Iowa Football: Projecting the Hawkeyes 2013 2-Deep Depth Chart

The Iowa Hawkeyes didn't fare so well in 2012, but they were young.

This year, they return eight on both sides of the ball plus both specialists and a number of experienced non-starters. In effect, the 2013 Hawks will be more experienced, and should be more talented than in 2012.

The following will look at who that talent is and where it will wind up on the depth chart on opening day, when the Hawks take on the MAC champion Northern Illinois Huskies.

The starters in question are listed first, with the backups listed following the backslash (/).

Players with an asterisk (*) next to their name are returning starters. A "returning starter," for my purposes, started at least four games in 2012.

The player's year is listed in parentheses next to his name. The year reflects what said player will be during the 2013 football season.

This is an opening-day depth chart projection. Consequently, when players are listed with an "OR" between their names, the position battle will be ongoing. As Hawkeye fans know, this is not uncommon with head coach Kirk Ferentz.

No true freshmen who have yet to sign a letter of intent were considered.

Finally, I have no inside knowledge—or at least no more than anybody else that keeps his ear to the ground—of anything that goes on within the walls of Fort Kinnick. These prognostications are based on previous play, potential based on others' opinions as well as empirical evidence based on what I've seen and how I feel an individual's talents fit within what the Hawkeyes are trying to do.

Place-kicker: Mike Meyer (Sr.)*/ Marshall Koehn (So.)

Kickoffs: Mike Meyer (Sr.)*/ Marshall Koehn (So.)

Punter: Connor Kornbrath (So.)*/ OPEN

Long Snapper: Casey Kreiter (Sr.)*/ Ryan Kolka (So.)

Others in the Mix: Punter Jonny Mullings (Jr.)

Meyer began 2011 by hitting 12 of his first 14 field-goal attempts. He then went on a cold streak and finished the year 2-for-6. In 2012, he hit 14 of his first 15 before hitting a wall and going 3-for-6.

It's hard to say if a pattern has emerged, but Meyer will be Iowa's best kicker since Nate Kaeding if he learns to finish the year as well as he begins it.

Kornbrath had a rough freshman year coming in second-to-last in Big Ten punting average. Iowa fans like to joke that "punting is winning" according to Ferentz, but the punter does play a key role in Ferentz's gameplan. With that in mind, Kornbrath needs to settle down in his sophomore year.

Kreiter has been a solid long snapper for two years and will continue to be one in 2013.

Kick Returner: Jordan Cotton (Sr.)*/ Damon Bullock (Jr.)

Punt Returner: Jordan Cotton (Sr.)/ Kevonte Martin-Manley (Jr.) 

Others in the Mix: All receivers and any cornerbacks or running backs that have proven they can be trusted not to fumble the ball

Cotton was one of the few success stories for the Hawks in 2012. He not only grew as a receiver, but he became one of the Big Ten's most dangerous kickoff returners, leading the conference by a wide margin.

Look for him to take on expanded duties in 2013 as both the kick and punt returner.

Bullock also has experience—he returned two kickoffs in 2011—and the coaches will hopefully find ways to get him on the field.

Martin-Manley hasn't returned any collegiate punts, but neither has anybody else on the Hawkeye roster. Furthermore, Ferentz prefers receivers handle punt-return duties. Cornerback Micah Hyde was the punt returner over the last two years, but that was an anomaly.

Before Hyde the top punt returners were receiver Colin Sandeman (2009-2010), receiver Andy Brodell (2007-2008), receiver Dominique Douglas (2006), receiver Ed Hinkel (2004-2005), receiver Ramon Ochoa (2003), etc.*

It is well known to Hawkeye fans that Ferentz prefers reliability to explosiveness, and receivers are the most adept at making catches in traffic.

*toggle through Rivals' stats for a detailed listing of Iowa's punt returners dating back to 2003

Weak-side Defensive End: Dominic Alvis (Sr.)*/ Drew Ott (So.) OR Melvin Spears (So.)

Strong-side Defensive End: Darian Cooper (So.)/ Riley McMinn (So.)

Others in the Mix: Mike Hardy (Jr.), Dean Tsopanides (So.), Faith Ekakitie (R.Fr.), Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara (R.Fr.)

Poor defensive-end play has been a dominant theme for the past two years. In 2011, the ends had trouble containing multiple quarterbacks—an issue that was most prevalent in the Hawks' triple-overtime loss to Iowa State. In 2012, poor defensive-end play led to a moribund pass rush—Iowa tied for 115th in the country in sacks.

Next year looks to be minimally better.

Alvis, who began his career as an undersized defensive tackle, has manned the weak-side end for two seasons. He has improved, but with 21 starts and only 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss to his name, it is hard to believe he will turn into a high-impact player in his final year. Alvis will start and be staunch against the run, but Iowa will need to find a consistent pass rusher elsewhere.

Cooper spent most of 2012 at defensive tackle, but he started the final game (per Phil Steele) at strong-side end. Though he didn't record any sacks, at the end of the year he was the only defensive lineman who consistently got penetration. Look for the coaches to use him as they did former Hawkeye/current Minnesota Viking Christian Ballard, moving him inside and outside as necessary.

Beyond Alvis and Cooper, there are a number of sophomores who have done little on the football field.

McMinn played sparingly in 2012. With a current listed height and weight of 6'7", 245 pounds, the sophomore will need to gain a good deal of weight this offseason. Spears came to Iowa as a linebacker but quickly moved to defensive end. Lastly, due to injuries and the poor play of other defensive ends, Ott burned his redshirt in the eighth game of the season.

One of the sophomores will need to step up as a consistent pass rusher in order for the Iowa defense to find success.

One-technique Defensive Tackle: Carl Davis (Jr.)/ Jaleel Johnson (R.Fr.)

