Hard-hitting Hawk helps drive defensive engine

Don't mistake Amari Spievey's calm demeanor for indifference. He's a trained killer at cornerback.

Last week Spievey made four sensational defensive plays that propelled Iowa from a 10-point deficit to a 20-10 Big Ten football victory at Wisconsin.

With Iowa trailing 10-3 early in the third quarter, Spievey intercepted an errant Scott Tolzien pass at the Iowa 46-yard line to shift the game's momentum. Iowa scored on its next offensive possession.

Spievey ended Wisconsin's hopes for a comeback with 1:30 left with a diving, one-handed interception of a Tolzien pass.

“For corners, the film tells you a lot,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “But I think that's pretty accurate, and the plays he made the other day were both beautiful plays and big plays. The first one ignited us a little bit. Seemed like that was our spark.”

Spievey also set an aggressive tone as a hitter. He made six tackles but none as powerful as the hit he made on Wisconsin's David Gilreath late in the first quarter. Spievey made a perfect form tackle and placed the Wisconsin wide receiver on his back.

Two plays earlier, Spievey crushed Gilreath a split-second after he fielded a punt.

“(Spievey) goes out there and makes plays and you're like ‘Wow, I can't believe that happened.'” Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer said. “He's the heart and soul of the defense.”

Spievey, a junior art major, entered the season determined to improve as a player. He sat out 2007 for academic issues and played at Iowa Central Community College before returning in 2008. Spievey then moved into Iowa's starting lineup and never left.

Last year, he recorded four interceptions and 68 tackles while earning second-team all-Big Ten. This year, quarterbacks have avoided throwing Spievey's way. He's made 32 tackles and broken up five passes to go with his two interceptions.

“He goes out there and puts his nose down and does his job,” Angerer said. “(Spievey) doesn't say much, and I'm fine with it. I think he brings the level of everybody's play up because you don't want to let a guy like that down.”

Spievey made an impression on quarterback Ricky Stanzi early in training camp. Stanzi said Spievey made the receivers better because he could embarrass them in practice.

“He knows how to play the game at that position,” Stanzi said. “I think the guys have learned a lot playing against him and then you've got to be a little bit more accurate when you're throwing against him because of the things that he can do out there.”

Spievey's intangibles begin with his physical ability. He was a talented offensive player in high school and earned the Connecticut Player of the Year Award at Middletown Xavier High School. But according to Stanzi and Ferentz, Spievey has worked himself into a top cornerback by the way he reads receivers.

“I've seen him do that very well, the way he can read a guy, understand what kind of route he's running and then jump on it and still be able to make the catch,” Stanzi said.

“I'll put it this way: At this age he's way ahead of (St. Louis Rams third-round pick) Brad Fletcher,” Ferentz said of his former cornerback. “Probably a good comparison except (Spievey) is a little ahead of the curve.”