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Iowa football: Best/worst case scenarios for Hawkeyes in 2019

By Ryan Sikes

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes passes during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: Nate Stanley #4 of the Iowa Hawkeyes passes during the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Geno Stone Iowa Hawkeyes
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Geno Stone will be one of the starting safeties for the Iowa football team in 2019. He has some big shoes to fill left by Amani Hooker.

In my opinion, this is the group that makes or breaks this defense for the Iowa football team. The team lost both starting safeties, but is returning cornerbacks that have experience. Julius Brents is one of the guys who started several games as a true freshman last year.

Brents was a big-time recruit coming into Iowa as the fourth best player in the state of Indiana and the 30th best safety recruit in the country. He played in five games last year and recorded 13 total tackles and 1 interception. He figures to have a much larger role this season and could be on the track to keep “DB U” alive and well.

Matt Hankins is penciled in to be the starting cornerback on the opposite side of the field. Hankins played in eight games last season accumulating 48 total tackles with three pass deflections. He missed some time last season due to a combination of both injuries and some off-the-field issues, so hopefully, he has put those behind him.

Geno Stone played in 12 of the 13 games last season, recording 39 total tackles and four interceptions. He will definitely be asked to be the leader of the young secondary and he is ready to answer the bell:

"“I said my goal is to win my starting job back,” Stone told his coach. “I said I just want to feel like I’ve never arrived, like you always told me since my freshman year. … In the NFL, you never know what’s going to happen. You can get dropped or anything. So that’s how I’m going to feel here.” – via HawkCentral"

The wild card will be Kaevon Merriweather who figures to be the starting strong safety for the Hawkeyes defense this fall. He played in just one game last year, but he is a guy that loves to hit people and there’s a lot to like when you watch his recruiting film.

Best Case Scenario

Julius Brents and Matt Hankins become shutdown corners and Geno Stone fills the role he carved out for himself. Kaevon Merriweather is serviceable at the strong safety position and the secondary looks like it never lost the 2018 B1G Defensive Back of the Year in Hooker.

Worst Case Scenario

Brents, Hankins, and Merriweather all become liabilities at their respective positions. Geno Stone regresses from last season and teams are able to convert more third downs because of it.

Next. 3 key defensive players for success in 2019. dark

Given these scenarios, what do you expect to happen?

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