Iowa football 2023 winter position breakdown: Linebackers

IOWA CITY — Iowa’s strength at linebacker in 2022 was rare in college football.

Three Iowa linebackers — Jack Campbell, Seth Benson and Jestin Jacobs — earned spots on the Butkus Award preseason watch list. Six others had multiple players on the watch list, but Iowa was the only school with three.

Now that all three are gone, Iowa’s linebacker position will have a significantly different look in 2023.

Here is an early overview of Iowa’s linebackers in the latest part of The Gazette’s Iowa football winter position breakdown series:

Who’s gone

Campbell was Iowa’s first recipient of the Butkus Award, which goes to the top linebacker in college football, and the William V. Campbell Trophy. He had 143 tackles in 2021 and 128 in 2022.

Benson, a second-team all-Big Ten honoree last season, also was a mainstay in Iowa’s linebacker corps. Benson started in 34 of Iowa’s 35 games in the last three seasons, with the one exception because of an injury in 2020.

Jacobs, who was missed most of 2022 because of injury, transferred to Oregon after the regular season. A former four-star recruit targeted by Ohio State, he has the potential to have a future NFL career.

Logan Klemp, who was a senior in 2022, had limited on-field opportunities in his five seasons in Iowa City.

Who’s back

Jay Higgins is Iowa’s most-experienced linebacker returning for the 2023 season. Higgins officially had only one start, but he had a key role as the third linebacker when Iowa was in a 4-3 formation.

Kyler Fisher was listed last year as the second-team weakside linebacker, but the bulk of his contributions have been on special teams so far in his Iowa career.

Karson Sharar appeared in seven games on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2022, but then suffered an injury. He had a pick-6 in Iowa’s Kids’ Day open practice before the 2022 season.

Jaden Harrell, Justice Sullivan and Zach Twedt — all sophomores — have not played yet. Redshirt freshmen Landyn Van Kekerix and Jayden Montgomery did not play last year as true freshmen.

Walk-ons Josef Smith, Kelby Telander, Eric Epenesa and Greg Fagan also are expected to return.

Who’s joining the mix

Nick Jackson committed to Iowa via the transfer portal after four years at Virginia. The ACC’s leader in tackles per game, barring injury, should be an immediate starter for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa City High’s Ben Kueter will arrive on campus as a dual-sport athlete, competing in football and wrestling. Kueter was one of five finalists for the high school Butkus Award.

Aidan Hall, a three-star prospect from Harlan, committed to Iowa in May 2022 as a safety, but now is listed as a linebacker.

Way-too-early two-deep projections

Jackson and Higgins will lead a position group that otherwise has very little game experience:

Middle linebacker:

Weakside linebacker:

Leo:

Outlook

Losing three veteran linebackers, including two with likely NFL careers, is never an easy situation.

But considering those circumstances, Iowa has a lot of potential at the position. Jackson has a bona fide resume from his four years at Virginia, and Higgins has some experience from last year.

The key will be how much do players like Fisher or Sharar — who have not had significant roles on defense yet — step up in 2023.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com