The Contingency -- Secondary

Secondary

The Men: CB Shaun Prater, CB Micah Hyde, FS Brett Greenwood, SS Tyler Sash

The Contingencies: CB Jordan Bernstine, CB Greg Castillo, CB Willie Lowe, FS Jack Swanson, SS Nick Nielsen, SS Kyle Steinbrecher, FS Tom Donatell

Lots of good bodies and decent experience behind the starters here.

Hyde, a 6-1, 185-pound sophomore, held the edge on Bernstine coming out of spring. If he seals the deal in camp, it may make Bernstine the most important member of the secondary. At 5-11, 205, Bernstine has the size and speed to play corner or could back up a safety spot. But he almost automatically becomes the first option in nickel-dime situations and that could lead to a good chunk of playing time. Also, with LB depth fairly thin, maybe Iowa goes right to dime instead of fourth-linebacker nickel, which the Hawkeyes used a bit last season with LB Jeff Tarpinian filling that role.

Not calling the CB race, but Hyde has held it for awhile.

Castillo (5-11, 180) and Lowe (5-10, 172) also have a good amount of experience at corner.

Safety is a different story.

There are bodies, big bodies. Donatell, Nielsen and Steinbrecher all run in the 6-2 range. Swanson checks in at 5-11. So, there are some rangy athletes there, but there really isn't any game experience in this group. Swanson has played some mop-up. The others got a taste this spring and might've had some special teams last fall.

Incoming freshmen Anthony Hitchens and Tanner Miller could factor. Also, walk-on Jason White might make a mark here. He earned time on special teams last fall and then last spring lined up at RB when there really weren't any. He could sneak in here, too.

Backup safeties might not be worth sweating, though.

Sash will be a third-year starter. He's missed one game in his career. After winning the free safety job as a freshman, Greenwood has played in 32 of 33 games, missing a start last season after suffering a sprained neck.