By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Sebastian Castro still vividly remembers the one and only opportunity he had to tackle Leshon Williams in high school.

They were teammates at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois and it was a Saturday morning practice when Castro and Williams crossed paths on the field.

“He came up right in the middle of the field unblocked and it was just me and him from the side and I just threw my whole body at him, and he did spin off it,” Castro said Tuesday. “So, he has that, and he can always hold on to that. He can talk about it however he wants. I don’t really care anymore.”

Castro and Williams have since gone from being high school teammates to being teammates on the Iowa football team where each now plays a key role.

Williams, a fourth-year junior, leads Iowa with 459 rushing yards heading into Saturday’s game against Minnesota at Kinnick Stadium, while Castro, a fifth-year senior, leads Iowa with three interceptions as a hard-hitting defensive back.

“I haven’t gotten him here at Iowa,” Castro said. “I haven’t had the opportunity.

“But it’s all fun with Leshon.”

Opposing running backs haven’t been as fortunate to avoid Castro’s bone-jarring hits on the field.

He mostly plays the cash position, which combines both linebacker and safety responsibilities, and he plays it with a tough and physical mindset.

Castro has had that mindset since he started playing pick-up football games as a kid.

He enjoys the physical nature of the game, and he enjoys the competition that occurs on each play.

“Growing up as kids, we always just played like that,” Castro said. “It came easy. It’s something I enjoy, and especially nowadays.

“I know a lot of people don’t like to be physical and I’m always open to the challenge. It’s something that is part of my game.”

Castro’s mindset and approach fits perfectly with Phil Parker’s mindset and approach as the Iowa defensive coordinator.

Parker also used to be a hard-hitting safety for Michigan State in the 1980s, earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades three times.

What Parker lacked in size, he made up for with toughness, grit, and a burning desire to inflict as much punishment on the opponent as possible.

“He was a smaller guy, but he didn’t play like he was small,” Castro said of Parker. “I’ve seen guys that have that style of play. So, I can picture how he was and I bet he was a force.”

The game of football has changed considerably since Parker last played due to a heightened awareness about head injuries and stricter safety protocols.

But football still is a violent sport in which bodies crash into each other at a high rate of speed.

Castro was asked Tuesday if he can sense the impact that being physical has on opponents.

“I like to think so,” Castro said. “I can’t really be sure exactly what’s going on in their head mentally. But no one likes to get hit over and over and over.

“So, that’s like the main point of our defense to keep on hitting.”

Williams often becomes a spectator from the sideline when Castro and his defensive cohorts are on the field.

“He makes me stand up and watch the defense most of the time because I know that he’s going to come and lay a hit on somebody,” Williams said. “It’s fun watching Castro.

“He’s a helluva football player, and I can’t wait to see what he does this weekend, too.”

Castro apparently knows how to recruit, too, as he helped to convince Williams to follow him to Iowa.

“That’s my boy. He still is my boy to this day,” Williams said of Castro. “He’s one of the main reasons I came to Iowa, truthfully.”

Hawkeye fans can’t wait to see what Williams does against the Gophers because if it’s anything close to his 174-yard rushing outburst in last Saturday’s 15-6 victory at Wisconsin, Iowa might have a good chance of improving to 7-1 overall.

Iowa has combined to rush for 381 yards in the last two games against Wisconsin and Purdue, giving hope that the running game finally is starting to click.

Iowa is also getting healthy at running back with the return of sophomore Kaleb Williams and the expected return of redshirt freshman Jaziun Patterson.

Johnson rushed for 134 yards in the 20-14 victory over Purdue on Oct., 7 after having missed three games because of an ankle injury, while Patterson dressed for the Wisconsin game after having not been in uniform for three straight games.

“The o-line is moving people and we’re running hard,” Williams said. “If one back goes down, I feel like we’ve got enough depth in the room to keep everything rolling. I can’t wait to see what we do this weekend.”

Williams was rewarded for his performance against Wisconsin by being listed as the starting running back on this week’s depth chart.

“I didn’t know that,” Williams said. “I’ve still got to go out there and do my job. Just because I’m listed as the starting running back really doesn’t mean nothing at the end of day.”