The Iowa Hawkeyes generally make life difficult on opposing quarterbacks.
Iowa defensive coordinator and secondary coach Phil Parker just won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach and one of the biggest reasons why is because of what he and the Hawkeyes consistently put together in the defensive backfield.
With a number of key players returning, Iowa is expected to have one of the Big Ten and nation’s best secondary units in 2024.
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy shared his take on the Iowa defensive backfield recently on his show “Always College Football.”
Whereas CBS Sports recently tabbed Iowa with the nation’s No. 3 secondary unit, McElroy wasn’t quite that high on the Hawkeyes.
McElroy ranked Iowa’s defensive backfield as the No. 7 secondary unit in college football. Here’s what McElroy had to say about the Hawkeyes:
At No. 7, a little bit lower than what most of the rankings have, and that’s Iowa. Iowa granted without Cooper DeJean, still excellent. Sebastian Castro is back as one of the best corners on the interior that you’ll find in the entire sport. Was a first-team All-American according to some publications just a year ago. But, if you look at what they bring back, too, with Xavier Nwankpa and all of the other kind of safeties that are back like Quinn Schulte and some of the other guys as well. Jermari Harris, Deshaun Lee, these guys are flat-out good across the board.
When you think about Iowa, it’s always noticeable to see how they can use their eyes to affect the opposing quarterback. That’s a group that you just never really want to play because they’re very mindful of every step that they take. When their eyes are in the backfield, they’re moving in a direction but they might actually be covering a different part of the field, so this group collectively does a great job.
Now, the issue that I have with Iowa when looking at what might be this year is that Iowa in the division that they’ve played in the last couple years hasn’t always faced game-changing talent. That’s going to change this year with them getting rid of divisions in the Big Ten, with them welcoming in Oregon, Washington, USC, they’re going to see a lot different style athlete. That should be interesting when evaluating Iowa moving forward. So, some people have them top two, top three, top four, I have Iowa at seven because I’m in a little bit see it to believe it mode with some of the personnel moving forward. – McElroy, ESPN.
Iowa brings back a lot of experience and production in its secondary. Collectively, the Hawkeyes return 58 starts from the 2023 season and 86 career starts.
Iowa’s starting secondary unit has combined for 411 tackles, 54 pass breakups, 18.5 tackles for loss, 13 interceptions and a pair of defensive touchdowns over their collective careers.
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