By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Small-town Iowa has been good to the Iowa football team for decades in producing players that would go on to make significant contributions for the Hawkeyes.

There are simply too many to count; names such as Cooper DeJean, Brandon Scherff, Robert Gallery and Dallas Clark just to name a few who thrived at Iowa after growing up in what would be considered a small town in Iowa.

Junior defensive back Zach Lutmer, who is from Rock Rapids in northwest Iowa, is poised to join that long and distinguished list, if he hasn’t already, considering he made second-team All-Big Ten last season, and even considered leaving early for the NFL Draft.

And now here comes a new wave of Iowa linebackers, many of whom grew up in small towns in Iowa.

In fact, sophomore-to-be Cam Buffington, who is from Winfield, played eight-man football in high school.

But that didn’t stop him from earning a scholarship to Iowa where he now is in position to be a key contributor next fall.

Buffington was among four linebackers, all from small towns in Iowa, that were made available to the media on Tuesday to mark the start of spring practice.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz also met with the media Tuesday afternoon.

Joining Buffington from the linebacker room on Tuesday were fellow sophomores Derek Weisskopf and Preston Ries, who are from Williamsburg and Monticello, respectively, and senior Landyn Van Kekerix, who is from Rock Valley.

“We’re playing football when it comes down to it,” Buffington said Tuesday. “I played eight-man, but to all of us we’re playing football. It’s been a dream of ours, everyone, and it just comes down to we’re playing football.

“Nothing changes.”

Buffington said he never worried in high school about getting overlooked or being ignored as a recruit due to playing eight-man football.

He knew of multiple players that were stars in college after playing eight or nine-man football in high school, most notably former Iowa and NFL linebacker Chad Greenway, who grew up on a farm in South Dakota playing nine-man football.

“There’s a lot of stories out there,” Buffington said. “You hear Chad Greenway, he played nine-man football. There’s some other linebackers at other places that have played eight-man football.”

Buffington also trusted that Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and linebacker coach Seth Wallace, wouldn’t hold it against him for playing eight-man football.

If they felt he was good enough to deserve a scholarship, which they obviously did, the opportunity would come.

“Coming here, I know coach Wallace and coach Ferentz, I know they trust me if they offered me,” Buffington said. “And if they trust me, I feel confident.”

Buffington certainly looks the part at 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds.

He played in six games during the 2025 regular season and had his first career interception and his first pass-break-up in the 41-3 victory over Minnesota.

Van Kekerix and Ries played in all 13 games last season, mostly on special teams, while Weisskopf played in 12 games.

The three sophomores feel more comfortable this spring with two seasons under their belt, including a redshirt season in 2024, while Van Kekerix has been waiting patiently for his chance to be an every-down linebacker.

“It takes a couple years with our system and stuff just to get comfortable with everything and what we’ve got going on,” Van Kekerix said. “It’s a little bit different for everyone.

“Everyone just kind of goes at their own pace and it takes a little bit of time to get used to that and used to what we have going on here.”

Iowa has a tradition under Kirk Ferentz of producing standout linebackers; names such as Jack Campbell, Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson and Karson Sharar from last season.

Sharar sort of came out of nowhere as a first-year senior starter to lead Iowa with 83 tackles last season, and with 12 tackles for loss.

He had shown flashes on special teams prior to last season, and then seized the opportunity as a starter.

Iowa’s most experienced linebacker returning is senior Jayden Montgomery, who finished sixth on the team last season with 44 tackles while appearing in all 13 games.

In addition to Sharar, Jaden Harrell also has to be replaced at middle linebacker.

Harrell was a starter at the beginning of last season as a fifth-year senior, but was then hobbled by an injury, which paved the way for Montgomery to start.

Overall, though, the linebacker position is going through a transition from a personnel standpoint.

This next wave of linebackers will be counted on to help fill the voids, and to keep upholding the high standard that fuels the Iowa defense under long-time coordinator Phil Parker.

Iowa also has a transition underway in the secondary where three starters from last season have to be replaced.

The Iowa coaches hit the portal hard for defensive backs and landed four of them.

“We have a bunch of new guys and they’re coming in and doing a great job of just learning the defense,” Weisskopf said. “Everyone is just learning and learning how everyone just plays off each other and everything.

“But it’s looking good right now.”

The Iowa coaches weren’t nearly as aggressive in trying to land linebackers from the transfer portal, considering that none were added.

That would suggest that the up-and-coming linebackers have made an impression.

They’ve adjusted to the speed of the college game and now it’s time for them to step into key roles.

“The difference from high school to college football is insanely different,” Weisskopf said. “The speed is insanely different.

“But just having your keys for each and every play, it’ll get you to the right spot.”

Buffington remembers being blown away by the speed of the game in his first practice as a Hawkeye.

He has come a long way since then.

“I feel like I’m less robotic with everything I do,” Buffington said. “I’m just like playing football again, if that makes sense. I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but it feels more natural. I’m not like thinking too much. I jut kind of go.”