Records are made to be broken-
Last year we saw both the career receptions record and the career receiving yards records fall. Taking a quick look at the stats for some current Hawks, here are the ones I think could be in jeopardy career wise over the next couple years.
Career receiving touchdowns – Current record is 21 - Marvin McNutt has 16
This record should fall this season barring an injury to Marvin, which will make all three major career receiving records broken in a two year span.
Career rushing yards – Current record is 4,156 – Marcus Coker has 622
It seems like he is a long ways away from that record, but if he stays for all four years and is injury free he would have to average 1,178 yards per season. Longshot yes, but if he has the kind of season we all hope he does this year, he could get a lot closer to this record. Over the last five years Iowa has averaged 455 rushing attempts a year, take away the 50 carries by the quarterback and you have roughly 400 carries to be had. Depending on how the young running backs come around could determine how close Marcus gets. If he gets 200 carries a season he would need to average 5.9 yards per carry, if he gets 225 carries he would need to average 5.2 yards per carry. Note that last year he averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
Career tackles – Current record is 492 – James Morris has 70
Again this number seems unattainable, but Morris has shown a knack for finding the ball and an offseason of weight gain and film study will only help him. In games that he started, he averaged 7 tackles a game as an undersized true freshman. Over the next three years he would have to average 11 stops per game, so not a slam dunk, but attainable. For a reference, Pat Angerer averaged 10.3 tackles per game as a senior.
Wilson to Wisconsin –
The Big Ten landscape changed today when Russell Wilson decided to transfer to Wisconsin after graduating from NC State. A NCAA rule that allows a player that has graduated from one university to transfer to a new division 1 school and play right away if his previous school does not offer his intended graduate degree will allow Russell to be eligible this fall. This news coupled with the suspensions and turmoil going on at Ohio State makes Wisconsin the front runner for both the Leaders division and a dark horse national champion pick. What we don’t know is how he will fit into the scheme that Wisconsin uses, last season he averaged over 40 passing attempts per game and was the team’s best running threat. At Wisconsin he will only pass it 20-25 times a game and be asked to hand the ball off. Another thing that is often overlooked is familiarity with his teammates, in his three years at NC State his top two receivers were the same all three years and the top four receivers were the same the last two, his best with the Wolfpack. Coming into Wisconsin he will have to get acclimated to a new offense, teammates, coaching staff, school, conference, and weather. Russell is a great talent, however time will tell if he will be a good fit with the Badgers or not.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Pre-Summer Pass Catchers Outlook
Wide Receiver-
Gone is the receiver that re-wrote the Iowa record books. Derell Johnson-Koulianos has exhausted his eligibility with the Iowa Hawkeyes, but he left his mark on the football program both positively and negatively. Looking to step into the spotlight will be Marvin McNutt and Keenan Davis, who are widely regarded as the top two receivers going into summer workouts. McNutt has gone from third string quarterback to receiver flirting with his own records. He led the Hawkeye team in receptions and yards last season even though he is still learning the position. He has proven to be a threat in the red zone with his ability to position his body against the defender and then out jump anyone. Look for Marvin to have a monster year as the #1 receiver. If McNutt garners double teams, it will open things up for Davis, a junior who came to Iowa via Cedar Rapids Washington. He has seen action each of his first two seasons on the field, albeit in limited time spelling DJK and McNutt. In his short career he has grabbed 15 balls. Look for Davis to flourish in the #2 role and relieve some of the increased pressure that McNutt will surely see. With the top two receiver slots penciled in, the battle for the backup roles and the time at slot receiver will be intense. The top contenders are Jordan Cotton, Don Shumpert, Kevonte Martin-Manley, Blake Haluska, and Steven Staggs. Cotton arrived on campus with much fanfare, but has yet to make any impact. This spring Shumpert was praised by the coaching staff and made some impressive catches in the spring game. Early this spring DJK made waves with his tweet that Martin-Manley would break all of his records, pretty high praise for a guy who has yet to see the field. Haluska and Staggs are both Iowa born players and could get their shot this year. Don’t expect any contributors form the incoming freshman Marcus Grant. In my opinion it will be a four man rotation between McNutt, Davis, KMM, and Shumpert with Cotton, Staggs, and Haluska contributing on special teams and vying their time.
