The Iowa Hawkeyes boasted one of the nation’s top defenses in the 2023 college football season. Their performance earned Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker the Broyles Award which is handed out to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Iowa’s defense surrendered just 14.8 points and only 282.5 yards of total offense to opponents to rank fourth in scoring defense and seventh in total defense in 2024.
A lot of Iowa’s success was predicated on a stingy front seven that successfully limited the run game for the opposition. The Hawkeyes allowed just 111.8 rushing yards per game, ranking 15th in rushing defense.
Iowa hopes for more of the same in 2024 from a unit that brings back starting senior defensive linemen Deontae Craig and Yahya Black. In its initial spring two-deep, junior defensive tackle Aaron Graves and senior defensive end Ethan Hurkett made up the rest of the Hawkeyes’ projected starting rotation.
Junior defensive end Max Llewellyn, sophomore defensive tackle Luke Gaffney, junior defensive tackle Jeremiah Pittman and sophomore defensive end Brian Allen made up the rest of the Hawkeyes’ spring two-deep.
247Sports’ Cody Nagel put together a Big Ten defensive line power rankings headed into the 2024 college football season. The Hawkeyes check in at an impressive No. 5 in the new-look Big Ten.
Nagel caught up with Hawkeye Insider’s Sean Bock for a breakdown on Iowa.
“The Hawkeyes feel they have a solid core group that can take the next step. This could be a breakout year for Deontae Craig on the edge as he will need to take a big step forward in a bigger role. Iowa has a strong duo on the inside, but there are still question marks about the depth. Iowa will need a formidable third and fourth interior option to step up,” Bock said of Iowa’s defensive line group.
Nagel shared some of his thoughts on the Hawkeyes as well.
Iowa returns a sizable amount of production on the defensive side of the ball with nine returning starters back for the 2024 season. However, the Hawkeyes did lose a pair of starting defensive linemen up front, including sack leader Joe Evans. Iowa still has Black, Craig, Graves, Hurkett and Llewellyn manning an experienced group that also has depth to reinforce.
Those five combined to make 22.5 tackles for loss with 11.5 sacks last season on a defense that carried the Hawkeyes to an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Iowa defensive front may have the least starting experience of the three levels on that side, but it is still among the best in the conference. – Nagel, 247Sports .
With that group returning, Iowa should again be one of the Big Ten’s best up front. It helps that the Hawkeyes have perhaps the Big Ten’s best linebacking duo behind them and one of the top defensive back units in the conference as well.
The top four Big Ten defensive line units according to Nagel were No. 1 Ohio State , No. 2 Michigan , No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Oregon .
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
Most Popular
Comments / 0