Iowa Football: 5 breakout freshmen to watch in 2018

IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 3: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes waits with his team during a play review in the second quarter against the Miami (OH) RedHawks on September 3, 2016 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

2 of 6

With the graduation of the veteran linebacker trio of Bo Bower, Ben Niemann and Josey Jewell, there is no question that Iowa has a lot of inexperience at the linebacker position going into fall of 2018. One way to perhaps fix that is to get some young, high-energy guys some experience on the field. Georgia-native Jayden McDonald definitely fits the bill as a young, high-energy guy.

Watching tape of McDonald reminds me and may remind some of former Iowa linebacker Abdul Hodge. Hodge, who played from 2001-05, was the bellcow for some of Norm Parker’s most intimidating and dominating defenses, anchoring a linebacking corp that also consisted of Chad Greenway and Grant Steen.

If McDonald is anything close to Abdul Hodge, he will be a very exciting player to watch at linebacker. In fact, McDonald might possibly be a faster version of Hodge, running a 4.6 40-yard dash, which is extremely impressive for a linebacker coming out of high school.

Home/Iowa Hawkeyes