Iowa D wants to be there in '11

IOWA CITY -- It was fourth-and-4, do-or-die for Wisconsin. Tyler Nielsen was there, but wasn't quite there enough.

The topic with the Iowa outside linebacker was if there is one play from the Hawkeyes' 8-5 2010 that still keeps him up at night. The senior from Humboldt immediately went to the Wisconsin game.

"On that fourth down, I was covering the running back across the middle," Nielsen said. "I was right there, but I just wasn't there enough to knock the ball out."

He was there, but not there enough.

It was fourth-and-4 from Iowa's 34. This was Wisconsin's last gasp. Iowa stops the Badgers, it probably wins 30-24. Quarterback Scott Tolzien hit running back Montee Ball underneath the linebackers for a 7-yard gain.

First down, Wisconsin. The Badgers scored four plays later and held off the Hawkeyes, 31-30, catapaulting UW into the Rose Bowl.

"He caught it," Nielsen said. "I think if I would've knocked it out, it would've been game over. I was right there, I was just a step too late. If I would've had that extra step, it would've been game over. It still ticks me off. You don't want to just be there. You want to be there and make the play."

Iowa's defense has had plenty of examples of "there but not there enough" to keep it lifting and conditioning during the winter months and now into summer.

In all five losses, the Hawkeyes held leads going into the fourth quarter. The Hawkeyes allowed 79 points in the fourth, the most since 2006, when Iowa allowed 78. That team finished 6-7 with a loss to Texas in the Alamo Bowl.

"I got a bunch," middle linebacker James Morris said. "I dropped there picks this year. There was the one against Penn State that bounced off my helmet. I was looking right into the lights, I wish I would've had that. I had another one bounce off my helmet against Indiana.

"I'm worried that the whole Hawk Nation thinks I have no hands. Pop in the high school videos and I'll show you. The sun was in my eye. I know that's what everyone says, but cross my heart."

That's the lighthearted part of the question for Morris.

"Boy, there were some plays," Morris said. "The last series against Northwestern. They had a a third-and-10 play they had to make. I was lined up on the No. 3 receiver Ebert [Jeremy, a first-team all-Big Ten pick]. I was right on his hip. He got about 8 yards and cut across the middle. I went to go with him and I just slipped.

"I was in perfect position and I just slipped. [NU QB Dan Persa] hit him, first down. They go on to score and win the game."

Morris is a firm believer in preventing the early mistakes to save the defense from the late fallouts. He believes the first downs allowed, an early field goal can set the stage for a fourth-quarter flameout.

"It's never just one play, but boy, it'd be nice to have that one back," he said.

Of course, some of last season's struggles were born out of the fact that Iowa's linebacker depth went three deep. Morris started the final six games after Jeff Tarpinian (stinger) and Bruce Davis (ACL) went down with injuries. Troy Johnson filled in for Jeremiha Hunter, who missed a game with a knee injury. Nielsen started the first eight games before a broken vertebrae sidelined him for the season.

Freshman Shane DiBona played. Fifth-year senior walk-on Ross Peterson played.

"Last year we had a lot of freshmen get in the game," Nielsen said. "This year, they have a year under their belts and they'll be better prepared. If it [a rash of linebacker injuries] happens again, I think we'll be better prepared."

Iowa's defense needs to replace NFL draft picks Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard, Karl Klug and Tyler Sash in 2011. That's three new D-linemen for '11. After the '09 season, Iowa needed to replace three NFL picks, Pat Angerer, A.J. Edds and Amari Spievey.

The 2011 Iowa defense has its work cutout. And it knows it.

"I'm certainly not depressed," Morris said. "I don't go home at night thinking we have no defensive linemen or anything like that. The guys are in here every day and are trying to get better. As long as they're doing that every day and into the season, I don't see how they can't be a success."