Iowa Veterans Detail the Growth of the 2023 Defense
IOWA CITY -- Norm and Phil Parker have consistently made the Iowa defense among the best in the country during the Kirk Ferentz era in Iowa City. Entering Week 11 of the 2023 college football season, the Hawkeyes rank eighth in total defense in the FBS and sixth among Power 5 teams.
Iowa didn't start the season at that level of dominance, though. In the early part of the season, the Iowa defense allowed 14 points to Group of 5 foe Utah State and 31 points at Penn State, both within the first four weeks of the year.
Oh, how things can change over the course of a football season.
On Saturday, the Hawkeye defense pitched its first shutout -- 22-0 over Rutgers -- since its 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl at the end of the 2022 season. The unit has once again reached elite levels, ranking with some of the best defenses in the country.
"I feel like we've done a good job of getting better week-to-week," senior mike linebacker Jay Higgins said on Tuesday. "We never felt comfortable, even when we were coming off big games, we knew we needed to improve on something. I just think that's a testament to us understanding that what's in the past is in the past. We try to be the best defense we can be every week."
"I really believe [we've come this far] because of how we practice," defensive end Joe Evans added. "It's how we go about things -- upholding the standard. Every single day we're going out there and giving it all. We're improving the little details, and I think by doing that, it's going to stack on."
Senior free safety Quinn Schulte pointed to the defensive coaching staff and what they've been able to instill in their players throughout the year.
"I think it comes back to the coaches just getting on us," he said. "Every week they're trying to raise the standard for us. It's our job as the defense to listen to them and do our job."
"[Coach Parker] and the coaching staff have been preaching the word improvement every day," senior defensive back Sebastian Castro added. "That's all it is, focusing on the task at hand. Not thinking about three weeks from now, just playing the best football we can."
Ferentz chimed in on behalf of his players as well.
"We're clearly a better defense than we were 6-8 weeks ago," he said. "The biggest difference from my vantage point is that inexperienced players have the chance to improve dramatically."
"Even guys who have played a lot of football. Jay has played a lot of football, but not in that role. To lose a guy like (Jack) Campbell and for him to step in and do what he's done, that's really impressive. It's a real credit to the whole group."
Offensive Growth
While the Iowa defense has regularly ranked among the nation's best, the Iowa offense is another story, as the last two and a half years have consistently shown, the stats bear that out.
On Saturday, that group seemingly took a massive step forward, in particular starting quarterback Deacon Hill, who finished the game completing 20-of-31 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown.
"The defense got 40 snaps last week, so I'm feeling fresh," Higgins said. "I feel like I could go play two games this weekend. I feel ready to go. I'm just happy to see those guys' success. It's good to see their hard work pay off, and obviously, I love watching the game of football so that's good for me."
"I definitely feel the difference of fewer snaps. I felt like last week helped our defense -- we took like half the snaps we usually take. We're all feeling fresh and ready to go. I'm eager to get out there."
Focus On the Moment
With the game against Illinois -- and Senior Day -- right around the corner, the Iowa defense has its eyes set on what's next, not thinking about the Big Ten West title, nor their Hawkeye careers potentially coming to a close. Schulte, Castro, Higgins and defensive tackle Logan Lee said they haven't begun to think about whether they'll use their extra COVID year of eligibility.
"I haven't really thought about it yet," Schulte said. "Right now, we're just trying to finish out the season and focus on Illinois."
"We understand that this is the most important week," Higgins added. "What we can focus on is how we do things, and that just helps us continue to play football at the level we're playing. Coach Ferentz speaks about November football here at Iowa. That's just us getting better week to week. I feel like if we put all our focus there, we'll like where we're at at the end of the year."