Continuing with a deep dive into Iowa’s strong returning defensive line, Noah Shannon is an experienced defensive tackle for the Hawkeyes looking to build off of a good first season as a starter. It’s been a long road for Shannon.
The Montgomery, Ill., native started his journey as a Hawkeye all the way back in 2018. He waited for his opportunity, and his hard work paid off in 2021.
Shannon got the starting job last season and did well in combination with Logan Lee. While his 48 total tackles and two sacks might not jump right off the screen, he does a lot of little things well for the Iowa defense. He might not be the biggest guy, but his burst into the backfield is always a threat and he can create consistent pressure. He waited a long time to be the starter and now looks to have an even better senior year.
Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Montgomery, Ill.
Ht: 6-0
Wt: 289
Class in 2022: Redshirt Senior
247Sports composite ranking
2018 three-star / No. 50 Defensive Tackle / No. 11 Player in Illinois
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| *2019 | Iowa | Big Ten | FR | DL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | Iowa | Big Ten | SO | DL | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2021 | Iowa | Big Ten | JR | DL | 13 | 21 | 26 | 47 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career | Iowa | 29 | 34 | 63 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Depth Chart Overview
Shannon is currently slated to start once again opposite Lee, but it certainly is a situation to monitor. Looking at spring depth charts, Lukas Van Ness is listed as the backup to Shannon.
Van Ness was a rotational defensive tackle last year as a redshirt freshman and looked like a soon-to-be star. Many expected him to take over for Zach VanValkenburg at edge rusher given his size and ability, but that remains to be seen. If they’re committed to keeping him at tackle, Shannon might be the listed starter but see a nearly equal snap count with Van Ness.
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