Harty: Duwa and Gallagher both living their dream
IOWA CITY, Iowa – This past Sunday had a strong local presence with regard to Iowa Hawkeye athletics.
It started when Mid-Prairie defensive end Levi Duwa made a verbal commitment to the Iowa football team in the morning.
A little while later, former Iowa City West standout Nick Gallagher took the mound in relief for the Iowa baseball team and pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one run in an 8-3 victory over Michigan.
What we saw on Sunday with Duwa and Gallagher is two dreams and two journeys at different stages. One is just beginning, while the other continues to get better.
"I never wanted to be anywhere else besides here," Gallagher said after Sunday’s victory. "So it’s perfect.”
Both dreams came from the same roots, but have branched out differently.
Duwa will be on scholarship from the moment he joins the Iowa football team in 2017, while Gallagher came to Iowa as a late-addition walk-on in baseball.
Gallagher had to pitch well as a high school senior just to have a chance to walk-on the Iowa baseball team. He’s what is called a late bloomer, a kid who just needed some time for his body and skills to catch up with his ambition.
Duwa, on the other hand, is far enough along physically and talent-wise right now that Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz feels he is worthy of a scholarship or he wouldn’t have offered him.
Nobody likes to shop local more than Ferentz does. He just doesn’t always have that luxury because kids like Duwa don’t come around very often.
Most kids from Iowa don’t get to see their dreams come true at the major college level. They’re either not good enough, not focused enough or not fortunate enough.
The odds are stacked against kids when it comes to playing for the Hawkeyes in any sport because the supply far outweighs the demand.
That’s why it is so special when the dream becomes reality for somebody like Duwa, who had been waiting anxiously for an Iowa offer.
"It feels amazing knowing that my dreams are coming true,” Duwa said. “I just need to keep working hard and keep improving myself day by day.”
Getting a full-ride athletic scholarship to a Big Ten school is a life-changing event for more than just the student-athlete.
Imagine how proud Duwa must feel knowing that his parents don’t have to pay for his college education.
And imagine how Gallagher’s family must feel knowing that he had the courage and determination to accept a challenge that could ultimately alter the course of his life. The Gallagher I watched pitch on Sunday drips with potential, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound, hard-throwing right hander who has good movement on all of his pitches.
Duwa, obviously, has potential or he wouldn’t have a scholarship offer from Iowa.
There is something to be said for seeing the world and for leaving home to spread your wings. As satisfying as it is to shop local, Hawkeye athletics, especially football, couldn’t compete without getting help from beyond our borders.
Staying home to attend college as a student or as student-athlete isn’t for everybody.
But for Duwa and Gallagher, it’s what they wanted more than anything else. And to see them both achieve their dream of being a Hawkeye is a heart-warming story.
One of the cool things for Gallagher, and for Duwa once he becomes a Hawkeye, is that playing college sports brings kids from all different backgrounds together. They unite for a common goal and learn a great deal about each other along the way.
Hawkeyes come in all different shapes, sizes and colors. And they come from far away and from nearby, as we saw on Sunday with Duwa and Gallagher both achieving milestones.