Staff Picks: Our Underrated Hawkeye Football Players in 2023

One of the most rewarding draws of college football — especially at a program with a developmental reputation like Iowa's — is the emergence of new stars every season, players elevating their names from passing familiarity to linchpins of the Hawkeye attack as they grow into roles.

Obviously, established difference-makers like Cooper DeJean or Kaleb Johnson will command a great deal of attention in 2023, and rightly so. But before players like DeJean or Johnson were headliners, they worked their way up the depth charts, then onto the field, then into starting roles, then taking that step into the sort of play that garners postseason accolades and NFL attention.

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With that, here's Go Iowa Awesome's staff picks for three Hawkeyes who won't be flying under the radar anymore in 2023.

The reigning Next Man In Award winner on defense, Sebastian Castro stepped into the OLB role for his first career start at Rutgers in 2022, and promptly logged four tackles, a pass breakup, and a violent hit that forced a fumble that was scooped up by teammate Kaevon Merriweather for a touchdown in a dominant performance by the defense for a 27-10 win.

That hard-hitting debut in the starting lineup was the first of nine starts for Castro in 2022, and he finished with 33 tackles (3 TFL), five pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles.

Castro now sits as the starting cash/leo on what looks like another dominant Hawkeye defense, and while that's not a lock for success in and of itself, it's been a one-way ticket to highlight-reel plays and NFL careers for predecessors like Amani Hooker, Geno Stone and Dane Belton.

Cash looks like an ideal position for Castro (Cashtro?), who's listed at 5'11" and 205 pounds and is more than capable of wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage or sneaking into passing windows in the Phil Parker scheme. We won't go overboard and compare him to someone like the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu — "Heisman finalist as defensive back" is a moderately unfair bar to set — but Castro's skill set and tenacity have him set up for success much in the same way that Mathieu was at LSU.

-- Adam Jacobi

Did you remember that Jermari Harris was tied for the second-most interceptions (4) on the team in 2021? Harris has been flying under the radar heading into the 2023 season, and probably for a few reasons.

One, Iowa's other projected starter at cornerback is DeJean, who blew up last season with five interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) en route to earning first team All-Big Ten honors, and the secondary also includes mega-hyped safety recruit Xavier Nwankpa taking over at strong safety.

Two, Harris missed all of last season due to injury, and "out of sight, out of mind" is definitely a factor when there's a lengthy absence like that.

But Harris was really emerging as a promising cornerback at the end of that 2021 season. All four of his interceptions came in the back half of the season, including a pick in each of Iowa's final three game. Heading into the 2022 season, there was more buzz about Harris occupying the cornerback spot opposite returning Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Riley Moss than DeJean. Then Harris got injured and missed the season, DeJean took over and never looked back, and that was that.

2023 is a chance at a fresh start for Harris, as he appears to be fully recovered from the injuries that derailed his 2022 season. If that's the case and he's able to pick up where he left off at the end of 2021, Iowa could have two fearsome ballhawks on the perimeter of the defense this fall — to say nothing of the rest of the defense.

Opposing quarterbacks seem likely to avoid DeJean and test Harris to see if he's the "weak link" in Iowa's secondary, but he definitely appears to have the skill set to make them regret that decision.

-- Ross Binder

Much of the excitement surrounding the new offensive personnel in Iowa City in 2023 has surrounded the addition of transfer redshirt-freshman, Kaleb Brown. And fair enough -- not only does he come in from Big Ten rival and national powerhouse Ohio State, but Brown is a former four-star, top-100 prospect in the country. He's the highest-ranked wide receiver* recruit to end up at Iowa.

*Willie Guy, widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation in 1989, was a prep quarterback recruit before switching to WR at Iowa.

But don't forget the first wideout to choose the Hawkeyes out of the portal, Seth Anderson. The transfer from Charleston Southern was ridiculously productive last season for the Buccaneers, hauling in 42 catches for 612 yards and seven touchdowns en route to being named the Big South Offensive Freshman of the Year and a Jerry Rice Freshman of the Year finalist at the FCS level.

A hamstring injury hampered his ability to get going with the offense during the spring, but Anderson used that time to study and get a grasp of what is needed from him this fall. And now he's back and 100 percent healthy.

"I felt a lot of adversity," Anderson said in June. "I wasn't able to participate physically, so I was able to get into the playbook. I was visualizing things getting into action while being on the sideline and watching the plays form. It really helped me in a way. I think I can bring explosive plays to the offense this season."

Though talent doesn't always translate from the FCS to Power 5 football, Anderson was brought in for a reason. He may not jump off the screen or put up crazy numbers right away in 2023 considering the additions of Brown and tight end Erick All, plus the return of Luke Lachey, Diante Vines and Nico Ragaini, but Anderson is a playmaker. He finds the ball, and he'll find a way to make in an impact this season.

-- Eliot Clough