Redshirt freshman and Oskaloosa graduate Tyler Sash was a third-stringer on the Iowa Hawkeye defense after spring practices.
Thursday at the Outback Bowl, Sash cemented his role as a starter.
Sash came up with two interceptions in the first half and quickly setting the tone defensively in Iowa’s 31-10 drubbing of Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Sash’s interception of South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia on the Gamecocks’ second play from scrimmage helped the Hawkeyes build a 14-0 lead just a minute after their first score on the game’s opening drive.
Sash picked off Garcia again in the second quarter, returning it 45 yards to the South Carolina 26.
Sash’s two interceptions were a bowl record for Iowa, matching the pair Devon Mitchell had in the 1983 Gator Bowl and Tork Hook snatched in the 1988 Peach Bowl.
Overall, Iowa forced five turnovers and its defense held its last two opponents scoreless for seven quarters, scoring 86 unsanswered points before South Carolina found the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter.
