Even without Drew Ott and Nate Meier, the Iowa defensive line looks up to the test.
By Courtney Baumann
With neither Drew Ott nor Nate Meier as a starting defensive end this season, Iowa has two rather large — literally and figuratively — gaps to fill in the lineup.
Iowa seems to have found a solution for that problem, though.
Even back at spring practice, the starting four defensive linemen looked to be a done deal. The Hawkeyes return both starting defensive tackles, Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata, as well as Parker Hesse, who started at defensive end after Ott suffered a season-ending knee injury last year.
That still leaves Meier’s position open, but Matt Nelson, a 2015 letterwinner, should be the man to fill it. Plus, there is no need to worry about the large part; Nelson’s got that covered. He’s 6-8 and weighs 270 pounds.
The sophomore played in 13 games last year, recording 14 tackles — including 1.5 for a loss.
Nelson said he feels like a “completely different player” this season.
“I’ve put on about 10 pounds, I feel faster, I feel more fluid,” he said. “I feel like a better athlete and football player.”
Nelson credits a lot of his development to Ott, who was one of his first mentors at Iowa. The two were roommates for Nelson’s first camp, and since then, Nelson has tried to learn from him.
The same can be heard from Hesse. Rather than “what did he learn” from Ott, the sophomore looks at it as “what didn’t he learn.”
Stepping into the starting DE role as a redshirt freshman put Hesse up against some big, experienced opponents, but ultimately, it benefited him.
“Anytime you can get actual game experience is invaluable. There’s nothing that can truly simulate that in the off-season or on the practice field,” Hesse said. “I’m just looking to build on that, and improve as a player, and improve my contribution to the team this year.”
One of the big things that has been drilled into the defensive linemen after losing two seniors is rushing the passer. The progress in that area has been a bit difficult to track, though.
With C.J. Beathard’s slight injury earlier this month, the defense has worked outside of an imaginary circle and stayed far, far away from the starting quarterback.
Bazata said coaches have been keeping track of certain things that show promise for the pass rush, such as getting a hand up and tipping the ball or getting within the imaginary circle.
In those areas, Bazata said, Hesse is scoring the best.
On the other hand, the junior said it has been difficult to read whether or not the line has been consistent in stopping the inside runs — some days have been good, some days, not so much.
One thing is for sure though — this defensive line is not to be compared with 2015’s.
“Last year is last year,” Bazata said. “We have all these new seniors, and the guys last year left, so they’re not going to be helping us.”
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