Spring Outlook: Defensive Line
A.J. Epenesa leads the Iowa defensive line this spring.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
Last year, the Iowa defensive line was perhaps the deepest position on the team. Eight players saw action on a regular basis and that led to a strong season up front. Fast forward to this spring where this position group is adjusting to the loss of all four starters and also the retirement of Reese Morgan.
We take a look at the defensive line this spring, where depth will need to develop under the watchful eye of new defensive line coach Kelvin Bell.
STARTERS LOST
Parker Hesse, Sam Brincks, Anthony Nelson, and Matt Nelson
STARTERS RETURNING
Technically, none.
THE TWO DEEP
LE: Chauncey Golston, John Waggoner
LT: Cedrick Lattimore, Austin Schulte
RT: Brady Reiff, Noah Shannon
RE: A.J. Epenesa, Nathan Nelson
THE SPRING OUTLOOK
The good news, Iowa developed a good amount of depth in the last two years by playing what amounted to an eight man rotation.
The bad news, half of those eight players either graduated or left early for the NFL Draft.
While the Hawkeyes are replacing four starters, they are returning four players who played a lot of football the last two years. Epenesa and Golston played 412 snaps in 2018. Lattimore had 268 snaps and Reiff was at 215 last season.
On paper, Epenesa and Golston could be one of the top defensive end duos in the Big Ten and nationally. Epenesa is a likely preseason All American after leading the Big Ten with 10.5 sacks last season. Golston came on strong last year and was one of the most improved player on the roster with 3.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
Lattimore and Reiff are veterans, but they haven’t been as productive as Epenesa and Golston and they also haven’t had the workload that they will experience this year. Last season, Lattimore had 21 tackles and one sack and Reiff had 12 tackles and one sack.
The big task this spring will be developing depth at end and tackle. Three of the four players listed in the two deeps are redshirt freshmen and none of the three took advantage of the new freshman rule last year that allowed them to play in up to four games and still redshirt.
At end, former four star John Waggoner is probably the backup at both end positions right now. Basically that means there’s a three man rotation, which won’t be a bad thing, but Iowa does need to get another player ready for game action by the time the season rolls around. Nathan Nelson, who is Anthony’s younger brother, still needs to add weight.
One name to potentially watch at defensive end is Amani Jones. There were several reports from the Iowa coaches clinic this weekend that Jones had played a little defensive end in practice and that’s really pretty intriguing. He’s probably not going to see snaps against the run, but as a pass rush specialist with either Epenesa or Golston moving to tackle like they did last year with Parker Hesse, it’s an interesting option.
At tackle, Austin Schulte has bounced around a bit and battled some injuries. Heading into his junior year, he’s going to get a long look as a backup at defensive tackle. Noah Shannon was a pretty solid recruiting get for the Hawkeyes and looks the part at tackle. The wild card that’s on campus and finally back at practice is 6-foot-3 and 306 pound Daviyon Nixon. He was always going to redshirt last year after transferring in from the junior college ranks and now after a hiatus from the team for a few months, he’s officially back in the fold. The expectation is that he moves into the two deeps at tackle by the time next season starts.
What is also worth mentioning in the position outlook is the retirement of long time assistant coach Reese Morgan. He took over the position in 2012 and has always been one of the best position coaches on staff, no matter what position he coached. The good news is Iowa won't be bringing in a completely new face to coach the position. Kelvin Bell has been serving not only as recruiting coordinator, but as an assistant defensive line coach since 2016. He takes over full-time with the retirement of Morgan, so from a coaching perspective, there shouldn't be a huge transition for the players.
PLAYER TO WATCH
It has to be Daviyon Nixon, right?
For at least a year, Nixon has been one of the most talked about players on the Iowa roster who has not played a snap. What adds to the intrigue surrounding Nixon is not only his journey, but the fact that he was missing from the team since sometime in early to mid-October until his recent return.
That’s a good amount of rust to knock off this spring, so it might take a little time, but there’s no question that Nixon is a really good athlete for his size and frankly, Iowa needs him in the middle of the defense to take some pressure off the ends and also provide a stable presence in the middle along with Lattimore and Reiff.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Iowa will be adding two players from the high school ranks this fall in Chris Reames from Van Meter, IA and Jake Karchinski from Wisconsin. Both players are likely redshirts this season due to the fact that they need to add weight to their frames.
The Hawkeyes also hit the grad transfer market and landed D2 player Zach Vanvalkenberg from Hillsdale College. At 6-foot-4 and 266 pounds, he’s physically ready to compete and he was very productive with 70 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks last year. He is scheduled to arrive on campus this summer.
