Binns’ ‘Inspector Gadget’ routine coming in handy for the Hawkeyes

It might be one of Iowa's craziest stats, except maybe for the 8-0.

Iowa's leader in pass breakups isn't cornerback Amari Spievey. It isn't safety Tyler Sash. It's not even linebacker Pat Angerer.

No, it's 6-foot-1, 255-pound defensive end Broderick Binns. The sophomore has seven breakups, including two in last week's 15-13 victory at Michigan State.

Binns leads Spievey by one, 7-6. Safety Brett Greenwood has five.

The Big Ten combines breakups with interceptions for “passes defended.” Binns has no interceptions, but his eight breakups still rank eighth in the league. He's tied for ninth in sacks with 4.5.

That's says Binns is an interesting, versatile athlete.

A couple factors go into this. First, there's the huge, huge factor of getting his hands up.

“I am just getting my hands up,” Binns said.

So, yeah, there's that. But really, there's much more, too.

There's Binns' wingspan, something that's been discussed. Coach Kirk Ferentz said after Iowa's win at Penn State that Binns was the 6-1 guy with 6-8 guy's arms. Safety Tyler Sash called him “Inspector Gadget,” the cartoon character with the long mechanical arms.

But there's even more to it than that. A defensive end can do his homework.

“Just studying the offense, knowing if the quarterback has a high release or a low release,” Binns said. “Sometimes a quarterback can telegraph his pass, just looking where he's going. If he's looking my way, I get my hands up.”

The last thing Binns needs to do is pick one off. It's a tough order. The ball is usually at its highest velocity so close to the line of scrimmage. For a player to react quickly enough to catch it, that's asking a lot.

Binns is working on it. He's been close. Ferentz has wondered aloud, hoping for him to pluck one out of the air.

“Hopefully, I'm working on it,” Binns joked. “As a D-end, we're not really thinking about our hands. We're just thinking basically about batting it down. That's our first instinct, batting the ball down. But yeah, it's coming fast, but hopefully I can get one.

“I've gotten a couple this year. Maybe I'll learn from my mistakes, maybe I'll cup my hands a little.”

There could be a bittersweet note to this stat. A defensive end is supposed to be on top of a quarterback, not reading his eyes and trying to knock down the pass. Binns doesn't buy into that.

“I feel like a batted pass is like a sack,” he said.