Alston now an assertive leader

IOWA CITY - The look is different at middle linebacker for Iowa these days, as is the sound.

Incoming senior Quinton Alston doesn't carry the profile of last year's starter James Morris or batterymate Anthony Hitchens. Alston is neither as big nor as decorated as his former teammates. But Alston is just as assertive as his predecessors.

'On the field, Morris and Hitchens have a little bit higher voice than I have so it sounds different,” Alston said. 'I try to go out there and have that deep voice and make sure that everybody's on the same page with that communication. The communication is the biggest part.”

Alston, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 232 pounds, now is his group's elder statesman. He's flanked by 17-year-old incoming sophomore in Reggie Spearman and a former walk-on in Travis Perry. He's also got a boatload of underclassmen backing up the first-team unit.

That means Alston gets the questions concurrently to solving his own problems.

'I'm still learning, but it's a challenge,” Alston said. 'It's a challenge that I love.”

Alston started one game at middle linebacker as a sophomore, but did not start a game last year. He was considered the team's fourth linebacker and played in every game. He recorded 12 tackles, recovered a fumble and played quite a bit on third down.

'I know Quinton is not a returning starter but he feels like it,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'He's a senior, a four-year guy like the three guys who graduated. But everybody feels like, geez, he's our middle linebacker, which obviously he hasn't been. But if circumstances would have caused it a year ago, James would have moved or if James wasn't in the game, Quinton was going to be in there playing.

'He's just so respected by everybody on the team and everybody involved in the program because he just does stuff right. He's a guy that we have great faith in and so I think he's really comfortable out there making calls, making checks, So I don't see that one being a huge transition.”

Alston played sparingly during Saturday's spring game with a slight hamstring pull. While he was out, he offered guidance to his teammates. That's not unusual off the field, either.

'We try to be good in each area: football, school and in the community as well,” said Alston, an academic all-Big Ten player. 'We try to help out people. We try to use this forum to touch another person's life. We have to be those role models in the community.”

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