No. 26 -- SS John Lowdermilk

Iowa's depth chart is filled with opportunity, meaning a lot of guys are going to have a chance to play.

Strong safety might be the one spot where No. 1 is really up in the air. With Nico Law out with an undisclosed injury during spring practice, suddenly there was junior John Lowdermilk (6-2, 207) in and taking the No. 1 reps. As it turned out, there is a competition.

Law ended 2012 as the starter at strong safety, winning the spot from Tommy Donatell on week 8 last year. He seemed to be the cinch No. 1 going into '13. The time out this spring seems to have opened the door for Lowdermilk.

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who re-takes the secondary this season after Darrell Wilson's departure to Rutgers, had a fairly frank conversation with the Big Ten Network's Tom Dienhart in regard to the secondary this spring. (Parker served as Iowa's secondary coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator last season.)

“We have a battle going on at the strong safety position with Nico Law and John Lowdermilk,” Parker said. “. . . We have to get better than where we are at now. The two strong points are Tanner Miller and B.J. Lowery.”

Key 2012 factor: Lowdermilk saw action in 11 games, mostly on special teams. He finished the season with six tackles. Really, not a lot to see here. Lowdermilk played as a true freshman in 2011 and then saw a bump in special teams responsibilities. Lowdermilk played on kick cover and kick return units. He also saw a little time on punt return. When things went haywire in the secondary at the end of the year, Lowdermilk saw some time with the regular defense, the first of his career.

This doesn't look like a ton of playing time, but it apparently was enough to get a serious look at strong safety. Also, Lowdermilk spent most of last season backing up Tanner Miller at free safety. The move came this spring, along with Parker's move back to the secondary.

“I'm definitely getting a better feel of it,” Lowdermilk said. “The game's slowing down, and I like the physical part of it. You're a little closer to the line of scrimmage, not as much in pass coverage as the free. I probably like that a little bit more."

Offseason factor: This might be reaching broken record proportions, but there are new eyes on the secondary. Well, new "old" eyes in Phil Parker, who helped recruit and coached Law and Lowdermilk in their freshmen seasons at Iowa. New eyes can sometimes reshuffle the depth chart. Perhaps that's what is happening here. Or, perhaps, we're reading too much into a spring injury and there's nothing to see here.

Competition: Beyond Law and Lowdermilk, redshirt freshman Anthony Gair is listed as a strong safety. Incoming freshman Malik  Rucker could join that group when camp opens next week. Again, how much of a race is this? Is this a case of "depth chart movitation" directed at Law? Or Lowdermilk for that matter? Lowdermilk had a few breakdowns during the spring game, but generally held up well. The mantra for the Iowa defense in the spring was "know where your leverage is." This is especially important for the strong safety, who often ends up in force on outside runs. The more he can stem the play back inside, the less Phil Parker will yell.

That's a long way of saying it wouldn't hurt for whomever Iowa's strong safety is to be a decisive tackler.

Why No. 26?: Lowdermilk was No. 41 on this list last season based on his special teams possibilities. The possibility that he ends up as a starter moves him up in the world. Even if Lowdermilk doesn't stick, Iowa's special teams were better last season and he was in the middle of that. If Lowdermilk ends up a special teams captain type, that's also worth a No. 26.

Outlook: This spring, Parker used video to break down the errors from both last season and this spring.

“In spring ball during install we'll go like how that mistake was made and in cover-2 get your shoulders turned and things like that,” Lowdermilk said. “Just so you don't make the same mistake twice. We really struggled on the back end of the Michigan game. I'd say you'd have to remember it a little bit. You just can't repeat it and make the same mistakes. We definitely remember it.”

This is Lowdermilk's third year at Iowa, and this is probably his best, and maybe only, shot at a starting job (barring injury, of course, which is not how players want to win their spots).

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