Iowa’s secondary looks like the defense’s best unit, and it needs to deliver to help a young front-seven get by.
By charlie green
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For members of Iowa’s defensive backfield, a byproduct of their experience is a level of swagger that may be necessary to play the positions at a high level.
For example, there’s more than a strategic reason behind junior cornerback Greg Mabin’s desire to jam receivers at the line.
“It lets me be able to talk to them while we’re on the line,” Mabin said. “I don’t have to yell at them, I can just whisper in their ear a little bit, let them know what’s about to happen.”
Mabin is part of a group that returns three starters, including junior corner Desmond King and senior free safety Jordan Lomax.
All three ranked in the top eight of the team’s tacklers from a season ago, and they combined for 5 interceptions.
It’s by far the most veteran unit on the defense, and the members will try to make up for inexperience in the front seven.
“I think experience is going to be the biggest thing, and the fact that they’ve all been around each other,” recruiting coordinator and defensive backs assistant Seth Wallace said. “So their willingness to communicate with each other and hold each other accountable is probably their biggest advantage as a group right now.”
There is, however, a hole at strong safety after the graduation of John Lowdermilk, who led the team in tackles in 2014 and also nabbed 3 interceptions.
The current depth chart lists sophomore Miles Taylor, who saw action in every game last season as a true freshman, at No. 1. Redshirt freshman Brandon Snyder stands behind him, and junior Anthony Gair remains in the mix but currently stands as Lomax’s backup.
“It’s definitely a good competition going on at that position, between Miles Taylor and Anthony Gair, and there’s some other guys in the mix, too,” Mabin said. “But that’s a competition that’s going to be going on all the way through camp and maybe even into the first week of the season.”
Whoever gets the nod at the position, the rest of the unit looks solid. Lomax has one full season under his belt at safety after switching from corner last season, earning praise from coaches for his growth.
King and Mabin on the outside should help the rest of the young defense tremendously, and their experience, physicality, and athleticism should allow defensive coordinator Phil Parker to bring more pressure in passing situations or load the box with extra defenders against the run.
The two corners figure find themselves on an island with receivers often, where one mistake can have game-changing consequences.
“When you make a mistake, all 70,000-plus fans notice it,” Mabin said. “So just being able to get past that and bounce back to the next play is huge.”
It’s something the junior says he didn’t do well last season, but Parker had high praise for the pair that the whole defense will rely much on in 2015.
“I think [King] is a tough, physical corner. He has great instincts, great balance, good feet, and good hands,” Parker said. “Mabin has a little more length; he’s a little bit taller and has more speed.”
King’s physicality makes him a valuable run defender as well, as he has shown a willingness to take on bigger blockers on the edge and make tackles around the line of scrimmage.
“To me, to have a complete defense the secondary needs to be tough, they need to be physical, they need to contribute to the run defense,” King said. “And that’s something that we do well.”
But for Parker, the main focuses are communicating to prevent the big plays that plagued the team in 2014 and forcing turnovers to create more opportunities for the offense.
“How many times can we get takeaways on defense,” Parker said. “How many times can we get the ball back for our offense? That’s what we’re looking to do.”
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