The best Iowa defense I have ever seen was in 2009, maybe 2002 was better or something like that, but 09 was the best in my opinion.
The lineup was:
Clayborn, Binns, Klug, Ballard, Angerer, Hunter, Edds, Spievey, Sash, Greenwood, Prater. Maybe lots of other guys got playing time, but these were the 11
We shall see about Brod Binns and Prater, but for the most part, this whole lineup is in the NFL. And I have a good feeling about those two guys. Brett Greenwood had his situation which I understand. But the whole D is in the league, think about that.
That D should be the model, the standard. They were great, they kept us in games and allowed us to win some that we shouldn't. There are two ways to interpret this defense in terms of the coaching staff:
(1) Iowa cannot always have a D this good. Take this year for example, when the D was mediocre. There is no way Iowa can have this talent year in and year out.
(2) Or you can look at it more optimistically. This D (in 2009) was a testament to everything that Norm's scheme did well, and is it a realistic expectation for Iowa to have every year on the defensive side of the ball.
According to Rivals.com past Iowa commitment lists, the star ratings of these starters coming out of high school:
Clayborn (4), Binns (3), Klug (2), Ballard (4), Angerer (3), Hunter (4), Edds (3), Spievey (2), Sash (3), Greenwood (), Prater (3). I can't find Greenwood, maybe he was a walk-on. Maybe he was a 0 star recruit.
To me, this is more than realistic. It shows that Iowa can have a great D, and maybe also a great team with good recruiting. We don't need to recruit like Florida St or USC to field a good team, as a matter of fact, Iowa can't recruit that well anyway. There are no five star players on that Defense, let alone eleven of them. Iowa should stick with a similar defensive scheme and continue to recruit their type of players. High school kids that fit the system, fit a specific role and have natural size and at times, undiscovered athleticism. This system works, and the hiring of Phil Parker could be a great thing.