Linebacker Jack Campbell and Riley Moss have enjoyed a busy buildup to the 2022 college football season racking up preseason accolades. That trend continued with Campbell and Moss being named to the first team Associated Press preseason All-America team.
The duo were both named first-team preseason All-America selections by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. Campbell was also named a preseason first-team All-American by Sporting News.
Campbell has been named to the Butkus Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, and Rotary Lombardi Award watch lists. Meanwhile, Moss has been named to the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Watch List and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list. Both were also Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list members as well.
Campbell led the nation with 143 tackles in 2021 and garnered first-team All-Big Ten status from the league’s media and Phil Steele. He was one of 16 semifinalists for the Butkus Award and was named a second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Phil Steele.
After intercepting four passes and defending nine passes last season, Moss was named a first-team All-American by Sporting News. The Ankeny, Iowa, native finished with 39 tackles, three tackles for loss and returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns.
Campbell and Moss are two of the main reasons Hawkeye fans and pundits are confident this Iowa defense will remain one of the Big Ten’s best.
“Defensively, we have a lot of veterans back. Some injuries in the secondary, but I like the way those guys are working, the guys that we’re seeing. Our linebackers, all three of them were out last spring and it was really good for the other guys to get experience.
“I think they’ve benefitted from that. And then we’ve got our three starters back, and they’re practicing well, so that’s good. And then up front we lost Zach (VanValkenburg), but basically everybody else is back, and feel like we’ve got a good nucleus there. Those guys have been practicing well, doing a good job,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of his defense at Iowa Media Day.
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