Once again several Hawkeyes will her their name called over the weekend at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Here is a quick run-down of where I think they will go in the draft and the ideal situation for that player.
Adrian Clayborn – late first round – possible suitors: Giants, Buccaneers, Eagles, Saints, or Falcons – A true 4-3 defensive end will find a home and be a reliable contributor for years to come
Christian Ballard – late second/early third – can play a 3-4 defensive end or 4-3 tackle/end - His versatility is what is the most intriguing part of Christian’s game, he can play multiple positions in either defense.
Ricky Stanzi – late third/early fourth – experts waver on where he will go and how productive he will be. I would compare him to Matt Schaub, smart player that will be a backup for a few years, but shine when he gets his chance
Tyler Sash – Fourth – Measurables won’t get him drafted, but a nose for the ball and what is between his ears will. Plays like a strong safety, but thinks like a free safety, will be able to play either at the next level
Ryan Donahue – Fifth – Much like Iowa did, some team will draft him and not worry about punting for years to come
Jeremiah Hunter – Sixth – A guy who started at OLB for three seasons at Iowa, never did anything flashy, but was never out of position either. Probably a backup and special teams player at the next level.
Karl Klug – Sixth – Maybe got the most out of his talent, has a motor that NFL teams love. I would liken him to Jared Clauss, keeps his pad level low and will be a 4-3 tackle.
Allen Reisner – Sixth – With more and more teams running two tight end sets, he will find a place to play, he blocks and makes all the catches.
Derrell Johnson-Koulianos – Seventh – doesn’t have ideal NFL wide receiver size or speed, but runs crisp routes and can contribute on special teams. Probably a fifth rounder without the character questions.
Brett Greenwood & Julian Vandervelde – FA’s - Brett and Julian have outside chances of getting drafted, but it is highly unlikely.
Showing posts with label Allen Reisner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allen Reisner. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, October 15, 2010
Iowa vs Michigan Predictions
When Michigan has the ball-
Michigan wants to run the ball, there is no secret about it, they averaging almost 300 yards per game on the ground. They want to establish the run and then safeties start to creep up to support the run, they love to go play-action for a big play, they have six receivers who have made catches of more than 43 yards this season. Denard Robinson is the signal caller for the Wolverines and he is a very dangerous runner and his passing abilities have come a long way since he last played Iowa. He does a great job of the read option and quarterback follow. He seldomly takes a big hit and rarely goes down on initial contact. His passing is helped out a lot by his rushing, Michigan runs an option pass that is tough to stop. The running game is almost exclusively Robinson, Vincent Smith and Michael Shaw have combined to carry the ball 108 times to Robinson's 119. The two main running backs have amassed 560 yards to Robinson's 991, and 106 yards of those yards are on two carries, so 454 yards on 106 carries. The passing attack of the Wolverines is more of an extension of the run, a lot of screens and bubble routes, with short passes and the opportunity for getting the receivers into the open. When they do pass, Roy Roundtree is the primary target, catching 31 passes on the season, the second leading receiver is Darryl Stonum with 15. The offensive line is a smaller more athletic line than what we are accustomed to seeing out of Michigan. They move well and can get the edge on most defenses, however, they haven't played a defense of Iowa's caliber yet. Iowa's front four should be able to handle the Michigan offensive line, what Michigan will try to do is spread out the Iowa linebackers to create running lanes.
When Iowa has the ball-
Michigan has for the lack of a better word, a terrible defense. Since Rich Rodriguez got there they have had arguably the worst three defenses ever at Michigan. They run a 3-3-5 defense and really aren't able to stop either the run or the pass. Their defensive lineman are good, but with a three man front, you want them to eat up blockers, not make plays. Iowa should be able to move the ball both on the ground and through the air. Like most games, Iowa will come out running the ball and short passes, setting the defense up for the play-action pass.
What will happen-
Iowa will start the game of offense and move the ball well, but ultimately punt on their first drive. Look for Michigan to sputter on offense and go three and out on their first drive. At the end of the first quarter Iowa will lead 7-0. The second quarter is where a lot of the scoring will take place and going into halftime it will be Iowa 17-14. The second half has been owned by Iowa the last season and a half, outscoring their opponents 249-95 in the last 18 games, that is an average of just over five points a game given up in the second half. Iowa will continue that trend and pull away in the second half.
Score prediction:
Iowa - 38
Michigan - 21
Other predictions:
Stanzi throws for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns
Robinson rushes for 100+ yards and a TD
McNutt has 100+ yards receiving and a TD
DJK sets the receiving record with 75+ yards and a TD
Reisner is a main target with 6 catches and a TD
Iowa turns the ball over twice
Michigan turns the ball over five times
Denard Robinson runs the ball for 100+ yards with a TD, but fumbles once and throws 3 INT's
Michigan's kicker misses 2 field goals
Iowa records 8 tackles for loss
Michigan wants to run the ball, there is no secret about it, they averaging almost 300 yards per game on the ground. They want to establish the run and then safeties start to creep up to support the run, they love to go play-action for a big play, they have six receivers who have made catches of more than 43 yards this season. Denard Robinson is the signal caller for the Wolverines and he is a very dangerous runner and his passing abilities have come a long way since he last played Iowa. He does a great job of the read option and quarterback follow. He seldomly takes a big hit and rarely goes down on initial contact. His passing is helped out a lot by his rushing, Michigan runs an option pass that is tough to stop. The running game is almost exclusively Robinson, Vincent Smith and Michael Shaw have combined to carry the ball 108 times to Robinson's 119. The two main running backs have amassed 560 yards to Robinson's 991, and 106 yards of those yards are on two carries, so 454 yards on 106 carries. The passing attack of the Wolverines is more of an extension of the run, a lot of screens and bubble routes, with short passes and the opportunity for getting the receivers into the open. When they do pass, Roy Roundtree is the primary target, catching 31 passes on the season, the second leading receiver is Darryl Stonum with 15. The offensive line is a smaller more athletic line than what we are accustomed to seeing out of Michigan. They move well and can get the edge on most defenses, however, they haven't played a defense of Iowa's caliber yet. Iowa's front four should be able to handle the Michigan offensive line, what Michigan will try to do is spread out the Iowa linebackers to create running lanes.
