Lowery puts his name out there

IOWA CITY -- With one senior and another starting to read his name in NFL mock drafts, Iowa is in the market for a cornerback.

The Hawkeyes appear to have one in sophomore B.J. Lowery.

The sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio, announced himself loudly and clearly when he broke up a pass intended for Michigan wide receiver Roy Roundtree to preserve Iowa's 24-16 victory Saturday.

"At first he [Roundtree] came off like he was going to block me, but he eventually ran a slant," Lowery said. "I stuck my hand in there and knocked it out."

Now, was it pass interference? A still photo that went viral on the internet rather quickly after the game showed Lowery with his right arm around Roundtree's waist.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke was asked if he was surprised pass interference wasn't called.

“Were you?” Hoke asked a reporter with a bit of a smirk, probably saving himself the standard $10,000 league fine for criticizing officials.

"I was looking at the referee, hoping he wasn't going to throw a flag," Iowa receiver Marvin McNutt said. "You never know on those plays, but they let the guys play."

Lowery high-stepped down the Iowa sideline after making the play that ended the game. He's brought that kind of energy to the Hawkeyes since he entered the lineup on special teams against Northwestern four weeks ago. His first play this season was a nasty tackle on kick coverage.

"You should see him in practice, he's making plays like he did on the goal line all the time," senior cornerback Shaun Prater said. "In practice, he covers Marvin McNutt and Keenan Davis. I think he has a lot of confidence."

Lowery missed the first five weeks after suffering a broken left wrist in August. He still wears a cast, which kind of fits right in with Iowa's banged up defense.

The injury threw him off schedule. When junior Micah Hyde started the season at free safety, Lowery might've wedged himself in as a starter.

Instead, he now finds himself grinding for whatever playing time he can get behind Prater and Hyde, who now has an NFL profile. Saturday, it was in a nickel package on the goal line. And it was kind of a big deal, especially with the no-call.

The grinder part also makes him a perfect fit for this defense, which finds itself in a grind every play.

"We talked about that all week," Lowery said. "We have to make our name, re-state our name. The defense has to step it up."