'Kralvis' has entered the building

IOWA CITY -- Something doesn't seem quite right about Dominic Alvis and his spot at defensive tackle.

No, it's not the fact that he's undersized. Yes, at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, Alvis is an undersized Big Ten defensive tackle. That's kind of become a staple of Iowa defensive lines in recent years, with Mitch King, Matt Kroul and Karl Klug paving the road.

No, the weird thing about Alvis is his name doesn't begin with a "K." So, Kralvis?

"Kralvis, yeah, Kralvis, there you go," the sophomore said after his first career start in Saturday's victory over Tennessee Tech.

Alvis finished with four tackles. He could've had a monster day. At least twice he arrived at Tech quarterback Tre Lamb with a full head of steam only to whiff on the sack.

Iowa will see its share of slipper quarterbacks this season. Iowa State QB Steele Jantz led the Cyclones with 80 yards and two TDs in their victory over Northern Iowa. Then there's Michigan's Denard Robinson, Nebraska's Taylor Martinez and down the line of the spread offenses on Iowa's schedule.

"I got there a few times, but I'll tell you, I need to finish," he said. "It's one of those things. I've got to finish. I left a lot of plays on the field that I wish I could have back. It's experience, I'll learn from it.

"Maybe my motor was running too hot. Maybe I wasn't thinking about technique. I need to breakdown and finish those plays."

Alvis transitioned from defensive end to tackle in the spring. He believes with the amount of stunts Iowa's D-line runs, a smaller tackle is a fit.

That's true. King, Kroul and Klug made it work and are now in the NFL (Kroul is an O-lineman on the Jets practice squad). Senior Mike Daniels is making it work and will likely end up in the NFL.

"It seems to be a tradition now and I believe that helps maybe even being a little lighter with the stuff we run when we stunt and mix it up," Alvis said. "It helps to be a little quicker and shifty down there."

Alvis is from Logan and played high school football at Logan-Magnolia. When he picked Iowa, he was going to come in as a grayshirt prospect, but ended up on full scholarship.

Logan is close to Ames. Of course, Iowa travels to Iowa State this week.

"Everybody from my hometown goes to Iowa State because it's so close," Alvis said. "There are a lot of rivals and smack talking, hey, we're going to get you next week. It's already started. I'm looking forward to going in there and having a good time."