CHICAGO - Jayden Montgomery didn’t have one dramatic breakthrough moment when he decided he could lead Iowa’s defense. For him, it was always part of the package.
That instinct was there long before he became a starter, shaped in part by the linebackers he studied as a younger Hawkeye. Montgomery said he watched players like Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta closely, taking note of what made them effective leaders before he ever got the chance to step into that kind of role himself.
“I mean, since high school I feel like I’ve always tried to be a leader on my teams,” Montgomery said at Big Ten Football Media Days last week in Chicago. “But then you come into college as a freshman, you’ve got guys like Jack Campbell and Sam LaPorta and a wealth of other guys that were great leaders on that team. So it’s hard to go out and try to be a great vocal leader when you’re just a freshman.”
That opportunity arrived last season, when Montgomery moved into the starting middle linebacker job. The transition fit him well. He started the final seven games of the year, appeared in all 13, and finished with 44 tackles and two pass break-ups.
Now Montgomery is heading into a bigger role in 2026, both as a returning starter and as one of the more experienced voices on a defense that is changing around him. Iowa brings back several veterans, but the defensive line will be entirely new, and there will also be plenty of young linebackers and defensive backs trying to find their footing.
That is where Montgomery’s presence matters most.
“He’s a guy all the guys on our team look toward,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. '“Everything he does is first class, top-quality. There’s a lot of depth to who he is.”
Montgomery said he can feel himself settling further into that space.
“I feel like i’ve started to transition more into that leadership role, which was has been awesome,” Montgomery said. “It’s a role that I enjoy and am blessed honestly, to be looked at as a leader by my teammates. That’s something that I find super cool to me.”
Iowa opens training camp August 5, and Montgomery will enter it for the first time as a full-time starting linebacker. The Hawkeyes are counting on his steadiness, his voice and his example to help anchor the defense in 2026.
“I’ve tried to work into more of that vocal role and be someone that people can trust,” he said. “Be someone that people can appreciate being around and blessed to be in a leadership role on the team right now.”
In Other News...
Tavion Banks Leaves Iowa With Ben McCollum Facing Another Roster Test
Tavion Banks is moving on after a one-year stop in Iowa City, announcing on Instagram that he will not return to the Hawkeyes despite still having another season of eligibility available. Banks, who transferred in from Drake, was one of Iowas more dependable contributors last season and made clear in his farewell message that he appreciated the coaching staff, teammates and fans for the time he spent in the program.
For Ben McCollum, it adds another roster decision point in a stretch where every exit matters. Iowa has already been working through the realities of a new era, and losing a player with Banks experience and production means more reshuffling is ahead as the Hawkeyes continue to shape next seasons rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Is Counting On A Legacy Linebacker To Lead Its New Defense
Jayden Montgomery has been around Iowa football long enough that his rise no longer feels like a surprise, even if it still carries some family-history weight. Entering his fifth season with the Hawkeyes, the legacy linebacker is positioned to step into a starting role in 2026, a natural next step for a player who has steadily worked his way into the lineup and played in every game last season with seven starts.
The timing matters, too, because Iowa is in the middle of rebuilding much of its front seven production, and Phil Parkers defense will need dependable pieces to settle in quickly. Montgomerys background makes him an easy face for that transition, but the real test will be whether he can turn familiarity with the program into the kind of every-down impact Iowa expects from one of its key returning defenders. [Read more 🡒]
Tavion Banks Just Left Iowa Fans Waiting On One Big Decision
A Colorado judges ruling this week opened the door for members of the 2022 recruiting class, including Tavion Banks, to gain an extra year of NCAA eligibility under the new five-year model. For Iowa, it keeps alive the possibility of bringing back a player who had already applied for a fifth year after exhausting his eligibility, and who had previously signaled a desire to return.
Banks, though, has not locked in that path. After the ruling, he made clear he is weighing the best basketball fit for next season, leaving his college future in flux and Iowa still waiting for a final answer on whether one more run in Iowa City is actually in the cards. [Read more 🡒]