Babineaux Named to StarHawk Squad

Oct. 1, 2003

Jonathan Babineaux, a starting defensive lineman on the University of Iowa’s nationally ranked football team, is the latest addition to the 2003 StarHawks team at the UI.

A junior from Port Arthur, Texas, Babineaux played fullback as a true freshman in 2000 before moving to defensive line. After suffering a broken leg during spring practice, he used 2001 as a medical redshirt season and did not see any game action that fall. In 2002, he became a key member of the Iowa defense that ranked fifth in the nation in rushing defense, and was instrumental in holding Michigan to 22 rushing yards and 171 yards total offense.

“Jonathan is an active play-maker,” said Kirk Ferentz, head coach of the Hawkeyes.

“He’s very hard-working-both in practice and during games. He just prepares hard all the time, and he’s a very unselfish player. Jonathan could probably play tight end, fullback or linebacker as well as defensive end or defensive tackle.”

Babineaux is one of three juniors elected to the football team’s Leadership Council, and also represents the team on the UI’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, a group of student-athlete from each of the varsity sports teams who help to shape departmental policies and procedures and to initiate department-wide outreach programs.

Majoring in health and sports studies, Babineaux works hard in the classroom as well as on the field.

“Jonathan is a tremendous young man who comes from a great family,” said Ferentz. “He’s quiet, but he’s respected by everyone on the team and associated with our program. He is very deserving of this honor.”

A graduate of Lincoln High School in Port Arthur, Babineaux was a teammate of Iowa defensive back Jermire Roberts and was coached by Iowa assistant Coach Carl Jackson before Jackson re-joined the Iowa staff in 1999.

The StarHawks program is an initiative funded in part by McLeodUSA, a leading telecommunications company with corporate headquarters in Cedar Rapids and a long-time member of the UI’s Partners in Excellence corporate sponsorship program. The StarHawks team is a collection of student-athletes at the University of Iowa who truly represent the very best the intercollegiate athletics program at the UI has to offer. StarHawks typically excel athletically and academically, and also are active in community or leadership activities.