JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
DEFENSIVE LINE
Defensive Line Coach Rick Kaczenski will be working with what could be the most experienced defensive line in the country. The 2009 starters return intact (all four started all 13 games last year). All four are all-Big Ten candidates and Adrian Clayborn is a legitimate all-American. Iowa’s defense allowed only 123 yards a game rushing last year and ranked third in the Big Ten and tenth nationally in total defense, allowing only 276 yards a game.
The defensive line played a major role in this success. Senior all-America candidate Adrian Clayborn (6-4, 285) will once again lead the line from his end position. He’s started 17 straight games and has 140 career stops. He was named 2009 Defensive Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance committee. He had 70 tackles last year, including 20 tackles for loss (-107 yards) and 11.5 quarterback sacks. He forced four fumbles and blocked a kick, and ran it back for a touchdown, against Penn State. The play against Penn State was one of the top defensive plays of the year in college football. He was a first-team all-Big Ten selection and was also named the MVP in the FedEx Orange Bowl victory over Georgia Tech.
Anchoring the starting end spot on the other side of the line will be junior all-Big Ten candidate Broderick Binns (6-2, 261). He had 63 tackles in 2009 and now has 83 career stops. Binns played very well as a starter last year.
Playing right behind Binns and Clayborn will be two-year letterman Lebron Daniel (6-2, 250), a junior, and redshirt freshman Dominic Alvis (6-4, 240). Daniel has played sparingly over the last two years, but has been gaining valuable experience. Junior Joe Forgy (6-4, 255) hopes to have a strong spring at defensive end.
Seniors Karl Klug (6-4, 270) and Christian Ballard (6-5, 297) enter spring ball as the returning starters at defensive tackle. Ballard has started 26 straight games and has 109 career tackles. Klug had 65 tackles last year, along with 13 tackles for loss (-40 yards) and two forced fumbles. Ballard also had nine tackles for loss (-35 yards).
Junior Mike Daniels (6-1, 275) and sophomore Steve Bigach (6-3, 272) are solid backups with hopes of seeing more playing time this year. Daniels played in every game last year collecting 10 tackles.
Also competing for playing time at defensive tackle are junior Thomas Nardo (6-3, 277) and redshirt freshmen Scott Covert (6-2, 245), Casey Kreiter (6-3, 250) and Martin Hopkins (6-3, 250).
Like many position on the defensive side of the ball, the starters appear solid, barring injury. Building depth and experience will be a priority during the spring. The spring practice sessions will be a great opportunity for players to move up the ladder. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the defensive line.
LINEBACKERS
There is definitely some retooling to be done at the linebacker position. It’ll be tough filling the void created by a pair of players who accounted for 484 career tackles — gone is first team all-American Pat Angerer (258 career tackles) and all-Big Ten outside linebacker A.J. Edds (226). Edds started 39 games for the Hawkeyes while Angerer started his final 24 games. Both will be deeply missed from a talent and leadership standpoint.
Angerer led the Hawkeyes in tackles for two straight years. He had 145 stops his senior campaign and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also named Iowa’s MVP on defense. Edds was a regular on the league’s academic all-Big Ten unit.
Senior three-time letterman Jeremiha Hunter (6-2, 235) is Iowa’s lone returning starter at linebacker. The all-Big Ten candidate has 25 career starts and started all but the Minnesota game last year. He was Iowa’s second leading tackler in 2009, for the second straight year, with 89 tackles. He has 179 career tackles and two career interceptions. Senior Troy Johnson (6-2, 235), also a three-year letterman, is competing for the role of starter as the team begins spring drills. Johnson started one game (Minnesota) last year and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. He totaled 20 tackles while playing in every game last year.
Behind Hunter and Johnson are senior Jeff Tarpinian (6-3, 238) and junior Bruce Davis (6-0, 232). Both have seen extensive game action in a reserve role and on special teams. Tarpinian has 50 career tackles and is a three-time letterman and three-time academic all-Big Ten performer. Davis has 16 career tackles. Both will be competing for starting jobs this spring.
Redshirt freshman Shane DiBona (6-2, 230) is the only other player listed at linebacker.
Junior Tyler Nielsen (6-4, 235) will start spring ball as the top outside linebacker. Nielsen has also seen limited action at linebacker, but has played extensively on special teams. He’s a two-time academic all-Big Ten performer.
