yard touchdown reception in a 38-31 Ohio win.

As if Hyde's rivalry within his football family isn't intense enough, he'll deal with a blood feud Oct. 30 when Michigan State visits Kinnick Stadium. His older brother, Marcus, is a senior safety for the Spartans, which creates some awkward moments for his family.

“Last year my mom wore Michigan State because it was at Michigan State,” Hyde said. “You don't want to get yelled at or anything. But this year it's in Kinnick.”

During the summer the game - a last-second 15-13 Iowa victory - re-aired on the Big Ten Network. Hyde immediately got a text from his brother that read “let's go.”

“Last year my whole family was there, and I came out of the game and we were taking pictures,” Hyde said. “My whole family was talking junk (to Marcus) saying how little brother beat you. This year I hope I have a more significant role so therefore I can talk a lot more junk.”

Before he talks smack to Marcus, he'll continue to do it in practice. He's grudgingly earned his teammates' respect, even those who try to embarrass him in practice.

“He's not the biggest guy out on the field, but he plays like he's the biggest guy on the field,” Cotton said. “He's around every tackle. He's breaking up every ball, trying to get interceptions. He's definitely a guy that you try to compete with in everything.”

“I think Micah is phenomenal,” Davis said. “He's a real athletic player. He's shown that, and he's going to show that.”

DEPTH CHARTING

LCB -- Shaun Prater, jr., 5-11, 180; Greg Castillo, so., 5-11, 180

RCB -- Micah Hyde, so, 6-1, 185; Jordan Bernstine, jr., 5-11, 205

FS -- Brett Greenwood, sr., 6-0, 200; Kyle Steinbrecher, jr., 6-2, 201 OR Jack Swanson, so., 5-11, 200

SS -- Tyler Sash, jr., 6-1, 210; Tom Donatell, jr., 6-2, 205; Nick Nielsen, so, 6-3, 210

In The Huddle

Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash will start together as a safety tandem for the third straight season. Greenwood, a four-year starter, has started 32 of the last 33 games for Iowa and was named second-team all-Big Ten last year. Sash was a second-team All-American last year and already has racked up 350 interception yards in his career, fifth-most in Big Ten history. "It's a great situation to have to play with (Sash) because we know what we are capable of doing, we know what checks we need to make right away." Greenwood said. ... Shaun Prater locked down the left cornerback position last fall when Jordan Bernstine suffered a gruesome broken foot . Bernstine also has worked inside at safety as as the team's nickel back. "I think (Bernstine is) fine, but I mentally after you do what he did, it's kind of a concern in the back of your head," Iowa defensive backs coach Phil Parker said. ... Greg Castillo filled in for Prater in a recent scrimmage and appears to be a solid contributor in the future. ... Micah Hyde replaces first-team all-Big Ten corner Amari Spievey, who left with a year eligibility remaining and was drafted in the third round by Detroit.

Numbers Game

Sash has Iowa school record for interception return yards in a career. He has 11 interceptions lifetime, seven off Devon Mitchell and Nile Kinnick's all-time mark. Sash had a Big Ten-high six interceptions last year -- including three against Iowa State -- for a single-season record 203 return yards. ... Greenwood had three interceptions and broke up seven passes. Prater added two picks and eight break-ups to rank fourth in the Big Ten in passes defended per game. Sash was fifth and Greenwood was ninth on that list.