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Welcome a new (potential) starting lineman on the defensive interior.
Logan Jones– RS Freshman
Council Bluffs, IA (Lewis Central)
6’3”, 267 lbs
2021 Projection: Rotational defensive tackle
Jones sat out his freshman year as Iowa’s defensive line was ripe with talent at the time. Now, pickins are slim when it comes to who’s going to fill the trenches left empty by Daviyon Nixon and Jack Heflin.
Jones cracked Iowa’s own spring two-deeps behind Noah Shannon, and is expected to see ample playing time as this group figures itself out. Jones was sidelined much of the spring after hurting his leg during Iowa’s first spring scrimmage, but it isn’t presumed to be serious, I think.
A former three-star defensive end recruit, Jones held offers from Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska before committing to the Hawks. He hasn’t bulked up from his reported high school weight of 260, but I suspect some Braithwaite-ing has commenced, and he’s bigger than his listed 267 ell bees.
I don’t love diving into the tape for these kinds of things because 1, there’s lots of film of Jones playing offensive line on his reel, and 2, high school was two years ago for this guy. He could also maybe help out if the ends ever get in trouble, but probably not.
All in all, I think interior defensive line is the position of greatest need for 2021. I don’t love how green this team is around the gills there, but have hope that this group can hold its own and keep Iowa’s linebackers free enough to wreak their own brand of havoc.