Iowa Football: New Safety Duo A Big Boost to Iowa’s Defense

The return of Junior safety Brandon Snyder was a well documented story last weekend, as it should be after he made his season debut less than 6 months removed from a torn ACL, which included an 89 yard pick six. But the return of Iowa’s best safety from 2016 wasn’t the only shakeup that occurred at the position Saturday.

In the middle of the first quarter, Illinois gashed Iowa for a 40 yard gain on a play action pass that sucked strong safety Miles Taylor towards the line of scrimmage, allowing his man to run free down the middle of the field before being chased down by Josh Jackson at Iowa’s 11 yard line, setting up an Illinois field goal.

On the last play of the quarter, Miles Taylor over pursued on a basic counter play, and was unable to react quickly enough to make the tackle, allowing for a 30 yard gain.

That led to Taylor’s benching, and his replacement Amani Hooker did not disappoint.

Amani Hooker made a name for himself starting at free safety in the Penn State game, recording double digit tackles and coming an inch away from the deflecting Penn State’s game winning touchdown pass on the game’s final snap. Given Taylor’s struggles over the last year and a half, it appeared that his senior status was the only thing keeping him in the starting lineup over Hooker upon Snyder’s return.

But with the return of Snyder, the veteran leadership of Taylor becomes less necessary, and two big first quarter mistakes opened the door for the sophomore Hooker.

Hooker recorder six tackles, a huge interception in the endzone and had an 18 yard run on a fake punt that set up a touchdown drive that gave Iowa the lead for good.

Iowa had struggled mightily defending the passing game vs Iowa State, Penn State and Michigan State with Taylor and Jack Gervase in the back end with Hooker rotating in. While Illinois remains at “cupcake” status, the performance of Snyder and Hooker was a welcomed sight.

With Snyder and Hooker now cemented as starters, Iowa’s chances of keeping opposing quarterbacks like Clayton Thorson and JT Barrett in check have become a great deal higher.