Quarterbacks be advised: throwing jump balls at Iowa’s cornerbacks is a risk to consider before letting it rip.
“Any ball in the air, it’s ours,” junior cornerback Desmond King said. “If we have the chance to go get it, we’re going to go get it.”
Pittsburgh found that out the hard way in week three — on its first possession of the game. Panther quarterback Nate Peterman threw one up to All-ACC wide receiver Tyler Boyd; King came down with it for his first of two picks.
The Detroit native’s second pick, which came a drive later, was his third interception in Iowa’s previous four defensive stands dating back to the Iowa State game.
“You see ‘Detroit Boy’ go up and get a pick on the first [drive],” Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “They’re well-coached.”
If performance is correlated with strong coaching, then King and fellow corner Greg Mabin have been well-coached in their time at Iowa.
Some programs believe in building from the line out. Iowa is no exception. Even on defense, stars in the front seven have traditionally been the cornerstones of the best defenses in the Kirk Ferentz era.
From Adrian Clayborn, Matt Roth, Aaron Kampman and others on the defensive line to such standouts as Chad Greenway and Pat Angerer at linebacker, these units are typically what grab the most attention on Iowa’s defense.
Of course, the occasional star safety, such as Bob Sanders or Tyler Sash, leaves his mark as well, but in 2015 things are different — the cornerbacks could carry the unit to the upper echelon of the Big Ten.
King’s fourth-quarter interception of Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson sealed the Cyclones’ fate in Ames. In Iowa’s opener against Illinois State, Mabin put his physical prowess on full display with a couple of jarring hits at the line of scrimmage.
Both helped set the edge against Marshaun Coprich and Tre Roberson — the Redbirds’ star running back and quarterback who rushed for more than 3,000 yards in 2014.
“It’s always fun to hit people, that’s why we play the game,” Mabin said. “You can’t play this game and be soft, so it’s definitely always fun.”
One of them has three interceptions, the other has unique size and length at the position. Together, they compose Iowa’s best position group on either side of the ball.
In 2014, that was not the case. Both Mabin — a converted wide receiver — and King — a true sophomore — had growing to do to become the players they have been in early going of their junior seasons.
“The benefit of playing is if guys are thinking right, they have a chance to step forward,” Ferentz said. “And I think we’re seeing that certainly with Greg. I think we’re seeing that with Desmond, too, right now.”
Mabin not only focused on his mistakes from last year, his first as a starter, but also on mentally bouncing back on the next play. King worked out and watched tape with former NFL cornerback Chris McAllister, who told him he needed to be more consistent.
Both defensive backs knew they needed to limit big plays, which defensive coordinator Phil Parker defines as a run greater than 15 yards or a pass greater than 20.
“Coach Parker told us, I think it was like 60 or more [big plays],” Mabin said before the season. “We gave up way too many of those last year, so we’re just trying to limit it this year.”
By Parker’s definition, the defense has given up 12 big plays through its first three games: three versus Illinois State, five versus Iowa State and four versus Pittsburgh. That puts them on pace for 52 (including a potential bowl game) in 2015 after giving up 62 last year.
And that’s not all that’s indicative of a changed unit from a season ago.
The team is allowing 51 rushing yards per game, ranking No. 5 in the country and first in the Big Ten. Even more, Iowa has yet to allow a 40-yard rusher (Pittsburgh’s Darrin Hall came closest with 38).
Losing defensive linemen Carl Davis and Louis Trinca-Pasat to the NFL might have hurt Iowa in the running game worse if it were not for King and Mabin. Yes, King and Mabin have played the run well. But more importantly, their presence in the secondary might have the strongest effect against opponents’ rushing attacks.
“Knowing that they’re back there, it really helps you to be able to play a lot more downhill, a lot more aggressive,” linebacker Cole Fisher said. “Obviously, you have to work out the play-action, but with those guys back there, they save a lot of the stuff on the play-action.”
Iowa’s statistics in pass defense haven’t been as gaudy as those against the rush. As a unit, it has given up 233.3 yards per game through three weeks. That mark ranks 66th in the nation and ninth of the 14 teams in the Big Ten.
But in reality, the numbers don’t tell nearly the whole truth of what this duo has meant to Iowa’s defense. King’s two interceptions might have been the real difference in the last-second win over the Panthers, which advanced the Hawks to 3-0 for the first time since 2009.
Peterman had little trouble driving his team down the field after his first interception, picking apart Iowa’s defense in the luxury of an all-too-comfortable pocket.
Then, on third and goal from Iowa’s 5, King undercut Boyd and came down with the ball in the end zone.
Iowa has 11 sacks this season, but beyond those it has not put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That is one reason Boyd finished with 10 catches for 130 yards (the other reason is that Boyd is really good). Peterman finished with 211 yards despite playing as part of a quarterback platoon.
It’s a theme that might pad opponents’ passing numbers. But it might also indicate the amount of time Iowa defensive backs are forcing quarterbacks to wait before they pull the trigger, which helps the pass rush.
“It’s huge for us,” defensive end Drew Ott said. “I mean they give us time to lock down receivers, so we get a little bit of extra time to get to the quarterback and get some pressure on him.”
The numbers show that the sacks have been there, but don’t show that consistent pressure has not. Iowa doesn’t blitz its linebackers often, meaning the pass rush relies heavily on the front four.
And with Ott nursing a left elbow injury since the Iowa State game, the defensive line just hasn’t been the same, placing a larger strain on the back end.
With his being at full health, one can only imagine how the secondary might flourish — on and off the stat sheet.
Even so, a defense filled with question marks entering the season has shown the potential to be one of the Big Ten’s best — doing so largely without a guy many consider to be its best player in Ott.
Both King and Mabin have a chance to individually be two of the best cornerbacks of the Ferentz era, joining Shaun Prater, Amari Spievey, Micah Hyde and others.
But individual play is not what makes them special, it’s what they present to opponents as a duo. The two physical, athletic defenders can handle a pair of any teams’ top pass catchers, set the edge in the running game, get the ball back for the offense, and affect the front seven with its mere presence backing it up.
Will the juniors end up as the best tandem Ferentz has coached at the position? That remains to be seen, but in 2015, they’re off to a pretty good start.
“They’re both playing really well right now,” Ferentz said. “We’ve had some good corner play here traditionally, so hopefully, those guys will take their place in line.
“That would be great.”