COLLEGE PARK, MD – Iowa football has a Next Man In Award for a reason. On Saturday in the Hawkeyes’ 29-13 victory over Maryland, the hardware might as well have been a blanket draped over the visiting team. On both ends of the football, substitutes were more than just fill-ins, but key contributors to success.
Most notable was quarterback Jackson Stratton – a walk-on who transferred from Colorado State over the summer. He had less than 30 career pass attempts under his belt. Before receiving his first action in relief of an injured Brendan Sullivan against UCLA, Stratton’s last completed throw came on Nov. 5, 2022.
While starting the year as the team’s fourth-stringer, Stratton’s rise to the top of the depth chart wasn’t met with skepticism but support.
“They all rallied around me immediately,” Stratton said of his teammates. “Just got me ready for the game, making sure we had the offense we needed to win this game.”
The main protector of Stratton or any quarterback under center is Iowa left tackle Mason Richman. The senior offensive lineman joked the team might as well be on their 18th quarterback but noted Stratton’s progress.
“He got better all week, handling things,” Richman said. “He was cool on the field, just managing the game well. It’s part of the job as quarterback. So I thought he did a great job.”
Indeed, after Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester said Stratton looked panicked in prime time against the Bruins, the quarterback completed 10 of his 14 passes on Saturday. Finding open receivers along the sideline for short gains, Stratton’s longest completion was only 14 yards, but he didn’t cause any turnovers.
“It’s just about reps,” Stratton said. “You can go out there and know the whole playbook, but if you haven’t seen it as many times as possible and all that, it’s a little bit tough. Just to be able to see every play and every different coverage and formation.”
When asked what he could bring to this Iowa team, Stratton flashed a smile and shouted out his “big arm,” but quickly gave credit to others around him, the ones who welcomed his presence when he found out he would be the starter on Monday.
“We’re gonna support him,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s earned a lot of respect to him in a short amount of time, just by the way he operates.”
Similar to Stratton, two other Hawkeyes saw exponentially more playing time on Saturday compared to the rest of the regular season. Filling in for injured starting right tackle Gennings Dunker, senior Nick DeJong got the nod and contributed to a front five that helped generate over 200 rushing yards and allowed just one sack.
“Funny thing was he was on the carnivore diet on Tuesday, and then [Dunker] went down, so then he started eating carbs again,” Richman said.
In his final season of eligibility, DeJong has 17 career starts under his belt but hadn’t gotten one until Saturday. Hailing from Pella, Iowa, DeJong made the most of his opportunity for his home state team.
“He’s been dying to play,” Richman said. “Maybe it hasn’t been the year he’s wanted it to be for himself, but that’s what this [offensive line] room is about. We’re for each other and just room success at the end of the day.”
Iowa cornerback TJ Hall has seen four starts this season, but lost the job to Deshaun Lee a few games in. A junior looking to step up in Cooper DeJean’s void, Hall had his fair share of struggles – most notably in Week 3 against Troy when he got burnt for two long passing touchdowns.
Heading into the Maryland game, Hall had only eight tackles on the season Against the Terrapins he collected not only four tackles but his first career interception. Against a Maryland passing attack that led the Big Ten in passing yards per game, Hall and the Iowa secondary conceded 139 passing yards between quarterbacks Billy Edwards Jr. and MJ Morris.
From fellow defensive backs Xavier Nwankpa and Deshaun Lee mobbing Hall after his pick to quarterback Brendan Sullivan embracing Stratton after the final whistle, the names on the backs of Iowa’s white jerseys seem irrelevant compared to the Tigerhawk on the front.
“We’re not unique in this way, but we got really good guys on our team,” Ferentz said. “Really good guys that are team guys, and they support whoever’s in there … They’re for whoever’s is going to be in there, and that’s part of the next man concept.”