Iowa has something in Anthony Nelson

IOWA CITY — Reese Morgan has coached football since 1973. He's taught three Outland Trophy winners and a host of former Hawkeyes who've made their mark in the NFL.

When the cameras are rolling, coaches might be overly generous in their praise of a player. People smile and they make nice for the camera. That's how this thing works sometimes.

So, keep in mind Morgan's history as a coach — the players he's seen and the time he's spent coaching those players — when he talked defensive end Anthony Nelson last weekend.

Morgan heard the question and it looked like he stifled a smile.

'I think Anthony Nelson is going to be fun to watch, I think he's going to be fun to watch,' Morgan said. 'He's bigger, he's stronger, he's faster. He's going to be playing a lot of snaps.'

At times last season, Nelson was fun to watch.

He finished his redshirt freshman year with 6.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss, second on the team in both trailing only tackle Jaleel Johnson, a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in May's NFL draft.

There are disruptions beyond sacks and tackles for loss. Nelson excelled here, it's just these stats aren't widely tracked on a national level. With a 6-7, 260-pound frame, quick feet and a feel for the slither and shake top-tier pass rushers need, Nelson led the Hawkeyes last year with 32 QB hurries and 11 QB hits. He didn't always get the sack, but he disrupted and there really should be a stat for that.

Pro Football Focus rated Nelson as Iowa's top pass rusher with a plus-minus score of 15.5, just ahead of Johnson's 14.6. Junior defensive end Parker Hesse was next with 4.0.

Nelson is good at disruption. That's fun for every defense.

'Even though Anthony has played only a year, he's gained a lot of valuable experience and reps,' Morgan said. 'There's been bowl prep, spring and now preseason camp. He's playing a lot faster.'

When discussing Nelson going into last season, Morgan said he thought Iowa might have a potential situational pass rusher — keep in mind, Iowa really didn't know what it had in Nelson because he had yet to play a snap — and then he added that Nelson needed to prove himself at the point of attack. The pass rush part showed up in Nelson's first game. Against Miami (Ohio) in last year's opener, Nelson earned Big Ten freshman of the week with six tackles, 2.5 sacks, a pass breakup and two forced fumbles Iowa recovered and turned into touchdowns.

It was a dream debut, but Nelson said he didn't see it coming and even he needed to see it to believe it.

'I wasn't confident that I was going to get anything,' Nelson said. 'That's just the mindset you have when you play at Iowa. You expect success, but you focus on the things that you can do and always look to improve. Last year, I was focused on what I could do and the results were a byproduct of that.'

At 6-7 and being only 20-years-old, Nelson went into the offseason knowing he needed to add strength. He put on 10 pounds — he went from 220 to 250 during his redshirt season in 2015 — and said he's kept his quickness. That should make Nelson an even more fun player. Also, the way he sees the game should progress this year.

'Continue to detail things and continue to get better,' Morgan said when asked what Nelson needs to take the next step. 'The pass was the area where he really kind of shined. He's really stepped up against the run.'

Plus, Iowa's defensive line will go against Iowa's offensive line for another three weeks. The Hawkeyes' O-line has a ton of experience and is set up to be one of the best in the Big Ten West. In other words, it's gameday every day or have fun watching film with your coaches and teammates.

'The competition level is pure one-on-one,' Nelson said about pass rush drills vs. the O-line. 'It's you vs. the offensive lineman. We have a lot of great offensive linemen. We have a lot of great defensive linemen. It's definitely competitive like that.'

Nelson also might be the only defensive end who wasn't asked on media day if he'd spend some time inside at tackle. Iowa is looking for a solid rotation of four tackles. That search has called in at least two defensive ends, junior Matt Nelson and Hesse. At the beginning of practice this week, Hesse moved inside during a walk-through rep to make room for true freshman end A.J. Epenesa (something to consider, but also a move that might never see a game). Morgan said Matt Nelson played inside some in the spring and early in August camp. Nelson didn't participate in the early drills of Monday's practice and missed a lot of spring with a lower-leg injury.

The search might end up with some ends moving inside, but it probably won't include Anthony Nelson. His name hasn't come up in this discussion.

The Iowa staff has a much better idea what it might have in Nelson, whose dad, Jeff, played defensive tackle for the Hawkeyes from 1990-92. Nelson has gone from 'OK, pass rusher, let's see how this goes' to 'fun to watch.'

'Last year was a whirlwind kind of year, I was just trying to keep up,' Nelson said. 'This year, I feel like I can take control and react to situations a little better.'

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