Behind Nielsen on the depth chart are Tarpinian and senior Ross Petersen (6-3, 236). It’s apparent that the linebacking position is dominated by upperclassmen. Linebacker Coach Darrell Wilson is looking forward to seeing how this group competes and how the depth settles this spring.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Iowa’s defensive backfield will be experienced and talented this season. It could prove to be, once again, a key to Iowa’s success. The only departure is Amari Spievey, who decided to enter the NFL draft. Spievey was a first team all-Big Ten selection and had 56 tackles and two interceptions last year.
Three of the four defensive backfield starters return, and only one is a senior. The 2009 pass defense was rated first in the Big Ten after allowing only 153 yards a game. That figure ranked fourth in NCAA statistics. Iowa also ranked first in the Big Ten (89.9) and third nationally in pass efficiency defense. The team’s 21 interceptions ranked second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.
Senior all-Big Ten candidate Brett Greenwood (6-0, 200) has a solid hold on the free safety position. He’s been a starter since his freshman year and is Iowa’s most experienced defender. Greenwood has 33 career starts and is considered extremely talented and dependable. A second team all-Big Ten selection, he had 55 tackles and three interceptions last year. Career totals show 168 tackles and seven interceptions.
Sophomores Nick Nielsen (6-3, 210) and Jack Swanson (5-11, 200) are the top candidates, behind Greenwood. Swanson had five stops while seeing action primarily on specialty teams last season.
All-America candidate Tyler Sash (6-1, 210) returns at strong safety for his junior campaign. He’s been a starter 24 times in his still young career. He was named third team 2009 all-American by the Associated Press and first team all-Big Ten. He was also a semi- finalist for the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Year Award. Sash was Iowa’s third leading tackler with 85 tackles. He intercepted a team leading six passes and had 203 interception return yards (an Iowa record). His 350 career interception return yardage is an Iowa record. He has career totals of 11 interceptions and 137 tackles.
Behind Sash will be junior Tom Donatell (6-2, 205) and sophomore Jason White (5-10, 205). White lettered and saw limited action on special teams in 12 games last year. He had five tackles. Both players are looking to gain experience during spring workouts.
The following excerpts were obtained from Iowa’s Spring Football Prospectus
Defensive Line Coach Rick Kaczenski will be working with what could be the most experienced defensive line in the country. The 2009 starters return intact (all four started all 13 games last year). All four are all-Big Ten candidates and Adrian Clayborn is a legitimate all-American. Iowa’s defense allowed only 123 yards a game rushing last year and ranked third in the Big Ten and tenth nationally in total defense, allowing only 276 yards a game.
The defensive line played a major role in this success. Senior all-America candidate Adrian Clayborn (6-4, 285) will once again lead the line from his end position. He’s started 17 straight games and has 140 career stops. He was named 2009 Defensive Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance committee. He had 70 tackles last year, including 20 tackles for loss (-107 yards) and 11.5 quarterback sacks. He forced four fumbles and blocked a kick, and ran it back for a touchdown, against Penn State. The play against Penn State was one of the top defensive plays of the year in college football. He was a first-team all-Big Ten selection and was also named the MVP in the FedEx Orange Bowl victory over Georgia Tech.
Anchoring the starting end spot on the other side of the line will be junior all-Big Ten candidate Broderick Binns (6-2, 261). He had 63 tackles in 2009 and now has 83 career stops. Binns played very well as a starter last year.
Playing right behind Binns and Clayborn will be two-year letterman Lebron Daniel (6-2, 250), a junior, and redshirt freshman Dominic Alvis (6-4, 240). Daniel has played sparingly over the last two years, but has been gaining valuable experience. Junior Joe Forgy (6-4, 255) hopes to have a strong spring at defensive end.
Seniors Karl Klug (6-4, 270) and Christian Ballard (6-5, 297) enter spring ball as the returning starters at defensive tackle. Ballard has started 26 straight games and has 109 career tackles. Klug had 65 tackles last year, along with 13 tackles for loss (-40 yards) and two forced fumbles. Ballard also had nine tackles for loss (-35 yards).
Junior Mike Daniels (6-1, 275) and sophomore Steve Bigach (6-3, 272) are solid backups with hopes of seeing more playing time this year. Daniels played in every game last year collecting 10 tackles.
