Iowa Football: Can Hawkeyes escape 8-win purgatory?

Defense

If you have to pick a strength on this defense, it’ll be on the line. While Nathan Bazata is gone, Anthony Nelson and AJ Espenesa will lead the group. Parker Hesse, Brady Reif and Cedrick Lattimore are all solid as well.

Iowa will need to lean on that group for experience, and for quite a bit of production. That’s because their linebacker group is a mess. All three starters are gone, including Josey Jewell and Bo Bower, two of the country’s best.

That means that three of Nick Niemann, Kristian Welch, Aaron Mends, Amani Jones, Jack Hockaday, and Barrington Wade will need to step up. Outside of Welch and Mends, that’s a ton of youth and uncertainty. They will need breakout stars to survive the season.

The defensive backfield isn’t as decimated as the linebackers, but they do have production to replace. Star corner Josh Jackson is gone. Matt Hankins, Michael Ojemudia, Emmanuel Rugamba and Trey Creamer have big shoes to fill. Two of them will need to be solid, and that will probably happen.

Safety is less precarious. Amani Hooker and Jake Gervase are both solid, and will hold the back-end of the defense down very well. Hooker is a potential All-B1G caliber safety.

Are the kids ready?

Hankins, Creamer, Wade, Niemann, and Espenesa are all redshirt sophomores or younger. Freshmen John Waggoner, Daviyon Nixon, Dillon Doyle, Tyler Linderbaum and Dallas Craddieth may all be needed as well. If those guys are ready for the big time, Iowa will have a big year. If they crumble, there aren’t enough leaders on this defense to keep it together.