I cried the day Derrick Thomas died, and really, it was for selfish reasons.

Being just 10 years old at the time, I didn’t know Thomas the person.

My only experiences with Thomas — the speed-rushing, trash-talking, fumble-forcing hybrid outside linebacker from the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1990s — were on Sundays inside Arrowhead Stadium.

No player on the field was more fun to watch than No. 58. He was DeMarcus Ware before DeMarcus Ware. It was like the referees gave him a half-second head start before the ball was snapped.

I only got to watch him play nine seasons before he tragically died in a car crash at age 33. But in those nine seasons, Thomas and fellow pass rusher Neil Smith taught me to always keep my eye on the defensive line.

On Sept. 19, I sat in the Kinnick Stadium press box and reverted to my old habits. Through two games, Iowa’s defensive line was noticeably struggling without four-year starters Mitch King and Matt Kroul, but no one cared.

Rightfully so, Hawkeye fans seemed a bit more concerned with quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s first-half struggles, or Bryan Bulaga’s mystery illness, or the constant shuffling of the offensive line.

Those are the things that grab your attention.

But not to me. The biggest plays of the game came along Iowa’s front four.

Sure, Amari Spievey’s ultimate hustle play to catch Arizona running back Nic Grigsby before he went 59 yards for a touchdown certainly changed the game. So, too, did Adam Robinson’s 43-yard jaunt on third and 23.

Watching Iowa’s defensive line continue to wear down Arizona was a clinic, though. The Wildcats only ran 23 plays in the first half, leaving the Hawkeyes front four — consisting of Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard, Broderick Binns, and Karl Klug — fresh for the second half.

On Arizona’s first drive of the third quarter, Clayborn, who had been anything but effective through two-and-a-half games, flew down the line of scrimmage after the Wildcats’ shifty running back Grigsby.

The play won’t jump out to anyone on paper, given that Grigsby gained three yards. But with one play, Clayborn had seemingly regained his chest-thumping, crowd-exciting swagger from a year ago.

It was fun seeing the second-year starter become his usual disruptive self after that. He hurried the quarterback on the next possession. He made more plays in the run game. And he even got a sack and a forced fumble in the game’s final minutes.

It wasn’t just Clayborn, though. Klug notched a sack, Binns batted down a pass or two, and Ballard collapsed the pocket around the Wildcat quarterbacks.

Most impressive, however, was how the defensive front clogged the running lanes. Minus Grigsby’s 58-yard run, he managed just 17 yards on 10 carries. And this is a guy who came into the game against the Wildcats averaging over 162.5 yards rushing — second best in the country.

If that’s not complete dominance, I don’t know what is.

It’s on days like that when I especially wish Derrick Thomas was still alive. I know he, too, would’ve been impressed.