Defensive Back Preview

Much like the defensive line, the Hawkeye defensive backfield graduated a wealth of experience. Gone are both safties, Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood. Sash left Iowa as its all time interception return yardage leader and Greenwood left after being a four year starter.


Safety

As noted above, both safties have graduated, which is never good and I am sure that if defensive coordinator Norm Parker he would rather lose cornerbacks than safties. In the two deep cover that Iowa runs, the safties are very important in lining up the defense and being disciplined as the last line of defense. What the Iowa coaches do as good as any coaches in the country is to get their best players on the field. That is what you are seeing this year with Micah Hyde (6-1, 185) moving from cornerback to free safety. Micah showed a nose for the ball grabbing 4 interceptions last year and returning two of them for touchdowns. Opposite Hyde at strong safety will be a position that won’t be decided till game week. Senior Jordan Bernstein (5-11, 205), junior Colin Sleeper (6-2, 200), and sophomore Tanner Miller (6-2, 200) will all be competing for playing time. Bernstein arrived on campus five years ago as a highly taughted recruit, but has been plauged by injuries. Miller played last year as a true freshman and was able to hold his own. Sleeper is the wild card here, he’s a guy that is very athletic, last year he played Denard Robinson for the scout team. Whichever one of these guys wins the job will be pushed all season for playing time by the two that aren’t starting.

Cornerback

Shaun Prater (5-11, 180) decided to return to campus after toying with the idea of leaving early to the NFL. The senior is returning after a first team all-Big Ten selection last season and is an All-American candidate. There isn’t much else to say about Prater, he is one of the better cover corners that Iowa has had under Kirk Ferentz and will see his numbers fall this season as opposing teams won’t target receivers on his side as much. Opposite Prater will be Greg Castillo (5-11, 182); the junior had 11 tackles last season in spot duty and looks to become the full time starter this season. Behind the starting corners will be B.J. Lowery (5-11, 185) who has made some impressive plays in open practices the last two seasons. Behind these three will be some young guys, Jordan Lomax (5-10, 185), Gavin Smith (5-10, 175), and Torrey Campbell (5-11, 183) will all be looking to find their way onto the field through backup roles and special teams.

Nickel package –

When Iowa goes to the Nickel package this season look for them to bring in an extra safety and move Micah Hyde down to play over the slot receiver, having three quality cover guys in this package should be a huge benefit for the Iowa defense.

UNI game recap - Defense

DL- Considering that Iowa replaced two four year starters at defensive tackle, I thought that the line played a very good game. Playing against UNI is probably different than almost any other team Iowa plays this year, they run what some would call an unconventional offense. I noticed that the line really got a good push up front and for the most part controlled the line of scrimmage. They did get into trouble sometimes when they ran line stunts on running plays and on misdirections. Klug showed that he has a motor and is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Ballard looked like a guy that was new to the DT position, he did well in 1 on 1 situations, but showed some struggles against double teams. The ends were solid and that was to be expected. Overall grade: B

LB- A unit that returns all of the starters from last season had a very sub-par game for the most part. Several missed tackles and just lacked play making on Saturday. Edds didn't look like the senior that he is, missing tackles and not taking good angles. Angerer played OK, but was beat in coverage for UNI's touchdown. Hunter played an average game, coming up with a huge FG block to end the game. Overall I expected more out of this group and hope this is a one game deal. Overall grade: C

DB- Returning three of four starters, the defensive backfield was though of as a strength for Iowa. Greenway seemed to be a step slow on every play, don't know what his problem was, but didn't perform well at all. Castillo looked like a freshman out there, playing the traditional Iowa CB position to a T, 15 yard cushion, make the tackle after they get a first down. He is just keeping the position warm until Prater is back. Sash showed some emotion and could be the emotional leader for the defense, he flew around and seemed to pick up the defensive intensity. Spievey is dominate, you won't see too many teams that throw his way, even when his guy made a catch, Amari was right there with him. Overall Grade B-