Davey Jergens opened eyes after breaking out for a team-best 74 yard kickoff return in the final game of 2014 against Luther College.

Jergens hit the ground running in the first game of his sophomore year as he scored two rushing touchdowns and caught another on his way to Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference offensive player of the week honors and IIAC male athlete of the week accolades.

For him, the award was a surprise when he heard the news from teammate and linebacker Shane Venteicher.

“Yeah, Shane told me,” Jergens said. “He said, ‘What’s up, stud? You got player of the week!’”

All told, Jergens rushed for 72 yards on six carries while reeling in one pass for 63 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown reception gave sophomore Sammy Sasso a touchdown pass in his first varsity attempt.

“It was awesome,” Sasso said in reference to the touchdown pass. “I didn’t have to do too much, though!”

Jergens would break off another big play; a 53-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter was the decisive score in Simpson’s 28-21 win over UW-River Falls.

Standing at 5 foot10inches and180 pounds, the West Bend native showed impressive breakaway speed on Saturday, something he unleashed and worked on as a sprinter for the Simpson track team.

“I feel like it track helps a lot,” Jergens said. “I do a lot of individualized sprinting.”

“Davey’s deal is that if he hits a crease he can go,” head coach Jim Glogowski said. “We’ve had some really good running backs here but I don’t know if we’ve had a back that is tailored to that role, and with what we are doing offensively it really fits well with the outside stretch play.”

While Jergens has developed into a Darren Sproles and Troy Brown-esque player, the sophomore sees Tavon Austin of the Rams and Adrian Peterson as his favorite players,a combination of power and speed.

This has opened up his options heading into 2015 after a freshman season in which he was used exclusively in the return game.

“We are not trying to pigeonhole guys,” Glogowski said. “He’s the kind of guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield but when he runs the ball he can create some matchup problems too.”

Jergens will continue to get a chance to soak in the high feeling after his week one performance as Simpson enjoyed their bye week this past week. The Storm will head to Bloomington, Illinois to face the Wesleyan Titans on Saturday, Sept. 19.