Iowa’s annual football media day arrives Friday, and with it comes the first real chance to get a clearer read on the Hawkeyes before the season gets rolling. The offense got its share of questions earlier this week. Now the defensive side of the ball deserves the same treatment, and there are a few spots that could shape the entire unit.
The biggest unknown sits right up front. Iowa’s defensive line is being rebuilt after losing seven of its top eight contributors from last season, which leaves the depth chart wide open and the snap count anything but settled.
The good news for the Hawkeyes is that defensive tackle Bryce Hawthorne is back and could be headed for a major second-year jump. Iowa also dipped into the transfer portal for help, bringing in Elon pass-rusher Kahmari Brown and Holy Cross defensive tackle Brice Stevenson.
That group has a direct job description under Phil Parker: take the ball away, keep explosive plays in check and, above all, hold up against the run. Iowa’s defense has leaned on that formula for years, and the physical work in the trenches has helped set up the kind of linebacker production that Jack Campbell and Jay Higgins delivered.
The questions now are straightforward. Can Stevenson become the player Iowa needs him to be?
Can Luke Gaffney or Will Hubert become the next walk-on success story under Kirk Ferentz? If Iowa wants to handle dangerous quarterbacks and productive run games, the line has to answer first.
Behind them, the spotlight shifts to Cam Buffington, and there’s real buzz around the third-year linebacker. Buffington has only logged seven tackles, two pass breakups and an interception through his first two seasons, but the belief around him has been building since he committed to Iowa after his freshman year of high school. The Hawkeyes have a long history of standout MIKE linebackers, and Buffington now looks like the next player in line to carry that standard.
The expectations are heavy for someone who is projected to start for the first time, but Buffington has the athleticism to impact the game in space or near the line of scrimmage. He’s also been doing the behind-the-scenes work that Iowa values, studying the program’s linebacker tradition and learning what his role needs to be if the defense is going to click.
"First off you have to keep yourself accountable, if you mess up, if you're screwing stuff up, you can't be a great leader," Buffington previously said. "But once you get yourself right, other people see that and then I think they start doing what you're doing. I feel like after that, the vocal leadership comes in, where you can tell someone 'hey c'mon let's go,' 'pick it up' and stuff like that."
Former Iowa defensive end Ethan Hurkett also praised the way Buffington has approached his work.
"I think he's just disciplined," former Iowa defensive end Ethan Hurkett said of Buffington. "You can tell that he's taking the game seriously, and that's not always the case with younger guys like that.
Sometimes, it takes a couple of years to kind of get traction and be laser-focused on what you're doing. But I don't think that's been a problem with him.
He's already hungry and wants to take that next step."
The secondary brings a different kind of question, and it centers on Zach Lutmer’s role. The Rock Rapids native is one of the most flexible defensive backs on the roster, and Anthony Hawkins may end up influencing where Iowa decides to use him. Lutmer’s athleticism and playmaking ability make him a valuable piece for Parker, especially with his ability to fit in a few different spots.
At Big Ten Media Day, Lutmer laid out how he spent the summer and spring.
"I've been doing a little bit of both throughout the summer and spring, just to stay ready for whatever it entails. If there are injuries and I have to go back out at corner, I'll do that.
It's a wait and see, see what we need, what progresses throughout fall camp, and we'll go from there. I'm pretty comfortable at CASH, and I'm really comfortable at safety because I've played there predominantly my first two or three years before last year."
He added that the role could change depending on what Iowa needs on a given snap.
"It depends on what the call is. If I'm able to play man free and roam around at safety, I love playing safety. If I'm able just to blitz and fill run support and stuff like that, I love the CASH and I love being up close and making as many tackles as I can."
That answer may stay fluid for a while. Lutmer’s practice work once camp gets going should offer the best clue about where Iowa plans to plant him.
Cornerback doesn’t appear to be part of the plan unless there’s an emergency. Beyond that, the rest is still very much open.
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Davis is set to take several visits, with Iowa on the calendar for Oct. 3 after he already made a stop at Washington. For the Hawkeyes, landing a player of his caliber would mean holding their own in a crowded battle against some prominent programs, and this kind of early traction matters when a prospects profile is already rising so quickly. [Read more 🡒]