Tight Ends
For a lot of teams in the nation the tight end is either a glorified offensive lineman or another wide receiver. At Iowa they are both and even in the middle of the field you might find Iowa in a two tight end formation. Typically what you find is that Iowa has one tight end that is the better blocker and one that is a better pass catcher. Last year Brad Herman was the blocker and Allen Reisner was the route runner. Resiner has graduated and whether or not Herman moves over to the pass catcher or stays as the blocker remains to be seen. In his career Herman has grabbed 10 passes, nine of which were last season and six of those were in two games. He did however average 17 yards per catch last year, which is remarkably high for a tight end. Joining Herman as a primary tight end will probably be C.J. Fiedorowicz, who saw action last year as a true freshman. After an offseason in the weight room, C.J. could become the main tight end. He has yet to make his first career reception, but gained valuable time as the third tight end last season. Following the first two will be Zach Derby and Austin Vier. Derby will be a Junior and Vier a redshirt freshman and will be battling for that #3 TE spot. Derby has the obvious upper hand seeing’s how Vier is a year removed from being a high school quarterback. Joining this foursome this summer will be incoming freshman Jake Duzey, Ray Hamilton, and Henry Krieger-Coble all of whom were considered in the top 50 tight ends of last season’s recruiting class. If any of them play it will probably be Hamilton, who appears to be the most ready. Duzey is on the smaller side and don’t rule out a position change for Kreiger-Coble, who was a very good linebacker in high school.
Gone is the receiver that re-wrote the Iowa record books. Derell Johnson-Koulianos has exhausted his eligibility with the Iowa Hawkeyes, but he left his mark on the football program both positively and negatively. Looking to step into the spotlight will be Marvin McNutt and Keenan Davis, who are widely regarded as the top two receivers going into summer workouts. McNutt has gone from third string quarterback to receiver flirting with his own records. He led the Hawkeye team in receptions and yards last season even though he is still learning the position. He has proven to be a threat in the red zone with his ability to position his body against the defender and then out jump anyone. Look for Marvin to have a monster year as the #1 receiver. If McNutt garners double teams, it will open things up for Davis, a junior who came to Iowa via Cedar Rapids Washington. He has seen action each of his first two seasons on the field, albeit in limited time spelling DJK and McNutt. In his short career he has grabbed 15 balls. Look for Davis to flourish in the #2 role and relieve some of the increased pressure that McNutt will surely see. With the top two receiver slots penciled in, the battle for the backup roles and the time at slot receiver will be intense. The top contenders are Jordan Cotton, Don Shumpert, Kevonte Martin-Manley, Blake Haluska, and Steven Staggs. Cotton arrived on campus with much fanfare, but has yet to make any impact. This spring Shumpert was praised by the coaching staff and made some impressive catches in the spring game. Early this spring DJK made waves with his tweet that Martin-Manley would break all of his records, pretty high praise for a guy who has yet to see the field. Haluska and Staggs are both Iowa born players and could get their shot this year. Don’t expect any contributors form the incoming freshman Marcus Grant. In my opinion it will be a four man rotation between McNutt, Davis, KMM, and Shumpert with Cotton, Staggs, and Haluska contributing on special teams and vying their time.
Tight Ends
For a lot of teams in the nation the tight end is either a glorified offensive lineman or another wide receiver. At Iowa they are both and even in the middle of the field you might find Iowa in a two tight end formation. Typically what you find is that Iowa has one tight end that is the better blocker and one that is a better pass catcher. Last year Brad Herman was the blocker and Allen Reisner was the route runner. Resiner has graduated and whether or not Herman moves over to the pass catcher or stays as the blocker remains to be seen. In his career Herman has grabbed 10 passes, nine of which were last season and six of those were in two games. He did however average 17 yards per catch last year, which is remarkably high for a tight end. Joining Herman as a primary tight end will probably be C.J. Fiedorowicz, who saw action last year as a true freshman. After an offseason in the weight room, C.J. could become the main tight end. He has yet to make his first career reception, but gained valuable time as the third tight end last season. Following the first two will be Zach Derby and Austin Vier. Derby will be a Junior and Vier a redshirt freshman and will be battling for that #3 TE spot. Derby has the obvious upper hand seeing’s how Vier is a year removed from being a high school quarterback. Joining this foursome this summer will be incoming freshman Jake Duzey, Ray Hamilton, and Henry Krieger-Coble all of whom were considered in the top 50 tight ends of last season’s recruiting class. If any of them play it will probably be Hamilton, who appears to be the most ready. Duzey is on the smaller side and don’t rule out a position change for Kreiger-Coble, who was a very good linebacker in high school.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Pre-Summer Offensive Backfield Outlook
Spring practice is over, the spring semester of classes is over, and it is now Chris Doyle time. Summer workouts have started and incoming freshman have started to arrive to prepare for their first year of collegiate football. Today I will take a look at what Iowa’s offense will look like this fall.
