An Iowa team without a good defense is almost unthinkable under Kirk Ferentz, but good defenses don't just appear out of thin air. So let's talk about the most important players on that side of the ball for the Hawkeyes.
1. Jack Campbell, MLB
The hype train on Campbell has been building for a while and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Coaches, teammates, and media members have been raving about him for a while now. He got a delayed start to last season due to mono but by the end of the year he was closer to full speed, giving us a glimpse of what we can do in the middle of Iowa's defense. And there were definitely things to be excited about: he had 21 tackles (4.5 TFL) and a sack in five games last season, but his impact went beyond the raw numbers. He brought a welcome intensity to Iowa's defense and some flashed some exciting disruptive capacity. He has impressive size for a middle linebacker -- 6'5", 243 lbs -- and he pairs it with eye-catching quickness in and around the box. He's also showed strong football instincts and based on the comments out of training camp, there aren't any concerns about his leadership skills or his ability to organize the defense. The stage is set for Campbell to become the next great Iowa linebacker in 2021 -- if he does, this could be yet another outstanding Iowa defense.
2. Zach VanValkenburg, DE
VanValkenburg may very well not end the season as Iowa's best defensive lineman. There's a lot of positive buzz and hype around some of the underclassmen or less-experiences faces in the mix there, like Yahya Black, Deontae Craig, and Noah Shannon (and we'll discuss some of those guys tomorrow), but VanValkenburg is the one defensive lineman on Iowa's team with a significant amount of returning experience. He's going to be relied on as the leader of this unit and he's probably going to be a focal opponent for opposing blockers. ZVV had 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season, but he benefited from the attention that was focused on Daviyon Nixon and Chauncy Golston. Can he transition from a supporting role to a starring role? His ability to do that this season could be a big factor in the strength of Iowa's pass rush (and defense as a whole) in 2021.
3. Riley Moss, CB
If you want to argue that Matt Hankins, Iowa's other multi-year starter at cornerback, is better than Moss, I wouldn't disagree. But a defense -- and especially a defensive secondary -- is only as strong as its weakest link. If one player in that unit can be targeted and picked on relentlessly, the whole thing can break down in sadness and ruin. That's particularly true for Iowa which tends to employ zone coverage rather than man-to-man; Iowa doesn't often move its best corner around to match up with an opponent's best receiver and trust him to shut that receiver down. Certainly that approach has been detrimental at times -- James Hardy, David Bell, that Purdue game in 2017 when Anthony Mahoungou absolutely destroyed Iowa -- but it's also worked pretty well a lot. But opponents are going to try and create favorable match-ups for their best receivers and that's likely to mean putting them against Moss. How well he handles those match-ups could determine a lot for Iowa's defense this season.
4. Dane Belton, CASH/S
All three of Iowa's safeties -- Belton, starting strong safety Kaevon Merriweather, and starting free safety Jack Koerner -- figure to be pivotal players for Iowa's defense this fall. They're all returning starters and tasked with securing the deep middle of the field. But given how important the CASH position has become to Iowa's defense over the last few seasons, Belton seems to be the most important of the trio. He's also going to be on the field pretty much all the time -- he'll be in the CASH role when Iowa lines up in that formation, but he'll slide back to strong safety when Iowa is in a 4-3 look. Given his experience, we'll be looking to see Belton take a leap forward this year, especially in terms of creating big plays on defense and causing havoc. Iowa has a real need for that from this defense and Belton figures to be well-positioned to fill that role.
5. Tory Taylor, P
Is this a cheat? Maybe. Is it a cheap ploy to get more attention to the PUNTGOD? Definitely. But is it undeserved? No. Tory Taylor's booming -- and accurate -- punts are a legitimate weapon for Iowa and one that helps tilt things in favor of Iowa's defense. Iowa loves to play the field position game under Ferentz and Taylor is one of the best weapons Iowa has had in that game over the last 20 years. The ability to pin an opponent deep in its own territory only enhances the strengths of Iowa's defense. Iowa's defense relies on preventing big plays and forcing teams to string together long drives to move down the field, figuring (correctly) that that will be difficult to do against a defense as disciplined as Iowa's. Making teams cover more ground by backing them near their own goal line only makes that task even more difficult. Keep putting on a show, PUNTGOD. The Iowa defense will appreciate your efforts.
