By Mario Williams
By nearly any account the 2015 Iowa football season was a success.
One of Iowa’s biggest strengths was the secondary, which consistently shut down opposing passing offenses.
However, that doesn’t stop the team from being hungrier than ever. The defensive backs may be the most skilled, strong, and veteran unit on the team, and in order for them to continue to have success, they must start with leadership.
That leadership comes in its four probable starters this season-Greg Mabin, Desmond King, Miles Taylor, and Brandon Snyder. Cornerbacks King and Mabin are seniors, while Snyder and Taylor (both safeties) are a junior and a sophomore.
“It should be an exciting year for us as secondary and as a defensive unit as a whole,” Mabin said.
Mabin didn’t participate in Iowa’s spring game in April, but he has got back in the mix of watching film to improve as a leader. Some of that included watching the top cornerbacks in the game, the Hawks’ offense, and the different offenses Iowa will face this season.
King, who decided to return to the program for his senior year after receiving plenty of NFL attention, is probably one of the main topics of conversation for the secondary.
He comes into this season with many accolades under his belt — he won the Jim Thorpe Award last year and is on the Bednarik Award Watch List, Nugurski Trophy Watch List, Thrope Award List, and the Paul Hornung Award Watch List, to name a few.
There’s no surprise that all attention has been on King over the course of the off-season but Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker knows he can get even better.
“The accolades don’t make any plays,” Parker said. “Just because what you did before doesn’t mean you’re going to do it again. All I want to make sure is that he stays on the right page on where we’re going and become the best player he can become.”
Parker said he knows there are some plays King wishes he could get back, and he will continue to remind him about them.
Technique, speed, acceleration, and man-to-man coverage are some of the things King has also worked on this off-season.
Unfinished business could be the term to describe how King and the secondary unit are approaching this season. It all goes back to the post season losses in the Big Ten Championship against Michigan State and the Rose Bowl against Stanford.
While there is unfinished business, King noted the experience from being on a stage of that level is something the unit is looking to benefit from.
“We just have to stay humble and hungry,” King said. “We kind of remember what we had going into last season, with the leadership style and how the team carried itself and what we did on a daily basis. But, we feel like last year is last year and this year is this year. We just need to keep everything on the same run as last year.”
Mabin believes that being on the opposite side of the field this year of an athlete such as King is an honor and a privilege.
Even though the spotlight will be on both leaders to take charge for the secondary unit, they’re prepared.
“I mean, how many cornerbacks can say they get to play with a Jim Thorpe Award winner?” Mabin said. “We just need to take it one game at a time. This will be a fun year for us.”
Follow @Marioxwilliams for Iowa football news, updates, and analysis.
