Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Max Llewellyn (48) and Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Aaron Graves (95) celebrate a stop on fourth down during an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Madison, Wis. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette via AP)

Southeast Valley fans will see a lot of their favorite Friday night heroes on Saturday this year.

Jaguar graduates Aaron Graves and Kyler Fisher are both slated as starters for the Hawkeyes.

Graves will enter his junior season and Fisher will be back for a sixth season after a red-shirt and COVID year.

Graves, a 2022 Southeast Valley graduate is slated to start at left tackle for the Hawkeyes and defensive coordinator Phil Parker.

“I don’t really look at that (depth chart),” said Graves in an exclusive interview with The Messenger. “I’m excited for a new role and excited to step into it with confidence.”

Last year Graves played in all 14 games for the Hawkeyes, recording 37 tackles (14 solos and 27 assists), including 4.5 tackles for a loss of 26 yards and 2.5 sacks for 13 yards.

He forced one fumble and recorded a career-high six assisted tackles and one pass break up in the game against Minnesota.

“I just want to be the best teammate I can be,” Graves said. “I want to do what I can to win football games and what I can to help.”

Off the field Graves was just as strong. He was listed as a CSC Academic All-District selection. He was also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and was on the Academic All-Big Ten list as well as on the Dean’s List.

Graves earned the Forest Evashevski Academic Achievement Award.

During the off season Graves spent some time rehabbing.

“I had minor surgery on my elbow,” Graves said. “So I was rehabbing a little and lifting to get ready.”

The Hawkeyes, who were seventh in the nation in defense last year, gave up an average of 282 yards a game. Iowa allowed the third least (17) offensive touchdowns in the nation and topped the country at 4.08 yards per play given up.

“We always have high expectations on defense,” Graves said. “We have a standard that has lasted for generations of players.

“The staff and players try to live up to those high expectations.”

The Iowa defense will look to adapt to different looks with four new members coming over from the Pac-12.

Oregon, UCLA, Southern Cal and Washington will now be in the mix. The Ducks (44.2), Trojans (41.8) and Huskies (36) were the top-three scoring teams in the Pac-12 and UCLA (34.8) was fifth.

The top-three Pac-12 teams all threw for over 4,000 yards, with Washington throwing for 5,155 and 343 per contest.

“It will be interesting with the new look of the league (Big Ten),” Graves said. “It will be neat to travel to different places and go to UCLA.”