"He's just a tenacious player,'' Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said. "He loves to hit, and we call it 'sawing a guy down.' He will come saw a guy down right at the kneecap because of his aggression and how he plays. He plays like he is 6-4, but he is . . . 5-4 is a little exaggerated. He plays like he is a 6-4 linebacker.''