By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There are some things about the 18^th-ranked Iowa football team that aren’t surprising at all.

From Noah Fant leading the team in touchdown catches to A.J. Epenesa leading it in sacks and quarterback hurries, the season has unfolded in some ways that were predictable.

But there also have been some pleasant surprises from a player standpoint, players who have contributed to Iowa’s 6-1 record probably more than most had expected.

The following is a list of seven players in no particular order who qualify as pleastant surprises in my opinion.

Tight end T.J. Hockenson was considered for the list because his statistics are incredible. But Hockenson also played a key role last season, so it’s not like he came out of nowhere.

1. Mekhi Sargent: The Key West, Fla., native is one of the few junior college recruits to sign with Iowa under Kirk Ferentz.

And now it's obvious why Ferentz and his assistant coaches liked Sargent enough to make him a late addition to the roster this past summer.

You name it and the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Sargent can do it as a running back, including pass blocking. He brings versatility, good instincts and depth at a position that needs all three.

“Every time you talk to him, first of all, he’s a great young guy,” Ferentz said of Sargent, who rushed for nearly 1,500 yards as a freshman at Iowa Western Community College last season. “He’s just got a really humble approach. He’s got a real appreciation for being here, and he’s a good football player on top of it. He’s an outstanding teammate.

“I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player here before he leaves, and boy, that’s exciting for us.”

Ferentz gave that evaluation of Sargent in September, and it has since proven to be true.

In addition to all the little things Sargent does, he leads the team with four rushing touchdowns and is second on the team in rushing with 297 yards. He also has four catches for 75 yards.

Sargent is different than many junior college recruits in that he had three seasons of eligibility remaining when he signed with Iowa.

2. Riley Moss: In barely one year, the Ankeny native has gone from being a preferred walk-on recruit in high school to a starter at cornerback, alongside fellow true freshman Julius Brents.

Moss no longer has to worry about paying his way to school because he has shown that he belongs at the Big Ten level from the day he arrived on campus.

Moss and Brents became starters mostly due to injuries to Matt Hankins and Michael Ojemudia. But the fact that Hankins and Ojemudia are both now healthy enough to play, but still listed as backups is telling.

It says that Moss and Brents are more than just the next men in on a temporary basis.

The 6-2 Brents was considered for the list because starting for Iowa as a true freshman is rare at any position. But Brents was also a heralded four-star recruit from Indianapolis, and there was lots of speculation that he would contribute immediately.

So Brents isn’t nearly as big of a surprise as Moss, whose best sport in high school probably was track and field, where he was an elite hurdler.

Sophomore safety Geno Stone also was considered for the list, but he played enough last season to where it’s not a big surprise to see him playing a bigger role this season.

3. Dalton Ferguson: This will be a fall to remember for the former walk-on offensive lineman from Solon.

Ferguson has seen his situation change dramatically as a fifth-year senior, on and off the field.

He was put on scholarship before the season and made his first career start in the season opener against Northern Illinois.

It was thought at the time that Ferguson was simply filling in for one of Iowa’s two starters at offensive tackle because starting right tackle Tristan Wirfs and starting left tackle Alaric Jackson both were suspended for the Northern Illinois game.

Wirfs and Jackson have since returned to the starting lineup, but Ferguson still has started the last five games at right guard, proving that he is more than just a temporary solution.

Ferguson overcame two serious knee injuries and being buried on the depth chart to achieve his dream of starting for the Hawkeyes.

He also became the father of twin girls in September and has earned the respect and admiration from his teammates for how well he handles all of his responsibilities.

“It’s crazy. I don’t know how he does it,” Wirfs said recently. “I haven’t met his two little girls yet. I can’t wait.”

4. Colten Rastetter: Include me on the list of those who assumed that true sophomore Ryan Gersonde would be the starter punter this season.

That assumption was based on several factors, including that Colten Rastetter performed poorly last season, averaging just 37.8 yards on 55 attempts.

Gersonde, on the other hand, averaged 42.5 yards on 13 punts last season despite being hampered by injuries. Gersonde was also on scholarship when he came to Iowa, so I figured that might give him a slight edge if he and Rastetter were even because college football is a business.

Gersonde was also mistakenly listed as the starter heading into the season, so it was even a bigger surprise when Kirk Ferentz set the record straight by saying Rastetter would start.

To say that some fans were surprised and upset by the news would be an understatement.

But those fans have since been silenced by Rastetter’s performance. He enters Saturday’s game against Penn State averaging 43.6 yards on 21 punts. He also has four punts longer than 50 yards and 10 that were downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Rastetter still punts with a rugby style, but the ball more times than not has rolled and bounced in the right direction this season, whereas last season it was just the opposite.

5. Djimon Colbert: The former high school cornerback has literally grown into a linebacker, one bite and one workout at a time.

Colbert came to Iowa as a defensive back, but he knew that a switch to linebacker could happen if he kept growing, which he has under the watchful eye of Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle.

But even with the position switch, the 6-1, 234-pound Colbert has cracked the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman, due partly to injuries to other linebackers, but also due to his talent.

“I think just the more and more that I get out there, the more confidence that we all get to feel as a unit,” Colbert said.

Colbert’s transformation started when he switched from cornerback to safety as a senior in high school because he just kept growing.

He came to Iowa as a 212-pound safety, but has continued to gain weight.

“Before I made that switch from safety, I had to kind of watch what I eat because I was trying to stay down in that 210, 212 range,” said Colbert, who is from Shawnee Mission, Kan. ‘But now I get to kind of have more freedom. I can’t go too crazy. But it’s kind of nice, I don’t have to worry about keeping my weight down all of the time."

Colbert is ranked sixth on the team with 30 tackles in seven games.

6. Chauncey Golston: The third-year sophomore from Detroit is proving to be more than just a backup whose better days are down the road.

The 6-5, 265-pound Golston has emerged as yet another pass-rushing force for a defense that already has three talented defensive ends in Parker Hesse, Anthony Nelson and A.J. Epenesa.

You figured Golston might have trouble earning playing time this season, but that hasn’t been the case. It helps that he can move inside to tackle because that allows him to rotate at two positions.

Golston has 17 tackles, including four for losses, and two sacks this season.

7. Brandon Smith: After a freshman season that saw him catch just three passes for 15 yards, the Mississippi native is now starting to emerge as a reliable go-to receiver.

The 6-3, 219-pound Smith has 14 catches for 199 yards and one touchdown this season. His touchdown came against Maryland this past Saturday on a spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. Smith made the catch despite having a Maryland defender grabbing and holding his other arm, which led to an interference call.

Smith is learning how to use his size and leaping ability to his advantage. He struggled to do that last season, and that affected his confidence.