Iowa’s D-backs look to uphold legacy

IOWA CITY - Iowa's secondary has a tradition to uphold.

NFL clubs have drafted seven defensive backs the last eight years with five remaining on NFL rosters. From 2009 through 2013, seven Iowa defensive backs were named first-team all-Big Ten. It's possible Iowa's ball-hawking secondary has the potential to rival some its best outfits of the last decade.

Junior cornerback Desmond King is a two-year starter. Junior cornerback Greg Mabin opened 12 games last year after switching from wide receiver. Free safety Jordan Lomax started every game but one last year. Nickel corner Maurice Fleming has a start and played important minutes last year.

It's a veteran unit, one that has the potential to rank among the Big Ten's best. But don't tell that to defensive coordinator Phil Parker right now.

'Every year you've got to come out and prove what you are,” Parker said. 'It doesn't matter what you did in the past. It really matters what you do in these two-a-days, in this season to prepare. Everybody changes, everybody grows, I think we still have a long way to go to put some of those guys in those categories.”

But Parker also acknowledges the experience and the talent with which he has to work.

'Now, have they played, yes,” he said. 'Desmond King is going on his third year of being a starter, Greg Mabin is a little bit more confident that he's played a whole year so I feel good about that, and Reece Fleming has played in a game. Sean Draper has also played so I have four guys that have played in some games. Do they all have to get better? Yeah, no question about it. You can always improve and it's every day they have to go out there and work and nobody's going to give you a game. You've just got to keep on working and go to work.”

King (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) has started 25 consecutive games after replacing an injured Lomax in the 2013 season opener. Pro Football Focus ranks him as the nation's eighth-best cornerback entering the season. He's competitive in pass coverage, a hard hitter on the edge and eyes a leadership role with this team.

'Obviously I'm more experienced, I'm more comfortable,” King said. 'I have an idea of how to attack the ball.”

Mabin's best performance came against Pittsburgh, a game he didn't start because of injury. He broke up three passes and had four solo tackles. Mabin was reluctant about moving from offense and was coerced to stay at cornerback. Now he's visibly stronger and at 6-foot-2, posts a great size for the position.

'He's very tall, length, he's got long arms, great speed, good footwork,” Parker said. 'It was a situation that the opportunity on the offensive side didn't really work out, and he did play defense in high school. So we said we'd give him a try. He was a little bit reluctant at first and he tried to go back, and then he finally ended up in our room. All I was telling him was, ‘You're a good athlete, you can do a good job if you put your mind to it and if you want to, you can be a good corner.'”

But the players also recognize they're far from perfect. Mabin gave up two touchdowns, a long pass and a pass interference in the second half and overtime against Nebraska. The ending spoiled a semi-positive year for Mabin.

'I still have nightmares about them,” Mabin said. 'Every time they put the film on, it just kind of nags at me a little bit. But it's over and gone. You've got to move on and learn from it.

'Every week during the offseason we have a team that we specialize on. One of the weeks was Nebraska. When I would go to the rack, one of the strength coaches would put that picture of Kenny Bell scoring just using it as motivation. It's all motivation. You can't get mad about it now, like it's done and good.”

King had his own issues. At midseason, both Phil Steele and ESPN named King first-team all-Big Ten. By season's end, he was listed as honorable mention.

'I felt myself getting complacent through the midseason,” King said. 'I had a couple bad games, but then it's all about resilience. I came back, I bounced back from my mistakes, and I finished with a good season.”

Through the offseason, former Iowa stars Shaun Prater and Micah Hyde have strolled through the football complex. Their legacies are obvious to players like King and Mabin, who never played a down with them. The current group vies to emulate their predecessors with their work habits and commitment to video study. They know in order to leave their own mark, they have to establish their presence every single day. That's not just for their position or the secondary, but for the entire defense.

'I don't want to say that we're comfortable,” Mabin said. 'We know that we're the most experienced group on defense. We know we have to set the tone, and we've got to set the tempo.”

'We help each other with just being competitive,” King said. 'That's what we need to do together. That's something that's going to help us and help our defense out is me and him making sure they can trust us and that anything isn't going to happen wrong on our side.”

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