Back in the game

CEDAR RAPIDS - B.J. Lowery was back home working in Cincinnati. Jordan Cotton was coaching football at Iowa Wesleyan and working at the correctional facility in Mount Pleasant.

But both former University of Iowa football players didn't think their playing days were over. Friday night at the U.S. Cellular Center, the two will get their chance to show they've still got game enough for the Cedar Rapids Titans.

'Things are looking great right now,” said Lowery, who will suit up for the Titans against defending Intense Conference champion Nebraska in an Indoor Football League exhibition game at 7:05 p.m. 'I've got a good feeling about the season. I'm pretty much just looking forward to it. Just hope I make the cut.”

After an All-Big Ten season at cornerback for Iowa in 2013 and a summer in the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie minicamp, Lowery is ready for the adjustment the indoor game presents.

'Just adjusting to the field and the rules,” he said. 'There's a lot of different rules than playing in college or the NFL. That's the biggest thing so far.”

Lowery, 23, has been competing for a roster spot with other former Division I defensive backs such as Demetruce McNeal (Auburn) and the Western Kentucky tandem of Arius Wright and Tyree Robinson. He's enjoying playing football again in Iowa, where he's already been recognized if not for his two interception return touchdowns against Western Michigan, then his unforgettable one-handed interception to help defeat Iowa State in Ames.

'Me and my roommate Zach Brown, we went down to Iowa City to visit some friends of mine,” Lowery said. 'Some kid came up to me like, ‘I just wanted to shake your hand. Congratulations on the big catch. It was so good.' I was like, ‘Thanks, I'm surprised you still remember that.' I feel like an old guy now.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Cotton, 24, hopes to play his way into a roster spot Friday against a loaded receiver corps full of experienced returnees from last season. The trio of Carl Sims, Bryan Pray and J.J. Hayes combined for 126 catches and 31 touchdowns in 2014, and are back in Titans camp.

'I'm just happy I'm getting this opportunity to be with the Cedar Rapids Titans in the state of Iowa, my home state,” Cotton said. 'It's great. It's been a blessing so far.”

After Iowa, Cotton spent time in training camps with the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League before returning home to coach running backs at Iowa Wesleyan and work with his father - former Iowa running back Marshall Cotton - as a guard and activities officer for the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility.

'You learn a lot at the prison,” Cotton said. 'Going into it, the inmates, they watch football so they already knew who I was going in so it wasn't as intimidating as I thought it was going to be.”

At the urging of co-workers, Cotton emailed Cedar Rapids Coach Mark Stoute and followed up with some film. A few months later, he's in the thick of a training camp battle.

'All these guys are here fighting for a job and we're all working hard,” Cotton said. 'As long as we all keep on doing the right things, (it) gives us the best shot to make this team.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com