Iowa football’s Yahya Black is a man of few words. The soft-spoken, 6-foot-5, 287-pound defensive lineman told reporters at Iowa Football Media Day Friday that he doesn’t like talking much.

Black does not have a boisterous personality like some of his other teammates, but he’s still found ways to stand out at practice.

“The thing that’s wow to me is a guy who shows up every day and does what he’s supposed to do,” Hawkeye defensive line coach Kelvin Bell said Friday. “In our society, where we are right now, it’s really hard for people to be consistent and Yahya shows up. You know, he’s been healthy in practice. He’s shown up every day, and these two hours that we spent on the practice field are not a chore for him. He’s actually trying to get something out of it. So, I guess that would be a wow for me.”

While Black’s work ethic has captured the attention of his coaches, his performance on the practice field has caught the eyes of his teammates.

“Yahya, obviously, is a freak,” junior center Tyler Linderbaum said. “I mean look at him. His arm is longer than both of mine. He’s done a great job. Obviously, he’s still young. So, [Black has] a lot of learning to do.”

Black’s performance in Iowa’s spring and summer practices led the Hawkeyes’ coaching staff to pencil him into a starting role on the preseason depth chart they released July 22. Though, that doesn’t mean the redshirt freshman will be starting at right defensive tackle in the Hawkeyes’ season-opener against Indiana Sept. 4.

“[Black] is a really intriguing prospect right now,” Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz told The Daily Iowan Friday. “We’re not ready to sign off yet, but he’s had to fight some injuries in the spring and now this camp, but he’s back on the field practicing and I think he’s got all kinds of potential and all kinds of ability. He’s a really good guy to work with. You know, good young man to work with — quality person. So, it’s all about getting more work in and learning some of the little intricacies of playing.”

“I think he’s got great, great potential — great future,” Ferentz added. “Just hoping we keep him on the field so he can improve because he improves pretty quickly when he’s out there. So, it’d be great right now because we’re wide open right now on the defensive line . . . We need another four or five guys there that can step up and show they can help, and he’s definitely right in that mix.”

Black is part of an Iowa defense that will boast three new starters in the trenches in 2021. Per Iowa’s preseason depth chart, Black, juniors John Waggoner, Joe Evans, and Noah Shannon, redshirt freshman Lukas Van Ness, and sophomore Logan Lee could all be potential plugs for the holes left by defensive tackles Daviyon Nixon and Jack Heflin and defensive end Chauncey Golston. Nixon, Heflin, and Golston left the Iowa football program after the 2020-21 season in pursuit of careers in professional football. Heflin, Nixon, and Golston now play for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.

Heflin, Golston, and Nixon accounted for 12 of Iowa’s 22 total sacks in 2020-21. The trio also racked up nearly 26 of the Hawkeyes’ 52 total tackles for loss last season.

Despite their respective departures at the end of the 2020-21 season, Heflin, Nixon, and Golston’s presence will still be felt along Iowa’s defensive line.

“I’ve learned pretty much everything [from Nixon, Golston, and Heflin],” Black said. “From pad level, first step to pass rush when I was watching what they used to do.”

Iowa’s lone returning starter on the defensive line this season is senior defensive end Zach VanValkenburg. Last season, the 6-foot-4, 267-pound native of Zeeland, Michigan, recorded 3.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss.

Throughout the offseason, VanValkenburg and the defensive line have been working to overcome their inexperience before the Hawkeyes’ season begins in September.

“Objectively speaking, we don’t have a lot of guys with game experience,” VanValkenburg said. “So, it’s our job to work through practice and start to make up for [a lack of] experience through repetition, through hard work, and through honest self-evaluation. So, we’ve been doing a lot of that and we’re looking forward to the next week of camp as well.”