No. 12 — FS Jordan Lomax

No. 12 . . .

Jordan Lomax's first full season as the free safety was OK. He made some hits and plays and he missed some. One in particular that you know drove him during the offseason came against Wisconsin.

On a third-and-13 from their 32-yard line, the Badgers found all-world running back Melvin Gordon. Gordon slipped out of the backfield, got behind Lomax, took a pass from quarterback Joel Stave and cruised 35 yards. The Badgers eventually scored to go up two scores in a game they won, 26-24.

Lomax totally owned it.

'I had the running back on that one, that one's on me,' Lomax said. 'I was supposed to make sure he didn't go out. He leaked out and I didn't contain him.'

Certainly, it served as a motivator this winter. Then again, so did the entirety of 2014, a year that was this close to being pretty good but ultimately ended up dissatisfying.

'Anytime you go out like that, it's sickening,' Lomax said. 'It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. We just want to get back out there and compete. . . . Losing that game did hurt, but right now, we're just ready to put all of that behind us.'

Lomax moved from cornerback to free safety during Outback Bowl prep in 2013. He started '13 as a starter at corner, but suffered a hamstring injury in the opener against Northern Illinois. His replacement, Desmond King, now has started 25 consecutive games.

During Big Ten media days, Lomax was asked if he knew who Wally Pipp was. Of course, he was the New York Yankees starter at first base who one day sat out a game with a headache. A guy named Lou Gehrig replaced him and went on to play 2,130 consecutive games.

'That's the baseball guy?' Lomax said when asked about the alternate reality that might've still had him at corner. 'I try not to dwell on that too much. I like the position I'm in now. Everything happens for a reason.'

Better against a perimeter attack . . .

Iowa's defense will have a lot of the same bodies defending the edge, which was noticeably lost in helpless defeats to Minnesota and Tennessee. What does the free safety, the captain of the secondary, say to doing a better job of defending the perimeter?

'Everybody has to get to the ball.'

Lomax, who claims this as part of his job, said that twice. He also remembered when a lot of the jet sweeps Minnesota used against the Hawkeyes happened in the game.

'It was the first half,' Lomax said. 'We made the adjustments, but once we started stopping it, it was too late. In that game, we didn't come out the way we should've. It was a hard loss. Now, we know how we don't want to go out.'

Same with the Tennessee video. Yes, Iowa did watch it and . . .

'It was painful,' Lomax said. 'Anytime you lose a game, it's painful.'

Outlook . . .

Lomax is a senior. He's smart enough to know the things that kept 2014 from launching into something interesting are in the past. He's smart enough to let go of plays he didn't make, including the Gordon play (by the way, you'll probably be drafting Gordon in fantasy football, unless you, as a Hawkeye fan, hold grudges).

Lomax was one of the three Iowa players head coach Kirk Ferentz invited to speak at Big Ten media days in Chicago. He's a statesman and he wears that well.

And if you watched Lomax last spring, you know he's bent on becoming a full-service free safety. During the spring, he finished many plays with pad-clacking hits. I don't want to overstate the leadership thing, but Lomax is in a leadership position, and with a defense that still is roster young, that's a big deal.

He's wearing it well.

'He's done a great job of his leadership,' said Phil Parker, defensive coordinator and safeties coach. 'It's hard if you haven't started at that position to go ahead and say, hey, I know what we're supposed to be doing and taking a leadership role. I think you've got to be a starter for a year and get that respect. But I think he's earned that respect. Just the way he carries himself, the way he practices, the way he studies the game, I think he's earned it.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com