IOWA CITY, Iowa — If there’s one way to loosen up an Iowa football player’s buttoned-up personality, it’s to ask about basketball.



The vibe changes like a front-court steal morphing into a fast break. Players who strive for vanilla football rhetoric immediately unleash the trash talk. It’s almost comical.



Iowa has a handful of linemen who had Division I basketball opportunities as post players. Then there’s Kaevon Merriweather, a sophomore safety who elevated his profile with one thunderous dunk at the UI Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. After spring football ended in late April, Merriweather played pickup basketball, and when his opponent tried to guard him, Merriweather crossed over, scorched his defender and soared toward the basket. Another player met him about two feet shy of the rim, but Merriweather went over the top with a one-handed slam.



The moment quickly went viral.



“That was really, really...