The Iowa Hawkeyes have a healthy competition underway at cornerback.
Graduate cornerback Jermari Harris is locked in as one of the returning starters for the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-1, 189 pound corner from Chicago has appeared in 32 games and started 18 over the past two seasons.
Iowa has three options it feels good about opposite Harris as its other potential starting cornerback. Sophomore Deshaun Lee started six games last season and performed well in his opportunities. Lee was listed as Iowa’s starting cornerback opposite Harris during the spring.
Junior TJ Hall and sophomore John Nestor are both serious options as Iowa’s other starting cornerback, too, though. Nestor, a 5-foot-11, 196 pound defensive back, was listed atop Iowa’s depth chart to start fall camp.
With fall camp ending and game week arriving, Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker shared some of his thoughts on how the cornerback competition is shaping up.
“Well, I think it’s really interesting. Jermari Harris has come back and the leadership that he’s brung and seeing TJ Hall grow and improve his standard of play. Nestor, he’s really doing a good job, very competitive out there and Deshaun Lee’s doing a heck of a job.
“So, I mean, it’s really interesting to see those four over there. One day one guy might have a better day than the other guy. It’s depending on what day and, at the point of attack, how productive are they? But, I think they’re all into it, they’re all working hard and you can see maybe playing more guys in the back end if you have to,” Parker said.
Asked if Nestor reminded him of former Hawkeye and current Denver Bronco Riley Moss, Parker said he does.
“They’re both probably the same kind of personality a little bit and you’ve just got to calm John down a little bit at times. Hey, just relax a little bit. He’s full go all the time just like Riley was. So, it’s nice to have those guys. You want those guys. Just give me effort, make sure you give me effort. I can deal with everything else,” Parker said.
Parker wasn’t ready to tip his hand on who would be starting in the season’s opening week, though.
“You never know until the day of the game. You know what I mean? I got a good idea. I got a list of guys and rank them, but things change every day with us throughout the practice. This guy could jump ahead of the guy. Most likely I know who we’re going to be,” Parker said.
Throughout camp, Parker has tried to minimize some of the workload on his veteran defensive backs and get younger players reps.
“Jermari’s taken a lot. I try to save guys, the wear and tear on them, so sometimes I’ll give a younger guy more reps so they can get the more experience. I know it’s not a game situation, but that’s what we’re trying to do is make sure that everybody’s playing enough. Because, if you lose a guy, you want to be able to plug a guy in, but you don’t want to lose anything there,” Parker said.
Based on the sounds of it, this is a competition that will continue until Iowa’s season kicks off and maybe several games in. Parker and the Hawkeyes also sound comfortable perhaps rotating more at cornerback in 2024.
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