In part five of our position preview series, we take a look at the only position group that returns every starter from the 2016 season. Can any underclassmen unseat one of the incumbents?
One thing that Kirk Ferentz has always preached is stability. He has always favored building up confidence and ability in his young players by having them sit and watch experienced upper classmen play on Saturdays for a year or two, before being throwing them into the fire.
That’s the approach Ferentz and defensive coordinator Phil Parker will be taking with the linebackers this season. There is some intriguing young linebacker talent on the roster, but Iowa boasts three senior linebackers that have two full seasons of starting experience under their belt. With an inexperienced group of both interior defensive lineman and cornerbacks, a lot is going to be asked of the senior linebacking core.
The question is, how will they respond?
Middle Linebacker Josey Jewel is the unquestioned leader of the defense, and rightfully so. The outlaw has been a second team all Big Ten player each of the last two seasons, and he was just named to the preseason all conference list as well. The former 2 star recruit has racked up 250 tackles, 19 pass deflections, five sacks, and four interceptions the last two seasons. Iowa is fortunate to have such an elite talent at the center of their defense.
Manning the strongside linebacker spot will be Ben Niemann. The senior has flown a bit under the radar the last two seasons, but he’s quietly provided a steady and productive presence for the Hawkeyes.
Niemann only had 45 tackles his sophomore season, but seven of them were for loss, including three sacks. Last season Niemann was asked to play a slightly different role, he lined up outside of the tackle box more often than he lined up inside of it. This was crucial in allowing Iowa to play nickel coverages without having to bring in nickel personnel, which was especially valuable when facing teams running no huddle offenses. D
espite being lined up in the slot and forced into coverage on the outside far more often, Niemann still raised his tackle total up to 69 while deflecting five passes and grabbing his first career interception. Niemann’s play last season has earned him some NFL consideration, and hopefully his senior year performance will shoot him up the draft boards.
That leaves Bo Bower. Bower has long been the target of criticism from both the media and the fans. He won the starting weakside linebacker job as a walk-on, red shirt freshman in 2014. Iowa was considered a serious threat to win the Big Ten west, but they ended up having a terribly disappointing season, and Bower was a major part of that. He struggled competing against superior athletes and he was repeatedly picked on by opponents as a result.
Now some of the criticism was unwarranted, Iowa had just graduated three linebackers that went on to the NFL, and the highest drafted of the three was Christian Kirksey, who was the individual Bower was specifically replacing. While Bower was disappointing, the bar was set too high.
The coaching staff did not ignore his struggles, as he was replaced by Cole Fisher the following season. After Fisher graduated, Bower faced serious competition for the starting job in 2016, but he won the job and performed much better than he did in 2014. He was second on the team last season in tackles with 91, an impressive number over a 14 game college season.
While Bower is clearly the third best senior linebacker on the roster, it’s probably time for fans to stop demanding for him to be benched. The toughness, experience, and stability he brings to the table will keep him in the starting lineup.
While those three will take close to 100% of the base package snaps for the Hawkeyes, Phil Parker has used extra linebackers as part of his ‘raider’ nickel blitz package. One player that has gotten snaps in that package the last two years and figures to get more snaps in that role this year is junior Aaron Mends.
The other name that Iowa fans should keep an eye on is Amani Jones. The 235lb Sophomore from Chicago has plenty of athleticism, he could be a helpful asset in the raider package.
The second string middle linebacker is junior Jack Hockaday. He was the #2 on the depth chart last season as well and played a big role on special teams. While Hockaday will be a big name to watch for in 2018, the only way he’ll be seeing much action on defense this season will be if Josey Jewel suffers a significant injury. Considering how important the outlaw is to this defense, let’s hope we don’t hear Hockaday’s name called too often.