Agree with PCHawk about Jewell. He's got the energy & character this D has been missing for a couple yrs.
I know it might sound a little bit out-of-the-box, but what Sam B Richardson has done in Ames has been incredible. He has been the face of the offense for three years now and has handled himself with class despite all the setbacks over the years. Just look at all the games he started for the Cyclones. Its not easy changing offensive coordinators or winning despite an average or mediocre defense. He has been a team player and even after losing the starting job he has carried himself with pride and helped his teammates. His story is the Iowa Hawkeye's of 2015.
KF finally listening to the message board crowd and making the necessary changes to get the team moving in the right direction again is the best story in my opinion.
Team chemistry and communication is the story for 2015.
I was concerned about how the new tackles would play but to state everybody saying the o-line would be a disaster is a huge overstatement. Many thought it would be an area where we could struggle but I don't remember anyone saying it would be a disaster.I've been a big sucker for the Oline story:
Starting in January with a new depth chart released, the offensive line had two seniors, 3 underclassmen, and those underclassmen were at the tackle positions. We ALL thought it would be a disaster and CJ would be running for his life and taking huge sacks. And we were wrong. And then there were injuries all along the line. And even with a patchwork line that would then include a true freshman went on to pave the way (nearly literally, what a bunch of road-graders) for two different RBs (the 2nd and 4th string at the beginning of the season) to rush for 200 yards in back to back games (not done in college football since 1996!). The story of the year is everybody on the O-line, the O-line coaches, and Brian Ferentz taking every harbinger of doom expectation we had and turning them around and even doing it with hefty injuries. THAT is Iowa football and the Iowa story.