Pre Spring Offensive Line

One thing that has been a constant with the Iowa Hawkeyes under head coach Kirk Ferentz is that as the offensive line goes, so goes the team. The upcoming season will be no different as the Hawkeyes will have to find replacements for two 1st team All Big Ten players and two 2nd team All Big Ten players. The offensive scheme that Iowa uses is not one that you can easily plug and play any player. It is one that requires timing and cohesiveness. Even though they had four players on the 1st and 2nd teams last season, they had enough injuries last season that they are returning two players with significant playing experience. Junior Riley Reiff burst onto the scene last year playing both tackle and both guard spots at times. Look for Reiff to replace Bryan Bulaga at left tackle and protect Ricky Stanzi’s backside. The former defensive lineman has shown an athleticism that allowed him to block some of the Big Ten’s best last season. The other player returning with significant starting experience is Julian Vandervelde. The senior to be from Davenport, IA will be a four year starter after taking a grey shirt his first year at Iowa. Vandervelde will be the leader of the line from his guard position and will probably have to help whoever ends up at center with the line calls.

Earlier this week Kirk Ferentz said that the offensive line could be an 8 or 9 man fight. With Reiff and Vandervelde penciled in as starters, which leaves 6 or 7 guys for the final 3 spots. First, let’s look at the battle at the right tackle position that was manned by Kyle Calloway last season. Markus Zusevics was listed as the backup for most of last season and figures to have the inside track for the position in 2010. Markus will be a fourth year junior with some game time, but not any meaningful minutes. He has been mentioned several times in the last year by Coach Ferentz and being an upperclassman he should know the offense. The other player looking to break into the stating lineup at right tackle will be sophomore Nolan MacMillan. The transplant from Canada was injured several times last year or else we could have heard his name last season. MacMillan is a player that has the body size and skill to find himself in the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Players vying for the guard position opposite of Vandervelde will be Adam Gettis and Cody Hundertmark. Gettis got the start last year against UNI when Vandervelde was unable to play and experienced a lot of growing pains. Adam is a fourth year junior and will no longer have the youth excuse and he will get pushed by both Hundertmark and whoever doesn’t get the starting nod at right tackle. Hundertmark came to Iowa with lots of accolades but was not able to break into the starting lineup on the defensive line after playing as a true freshman in 2007. Last fall in bowl preparation practices he moved to the offensive line and was listed as the #2 guard coming into this spring. Hundertmark will attempt to make the same transition that Riley Reiff made last year moving from a backup defensive lineman into the starting lineup as an offensive lineman.

The final and possibly the most important position on the offensive line to fill will be the center position that had been manned by Rafael Eubanks three of the last four seasons. While Eubanks wasn’t an All-American or anything, when you run a zone blocking scheme like Iowa does, the line calls a center makes are very important and you can’t teach experience. Looking to man the center position this year will be a pair of former teammates at Iowa City, City High. Josh Koeppel will be a senior and had he been able to put weight on may have broken the starting lineup in the last couple of years. He will get pushed by James Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz and brother of former starting center Brian Ferentz. To say that he has the pedigree to be the starting center at Iowa is an understatement. Had it not been for off the field issues, you could have seen him get some playing time last season. Now he comes into his sophomore year with an opportunity to prove that he has put his troubles behind him and become the starting center.

Some other players to keep an eye on for playing time include Drew Clark, Woody Orne, Casey McMillan, and Kyle Haganman. Clark made some great strides as a true freshman last year in bowl preparations and should benefit a lot from a year in the weight room with Coach Doyle. Woody Orne is a dark horse, the transfer from South Dakota State played one season for the Jackrabbits after redshirting his first season. He sat out last season and will push for playing time at both guard and tackle. Casey McMillan came to Iowa from Montana, where he was the Gatorade player of the year for that state his senior year. He has not seen the field in two years at Iowa, but he has the skills to find his way to the field. Kyle Haganman will be a senior who is looking to become the next walk on success story at Iowa. The expectations will be high for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2010 and it will all hinge on the ability of the offensive line to control the line of scrimmage and it all starts with spring ball.