Opponent Spring Review: Iowa

With spring practices now wrapped up around the country, HuskerOnline.com will take a look at where each of Nebraska’s 12 opponents in 2019 currently stands coming out of spring ball and heading into the summer.

We wrap up our series today by checking in on Iowa, which comes to Lincoln for the annual Black Friday rivalry on Nov. 29.

The Hawkeyes are entering their 20th season under head coach Kirk Ferentz after a 9-4 campaign and a win over Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl in 2018. A lot of work needs to be done this offseason to replace four NFL draft picks, but there's still plenty of talent coming back to Iowa City.

We caught up with Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com to learn more about what the Huskers can expect from Iowa this fall.

Related: South Alabama | Colorado | Northern Illinois | Illinois | Ohio State | Northwestern | Minnesota | Indiana | Purdue | Wisconsin | Maryland

Few teams in history have accomplished what Iowa pulled off this past April, as the Hawkeyes had two tight ends selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft in TJ Hockenson (eighth overall to the Detroit Lions) and Noah Fant (20th to the Denver Broncos).

That position obviously holds great value in Iowa's offensive scheme, and the search began this spring to try and fill that massive void. None of the returning tight ends boast the same type of production or experience as Hockenson or Fant, but there appears to be some talent to work with.

Junior Shaun Beyer might have the most upside of the group, and senior Nate Wieting will also be in the mix. But both have a long way to go to prove they can come anywhere close to matching the production of their predecessors.

The draft took a toll on the defensive side of the ball, too, as the Hawkeyes lost top defensive end Anthony Nelson and safety Amani Hooker as fourth-round picks.

Hooker was by far the best defensive back on the team, but Nelson only highlighted some major attrition on the d-line this offseason. All four starters up front are gone by way of the draft and graduation.

The good news is the Hawkeyes bring back arguably the top defensive lineman in the conference in junior A.J. Epenesa to anchor the unit. Still, the line was a solid eight deep in 2018, and now none of the projected backups have ever played a collegiate snap.

Iowa will also continue its transition from a base 4-3 defense to a 4-2-5, which it moved to midway through last season and stuck with the rest of the year with Hooker serving as the hybrid DB/linebacker. Finding a player who can step in for Hooker at the "Cash" position is another top priority.

Iowa's offense will once again be guided by quarterback Nate Stanley, who ranked fifth in the Big Ten last season in passing yards (2,852) and pass efficiency (136.5) and 22nd nationally with 26 touchdown throws.

The Hawkeyes also return running back Mekhi Sargent, who took over as the starter for the final four games and led the team carries (159), yards (745), and rushing touchdowns (9).

The key is going to be the offensive line, which will be led by returning starting tackles Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs, both of which have been getting NFL attention as juniors. The interior line is much less settled, though. Redshirt freshman Tyler Linderbaum, who was a defensive lineman last year, is projected to be the starter at center right now.

Junior Cole Banwart can play either center or guard but is currently slotted to be the No. 1 right guard, and the left guard spot is still up for grabs going into the summer.

While the defense has to replace Hooker, cornerback might be the strongest and deepest positions on the roster. The top-four players on the depth chart all started games last season at one point.

As for filling Hooker's spot, redshirt freshman D.J. Johnson looks to be the frontrunner coming out of the spring.

Iowa lost a lot of big names from last season, but one of the more underappreciated departures was wideout Nick Easley, who led the team in receiving each of the past two years.

The Hawkeyes came into the spring searching for their next reliable slot receiver, and the guy that emerged was redshirt freshman Nico Ragaini.

The 6-foot, 192-pound native of Connecticut played in three games last season before eventually redshirting. Ragaini capitalized on the opportunity more than anyone during spring ball by serving as a consistent and reliable target for Stanley.

Iowa also returns junior Imhir Smith-Marsette (the Big Ten's Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year) and junior Brandon Smith (28 receptions, 361 yards and two touchdowns in 12 starts).

But Ragaini could vault into a major role this season with a big need for Stanley's security blanket in the passing game.

Epenesa wasn't even a starter for Iowa last season, but early NFL mock drafts for the 2020 class are already projecting him as a potential top-10 pick.

A former five-star recruit in 2017 who was rated the No. 1 defensive end prospect in the country, Epenesa was an absolute monster when he was on the field last season.

The 6-foot-6, 280-pounder led the Big Ten and ranked 12th nationally with 10.5 sacks, along with 16.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, eight hurries, four pass breakups, and a blocked punt.

Epenesa earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for his efforts, and now he's expected to be a Preseason All-American heading into the 2019 season. Iowa might have lost a lot up front, but Epenesa is as good as they get.

Looking back on the last decade, there has been a direct correlation between Iowa's success and the play of its middle linebackers.

When the Hawkeyes have been good, they've had guys like Abdul Hodge, Pat Angerer, James Morris, and Josey Jewell quarterbacking the defense. Who will be that player in 2019?

The top candidate looks to be senior Kristian Welch, who started three games inside and three more at weakside linebacker last season. Welch failed to lock up the job at middle and moved outside in favor of Jack Hockaday, but with Hockaday now graduated, Welch will get another crack at it.

The hope is some senior urgency will take over and push Welch to be the next star at the position, but that won't be known until the season begins.

Kakert: "I think it's become a true rivalry now. When we've done these (interviews) in the past I've always said Iowa had to win and win consistently to make it a rivalry, and they've done that now. But this has the potential to be maybe - and they've had some good games - but this one has a chance to be maybe the most meaningful.

"The West is kind of a hodgepodge this year, but you could see a scenario this year where this game at Nebraska on Nov. 29 is maybe going to decide the West. It's the second year under Scott Frost, so you know the Huskers are going to be better. Iowa's had their number lately, so they're going to be motivated. I think it's going to be a really, really big game this year."

Kakert: "See, you're making me do something that I don't usually do until July 4, but the safe number is always that Iowa's going to go 8-4. You can always come back to they're going to beat the teams they should beat, but then you look at the betting lines that came out recently for their games, and two of them are pick 'ems and other ones are two or three-point games. So they'll win some of those, they'll lose some of those, and they'll probably end up around 8-4."