A closer look: Iowa secondary 2017

IOWA CITY — The default mode here is to write about how great everyone is. That's always the easy story, especially now before the Hawkeyes have played a down in 2017.

The reality is everyone isn't great, not all of the time. So, where does this go when there's a setback on the field?

Strong safety Miles Taylor knows where it goes.

The setup here is that Taylor was a two-year starter last season. In the first quarter of the Michigan game, he went through concussion protocol, was taken out of the game and replaced by senior Anthony Gair.

Gair held up in the passing game against the then-No. 3 Wolverines, with two of four passes thrown at him going for completions. Gair really showed up against the run, with seven tackles and a half tackle for loss.

Gair performed well enough to win the job. A November change in the Hawkeyes' starting lineup? That's been a rarity under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz has explained that August is the time for evaluation. From there, it's preparation.

The evaluation door closed on Gair and reopened with Taylor's injury. He started the final five games and Taylor went to the bench. A junior two-year starter losing his job also is a rarity under Ferentz.

How did Taylor deal? He put the gloves back on.

'I've always come in with a chip on my shoulder, every day,' Taylor said. 'Every day in practice, I play like it's my last play. Anybody will tell you that. I don't look at it as my job, I just look to go in and get better every single day.'

Taylor played in the Outback Bowl. When the spring 2017 depth chart came out in February, he was back at the top of the depth chart, with true freshman Noah Clayberg listed behind him.

After having his life as a starting safety flash before his eyes late last season, Taylor isn't taking any of this for granted.

'I feel like I'm urgent every single day,' Taylor said. 'This is what I live for. I love football. My teammates know I love football. I just go hard every single day. If you don't do that, you're taking a step backward, in my opinion.'

The other side of this equation is how the coaches process and handle this. One thing you've heard a lot this August from Kirk Ferentz and other Iowa staffers 'We have to make the best decision possible for the team.' From quarterback to kicker to defensive ends moving inside to play tackle because Iowa has a lot of great potential at end (also a rarity under Ferentz), the mantra is 'best decision for the team.'

That's the one-way communication in a news conference setting. What is the dialogue like between the coach and the player who's trying to find his way back?

'Everyone has adversity. There are challenges all of the time,' defensive coordinator/secondary coach Phil Parker said. 'I think he handled it pretty well. He was still in it and was still being a leader on the team even though he wasn't the starter at the end. I thought he did a good job.

'It's always encouraging. You've got to tell them to keep working. Nobody has a guarantee. You have to go out and prove yourself everyday. You've got the history of where you've been and you've got to keep on working.

• A closer look: Iowa receivers, tight ends

'I always tell the guys, whoever is No. 2, I want you to be No. 1. If you're working to be No. 1, then No. 1 has to work harder. I'm going to put the best guy on the field. This has been very, very good for us.'

In that regard, Taylor isn't the only one in this boat.

Last fall, everyone expected Josh Jackson to be Iowa's third corner. He was a third-year sophomore who made some moves in 2015. He was positioned behind Desmond King and Greg Mabin. He was set for snaps as a nickel defensive back.

The nickel snaps came, but not until later in the season. Manny Rugamba came into camp as a true freshman last year and won the third corner/nickel spot.

'It was a wake-up call,' Jackson said. 'Coaches make the decision and you have to do what's best for the team. Whenever you're called on, you have to be ready to go in.'

We're talking Iowa fall camp, and so the updates haven't exactly been flowing. Iowa puts black tarp on the fences that surround its practice field to keep you from peaking.

From limited views, Taylor has been in the middle of things and does seem locked in as the starter. You'd say he's 'back in the saddle' if that term wasn't a million years old.

You say that to Taylor and he doesn't buy it. He knows what happens if you leave room for doubt. He knows that from painful experience.

Sure, he is Iowa's No. 1 strong safety, but Taylor knows that's just for now.

'Nothing is set in stone,' he said. 'Everyday is open competition. Anything can happen. I'm just trying to work to get better.

'There's no saddle. There's only constantly getting better.'

THE DEPTH CHART

Free safety

— 1. Jake Gervase, jr., 6-1, 210; 2. Amani Hooker, #fr.

