I previewed the offense yesterday and now it's time for the defense. There are a lot fewer question marks on this side of the ball as 8 starters return and there are others with considerable experience that were waiting in the wings. So, here's a quick run down of each unit (this shouldn't be nearly as long as the offense primer).
Defensive Line:
The defensive line has been sort of a hot topic this off season due to the loss of 4 year starters Mitch King and Matt Kroul. People have pointed to this fact to claim that Iowa's defense won't be very good this year (how very wrong they are). At defensive tackle will be Karl Klug and Christian Ballard. Klug is most known for his Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award that he earned for his 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumbled effort against Florida International (though he is kind of embarrassed about it) and his huge stops against Penn State last year. Ballard was a starting defensive end last year and has slid inside to tackle. He certainly has the size for it at 6'5" 285. Mike Daniels will the the first to come in off of the bench. He's got starting ability (he would be starting if Ballard hadn't made the move) and has been starting to make a name for himself. He is specifically known for his super human strength.
At defensive end will be Adrian Clayborn and Broderick Binns. Clayborn is a known commodity and though his stats may not be as flashy as some of the other start DEs in the Big Ten, he's just as good. Expect him to be even more disruptive this year. Binns has really impressed Kirk Ferentz and he is the main reason Ballard moved over. He is a pass rush specialist and has been "unblockable" in practice.
Linebackers:
The linebacker corps will be more of the same this year. Pat Angerer, A.J. Edds, and Jeremiha Hunter all return and all indication point to the unit being even better this year. Angerer is one of the best linebackers in the nation and this year has really established himself as a team leader. He also appears on the Butkus Award Watch List. Edds also made the watch list and should continue his dominance at the SAM linebacker position. And finally, Hunter has continued to improve in the off season. He quietly was second on the team in tackles last year and could have an even bigger impact his year.
Defensive Backfield:
This unit is most unsettled of the defense due to an injury, a suspension, and a general lack of depth. Both starting safeties, Tyler Sash and Brent Greenwood, are back. Sash really started to come on strong towards the end of the year recording 4 interceptions in the last 4 games. Greenwood has been solid at free safety. He was tied for 3rd on the team with 68 tackles last year and has been a part of the Hawkeye Leadership Group for 3 seasons in a row.
At corner back are Amari Spievey and either William Lowe or Greg Castillo. Spievey has turned into the conference's best cover corner and is on the preseason Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. Opposing quarterbacks will not be throwing the call in his direction very often. Unfortunately, the other corner position is up in the air for at least the first 2 games. The spot looked like it was going to be Jordan Bernstine's until he suffered an ankle injury. Next in line is Shaun Prater, but he's suspended for 2 games for an OWI. So next in line are Lowe and Castillo. Lowe saw a little action last year as a true freshman but only have 2 tackles. Castillo is just a redshirt freshman so has not seen any time on the field (obviously). The two are tied right now on the depth chart so it will be interesting to see if somebody wins the job in the next week.