A.J. Epenesa leads the Iowa defensive line this spring.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
Last year, the Iowa defensive line was perhaps the deepest position on the team. Eight players saw action on a regular basis and that led to a strong season up front. Fast forward to this spring where this position group is adjusting to the loss of all four starters and also the retirement of Reese Morgan.
We take a look at the defensive line this spring, where depth will need to develop under the watchful eye of new defensive line coach Kelvin Bell.
STARTERS LOST
Parker Hesse, Sam Brincks, Anthony Nelson, and Matt Nelson
STARTERS RETURNING
Technically, none.
THE TWO DEEP
LE: Chauncey Golston, John Waggoner
LT: Cedrick Lattimore, Austin Schulte
RT: Brady Reiff, Noah Shannon
RE: A.J. Epenesa, Nathan Nelson
THE SPRING OUTLOOK
The good news, Iowa developed a good amount of depth in the last two years by playing what amounted to an eight man rotation.
The bad news, half of those eight players either graduated or left early for the NFL Draft.
While the Hawkeyes are replacing four starters, they are returning four players who played a lot of football the last two years. Epenesa and Golston played 412 snaps in 2018. Lattimore had 268 snaps and Reiff was at 215 last season.
On paper, Epenesa and Golston could be one of the top defensive end duos in the Big Ten and nationally. Epenesa is a likely preseason All American after leading the Big Ten with 10.5 sacks last season. Golston came on strong last year and was one of the most improved player on the roster with 3.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
Lattimore and Reiff are veterans, but they haven’t been as productive as Epenesa and Golston and they also haven’t had the workload that they will experience this year. Last season, Lattimore had 21 tackles and one sack and Reiff had 12 tackles and one sack.
The big task this spring will be developing depth at end and tackle. Three of the four players listed in the two deeps are redshirt freshmen and none of the three took advantage of the new freshman rule last year that allowed them to play in up to four games and still redshirt.
At end, former four star John Waggoner is probably the backup at both end positions right now. Basically that means there’s a three man rotation, which won’t be a bad thing, but Iowa does need to get another player ready for game action by the time the season rolls around. Nathan Nelson, who is Anthony’s younger brother, still needs to add weight.
One name to potentially watch at defensive end is Amani Jones. There were several reports from the Iowa coaches clinic this weekend that Jones had played a little defensive end in practice and that’s really pretty intriguing. He’s probably not going to see snaps against the run, but as a pass rush specialist with either Epenesa or Golston moving to tackle like they did last year with Parker Hesse, it’s an interesting option.
At tackle, Austin Schulte has bounced around a bit and battled some injuries. Heading into his junior year, he’s going to get a long look as a backup at defensive tackle. Noah Shannon was a pretty solid recruiting get for the Hawkeyes and looks the part at tackle. The wild card that’s on campus and finally back at practice is 6-foot-3 and 306 pound Daviyon Nixon. He was always going to redshirt last year after transferring in from the junior college ranks and now after a hiatus from the team for a few months, he’s officially back in the fold. The expectation is that he moves into the two deeps at tackle by the time next season starts.
What is also worth mentioning in the position outlook is the retirement of long time assistant coach Reese Morgan. He took over the position in 2012 and has always been one of the best position coaches on staff, no matter what position he coached. The good news is Iowa won't be bringing in a completely new face to coach the position. Kelvin Bell has been serving not only as recruiting coordinator, but as an assistant defensive line coach since 2016. He takes over full-time with the retirement of Morgan, so from a coaching perspective, there shouldn't be a huge transition for the players.
PLAYER TO WATCH
It has to be Daviyon Nixon, right?
For at least a year, Nixon has been one of the most talked about players on the Iowa roster who has not played a snap. What adds to the intrigue surrounding Nixon is not only his journey, but the fact that he was missing from the team since sometime in early to mid-October until his recent return.
That’s a good amount of rust to knock off this spring, so it might take a little time, but there’s no question that Nixon is a really good athlete for his size and frankly, Iowa needs him in the middle of the defense to take some pressure off the ends and also provide a stable presence in the middle along with Lattimore and Reiff.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Iowa will be adding two players from the high school ranks this fall in Chris Reames from Van Meter, IA and Jake Karchinski from Wisconsin. Both players are likely redshirts this season due to the fact that they need to add weight to their frames.
The Hawkeyes also hit the grad transfer market and landed D2 player Zach Vanvalkenberg from Hillsdale College. At 6-foot-4 and 266 pounds, he’s physically ready to compete and he was very productive with 70 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks last year. He is scheduled to arrive on campus this summer.
