By Tyler Devine

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Much like the Iowa football team’s offense, sophomore running back Toren Young was virtually a no-show in the first half of Saturday’s 33-7 victory over Northern Illinois.

That all changed in the third quarter when Young took his first carry of the game a career-long 40 yards around the left side to the Northern Illinois 12-yard line.

The play set up Iowa’s first touchdown of the season and provided momentum for a team that was desperate for some.

“(It was) just excitement to be in the game,” Young said. “We have complete confidence in our coaching staff. They’re going to put us in the best position to try to win the game. We play by situations and some guys are better in certain situations. My job is to support when I’m not on the field and when I am on the field to just play the game.”

The 5-foot-11, 221-pound Young led the Hawkeyes with a career-high 84 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.

All of that running behind an offensive line playing without its two starting tackles, sophomores Tristan Wirfs and Alaric Jackson, due to suspension.

“Yeah, Toren ran extremely hard,” sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley said. “The combination of that, the play calling, and the offensive line gave us the opportunity to do well and Toren took advantage of that. Pretty sure he ran over a few guys there in the second half. He’s always preparing like he’s going to be in there and it paid off today.”

Young’s selfless attitude about sharing carries with fellow sophomores Ivory Kelly-Martin and Mekhi Sargent is symbolic of the Iowa program as a whole.

“It (the three-back system) is a benefit for us,” Young said. “All three of us bring different styles of play so it can keep their defense on their toes a little bit because they don’t know what they’re getting.

“Just knowing the most important thing is the team. I can’t get selfish, I can’t get greedy with reps because when I’m not in the game I’ve got to support those guys and help watch things and coach them up. The most important thing is just win it’s not about who’s getting the most reps or carries, we want to get touchdowns.”

True freshman debuts: The new NCAA rule that allows true freshmen to play in four games and still redshirt is paying off for some on the Iowa football team.

Defensive backs Julius Brents, Kaevon Merriweather and Riley Moss, linebacker Dillon Doyle, running back Henry Geil and defensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum all made appearances for Iowa on Saturday.

All Iowa, all the time: It was an all Iowa line on both sides of the ball for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes started four Iowa natives on the defensive line for the first time under head coach Kirk Ferentz and five Iowa natives on the offensive line for the first time since 2016 against North Dakota State.

The defensive line consisted of seniors Matt Nelson, Parker Hesse and Sam Brincks and junior Anthony Nelson.

The starters on the offensive line were seniors Dalton Ferguson, Ross Reynolds and Keegan Render, sophomore Cole Banwart and junior Levi Paulsen.

For the first time in Ferentz’s 20 season, Iowa started three linebackers with zero career starts combined.

Moving up the list: After a rocky start on Saturday, junior tight end Noah Fant caught Iowa’s first touchdown of the season in the third quarter.

The touchdown was the 13^th of Fant’s career, tying Quinn Early and Mike Flagg for 10^th all-time in program history.

Lois commits: Iowa's 2020 recruiting class gained its second commitment on Saturday.

Three-star defensive end Michael Lois announced his commitment on Twitter after his gameday visit to Iowa.

"I put a lot of time in thinking about my decision," Lois said on Twitter. "I am proud to say I am fully committed to the University of Iowa. I can't wait to be a Hawkeye."

Three-star quarterback Deuce Hogan, a native of Grapevine, Texas, is the other commit in Iowa's 2020 class.