Parker Hesse learning the tricks of the defensive end trade

IOWA CITY — The Hawkeyes had a breakout season in 2015. Iowa finished 12-2 and made it to the Big Ten championship game and the Rose Bowl. That was a lot of big-time airtime and the players are still feeling the effects.

Sophomore defensive end Parker Hesse went from relative unknown to starter about midway through the season. His profile took on some more sheen when he intercepted a pass and returned it 4 yards for a touchdown in the Hawkeyes' season finale at Nebraska. It gave Iowa a 14-7 lead that the Hawkeyes carried to the end, clinching the school's first 12-0 regular season.

So, people have a pretty good idea who Parker Hesse is. For the most part.

Earlier this summer, Hesse went shopping for a mattress in Iowa City.

'Someone recognized me,' Hesse said. 'He proceeded to tell me how big of a fan he was of Drew Ott. I was just like, 'Me too, man.''

Hesse let out a laugh. The reason the Waukon native went from relative unknown to starter was the injuries that Ott suffered last season. Ott was a hugely popular player — mullet, beard, drove a scooter from Iowa City to his home in Nebraska, ate an egg in its shell on camera for ESPN — and likely on his way to an all-Big Ten season last year. He suffered a dislocated elbow in week 2 against Iowa State and then had his season end in October after suffering a torn ACL against Illinois.

This is where Hesse entered the picture. Hesse finished with 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and 44 tackles (10th on the team). Given the fact that Hesse was a redshirt freshman who switched from outside linebacker to defensive end during his redshirt year in 2014, 2015 was a successful jump into the deep end of Big Ten football for Hesse.

'The great thing about Parker Hesse has to do with what his parents (Marcia and Perry) did with him when he was a young man,' Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan said. 'They did a great job of instilling values in him. He's a great competitor. He's very tough. He is very detailed, very intelligent. He has a lot of pride. You have that and he's got some ability. He was a high school quarterback as many of you know. He played all over the field, but he hates to lose and he's very competitive.'

So, now 2016. The mattress-buying moment with the guy who loved Drew Ott still carries. Iowa applied to get Ott a medical hardship waiver and a fifth year for 2016, but was denied in April. The Hawkeyes tried to get an extra year for Ott, who had 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 19 games the last two seasons.

The fact that it didn't happen isn't the end of the world for Iowa's defense. There are a million ways to approach a pass rush and that likely will be shaped on a week-to-week basis. Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker loves to get as much pass rush out of the front four and likely will start there, but between blitzes and third-down rush packages and scouting offenses, a pliable attack will take shape.

And look at Iowa's defense going into 2016 compared to 2015: The Hawkeyes have a pair of corners who have 60 starts between them. The Hawkeyes will get push up the middle with its defensive tackles. The Iowa linebacker corps went from struggling in 2014 to supreme in 2015.

Hesse and fellow defensive end Matt Nelson are relatively new. They don't have the resume that Ott and fellow senior defensive end Nate Meier had going into 2015. And that's OK. Iowa's defense also is starting from a different place in 2016, one that includes a list of proven performers that includes corners Desmond King and Greg Mabin, linebackers Josey Jewell and Ben Niemann and tackles Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata.

'We have such a core of guys returning on defense,' Hesse said. 'Inside with the D-tackles, great linebacking corps, our corners and our safeties, it allows, I don't want to say room for error, but it gives us a sense of being comfortable out there at the end position. There's not so much pressure. We're allowed to try things out and see what works for us.'

This is the time to see what works, at least in a limited format. It's summer conditioning and so gauging what works in a T-shirt and shorts vs. what works in pads is difficult.

If there were a couple of things Hesse would like to pull from Ott's game it's the first step and power.

'He was a big guy (6-4, 272), but his first step off the line of scrimmage was really great,' said Hesse, who's 6-3, 250. 'When he turned the corner, he was big enough to where he could lean on guys and still have contact with them and keep his rush path. Those are two things that made him really tough to stop and things that I'd love to have someday.'

• Four Downs: Iowa's 2016 defensive line

The defensive ends have paired off with the offensive tackles for the year. Nelson will butt heads with right tackle Ike Boettger. Hesse and fifth-year senior Cole Croston have tested each other on a daily basis since spring practice.

'In spring ball and the offseason when you're playing the same guy, it can get a little monotonous,' Hesse said. 'You know each other's tricks, but that's also what makes you better. One person gets the upper hand one day and forces the other guy to adjust the next day. That's kind of how we go. We always try to take a step forward.'

What is a good pass rush repetition for Hesse?

'Anytime I can beat him (Croston) with speed right away, I know that I can work off that,' Hesse said. 'Being a lighter guy, I need to make them (offensive tackles) fear the speed rush and make them play on their heels.'

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