Post Spring Position Outlook: Iowa defensive line
While the bulk of the Iowa defense will return for the 2024 season, the Hawkeye defensive line was the only area that took a significant hit. Along the defensive line, Iowa saw Logan Lee and Joe Evans move on to chase their gridiron dreams in the National Football League.
But, that doesn’t mean that the position group doesn’t have talent. While starting tackle Yahya Black missed spring ball recovering from surgery, the rest of the main players up front will be back for the 2024 season.
Let’s dive into some thoughts, observations, and questions for the Iowa defensive line.
DOES IOWA NEED TO HIT THE PORTAL FOR A TACKLE?
If there was an area of need that was apparent at the final spring practice it was at tackle. With Black sidelined, it was clear that the Hawkeyes are probably one man short in the middle of the defense.
Black is a potential All Big Ten performer this season and clearly their most experienced player. The only knock on him in his career has been staying healthy. This past season he played in every game and logged 639 snaps. Per Pro Football Focus, he earned an overall grade of 71.1.
Aaron Graves is the automatic other starter to pair up with Black. This past season he played 409 snaps as the third player in the tackle rotation, earning a 72.6 grade from Pro Football Focus.
The two starters look ready, but Jeremiah Pittman is still developing. Last year he played a little bit, logging 139 snaps. His PFF grade was just 52.3, including just a 28.6 in tackling. Beyond Pittman, there is basically zero experience.
Kirk Ferentz and Phil Parker mentioned Luke Gaffney and Will Hubert prior to the final practice and Maddux Borcherding-Johnson looked pretty decent at the final spring practice. However, those guys need more time, which means Iowa needs to somehow land a defensive tackle in the portal.
THE PASS RUSH IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING (AND IMPORTANT)
Last year Iowa’s pass rush got off to a slow start. Eventually they picked up the pace, but it is worth noting that Phil Parker dialed up more blitz packages than he has in the past.
The Hawkeyes finished the season with 33 sacks, which was a pretty solid total. However, 12.5 of them are moving on with the departure of Evans and Lee. Heading into last season it felt like Deontae Craig was on the cusp of a breakout season. He had 6.5 sacks the previous year in a reserve role. Yet, last year he finished the season with just three sacks. In fact, after Evans, who had 9.3 sacks, the next most on the team was Nick Jackson with four.
At this point there doesn’t feel like a player who is a sure thing to come close to double figure sacks, which means more blitzes from Parker and that’s generally out of his comfort zone. One player off the edge to potentially keep an eye on is Max Llewellyn, who took a step forward this spring. Also, we might see some different looks that could include defensive end Brian Allen at tackle in pass rush situations.
YOUNGER PLAYERS TO WATCH
We just mentioned Llewellyn, who is actually a junior now, so really not on the young side, but should get his biggest playing time opportunity this fall. He looks poised to become Iowa’s third defensive end.
Sticking with the end position, Brian Allen is a player to watch. He has looked the part since arriving on campus, but health and consistency have alluded him in his Hawkeye career. He had a good spring and could be a player on the rise.
While it was somewhat limited, Kenneth Merriweather appears to be on the rise. He’s probably still a year away from the two deeps, but monitoring needs to begin. Finally, as we mentioned earlier, Maddux Borcherding-Johnson showed promise later in practice at defensive tackle. He might still be a year away, but he’s intriguing.
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