Strong safety

— 1. Miles Taylor, sr., 5-10, 203; 2. Noah Clayberg, fr., 5-11, 209

Left cornerback

— 1. Josh Jackson, jr., 6-1, 192; Michael Ojemudia, so., 6-2, 200

Right cornerback

— 1. Manny Rugamba, so., 6-0, 185; 2. Matt Hankins, fr., 6-1, 175

NEXT MEN IN

It's fair to wonder how stable the safety situation is.

Junior Jake Gervase

looks like he might be a fun player. He's got good safety size (6-1, 210). He picked off three passes in the spring game, which he likely would call 'ancient history' at this point.

Gervase got the promotion after Brandon Snyder suffered a torn ACL in the spring. Clearly, this wasn't a no-brainer move. Gervase went from walk-on to scholarship in January. Still, he's a new starter and so don't totally count out sophomore Amani Hooker

, who probably is the No. 3 safety but is listed as No. 2 at free behind Gervase.

Senior strong safety Miles Taylor is working his way back from a demotion. He seems intent on a rebound. It's hard to gauge the competition behind Taylor. True freshman Noah Clayberg

is listed as the No. 2, but that might be a longer-term project. Clayberg is a true freshman and only made the move to safety after Snyder's injury this spring. The spring game was his fifth practice at safety. Clayberg is a promising athlete. Can he flatten the learning curve?

Corner is pretty well set. Sophomore Manny Rugamba is suspended for the opener because of an unspecified team violation. That bumps sophomore Michael Ojemudia up the ladder. Secondary coach Phil Parker said Ojemudia is the No. 3 corner and will be the guy against Wyoming QB Josh Allen. Between Rugamba, Ojemudia and junior Josh Jackson, Iowa should have a solid corner group. It's young, however, so expect some turbulence.

Iowa will add five newcomers in the secondary — Clayberg, Hankins, Trey Creamer, Geno Stone and Josh Turner

. Stone has had reps with the second team alongside Hooker. Creamer and Turner were third-teamers during the open scrimmage on Aug. 12.

ETC.

— Rugamba

has achieved a high degree of confidence from coaches in a relatively short period of time. First, he won the nickel job as a true freshman last August. Next, he earned four starts last season after senior starter Greg Mabin suffered a broken leg.

And let's be honest, Rugamba earned a shot of confidence with his performance against Michigan last season. You hate to put too much on one outing, but Rugamba's first start did come against the No. 3 team in the country. He did have an interception that he ripped out of a Michigan's receiver's arms. Michigan threw 10 passes his way and Rugamba allowed just three completions. He also broke up another pass and earned Big Ten freshman of the week.

Rugamba had an easy read for the Michigan game. He was the cornerback who wasn't Desmond King

, the 2015 Thorpe Award winner as the nation's top defensive back.

'I definitely knew they were going to throw it my way or the Jim Thorpe Award winner's way,' Rugamba said. 'I had a feeling they were going to come after me. After the first ball, I would say it just came down to applying what coach Parker put there that week.'

— 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 and 6-1. What is that? That's the height of Iowa's top four corners. Parker definitely has a body type in mind for his cornerbacks.

'If you get a guy who has some range and long arms and has quick feet, especially with some of the taller receivers you see coming out, that helps you a little bit,' Parker said. 'Still, they need to have the requisite skills. They need to be able to transition. They need to be able to stop and go and make sure you can stay with guys in coverage.

'Obviously, when you're competing for a ball, it helps you. Football players are football players. You look at Desmond, he was a football player. He had different features, different style of playing, but he was very successful with what he did.

'There are different ways to skin a cat.'

— It's hard to gauge exactly where Noah Clayberg

might fit in here. He is so new at safety. He's a true freshman (a grayshirt player who became eligible in January).

Still, he's an interesting athlete and comes with a ton of possibilities. Anyone who moves from running back at the beginning of spring practice to strong safety and ends up No. 2 on the depth chart qualifies as an 'interesting athlete.'

'The coaches originally recruited me as a safety,' Clayberg said. 'This was the logical next step. I saw it coming. It was a good transition. The defensive guys and the coaches were very welcoming. They showed me the ropes. I had to learn quickly, but I think that's the best way to learn, when you're just tossed in there.'

Clayberg said he saw safety needed depth and wanted to help the team. It also was his fastest way to the field. Iowa running back is crowded for the 2017 season.

'We are deep at running back and I have a lot of respect for the guys back there,' said Clayberg, a Pella native. 'They work hard and you can tell they love to be here and love to play.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com