Iowa may have found its next linebacker to anchor the middle, and Cam Buffington is wasting no time making that case.
Through two games, the third-year linebacker from Winfield, Iowa, has piled up 21 total tackles, which is tied for the eighth-most in all of college football. His biggest statement came last Saturday in the Cy-Hawk game, when he was all over the field with 15 tackles in Iowa’s 16-13 win. He also handled the spying duties on Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor and helped hold the dual-threat quarterback to 18 rushing yards.
That kind of performance naturally drew attention from Kirk Ferentz, who was asked Tuesday at his weekly press conference about Buffington’s adjustment to life as a starting linebacker at Iowa and the leap from 8-man football at Winfield-Mount Union High School in southeastern Iowa.
"Certain guys are good football players. We thought we saw that during the recruiting process, tremendous kid, tremendous family, and he's an impressive young guy," Ferentz said. "I guess maybe I didn't say it last Tuesday, but I think it was on the radio show on Wednesday and I was talking about a play Wednesday in practice that he made, and there's certain guys that see things a little easier and quicker, and then he has the ability to accelerate on top of it.
"It starts with seeing things and recognition, thinking about Abdul (Hodge) out there. These fields used to be out there 25 years ago, and the first time you saw him on the field in person, like boy, he gets where he's got to get real quickly.
"I'm not saying guys are born with that, but some people do it a little quicker than others. Then when he gets here, he knows what to do, too.
He's a good young prospect and a great young person. I think he's going to be a really good football player for us.
He's off to a good start for sure."
That’s the kind of praise that carries weight in Iowa City. Ferentz has had a long line of standout linebackers lead his best defenses, from Chad Greenway to Josey Jewell to Jay Higgins, and Buffington is following a familiar path: learning, waiting, then stepping in and making an immediate impact.
After a 2025 season that didn’t quite deliver at linebacker, Iowa looks to have found a new difference-maker in the middle. Buffington’s start suggests he’s ready to keep driving the defense as Big Ten play approaches.
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