One of the most hotly contested competitions in the lead-up to Iowa’s season opener against Illinois State has been at cornerback.
Graduate cornerback Jermari Harris was penciled in as a returning starter for the Hawkeyes given his 18 career starts and 12 starts in the 2023 season. Harris, a 6-foot-1, 189 pound cornerback, has registered 78 tackles, 17 passes defensed, five interceptions and 2.5 tackles for loss during his Iowa career.
Iowa still had a battle to sort out opposite Harris, though.
On Monday, junior TJ Hall was listed as the starting cornerback opposite Harris, winning the opening-day nod over sophomores Deshaun Lee and John Nestor.
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media on Tuesday to preview the Hawkeyes’ season opener versus Illinois State and discussed why Hall earned the starting job.
“Probably just a little bit of consistency, and it’s gone back and forth. It’s a little bit like the running back position. Difference is most of those guys have been available, the four corners have been competing and practicing. So, probably a little consistency thing, but it’s still really close,” Ferentz said.
That’s in line with what Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker said last week about the cornerback position. Parker indicated that Iowa might play more bodies in its defensive backfield in 2024 and that the cornerback competition had been very tightly contested.
“Well, I think it’s really interesting. Jermari Harris has come back and the leadership that he’s brung and seeing TJ Hall grow and improve his standard of play. Nestor, he’s really doing a good job, very competitive out there and Deshaun Lee’s doing a heck of a job.
“So, I mean, it’s really interesting to see those four over there. One day one guy might have a better day than the other guy. It’s depending on what day and, at the point of attack, how productive are they? But, I think they’re all into it, they’re all working hard and you can see maybe playing more guys in the back end if you have to,” Parker said.
Based on Parker’s comments last week and Ferentz’s remarks on Tuesday, it feels like Hall, Lee and Nestor will all get a look at corner and that this could still be an ongoing competition into the 2024 season.
“We have a lot of positions right now where we’ve got to start somewhere Saturday and start somewhere this week when we practice with our first team. But I will say this, it won’t surprise me, especially in certain groups, where it may take a month to figure out where we’re at.
“And I say that in a positive way because I think we have a lot of young guys right now that we’re going to learn a lot more about them. John Nestor’s a good example. He hasn’t played an awful lot. We’ve seen him on special teams. So, to see him in game action, I think we’ll learn a lot about him. I think our receiver room’s a lot like that. The back thing will probably sort itself out, but I think we’ve got guys that are capable. That’s part of the process as we move forward and just it’ll be interesting to see what it looks here six weeks from now as opposed to just this Saturday,” Ferentz said.
Iowa’s season opens on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 11 a.m. from Kinnick Stadium as the Hawkeyes play host to Illinois State with the game broadcast on Big Ten Network .
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
Local Iowa State
Most Popular
Comments / 0