Lukas Van Ness. Jack Campbell. Chauncey Gholston. A.J Epenesa. The list of Iowa Hawkeyes from the front seven to go high in the NFL Draft as of late goes on. Defensive Tackle Logan Lee looks to add his name to this list as he prepares for the 2024 NFL Draft. And his first stop during the process was the Shrine Bowl, where I got the chance to sit down and talk to him.
Lee, who measures in at 6-5 and 291 pounds, had plenty of mentors during his time at Iowa.
“The best man at my wedding was Jack Campbell,” Lee noted. “He’s my guy. Same with Sam LaPorta. He was in my wedding as well. These two guys have just been great to live with, great to get to know, and they were some of my ride-or-die guys.”
The Iowa defense this year was one of the best in the country, holding opponents to just 14.8 points per game, 4th best in the nation. Not only was that defense statistically efficient, but it was able to carry Iowa’s offense, which scored the second least points per game in the FBS, all the way to the Big Ten Championship Game.
A few Hawkeyes had an amazing statistical season this year, as Iowa LB Jay Higgins ranked first in the country with 171 tackles, and Iowa LB Nick Jackson was also in the top 30 with 110 tackles of his own. While both are great players, this is no coincidence with the way the Hawkeyes set up their defense.
“Up front, what we do is we have three guys that play two gaps at all times,” Lee noted. “That opens up the linebackers. It allows for a lot of different double teams, and the linebackers run free to the ball. We don’t give up a lot of deep pass plays or explosive plays because we are able to keep that two high shell.”
While Lee’s individual stats from his senior year are good, not great (55 tackles 3.0 Sacks, 3 PD), it’s clear that he was a huge part of the team’s success on the defense side of the ball, eating up blockers and was able to bolster his teammates’ individual stats. Here is a clip of his play from NewEraScout on X.
It’s hard to overstate how important the defensive linemen are in Iowa’s scheme. It’s a testament to Lee’s strength and athleticism that he’s able to take up so much of the defense’s energy and attention. His 40-yard dash time sits at around 4.87, which is remarkably impressive for an interior defensive lineman. However, that wasn’t Lee’s initial position coming into college.
“My first college offer was from the University of Iowa as a tight end, and I was only in the recruiting process for about two and a half months.” Lee shared. ‘I despised the process. I had seven Big Ten offers, two SEC offers and then I was like, I’m just going to Iowa. I really liked Iowa. Over the course of the next two and a half years, I ended up kind of just waiting to get there. A couple of months prior to getting on campus, I ended up getting told that I was gonna play defensive line.”
Not only was Lee originally a tight end, but he was also one of the best wrestlers in the state of Iowa in high school. He won two state championships, one at 220 pounds as a sophomore and again at 285 pounds as a senior.
“Everything that has to do with leverage, hand fighting, toughness, self-discipline, motivation you can attribute to wrestling,” Lee noted. “I’m not saying it’s directly responsible, but it certainly had an effect on everything.”
The Steelers could certainly use another big, athletic guy on the defensive line, and it wouldn’t be a shock if they used a Day Three pick on one. This is where Lee currently projects to be taken, and it’s safe to say that Lee wouldn’t mind continuing to don the black and yellow in the pros.
“I met Mike Tomlin when I was in high school,” Lee recalls. “I was at a Nike camp. It was amazing because, we were doing our combine testing at the Nike camp and, I’m talking to somebody, I turn around and I accidentally shoulder check him. I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Oh, you’re Mike Tomlin!’. I grew up a huge Steelers fan. I grew up looking back at the Steel Curtain, and Mel Blount was my favorite player growing up. Running into my favorite team’s head coach, ‘I’m like, oh my gosh!’. And I swear I jumped another five inches on my vertical after that than I ever had before.”
While Tomlin likely doesn’t remember that interaction from six or so years ago, Lee certainly does, and it’s clear a potential reunion would mean a lot to him as a lifelong fan. Tomlin isn’t the only current member of the Steelers organization that Lee looks up to.
“I love the way [Cameron] Heyward plays,” Lee said. “He’s just able to be in the right position. He’s done it for so long. A lot of people don’t give guys like that credit because he’s a true run defender that has the capability of helping with the pass, and it’s just crazy to see the level of production he’s had year in and year out for so long.”
Similar to Heyward, Lee’s contributions are far more than the stat sheet says, and this style of defensive line play has fit right in Pittsburgh in the past. We’ll have to wait and see where Lee ends up in the league, but he could make an impact as an athletic run defender regardless.