Quarterback-
When you graduate one of the best quarterbacks in your schools recent history, you can expect a drop-off in play. Ricky Stanzi graduated after being the starter for 2+ years and the heir apparent is James Vandenberg. Two years ago we got a glimpse of what James could do when he almost led the team to a victory at Ohio State with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. In his first career start Vandenberg gave Iowa fans hope for the future, however the following week against Minnesota James again looked like a freshman only completing 46% of his passes and seeming lost recognizing the blitz. On the bright side, Vandenberg in my opinion throws a better ball than Stanzi, he has more velocity and can fit the ball into spots that Ricky couldn’t. The things that he has to work on most this summer would be making the touch pass, something that the Iowa offense relies on. Vandenberg’s backup is going to be a toss-up, coming out of spring it was a co-backup in A.J. Derby and John Weinke. Neither of the backups has ever seen snaps as collegiate players and are still virtually unknown. Both came to Iowa with plenty of accolades, albeit in different areas, Weinke being more of a drop back passer and Derby as run/pass threat. Who wins this battle is a pretty big deal, if Weinke wins, you could see Derby move positions or at least get some time at special teams, where he could put his athletic ability to work. If Derby wins out, you could see Weinke transfer to get some playing time. Incoming freshman Jake Rudock comes to Iowa from Florida, where he led his team to the state title. Barring a bevy of injuries he will be the scout team quarterback during his redshirt season.
Running Back-
Remember last season at this time when we were all trying to figure out how the carries would get divvied out with the three experienced running backs Iowa had coming back? All three of them are no longer with the team and a true freshman, Marcus Coker, set an Iowa bowl record for rushing yards in the Insight Bowl. Coker will be the #1 back going into the season without a doubt, but even that should be worrisome. We have yet to see how durable he is; he missed part of fall camp last year with a broken collar bone and who knows if he will be able to carry the ball 250+ times like Iowa likes their running backs to do. What he did show last year is knowledge of the one-cut Iowa offense and the ability to get upfield quickly and eliminate negative plays. For a true freshman he also showed an above average ability to block in the passing game and in limited attempts the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. As far as the backup running back goes it will be determined in the fall. On campus now you have walk-on Jason White, who has one career carry and redshirt freshman De’Andre Johnson and Marcus Binns. Johnson was the talk of the message boards last season after performing quite well at the kid’s day open practice. He was coming off of an ACL injury his senior season of high school and used his red-shirt last season. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a sophomore and junior in high school before missing his senior season. He is the kind of player that could come in and be a change of pace back for Iowa. Binns is the brother of defensive end Broderick Binns and was also a talented high school player, rushing for over 2,800 yards in three years. Coming this fall as freshman will be Jordan Canzeri, Damon Bullock, and Mika’il McCall. Of these three look for McCall to have the best shot at playing as a true freshman, but it will all depend on whether or not the coaches feel they can trust the player to hold onto the ball and be able to block. We have seen in the past that Coach Ferentz will keep a player off the field if he doesn’t think they can do anything asked of them.
Fullback-
This is a position that has for the most part disappeared in the spread offense fad that is spreading across the college football landscape. At Iowa it is nothing more than a glorified offensive guard. You will be asked to block and block some more and maybe get a handful of carries over the course of the season. Iowa graduated last season’s starter, Brett Morse, and last year’s backup, Brad Rodgers, hasn’t medically been cleared to resume football activities. Rodgers is a converted running back and has seemed to be a team player, moving to the unrecognized role of fullback. He has the ability to run the ball from the fullback position and that is something Iowa hasn’t seen in quite some time. If Rodgers can’t go this season, look for one of the following guys to move into that position: Jacob Reisen, Scott Covert, Matt Myers, or Mark Weisman. Reisen is a converted linebacker, but in high school he scored touchdowns on 20% of his carries, so he is experienced with the ball in his hands.
