Questions for Iowa football’s defensive position groups, special teams with spring practices underway

IOWA CITY — Last week’s start to 2023 spring football practices again followed productive years from Iowa’s defense and special teams.

Iowa’s defense led the FBS in yards per play allowed, and the special teams unit ranked 12th in Football Outsiders’ special teams FEI ratings.

Here are key questions for position groups in the aforementioned phases of the game:

Defensive line

Who is the next player to take a Deontae Craig-esque jump in the offseason?

Deontae Craig is coming off a breakout season.

He went from 1.5 sacks in 2021 to 6.5 in 2022 and from three tackles for loss in 2021 to 10 in 2022.

The drastic improvement was despite having fewer opportunities than his peers in the position group. Craig took 100-plus fewer snaps than fellow defensive linemen Logan Lee, Noah Shannon, Lukas Van Ness, Joe Evans and John Waggoner.

At a position without many question marks — three of four starters are returning, as are several key reserve players — the biggest question might be who is the next defensive lineman to see that same type of exponential growth.

The defensive line will lose at least two starters after this upcoming season — Evans and Shannon will have already used their COVID-19 years — and Logan Lee will be a senior, so whoever steps up in 2023 could see a significant role in 2024.

Linebackers

What can Karson Sharar provide at linebacker?

Karson Sharar, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said, “is a guy that’s really intriguing.”

Sharar appeared in seven games on special teams before suffering an injury.

The soon-to-be sophomore also had an impressive play at last year’s Kids Day open practice, intercepting Joe Labas after a tip by Xavier Nwankpa. He would have returned it for a touchdown if the play was not blown dead first.

Now with Jack Campbell and Seth Benson moving on to pro careers, the door is open for Sharar and other linebackers to step into a larger role.

Kyler Fisher and Jaden Harrell were among the other linebackers Ferentz brought up in his spring news conference after not having significant roles on the defense in past seasons.

Defensive backs

Who emerges as reliable second-team defensive backs?

Iowa’s first-team secondary has no shortage of experience.

Cornerback Cooper DeJean and free safety Quinn Schulte started all 13 games last season. Cash safety Sebastian Castro started in eight games.

Cornerback Jermari Harris missed the 2022 season with an injury, but he had four starts in 2021.

The one player to only have one start, Xavier Nwankpa, was the top safety in the country in the 2022 recruiting class. He returned an interception for a touchdown in that one start.

If the first-team secondary is an exclamation point, the second-team secondary might be more of a question mark.

DeJean’s injury exposed the lack of depth at the position as Nebraska exploited the weakness heavily en route to a 24-17 upset.

The three second-team defensive backs to not have first-team roles elsewhere — T.J. Hall, Koen Entringer and Deshaun Lee — all will be in their second seasons on campus.

Hall saw the most action out of any of the three, appearing in all 13 games. He earned defensive snaps in four games, according to Pro Football Focus.

Without improved depth in the secondary, Iowa’s defense could have a thin margin for error in 2023.

Special teams

What does another year of conditioning do for kicker Drew Stevens?

Drew Stevens had about as good a freshman year as anyone could ask for in 2022.

The North Augusta, S.C., native nailed 16 of 18 field-goal attempts and all 24 extra-point attempts. He was one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to the top kicker in the country.

Stevens, an early enrollee last year, now has the benefit of a second spring semester with Iowa’s strength and conditioning staff.

“If he gains 15 pounds over the next year, he’s not only going to be hitting kickoffs that go 8 (yards) deep, he’s going to be putting them into the stands,” Dan Orner, Stevens’ private kicking coach who also worked with Keith Duncan, said in the fall.

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series looking at key questions for each of Iowa’s position groups. Questions for the offense are available here.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com