By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Associated Press recently announced its 2022 preseason All-America football team, and half of the 12 players selected on defense come from three states.

California.

Florida

Iowa.

That’s right, Iowa which has a population of approximately 3.1 million, while California and Florida have populations of $39,185 million and $21.2 million, respectively.

Iowa senior linebacker Jack Campbell, who is from Cedar Falls, and Iowa senior cornerback Riley Moss, who is from Ankeny, both were named to the preseason first team defense.

Iowa and Georgia both have two players on the AP first-team defense, while Alabama has the most with three.

Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald, who is from Waukesha, Wisconsin, was also picked for the first team.

Campbell, a former three-star recruit who only had four scholarship offers coming out of high school, ranked second in the Big Ten last season with 143 tackles, while Moss, a former two-star recruit whose only Power Five offer was from Iowa, was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year last season despite missing three games because of a knee injury.

Campbell and Moss are the latest in a long and distinguished line of Iowa players under Kirk Ferentz who have exceeded expectations from a recruiting standpoint.

Moss is the only former two-star recruit named to the AP preseason first-team defense, while Campbell and Will McDonald are the only former three-star recruits selected on defense.

Of the other nine players that were named to the AP first-team preseason defense, five were five-star recruits, while four were four-star recruits according to the Rivals data base.

Campbell and Moss both being named to the AP first-team preseason defense is yet another example of Iowa’s success with developing players under Kirk Ferentz.

Matt Campbell has started to earn a similar reputation as the Iowa State head coach, with Will McDonald his latest example.

Moss plays cornerback for Iowa, but the AP lists him as a defensive back on its preseason All-America team.

Campbell and Moss both would be quick to say that while preseason honors are flattering, they don’t mean a lot.

It would obviously be a much greater accomplishment to make the AP first-team All-America defense at the end of the season.

But for Iowa to have two players make the preseason first-team defense is impressive, especially considering one was a two-star recruit and the other a three-star recruit.

It just shows that recruiting rankings don’t always translate to success in college.

Kirk Ferentz and his assistants have a knack for identifying talent and potential where other coaches don’t see it.

Unlike schools such as Alabama and Notre Dame that sign star recruits on a regular basis, Iowa as a developmental program has to take chances with some recruits.

Campbell was a highly decorated player coming out of high school, so it wasn’t that Iowa took a big chance on him. But Campbell still only had four scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota and Northern Iowa according to Rivals, while Moss had offers from Iowa, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and South Dakota State.

Iowa will face South Dakota State in the season opener on Sept. 3 at Kinnick Stadium.

Associated Press preseason All-America first-team defense

Position, Name, school, hometown, Rivals recruiting ranking

DE, Will Anderson, Iowa State, Waukesha, Wisconsin, three-star

DE, Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame, Antioch, California, four-star

DL, Bryan Bresee, Clemson, Damascas, Maryland, five-star

DL, Jalen Carter, Georgia, Apopka, Florida, four-star

LB, Will Anderson Jr., Alabama, Hampton, Georgia, five-star

LB, Noah Sewell, Oregon,  American Somoa, five-star

LB, Jack Campbell, Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, three-star

CB, Kelee Ringo, Georgia, Saguaro, Arizona, five-star

CB, Eli Ricks, Alabama, Rancho Cucamonga, California, five-star

DB, Riley Moss, Iowa, Ankeny, Iowa, two-star

S, Jordan Battle, Alabama, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, four-star

S, Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M, East St. Louis, Illinois, four star