Geno Stone showing signs of being Iowa’s next great defensive back under Phil Parker
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – It would be silly and unfair to call anybody the second coming of the great Bob Sanders because there is only one Bob Sanders.
But it might be time to start calling junior strong safety Geno Stone Iowa’s next great defensive back under Phil Parker.
Stone had six tackles, forced a fumble and had one quarterback hurry during this past Saturday’s 26-20 victory over Purdue at Kinnick Stadium.
He also had an interception in the loss at Michigan on Nov. 5th and will make his 17th consecutive start when Iowa plays at Northwestern on Saturday.
But Stone’s impact goes far beyond statistics.
The New Castle, Pa., native has helped to set a tone for the Iowa defense with his combination of playmaking, leadership and energy.
Nobody on the Iowa defense is performing at a higher level than Stone, and that speaks volumes considering who plays for the Iowa defense.
Junior defensive end A.J. Epenesa is without question the star of the defense and a future NFL multi-millionaire, but Stone has arguably been even better than him.
Stone had extra incentive to play well against Purdue with Sanders serving as Iowa’s honorary captain. Sanders spoke with the defensive backs before the game and Stone was inspired by his message.
“See ball, get ball,” Stone said after the Purdue game when asked about his knack for always being around the football. “That’s always been in me since I was young. I always want to be around the ball. I always want to make a play.
“During this week, Bob Sanders came in and talked to us (defensive backs) and he was just saying when they played the first person get to the ball is how they played. So I took that in my own words and I just want to get the ball every time.”
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz often refers to Sanders when trying to inspire his current players.
"It's interesting now because people aren't always appreciative of tradition and history, that type of thing," Ferentz said after the Purdue game. "But I think our players have all been smart enough to figure out, and we talk about Bob frequently, just what he was and how he did things as a Hawkeye and the impact that he had."
Former Iowa assistant coach Don Patterson on Monday’s Allhawkeyes radio show and podcast singled out Stone and sophomore linebacker Djimon Colbert for how well they both played against Purdue.
Patterson has singled out Stone throughout the season because it seems that in every game Stone makes two or three plays that make you say, wow, or shake your head in disbelief.
His open field tackle against Michigan on a play in which the Michigan ball carrier appeared to have a wide lane around left end until Stone came crashing in from the secondary would qualify as one of those plays.
The way in which Stone attacked the line of scrimmage and then made a perfect form tackle was reminiscent of how Sanders used to play the safety position so brilliantly for Iowa.
In no way am I saying, or even suggesting that Stone is the second coming of Bob Sanders, but they are similar in lots of ways, including both being high-level performers, both being from Pennsylvania, both being undersized and both bringing a tempo to the defense.
Stone is listed at 5-feet-10, 210 pounds in the Iowa media guide, but that might be stretching it just a little, while Sanders probably was shorter than 5-8 when he played at Iowa from 2000-03.
They both were also under-valued as recruits, mostly because of their size, and had Iowa as their only power five scholarship offer.
In fact, Sanders only had one other scholarship offer besides Iowa, and that was from Ohio.
Stone had multiple scholarship offers as a two-star defensive back from schools that included Army, Navy, Ball State, Buffalo and Delaware, but Iowa was his only power five offer.
Michigan State had shown interest, but never offered a scholarship and cancelled a visit that Stone had previously scheduled.
Stone’s mother had to talk him into visiting Iowa because he still was upset about what had happened with Michigan State. But Stone followed his mother’s advice and the rest is history that is now being written with one rock-solid performance after another.
Stone carries the same chip on his shoulder that Sanders carried while at Iowa. Stone is determined to prove his doubters wrong, while also rewarding the Iowa coaches for believing in him.
It was much the same way with Sanders at Iowa.
Kirk Ferentz and his staff in both cases saw something that every other power five coaching staff didn’t see and now they look like geniuses.
The only problem with flirting with stardom in this day and age is that it causes some to wonder what’s next.
Will Stone continue to ascend to a level where he might have a decision to make about leaving early for the NFL?
Iowa had two tight ends, a defensive back and a defensive end all declare for the 2019 NFL Draft despite having eligibility remaining, and all four were selected in the draft, including tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant in the first round.
Stone’s lack of height might hurt his chances, but being short didn’t stop Sanders from being named the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the Indianapolis Colts.
Stone was also considered too short to play big-time college football, but now look at him.
He is without question one of the top defensive backs in the Big Ten, much like Amani Hooker was for Iowa last season.
Hooker performed at such a high level last season that he was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year as a third-year junior. He then declared for the 2019 NFL Draft where he was chosen by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round.
Stone is now approaching that same level where each week he makes a significant impact.
He is thriving under Parker's influence and it's fun to watch.
Parker has a gift for turning unheralded defensive back recruits into big-time college stars, and Stone is on course to be his next example, much to the delight of Hawkeye fans.