No. 25 — LB Travis Perry

No. 25 . . .

Entering August camp last year, Travis Perry (6-3, 234) was slated to start at outside linebacker. That didn't happen. Redshirt freshman Bo Bower passed Perry on the depth chart and it stayed that way for all of 2014.

Perry didn't go away. He ended up being a fairly important 'swing' linebacker and made two starts at weakside linebacker (replacing Reggie Spearman, who has since transferred to Illinois State). Perry went from the outside looking in to making 19 tackles, with 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

Is it all-Big Ten caliber? No. Usually when a player who believes he's on a starter track doesn't end up starting, that player fades. Perry didn't. He stayed with it and has put himself in position to make another run at a starting spot during his senior season.

Iowa needs the competition at linebacker. It was a dead spot in last year's offense. Perry keeping the heat on the starters can only help.

Perry ended spring as the No. 2 middle linebacker behind sophomore Josey Jewell. When spring practice finished, Iowa linebacker sounded fluid to say the least.

'Right now we actually have five guys and it's almost flip a coin with those five guys in terms of who the starters would be,' head coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'I just want to emphasize that Cole Fisher and Travis Perry both had really good springs.'

The five would be starters Jewell, Ben Niemann (outside linebacker) and Bower (weakside), with Perry and senior Cole Fisher competing for time.

New LB coaching situation . . .

You already know that Jim Reid has taken over control of the linebackers this year. Last year, he had the inside LBs with LeVar Woods taking the outside LBs. Woods has moved across the line of scrimmage to tight ends and this is Reid's deal.

During his spring interview, Reid was asked 'What convinces you that the linebackers will take a big step up this season?' I thought the answer was appropriately measured.

'Well, let me just say, I'm not sure that it's going to be up as much as it's going to be consistent,' Reid said.

This doesn't have anything specifically to do with Perry. That's probably a good thing. Last spring, he missed the spring game with a concussion and had a virus that caused him to lose 12 or so pounds.

No, I just liked Reid's quote. No empty spring promises of massive improvement, but he didn't dodge the question, either.

Outlook . . .

Perry is clearly an inside linebacker now. You knew replacing former OLB Christian Kirksey, the prototype for what Iowa wants at the position — powerful against the run and could cover — was going to be tough. Perry and Bower were traded out quickly. Now, it's Ben Niemann and maybe he's a fit.

This spring, it felt like Jewell was latching on to the MLB spot, but Perry performed well enough to stay in the discussion. Right now, Iowa LB needs the competition and so the more in the discussion the merrier.

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