Quarterback-
When you graduate one of the best quarterbacks in your schools recent history, you can expect a drop-off in play. Ricky Stanzi graduated after being the starter for 2+ years and the heir apparent is James Vandenberg. Two years ago we got a glimpse of what James could do when he almost led the team to a victory at Ohio State with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. In his first career start Vandenberg gave Iowa fans hope for the future, however the following week against Minnesota James again looked like a freshman only completing 46% of his passes and seeming lost recognizing the blitz. On the bright side, Vandenberg in my opinion throws a better ball than Stanzi, he has more velocity and can fit the ball into spots that Ricky couldn’t. The things that he has to work on most this summer would be making the touch pass, something that the Iowa offense relies on. Vandenberg’s backup is going to be a toss-up, coming out of spring it was a co-backup in A.J. Derby and John Weinke. Neither of the backups has ever seen snaps as collegiate players and are still virtually unknown. Both came to Iowa with plenty of accolades, albeit in different areas, Weinke being more of a drop back passer and Derby as run/pass threat. Who wins this battle is a pretty big deal, if Weinke wins, you could see Derby move positions or at least get some time at special teams, where he could put his athletic ability to work. If Derby wins out, you could see Weinke transfer to get some playing time. Incoming freshman Jake Rudock comes to Iowa from Florida, where he led his team to the state title. Barring a bevy of injuries he will be the scout team quarterback during his redshirt season.
Running Back-
Remember last season at this time when we were all trying to figure out how the carries would get divvied out with the three experienced running backs Iowa had coming back? All three of them are no longer with the team and a true freshman, Marcus Coker, set an Iowa bowl record for rushing yards in the Insight Bowl. Coker will be the #1 back going into the season without a doubt, but even that should be worrisome. We have yet to see how durable he is; he missed part of fall camp last year with a broken collar bone and who knows if he will be able to carry the ball 250+ times like Iowa likes their running backs to do. What he did show last year is knowledge of the one-cut Iowa offense and the ability to get upfield quickly and eliminate negative plays. For a true freshman he also showed an above average ability to block in the passing game and in limited attempts the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. As far as the backup running back goes it will be determined in the fall. On campus now you have walk-on Jason White, who has one career carry and redshirt freshman De’Andre Johnson and Marcus Binns. Johnson was the talk of the message boards last season after performing quite well at the kid’s day open practice. He was coming off of an ACL injury his senior season of high school and used his red-shirt last season. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a sophomore and junior in high school before missing his senior season. He is the kind of player that could come in and be a change of pace back for Iowa. Binns is the brother of defensive end Broderick Binns and was also a talented high school player, rushing for over 2,800 yards in three years. Coming this fall as freshman will be Jordan Canzeri, Damon Bullock, and Mika’il McCall. Of these three look for McCall to have the best shot at playing as a true freshman, but it will all depend on whether or not the coaches feel they can trust the player to hold onto the ball and be able to block. We have seen in the past that Coach Ferentz will keep a player off the field if he doesn’t think they can do anything asked of them.
Fullback-
This is a position that has for the most part disappeared in the spread offense fad that is spreading across the college football landscape. At Iowa it is nothing more than a glorified offensive guard. You will be asked to block and block some more and maybe get a handful of carries over the course of the season. Iowa graduated last season’s starter, Brett Morse, and last year’s backup, Brad Rodgers, hasn’t medically been cleared to resume football activities. Rodgers is a converted running back and has seemed to be a team player, moving to the unrecognized role of fullback. He has the ability to run the ball from the fullback position and that is something Iowa hasn’t seen in quite some time. If Rodgers can’t go this season, look for one of the following guys to move into that position: Jacob Reisen, Scott Covert, Matt Myers, or Mark Weisman. Reisen is a converted linebacker, but in high school he scored touchdowns on 20% of his carries, so he is experienced with the ball in his hands.
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