Adrian Clayborn
Iowa comes into this football season with a lot already being written about the team and individuals and a favorable home schedule. Senior defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn says playing some big games at home will be nice, but that doesn’t guarantee any wins.
Clayborn says it doesn’t mean much when you have teams like Ohio State coming in, as they are not going to lay down. He says all the teams are going to be tough, including Eastern Illinois in the opener, and says the close win over U.N.I. last year was an example.
Clayborn has gotten a lot of media attention in the preseason, but he says he hasn’t bought any of the magazines. Clayborn says he may read one if his mom has it, but otherwise he just tries to focus ont he season. The media aren’t the only ones who’ll likely be paying a lot of attention to Clayborn during the season, other teams may try to double-team or focus on him too. Clayborn says that’s fine.
Clayborn says if they double team him, then they have to watch out for his teammates Christian Ballard, Karl Klug and Broderick Binns. So he says they can double team all they want and then have to deal with the other defenders. Clayborn chose to stay at Iowa for his senior season and says he will take more of a leadership role, but says there are plenty of leaders on the defense. Clayborn says all the front four lead by example and the work they do.
Tyler Sash
Teammate Tyler Sash watches the front four from the secondary, and is a fan of the work they’re doing. “I love those guys, all those guys up front, they make our lives easier on the back end, they get pressure on the quarterback, they’re making plays all over the field,” Sash says, “I felt like I didn’t even have to play in the Orange Bowl because Clayborn and all those guys were making all the plays.”
Sash says the defensive line sets the tone for the defense. He says when he’s pursuing to the ball he sees all the linemen pursuing the ball and it’s nice to see 300 pound men running down smaller runningbacks. Sash is a junior from Oskaloosa and says despite some loses in the secondary, they still have a lot of depth and experience there too and it should be a good unit.