Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 16-13vs Iowa State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
#44
Kenneth Merrieweather
Senior defensive lineman on Iowa's 2026 roster.
6′3″ · 270 lb · Detroit, MI · M.L. King
Returning to Iowa for 2026
The numbers
0
sacks · 2026
3 tackles
1 game into 2026 so far -- Best game: 3 tackles, vs Iowa State
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive lineman on Iowa's 2026 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Iowa in 2023.
Kenneth Merrieweather
Wins his gap play after play. This is his third year in the same defensive front at Iowa. The receipt: 3 tackles against Iowa State — Week 2, 2026.
3 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
2023
- Signed with Iowa3-star out of Martin Luther King
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Iowa
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Iowa
Played his entire career under Kirk Ferentz.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 19-9 over that span.
2024Iowa8-5HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo
2026Iowa2-0HC: Kirk Ferentz · Balanced
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 3.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 1.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 16–13
vs Iowa State
3 TOT · 1 SOLO · 1 PD
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 at home.
With B. Everitt — 44 AVG · 4 IN 20 · 51 LONG · H. Brown — 191 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 34.2 · 22 rush yds (8 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Iowa
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive line · Iowa
Returning around him
- 7 Iowa players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +7 net (15 in / 8 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Iowa · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #44 · 2026 recruiting class #26
DNA match
Player DNA
Two-Gap Base
Stout at the point of attack — steady tackle-for-loss production without a standout pass-rush number.
IDL
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Nathaniel Smith’s 2023 season.
Matches Nathaniel on
Sack rate
Weight
Height
Differs from Nathaniel on
Class year (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Femi Oladejo's sophomore season at California (2022).
Matches Femi on
Class year
Height
TFL rate
Player DNA
Players who play like Kenneth Merrieweather
The defensive line · Iowa
- #96Bryce Hawthorne3 tackles for loss · 2025
- #95Lance Ingold2 tackles for loss · 2025
- #44Kenneth Merrieweather1 tackle for loss · 2025
- #56Maddux Borcherding-Johnson1 tackle for loss · 2025
- #97Iose Epenesa1 tackle for loss · 2025
14 more on the roster · Iowa team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology