FootballScoop is proud to announce that Seth Wallace (Iowa) is the 2022 FootballScoop Linebackers Coaches of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
The actual story of the 2022 Iowa defense was even better than the numbers indicated, and the numbers were already really, really good.
In 13 games, Iowa's defense ended the year with a net of 11 touchdowns allowed. Opposing offenses scored 18 touchdowns (the offense surrendered one) but scored six of their own.
At the nucleus of that defense was arguably the best linebacker corps in the nation.
Senior Jack Campbell led the unit with 128 tackles (most in the Big Ten), plus 5.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and one sack.
Next to him, senior Seth Benson collected 94 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, one sack and one interception.
Iowa stood as one of 15 FBS defenses with two linebackers that ranked among the top 100 tacklers in the nation. Campbell posted double-digit tackles eight times in 13 outings, and registered nine stops in two more games. Benson posted 10 tackles in the CyHawk rivalry game against Iowa State and tallied a season-high 14 stops against Michigan. Junior Jay Higgins also contributed 39 stops on the year.
Iowa allowed 13.3 points per game, half a point off the national lead. The Hawkeyes pitched two shutouts -- including against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl -- and held five opponents out of the end zone.
The Hawkeyes were the first team in six seasons to hold opponents below four yards per play, ranking second in yards per carry (2.83) and first in yards per attempt (5.3). Foes converted 30.6 percent of their third downs and turned just 41.2 percent of red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, Iowa led the nation in plays of 10, 20, and 30 yards allowed.
Campbell won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, the first in Iowa history, and also the William V. Campbell Trophy as the nation's top scholar-athlete. The AP First Team All-American won the Big Ten Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year award and the Butkus-Fitzgerald award as the conference's top linebacker. Benson was a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree.
A four-year letterman at Coe College, Wallace began coaching at his alma mater in 2001 and coached three seasons at Lake Forest College before originally joining Kirk Ferentz's staff as a GA in 2006. Wallace spent 2009-13 at Valdosta State, the final three seasons as defensive coordinator, before returning to Iowa in 2014. He has coached Hawkeyes defensive linemen, nickelbacks and corners in addition to linebackers.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Pete Golding [Alabama], Bam Hardmon and Tayler Polk [Troy], Jason Semore [Georgia Tech], Mike Tressel [Cincinnati] and Wallace) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Linebackers Coach of the Year award are Bill McGovern (Boston College, 2008), Bob Fraser (Rutgers, 2009), Luke Fickell (Ohio State, 2010), Dave Huxtable (Wisconsin, 2011), Bob Gregory (Boise State, 2012), Jim Reid and LeVar Woods (Iowa, 2013), Jeff Casteel (Arizona, 2014), Dave Aranda and Tim Tibesear (Wisconsin, 2015), Mike Siravo (Temple, 2016), Tyson Veidt (Iowa State, 2017), Dave Aranda (LSU, 2018), Tim DeRuyter and Peter Sirmon (Cal, 2019), Joe Gillespie (Tulsa, 2020), and Caleb Collins and Ron Roberts (Baylor, 2021).
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