Rivals.com didn’t sugarcoat it: Iowa has the best defensive line in the country. Better than North Carolina, which has two first-round talents up front. Better than defending national champion Alabama. Better than the usual powerhouses — Texas, Florida, and Ohio State.
The Hawkeyes return all four starters from a year ago — Adrian Clayborn, Karl Klug, Broderick Binns, and Christian Ballard. The group entered last season as one of Iowa’s biggest question marks and ended it as perhaps the team’s most valuable asset.
Twenty-seven of Iowa’s 31 sacks in 2009 came from this group, and no player was more valuable to Hawkeyes than all-everything defensive end Adrian Clayborn. The senior racked up 11.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss last season, both of which were top-10 nationally.
“He makes everyone around him better — both sides of the football,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said of Clayborn. “And he does pretty good things away from the building. You know, that’s pretty powerful stuff.”
Being a sure-fire first-round pick wasn’t enough to lure Clayborn away from Iowa City. The native of St. Louis said he wants to “finish what he started.”
But what effect does Clayborn’s return have on his fellow defensive linemen? At Iowa media day, defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski contended that might be Clayborn’s most important asset to the Hawkeyes.
“He’s the leader of this group. He’s vital to this nucleus,” Kaczenski said. “He pulls all the guys together, and he’s great for the young guys to learn from.”
Junior defensive tackle Mike Daniels said, “He will not let anybody lag behind on anything. He’s making sure he’s first in everything. He’s making sure he’s going his hardest. He’s just giving a great example.”
By simply being on the field, Clayborn demands the attention of opposing offensive linemen, creating more opportunities for Klug, Ballard, and Binns. Last season, the trio combined for 15.5 sacks and 32 tackles for loss.
With all of the Hawkeyes’ returning firepower, a talented reserve gets lost in the shuffle.
Daniels, the junior defensive tackle, was the talk of media day. Teammates described him as “nuts.”
Coaches said he’d find his way onto the field one way or another, giving Iowa even more depth up front.
“[Daniels] only has one mode — beast mode,” said Binns, who’s suspended for Iowa’s first game against Eastern Illinois because of an OWI arrest on July 9. “When he’s out there, he’s throwing people around and doing the right thing. Guys have to watch out for Mike Daniels this year.”
At this point last year, fans wondered how Ferentz planned on replacing the unprecedented production of former defensive linemen Mitch King and Matt Kroul. It was seemingly the Hawkeyes’ biggest worry going into camp.
Ferentz said he’d “get creative if we have to.”
It never came to that.
Clayborn led the way, and the rest fell into place. Now, there’s no need to be creative. Ferentz has everything he could ever hope for in a defensive line — a superstar, experience, and quality depth.
No wonder the national media is buzzing.
“We’ve been together for so long, it feels like we’re brothers more than defensive linemen,” Clayborn said.