| LINEBACKERS | |||
| The sure thing | |||
| A.J. Edds was rock solid last year as a first-year starter, ranking second on the team with 80 tackles. Expect that number to climb to the neighborhood of 120 this fall. | |||
| The question | |||
| Who’s going to start in the middle? Kirk Ferentz said there has been good competition between Jacody Coleman and Bettendorf’s Pat Angerer. Both will play. | |||
| The wildcard | |||
| Angerer, a junior, is finally healthy after suffering from mono and then a hamstring injury in 2007. Linebackers coach Darrell Wilson says Angerer could be special. | |||
| Final analysis | |||
| Edds will be among the best in the Big Ten this fall, and with a talented, active defensive line in front of it, this group of linebackers could cause a lot of trouble. The weakside needs to be shored up, but that will happen in time. | |||
| Depth chart | |||
| Outside linebacker | |||
| Player | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. |
| A.J. Edds | Jr. | 6-4 | 244 |
| Dezman Moses | So. | 6-2 | 240 |
| Tyler Nielson | Fr. | 6-4 | 228 |
| Middle linebacker | |||
| Jacody Coleman | So. | 6-3 | 240 |
| Pat Angerer | Jr. | 6-1 | 232 |
| Dezman Moses | So. | 6-2 | 240 |
| Weakside linebacker | |||
| Jeff Tarpinian | So. | 6-3 | 231 |
| Jeremiha Hunter | So. | 6-2 | 230 |
| Others to watch: MLB Troy Johnson, So., 6-2, 230 | |||
| Inside the numbers | |||
| Here is how Iowa’s linebackers stacked up against the rest of the Big Ten last season: | |||
| Stat | Rank | ||
| Total defense | 351.2 | 5 | |
| Rush defense | 122 | 3 | |
| Pass defense | 229.2 | 6 | |
| Scoring | 18.8 | 3 | |
| Turnovers | 21 | 6 | |
| Sacks by | 27 | 9 | |
| Position breakdowns | |||
| Saturday: Special teams STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Sunday: Defensive backs STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Today: Linebackers | |||
| Tuesday: Defensive line | |||
| Wednesday: Offensive line | |||
| Thursday: Receivers/Ends | |||
| Friday: Running backs | |||
| Saturday: Quarterbacks | |||
News
Linebackers at a glance
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