No. 28 — CB Maurice Fleming

No. 28 . . .

Cornerback Maurice Fleming (6-foot, 205) had a quiet season in 2014, probably too quiet for his taste. Still, it was a season of a few firsts, ones that Fleming probably will remember. He made his first start at Pittsburgh, a thriller that Iowa pulled out in the second half. He finished with 11 tackles and one pass breakup.

Fleming also played quite a bit in the TaxSlayer Bowl. He replaced starter Greg Mabin in the second half and finished with a career-high five tackles.

This kind of carried over into the spring. Mabin was the starter, but Fleming appears to be the solid No. 3 corner (with senior Sean Draper the No. 4). During the spring game, he saw action as the nickel corner and lined up with the second team.

Fleming seems to be on a solid track. He'll see some time and how much is up to what Iowa's defense can do, which likely will evolve in August and September.

The bigger picture question for Fleming is can he do something to jump into the starting lineup? He sits behind two solid starters in Mabin (who won the job over Fleming last season) and junior Desmond King (a three-year starter).

This is why corner is one of the healthier positions Iowa has. Depth and experience here is solid. The top four corners are a senior and three juniors.

Maybe he can . . .

There are a lot of names in play, but defensive coordinator Phil Parker saw Fleming stand out and pick up some ground this spring.

'I think Fleming has really made a push this spring to where you could categorize it, there's only two now playing, can you get three of them on the field at the same time is something we always look at, especially with the personnel group,' Parker said. 'But I think there's three of them that are above the other guys right now with Mabin and King and Fleming.'

That's something. How does it manifest?

A magnetic personality . . . Here's a post I wrote about Fleming when he signed with Iowa in 2012.

Here's a snippet with Fleming talking about his mom, Rochelle Harper: 'My mother stays on me, every minute if she can,' Fleming said. 'She'll just check up on me if I'm outside with my friends or just in general. How I'm doing in school, giving me information about Iowa football, she stays on top of it. She took me to the best football camps to compete against the best players. She's just that mom I would never trade.'

Outlook . . .

Going off what Parker said, Fleming has put himself in the best position possible. So, again, can he do something in camp to push himself ahead of a player who has a year as a starter on his resume? Can this come down to who plays the 'jump' or 50/50 balls better?

One thing about the upcoming August camp, Iowa's defense will be facing a QB with a strong arm and quick release. If C.J. Beathard remains upright, he could have a say on who sees how much time in Iowa's secondary.

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