Iowa is a lot deeper, especially at LB and secondary. Iowa has a backup LB starting at Baylor this year. Niemann, Campbell, Wade and Benson have all played well.
Not sure ISU has a player like Nixon on the team. He’ll be another early entry NFL draft guy.
Even with the QB issues some teams are having, there’s a huge diff in interior line play between the two leagues. ISU hasn’t had a lineman drafted in 8 going on 9 years (Bykowski 7th Rd 2013). It’s been 12 years since a DL player was drafted (Rubin 6th Rd 2008).
Nixon is very athletic for 305lbs. DTs like that aren’t playing at ISU, KSU, KU, Baylor, TT, OK ST or WVU these days.