Experienced Iowa D-Line Taking Ownership

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa’s defensive line room is full of experience, which means it’s a room with a loud voice.

That’s fine, defensive line coach Kelvin Bell said this week. He wants them talking.

“It’s nice to hear some other voices in the room speak up and kind of own their voice a little bit,” Bell said this week. “I treat my room kind of like an open forum. I encourage guys, I encourage discourse, I encourage those guys to speak. If they’re talking, that tells me they feel comfortable, that they feel accepted, that they feel some type of significance, and they want to contribute.”

There wasn’t much of a turnover in the position group from last season. The only starter gone is defensive end Zach VanValkenberg, who had 58 tackles, including 5 ½ sacks, last season.

The players Bell has returning put up big numbers last season.

Left end John Waggoner, left tackle Noah Shannon, and right tackle Logan Lee started all 14 games. Lee had 48 tackles, Shannon had 47 and Waggoner had 25, and the three combined for seven sacks.

Right end Joe Evans had seven sacks, as did left tackle Lukas Van Ness. Yahya Black (18 tackles) and Deontae Craig (14) also had solid seasons.

“There’s a lot of guys who have played a lot of football for us who are returning,” Bell said. “That changes the dynamic of the room, and I appreciate that.”

So what Bell wants out of his group is to be heard.

“Those older guys who are leading the way, I kind of know what to expect from them,” Bell said. “The improvement I want to see from them isn’t necessarily on the field. Don’t get me wrong, they can still improve some. The improvement I want to see out of them is in the leadership role, the opportunity to help coach and help develop the young guys, because that’s what we’ve been able to do the last couple of years.”

The experience, though, hasn’t changed the way Bell has approached the spring.

“Every group is different. Regardless of how much experience a group has, I still start at the start,” Bell said. “Because I’m coaching everyone in the room, not just John Waggoner, who’s been here for five years. But I’m also talking to Caden Crawford and Brian Allen, who have been here for five months. My approach doesn’t change if it’s a room full of veterans or a room full of young guys. You’ve got to start at the start.”

Why Bell wants loud voices is because he wants complete preparation, building the pre-snap intelligence that has made previous lines so successful.

“That’s not just turning around, getting the call from (defensive coordinator Phil Parker), and putting your hand in the dirt and playing football,” Bell said. “There’s millions of cues out there, from where the offensive tackle is looking, location of the fullback, location of the tight ends, that young guys who haven’t played a lot of reps just aren’t looking at that. They’ll be like, ‘OK, I got the call, let me line up in the right place.’

“As a group, collectively, as that pre-snap intelligence increases, the production of the group increases. You get guys who are able to play above and beyond what the play call is, because they recognize the situations, recognize the tendencies.”

Bell also has two incoming freshman in Allen and Crawford, who arrived early on campus for spring practice.

“It’s the first time that me, personally, has been dealing with that,” he said. “Two guys who should be getting ready for prom or spring sports, and they’re here banging heads. That’s an adjustment, helping those guys understand tempo, understanding the expectations and the standard of Iowa defense.

“My expectations for them are a lot different than it would be for a Noah Shannon or even a Yahya Black or Deontae Craig. They don’t know yet. But they’re taking the coaching.”

Bell said he’s asked his veterans who they looked up to when they started their college careers. Now he wants someone looking to them.

So, speak up.

“The louder the better,” Bell said, “as long as we’re talking about football.”