Iowa City, Iowa – The hardest part about creating a preseason list is setting the rules. What does it take to be a breakout player? What does it take to be an essential player? How do you define an impact player?
But here's the beauty of these exercises: you get to make your own rules.
Today we're going to talk about guys who have the potential to break out. It's okay to use a rough guide here, but it's hard for a guy who was an All-Big Ten pick to break out. This might become the rule.
John Nester, sophomore cornerback
Nestor (5-foot-11, 196 pounds), a Sox fan from the South Side, has settled in here as a true freshman in 2023. He won the team hustle award on special teams and played in 10 games.
Nester has the ingredients that have made other players successful in the Hawkeye secondary: He's a high-level athlete and has a ton of confidence, which the Chicago Marist College graduate brought with him last summer.
Nest should continue to be a strong special teams player in 2024, and he's shown signs of excelling in coverage and against the run, so he'll likely see more time on defense as well.
He may not be well known yet, but Nestor looks like one of those guys who is set to become even more famous.
Ethan Harket, senior, defensive end
Harket has already achieved a wealth of athletic and academic accomplishments, including being a member of the National Football Foundation's Hampshire Honor Society and recording 49 tackles and making numerous impressive plays as a backup last year.
Still, Harket has flown under the radar among some of the best defenses in the country, overshadowed by the talent of those returning despite losing key players from the '23 team.
With Joe Evans heading off to NFL training camp, Harket is listed as the starter on the latest roster, and more practice time will pay off, which could result in this player breaking out.
Harket is at the position because he has developed from a linebacker at Xavier High School into a player who resembles a combination of Evans and Parker Hesse: He may not have the Rambo looks we see in the Blue Bloods, but he is built like a tank, quick and super strong.
Reece Dakin, freshman, punter
Tory Taylor arrived from Australia in the COVID summer of 2020 and captured the hearts of fans and became a folk hero here. They made T-shirts.
That, as the saying goes, is a tough one to follow, and Dakin knows it. He honed his craft through the same ProKick Australia program that trained Taylor.
Watching him hit the ball during spring training at Kinnick Stadium, it's clear he has the same powerful legs as his predecessor: the sound of the ball leaving his feet is loud, and the height is immediately noticeable.
Taylor has been incredibly consistent, which is what made him so attractive to the NFL, and only time will tell how Dakin will handle performing in front of a large crowd.
That said, ProKick has an impressive track record of producing some of the world's best gamblers, and with this trend in mind, betting on Dakin would be a smart move.
Caleb Brown, Jr., Receiver
It would have been a given to feature Brown in this article prior to his recent DUI arrest, and while his suspension is typically one game, we don't know the duration of his suspension yet.
In terms of ability, Brown might have it more than anyone on this list, as he has game-changing speed and a natural feel with the ball in his hands that can't be taught.
Now it'll be a matter of whether Iowa hands him the ball and if he can catch it more consistently than he did a year ago. As we all know, a lot will depend on improved play from the quarterback and offensive line.
All of these elements work in tandem: giving him the ball and planning for him to make the big play will loosen up the defense and make it easier to run.
It seems like Brown needs to play a key role for this offense to thrive under first-year coordinator Tim Lester. He's not.
Xavier Nwankpa, Jr., Safety
It may seem a bit odd to pick a former five-star prospect as a breakout player, but Nwampa is still waiting for All-Conference Football recognition in addition to academic honors from the Big Ten, and given his physical growth and growing experience, the path to reaching his vast potential seems quite within reach.
To be clear, the University of Central Iowa product has been a part of many winning seasons over the past few years, winning the team hustle award on special teams as a freshman and playing 12 games with great defense in '23.
I've included Nwampa here because he's at a level where he can do more than just gain name recognition, and he's already partnered with the Pancheros.
We're going to see a lot of hard hits and tackles from Nwampa this season, he'll win awards for his play and maybe even an NFL decision at the end of the year.
