How a player-led meeting helped reinvigorate Iowa’s defensive line

IOWA CITY — Before Iowa football left Iowa City Friday to go to the team hotel, the defensive linemen held a player-led meeting at the team facility.

“We kind of knew that we needed to have a meeting,” defensive end Joe Evans said.

The defensive line’s production was not there through five games — at least not at a level typical for Iowa’s defensive line in recent years — with three sacks through five games.

Naturally, the lack of results drew scrutiny. After all, Iowa ranked last among 130 FBS teams in sacks per game ahead of Saturday’s 20-14 win over Purdue.

“We stay off our phones with the media and stuff, but it’s hard not to see sometimes people on social media criticizing us for not getting to the quarterback, not being productive,” Evans said.

Fellow defensive lineman Aaron Graves had noticed they were playing “super stressed.” So the players met, with Evans being among the players to “take the point.”

The message was to “play for each other out there and have some fun,” Evans said.

Then the defensive “did that,” Graves said.

“I think I speak for everybody on the D-line saying that we had more fun this game than we have in any of the other ones,” Graves said.

Iowa had six sacks against Purdue in the 20-14 win, tripling its season sack total in a matter of one game. The six sacks came from five different players — Logan Lee, Evans, Graves, Deontae Craig and Max Llewellyn.

“By allowing us to relax and not thinking so much about the numbers and just going out there and having fun, we ironically had success today,” Graves said.

Evans started the sack party when he took down Purdue quarterback Hudson Card on the Boilermakers’ first drive of the game.

Then Lee joined him later in the first quarter, followed by Graves early in the second quarter. Iowa had as many sacks in the first 19 minutes of game action against Purdue than it had in the previous 300 minutes of game action this season.

“It’s very contagious when you see one guy get a sack,” Graves said.

Increased opportunity against Purdue’s offense also helped with the increased production.

“We have a lot of respect for their quarterback, what a competitor,” Ferentz said of Purdue’s Card. “But he gave us a chance to get there a little bit, too. He didn’t always get the ball out.”

Ferentz said jokingly after the win that Iowa “pulled out the pass rush drill on Wednesday.”

“I’ve been forgetting to do that or suggesting it,” Ferentz said. “We did it Wednesday. It seemed to work. I’m joking.”

Upon learning about the player meeting, Ferentz said, again jokingly, that the defensive linemen “probably should have more meetings then.”

“Usually player meetings coincide with losing teams; that’s my experience,” Ferentz said. “But this is a contradiction to that. That’s awesome. Happy for them.”

Iowa has no shortage of leaders in the defensive line room to provide mentorship in moments like the player-led meeting. Evans and the currently-suspended Noah Shannon are sixth-year seniors. Lee is a fifth-year senior.

“Those are guys that have been around a long, long time, so they’ve seen a lot of football, and they know what it takes to be a winning team,” Graves said.

Now, Evans and Co. will likely not have to field any questions or social media criticism in the near future about a lack of sacks. But even if they did, they are well aware of what actually matters.

“At the end of the day, it’s us in that room,” Evans said. “Just play for each other.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com