Three-technique Defensive Tackle: Louis Trinca-Pasat (Jr.)*/ Mike Hardy (Jr.)

Others in the Mix: Darian Cooper (So.), Faith Ekakitie (R.Fr.)

Trinca-Pasat floundered in his first two years on campus, but as Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported, he flourished during the 2011 bowl practices. He made his way into the starting lineup and was the Hawkeyes' top lineman through the early part of the season, though his statistics don't reflect that.

He disappeared down the stretch, as did most of the Hawkeyes. Next season, with his newfound experience, he needs to bring consistency and durability to his game.

Davis came to Iowa as a 6'5", 300-pound 3-star (via Rivals) lineman. The Hawkeyes rarely get "big" defensive tackles, so a lot of responsibility was put on Davis' shoulders. Thus far, he has been inconsistent. In 2013, he needs to play like the 310 pounder that he is.

At this point, the Hawks don't have overwhelming depth at defensive tackle, but the versatility of their linemen alleviate potential issues. Moreover, as all of the linemen are juniors or younger, there is plenty of room for growth from this bunch.

Hit this link for an explanation of one- and three-technique defensive tackles.

Weak-side Linebacker: Anthony Hitchens (Sr.)*/ Cole Fisher (So.)

Middle Linebacker: James Morris (Sr.)*/ Quinton Alston (Jr.)

Strong-side Linebacker: Christian Kirksey (Sr.)*/ Dakota Getz (Sr.)

Others in the Mix: Travis Perry (So.), Jim Poggi (Jr.), Marcus Collins (Jr.), Laron Taylor (R.Fr.)

2013 will be a big year for Iowa's linebackers. In their final year on campus, they all need strong  seasons to finish up their college careers with a bang and get onto NFL draft boards.

This is especially true of Morris, who has started since midway through his true freshman year. He was pressed into action due to a bevy of linebacker injuries, but he performed as well as one could expect of a first-year collegiate athlete.

A great deal was expected out of Morris in 2011, but he didn't make the strides Hawkeye fans hoped for. He followed 2011 up with a stagnant-at-best 2012.

Weak-side linebacker Hitchens led the Big Ten in tackles per game with 11.27. Unfortunately, too many of those tackles were of the blindly-dive-at-the-ball-carrier's-feet variety. In effect, as Steve Batterson of the Quad City Times reported, the coaches benched Hitchens against Purdue.

The most consistent linebacker was Kirksey, who manned the strong side. Kirksey is as solid in coverage as a safety. He notched two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns. However, despite recording 95 tackles, he still has trouble getting off blocks and bringing the ball-carrier down.

All three return, as does every backup. Furthermore, Getz is coming off an injury suffered early in the season.

The Hawkeye defense will be exponentially better than it was in 2012 if Morris, Hitchens and Kirksey can fulfill the promise they have sporadically shown throughout their careers.

Cornerback No. 1: B.J. Lowery (Jr.)*/ Kevin Buford (So.)

Cornerback No. 2: Jordan Lomax (So.) OR Sean Draper (So.)/ Torrey Campbell (So.)

Others in the Mix: Anthony Gair (R.Fr.)

It is unfortunate that in Iowa's bend-don't-break scheme, the success of the defense hinges less on the cornerbacks than any other position.

It is unfortunate because the Hawks have done a good job bringing talented cornerbacks into Iowa City. That has shown up in the NFL draft—all of Iowa's starting cornerbacks going back to 2008 have been drafted—and it will show up on the field in 2013.

Lowery started all but three games last year. He missed two of them due to injury, and he was still less than 100 percent in the third game. He has as much natural ability as departed all-Big Ten corner Micah Hyde, and will look to continue the tradition of NFL draft success.

The second spot will be a battle between Lomax, Draper and Buford.

Lomax would have been the heir apparent to Hyde's spot if not for an injury that forced him to redshirt last year.

Lomax's loss opened up the door for Buford and Draper to earn playing time as true freshmen. By the end of the season, Buford was listed as Hyde's backup and played in dime packages.

Campbell will also have a shot at a starting job. The coaches might consider moving him to receiver if he doesn't impress on the defensive side of the ball.

Free Safety: Tanner Miller (Sr.)*/ John Lowdermilk (Jr.)

Strong Safety: Nico Law (Jr.)*/ Ruben Lile (R.Fr.)

Others in the Mix: None

Iowa has done as poor a job of recruiting safeties as it has done a strong job in recruiting cornerbacks. That came home to roost in 2012, as half of the Iowa safeties were walk ons. Though the Hawkeyes have done well at developing walk-on safeties—Sean Considine and Derek Pagel most notably—there is no excuse for that in year 14 of the Ferentz era.

Unfortunately, next year there looks to be minimal improvement, at least from a depth standpoint.

Miller became a starter in his second year on campus, as did Brett Greenwood before him. Greenwood struggled during his first two years on the field, but flourished in his final two campaigns, recording eight interceptions as a junior and senior.

Hopes were that Miller would do the same, but his junior season seemed to be a step back from his sophomore campaign as was especially evident in the Michigan game. As Hawkeyenation noted, due to his poor play, Miller was benched at times for Lowdermilk, who didn't play much better.

Miller will begin the year as the starting free safety. Hopefully, he can play better and with more consistency.

Law started the final four games, replacing walk-ons Tom Donatell and Collin Sleeper. As a former Rivals 3-star recruit, he is the Hawks' most athletic safety, and he demonstrated his abilities in run support. On the other hand, he had issues in coverage.

Lile, another 3-star recruit, would have had a chance to burn his redshirt if not for a late-summer ACL tear.

As recently detailed, there will be opportunities for true-freshman safeties to play right away.