Also competing for playing time at defensive tackle are junior Thomas Nardo (6-3, 277) and redshirt freshmen Scott Covert (6-2, 245), Casey Kreiter (6-3, 250) and Martin Hopkins (6-3, 250).
Like many position on the defensive side of the ball, the starters appear solid, barring injury. Building depth and experience will be a priority during the spring. The spring practice sessions will be a great opportunity for players to move up the ladder. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the defensive line.
LINEBACKERS
There is definitely some retooling to be done at the linebacker position. It’ll be tough filling the void created by a pair of players who accounted for 484 career tackles — gone is first team all-American Pat Angerer (258 career tackles) and all-Big Ten outside linebacker A.J. Edds (226). Edds started 39 games for the Hawkeyes while Angerer started his final 24 games. Both will be deeply missed from a talent and leadership standpoint.
Angerer led the Hawkeyes in tackles for two straight years. He had 145 stops his senior campaign and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also named Iowa’s MVP on defense. Edds was a regular on the league’s academic all-Big Ten unit.
Senior three-time letterman Jeremiha Hunter (6-2, 235) is Iowa’s lone returning starter at linebacker. The all-Big Ten candidate has 25 career starts and started all but the Minnesota game last year. He was Iowa’s second leading tackler in 2009, for the second straight year, with 89 tackles. He has 179 career tackles and two career interceptions. Senior Troy Johnson (6-2, 235), also a three-year letterman, is competing for the role of starter as the team begins spring drills. Johnson started one game (Minnesota) last year and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. He totaled 20 tackles while playing in every game last year.
Behind Hunter and Johnson are senior Jeff Tarpinian (6-3, 238) and junior Bruce Davis (6-0, 232). Both have seen extensive game action in a reserve role and on special teams. Tarpinian has 50 career tackles and is a three-time letterman and three-time academic all-Big Ten performer. Davis has 16 career tackles. Both will be competing for starting jobs this spring.
Redshirt freshman Shane DiBona (6-2, 230) is the only other player listed at linebacker.
Junior Tyler Nielsen (6-4, 235) will start spring ball as the top outside linebacker. Nielsen has also seen limited action at linebacker, but has played extensively on special teams. He’s a two-time academic all-Big Ten performer.
Behind Nielsen on the depth chart are Tarpinian and senior Ross Petersen (6-3, 236). It’s apparent that the linebacking position is dominated by upperclassmen. Linebacker Coach Darrell Wilson is looking forward to seeing how this group competes and how the depth settles this spring.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Iowa’s defensive backfield will be experienced and talented this season. It could prove to be, once again, a key to Iowa’s success. The only departure is Amari Spievey, who decided to enter the NFL draft. Spievey was a first team all-Big Ten selection and had 56 tackles and two interceptions last year.
Three of the four defensive backfield starters return, and only one is a senior. The 2009 pass defense was rated first in the Big Ten after allowing only 153 yards a game. That figure ranked fourth in NCAA statistics. Iowa also ranked first in the Big Ten (89.9) and third nationally in pass efficiency defense. The team’s 21 interceptions ranked second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.
Senior all-Big Ten candidate Brett Greenwood (6-0, 200) has a solid hold on the free safety position. He’s been a starter since his freshman year and is Iowa’s most experienced defender. Greenwood has 33 career starts and is considered extremely talented and dependable. A second team all-Big Ten selection, he had 55 tackles and three interceptions last year. Career totals show 168 tackles and seven interceptions.
Sophomores Nick Nielsen (6-3, 210) and Jack Swanson (5-11, 200) are the top candidates, behind Greenwood. Swanson had five stops while seeing action primarily on specialty teams last season.
All-America candidate Tyler Sash (6-1, 210) returns at strong safety for his junior campaign. He’s been a starter 24 times in his still young career. He was named third team 2009 all-American by the Associated Press and first team all-Big Ten. He was also a semi- finalist for the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Year Award. Sash was Iowa’s third leading tackler with 85 tackles. He intercepted a team leading six passes and had 203 interception return yards (an Iowa record). His 350 career interception return yardage is an Iowa record. He has career totals of 11 interceptions and 137 tackles.
Behind Sash will be junior Tom Donatell (6-2, 205) and sophomore Jason White (5-10, 205). White lettered and saw limited action on special teams in 12 games last year. He had five tackles. Both players are looking to gain experience during spring workouts.
The following excerpts were obtained from Iowa’s Spring Football Prospectus