When Iowa has the ball-
Michigan has for the lack of a better word, a terrible defense. Since Rich Rodriguez got there they have had arguably the worst three defenses ever at Michigan. They run a 3-3-5 defense and really aren't able to stop either the run or the pass. Their defensive lineman are good, but with a three man front, you want them to eat up blockers, not make plays. Iowa should be able to move the ball both on the ground and through the air. Like most games, Iowa will come out running the ball and short passes, setting the defense up for the play-action pass.
What will happen-
Iowa will start the game of offense and move the ball well, but ultimately punt on their first drive. Look for Michigan to sputter on offense and go three and out on their first drive. At the end of the first quarter Iowa will lead 7-0. The second quarter is where a lot of the scoring will take place and going into halftime it will be Iowa 17-14. The second half has been owned by Iowa the last season and a half, outscoring their opponents 249-95 in the last 18 games, that is an average of just over five points a game given up in the second half. Iowa will continue that trend and pull away in the second half.
Score prediction:
Iowa - 38
Michigan - 21
Other predictions:
Stanzi throws for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns
Robinson rushes for 100+ yards and a TD
McNutt has 100+ yards receiving and a TD
DJK sets the receiving record with 75+ yards and a TD
Reisner is a main target with 6 catches and a TD
Iowa turns the ball over twice
Michigan turns the ball over five times
Denard Robinson runs the ball for 100+ yards with a TD, but fumbles once and throws 3 INT's
Michigan's kicker misses 2 field goals
Iowa records 8 tackles for loss
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Position Battles - Pass Catchers
As I continue to look through the spring version of the Hawks, I have come to the players that will catch a majority of the passes from Ricky Stanzi in 2009. The senior class of 2008 took away 2 of Iowa's top 3 pass receivers of the season. Gone are WR Andy Brodell and TE Brandon Myers. With their graduation the Hawks lost 37% of their receptions from 2008 and 41% of the receiving yards. 
Beyond DJK there are not many experienced wide outs. Leading the pack of returners would have to be Treye Stross and Colin Sandeman. Stross will be a senior and Sandeman a junior. They know the offense and will be reliable options at WR. Stross has shown flashes of being a good WR, but is too often on the sidelines with an injury. If he can stay healthy, look for him to be lining up opposite DJK as the #2 WR. Sandeman came in and really should have redshirted as a freshman, but out of necessity had to play. He has been used sparingly in his first two seasons at Iowa. Look for him to have the inside track on the #3 slot and be in line to return kicks. Beyond these three the current roster looks bleak for WR's, Ben Evans, Shane Prater, & Paul Chaney will all push for reps but have a ways to go. Coming to Iowa City this fall will be heralded recruits Keenan Davis and Jordan Cotton. Both of these players will look to see the field this fall. Their situations will be similar to Jewell Hampton and Jeff Brinson last fall. Whichever player grasps the offense and performs better in the practices leading up to the start of the season will play and the other will redshirt. Look for Davis to play this fall as he has the most polished game as Cotton played a lot of RB in high school much like former Hawk Andy Brodell. If Davis can learn the playbook and most importantly show he can block in the open he could push Stross for the #2 slot.
Anyone who has watched the Iowa Hawkeyes since Kirk took the reigns knows that the TE's are used as much as any team in the nation. The Hawks are still waiting for 2005 prized recruit Tony Moeaki to reach his full potential. For the first couple of years in Iowa City, he was used more as a blocker, which allowed Scott Chandler to run the routes. Tony spent the majority of the last two seasons in slings and boots battling seemingly endless numbers of injuries. When healthy he has shown he can be one of the better TE's in Iowa history, but the big question is can he stay healthy. 
Behind Tony the Hawks have Allen Reisner, who has shown that he can play even though he is undersized for the position. In 2008 he averaged over 18 ypc, which is an extremely high number for a TE. One name that you haven't heard of yet is JD Griggs, a redshirt freshman from New Jersey. He has the size 6'5" to be a big target for Stanzi and from the pictures that I have seen, he has the strength.
Behind Tony the Hawks have Allen Reisner, who has shown that he can play even though he is undersized for the position. In 2008 he averaged over 18 ypc, which is an extremely high number for a TE. One name that you haven't heard of yet is JD Griggs, a redshirt freshman from New Jersey. He has the size 6'5" to be a big target for Stanzi and from the pictures that I have seen, he has the strength.
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