Tag: Seth Wallace

Seth Wallace promoted to assistant head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes

Seth Wallace has been named Iowa’s assistant head coach. Wallace and Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker both saw significant pay raises.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been expected to drop coaching news any day since the offseason began. Wednesday was that day.

No, there is not movement on the offensive coordinator search aside from Paul Chryst reportedly declining the role. The movement comes in the form of the Hawkeyes promoting linebackers coach and assistant defensive coordinator Seth Wallace to assistant head coach.

Wallace has been on the Iowa staff for the last eight years. He will retain his responsibilities as the assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. This move increases his salary from $755,000 to $1 million.

Being able to coach at the University of Iowa with such great players, coaches and staff members is really an honor. The University of Iowa and this football program are both very special to me. I am appreciative of this new, expanded role and look forward to preparing our athletes for the upcoming season and beyond. – Seth Wallace

Wallace is the first assistant head coach during Kirk Ferentz’ tenure at Iowa. Ferentz had strong words to say about the move.

Seth is an excellent coach and has been an asset to our coaching staff for many years. He works tirelessly to develop our players into outstanding men on and off the field. I am grateful that he is a part of our program. – Kirk Ferentz

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker received a big increase in his annual pay, too. Parker, the recipient of this season’s Broyles Award, had his pay boosted from $1.4 million annually to $1.9 million.

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A look at all of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ assistant coaches’ 2022 base salaries following raises

Iowa’s assistant football coaches saw salary raises across the board. What do their 2022 salaries now look like?

Salary figures obtained by USA TODAY Sports through an open-records request and reported on by The Register’s Chad Leistikow reveal that Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz got his wish.

As Hawk Central’s Kennington Lloyd Smith III touched on, one of Ferentz’s stipulations when he inked his new contract was to increase his assistant coaches’ salary pool to $7 million annually as a group.

Of course, Ferentz signed his new contract that extends him as the Hawkeyes’ head football coach through the 2029 season and that’s precisely what’s happened for his assistants. Collectively, Ferentz’s 10 on-field assistants and his strength coach combine for $6.95 million in annual salary.

Here’s a look at the big raises his assistant coaches saw across the board.

Iowa Hawkeyes snapshot profile: No. 44 Seth Benson

Seth Benson brings some serious production back to Iowa heading into 2022. He racked up 105 total tackles in 2021 for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Seth Wallace have to just be ecstatic to return what they do at the linebacker spots entering 2022.

One of the returning stars is redshirt senior linebacker Seth Benson. The 6-foot, 229 pound linebacker from Sioux Falls, S.D., may have been overshadowed at times by what his counterpart Jack Campbell accomplished in 2021, but his returning production and experience is vital for the Hawkeyes’ defense.

Benson racked up 105 total tackles, eight quarterback hurries, 5.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, two sacks and one interception during the 2021 campaign. His interception was one of three that the Hawkeyes forced against Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy in Iowa’s 27-17 win over the Cyclones. That interception set up a Caleb Shudak field goal that staked the Hawkeyes to a two-score lead.

Benson’s career high in tackles came against Northwestern during the 2020 season when he tallied 13 stops. He had a pair of 10-tackle games last season with his most recent such effort coming against the Purdue Boilermakers on Oct. 16, 2021. Benson also had eight assisted tackles in the Hawkeyes’ come-from-behind win over Nebraska on Nov. 26.

His ability to rush the passer from the linebacker position was part of what helped Iowa finish as the No. 13 scoring defense, surrendering just 19.2 points per game in 2021. Benson finished with a pair of quarterback hurries in Iowa’s 23-20 win over Penn State last year and he had a pair of pass breakups in the Hawkeyes’ 33-23 victory over Illinois on Nov. 20, 2021.

Playing alongside the national leader in tackles from the 2021 season in fellow Iowa linebacker Campbell, Benson is primed to shine once more in 2022. Let’s take a look at his snapshot profile entering the 2022 season.

Preseason player profile

Hometown: Sioux Falls, S.D.

Ht: 6-0

Wt: 229

Class in 2022: Redshirt senior

247Sports composite ranking

2018 two-star / No. 100 inside linebacker / No. 2 player from South Dakota

Career stats

Defense & Fumbles Table
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 LB 7 6 5 11 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 Iowa Big Ten SO LB 7 26 21 47 3.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
*2021 Iowa Big Ten JR LB 14 54 51 105 5.5 2.0 1 6 6.0 0 3 0 0
Career Iowa 86 77 163 8.5 4.0 1 6 6.0 0 3 0 0
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 6/10/2022.

Depth chart overview

Benson is another one of Iowa’s great developmental success stories. After arriving as an unheralded two-star signee in the 2018 class, Benson has now started in 21 consecutive games.

Benson is entrenched atop the defensive depth chart as Iowa’s starting weak side linebacker opposite Campbell. Make no mistake. His presence is a huge part of the reason many view Iowa’s linebackers as one of the nation’s best units in all of college football.

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Full snapshot profile series

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ESPN selects Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Jack Campbell to have biggest defensive presence in 2022

ESPN writer Tom VanHaaren chose Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell as his defensive player to have the biggest presence in 2022.

Iowa enters the spring slate off a 10-4 season that included a Big Ten West division championship. Hawkeyes defensive coordinator Phil Parker and assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Seth Wallace have reason to be excited about what Iowa returns defensively.

One of the biggest reasons for excitement is senior linebacker Jack Campbell. The 6-foot-5, 243 pound linebacker enjoyed a monster 2021 season. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native racked up 143 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, six passes defensed, a pair of fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one sack.

It’s no surprise then that Campbell is receiving national attention. In ESPN’s college football roundtable, a panelists of writers were asked to pick which defensive player not named Will Anderson Jr. would have the biggest presence in 2022. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren chose Campbell.

Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell played in only five games of the 2020 season, but he had 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one interception in those games. He was healthy in 2021, and all he did was lead all FBS defenders with 143 tackles. He also had two interceptions and three tackles for loss last season.

He could have made the jump to the NFL, but decided to return for his senior season and is one of the unquestioned leaders on the Hawkeye defense. If we’re talking about presence, Campbell’s return to Iowa was a huge deal, and he has a chance to improve on an excellent season in 2022. – ESPN, VanHaaren.

Campbell’s return provides Iowa with defensive star power. Campbell is joined by another talented starting linebacker’s return. Senior Seth Benson is back as well after registering 105 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, three passes defensed, two sacks and one interception.

Defensively, Iowa was one of the nation’s best a season ago. The Hawkeyes finished ranked No. 13 in scoring defense, surrendering just 19.2 points per game. That was thanks to a total defense that ranked No. 17 nationally and allowed just 328.8 yards per game.

Campbell and Benson helped anchor the country’s No. 13 rushing defense in 2021 as the Hawkeyes allowed just 3.15 yards per carry and 114.4 rushing yards per game. Iowa also led the nation with 25 interceptions and finished tied-third nationally with 30 total takeaways.

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