Iowa’s football program has become synonymous with dominant defenses during the Kirk Ferentz era. Not only has Iowa produced a number of defensive stars such as Bob Sanders, Chad Greenway, Adrian Clayborn, and Desmond King, but the Hawkeyes consistently field one of the top scoring defenses in the country, achieving a top 20 ranking in this category twelve times during Ferentz’s tenure as head coach. As much credit as Iowa deserves as a factory for producing quality NFL offensive linemen, defense has decidedly been the program’s calling card over the past 21 years.
Even by the absurdly high standard by which Iowa’s defenses are judged, the 2019 Hawkeye defense has been exemplary.