| DEFENSIVE LINE | |||
| The sure thing | |||
| Mitch King was voted first-team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches last season. He’s the one they worry about most, and that will open things up for the others. | |||
| The question | |||
| Where’s the depth? Freshman end Broderick Binns played well in Saturdays scrimmage, but the Hawkeyes need to find two or three others who will be reliable to spell the starters. At end, Tipton’s Chad Geary is the most experienced reserve. | |||
| The wildcard | |||
| Starting ends Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard are talented but raw. They need to develop quickly and continue to play as well as they did in spot duty late last season. | |||
| Final analysis | |||
| Iowa knows what it has in King and Matt Kroul at tackle. If Ballard and Clayborn are as good as they looked in brief appearances last season, this unit could be one of the best in the nation. | |||
| Depth chart | |||
| End | |||
| Player | Yr. | Ht. | Wt. |
| Adrian Clayborn | So. | 6-3 | 282 |
| Chad Geary | Jr. | 6-3 | 261 |
| Tackle | |||
| Matt Kroul | Sr. | 6-3 | 281 |
| Karl Klug | So. | 6-4 | 255 |
| Tackle | |||
| Mitch King | Sr. | 6-3 | 280 |
| Anton Narinskiy | Sr. | 6-4 | 270 |
| End | |||
| Christian Ballard | So. | 6-4 | 284 |
| Borderick Binns | Fr. | 6-2 | 250 |
| Others to watch: DT Cody Hundertmark, So., 6-4, 276 | |||
| Inside the numbers | |||
| Here is how Iowa’s defensive line 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 | |
| Turnovers | 21 | 6 | |
| Sacks by | 27 | 9 | |
| Opp. 4th down | 8-13 | 9 | |
| Position breakdowns | |||
| Saturday: Special teams STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Sunday: Defensive backs STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Monday: Linebackers STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Today: Defensive line STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Wednesday: Offensive line | |||
| Thursday: Receivers/Ends | |||
| Friday: Running backs | |||
| Saturday: Quarterbacks | |||
News
Defensive line at a glance
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