Showing posts with label Jeff Brinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeff Brinson. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2010
Jeff Brinson
Word came out of Iowa City yesterday that Jeff Brinson has decided to transfer somewhere closer to home. This makes perfect sense when you hear that his asthma flares up every fall and never seemed to be an issue when he was in Florida. He also has a sick father, who he wants to be closer to and let's be honest, right now he is the odd man out of a crowded backfield. It would have been great to see him on the field, every article that I read stated that Iowa got a gem out of the sunshine state, but injuries never allowed that. I for one wish him the best in the future and hope that he gets his injury bug figured out. Look for him to look hard at South Florida, beings that he is from St. Petersberg.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
BTN in Iowa City
Since they donate a ridiculous amount of money to the University, The Big Ten Network was granted entrance into Fort Kinnick to witness a practice yesterday the 25th. The Hawks were full pads and it was very interesting to see some of the drills that they do. Here is a rundown of what I saw at every position that was interesting:
QB- Stanzi is the manzi as they say and he looks to have put on some muscle since last year. In watching Rick's practice, you can easily tell that he is carrying himself differently and I have heard several times that he has become a leader on the team. He is seeing more of the field and has an overall better grasp of the offense then he did last year. The backup reps were split between Wienke and Vandenberg. Neither on stood out over the other one, they both throw a nice ball and have the potential to be good, but neither one probably knows the offense very well as they were both running the scout team a year ago. Speaking of scout team, the only other QB on the roster is Wyatt Suess, a walk-on that comes to the Hawks from Cedar Rapids.
RB- In my opinion this is the one position that scares me. Going into the spring we knew that Greene was gone, but had high hopes for Hampton. Now, a knee injury, and a tweak (whatever that means) later we are down to the second string. All fall long last year we kept hearing that Jeff Brinson would have split time at #2 with Hampton if it hadn't been for an illness in camp. However he hasn't made the anticipated strides from year one to year two and didn't get any reps of live action that I saw yesterday. I saw him warming up, but beyond that he was non-existent. That worries me a lot as Paki O'Meara and Adam Robinson took the bulk of the carries with the first team. Neither one of them is a "game changer," but both can be serviceable. Paki has more experience, but Robinson seems to have more talent, so you could see a committee to start the season. The other running back that saw reps was freshman Brandon Wegher, but a year with Doyle could help him as he looked a little on the small side.
TE- This Iowa team, not unlike almost all of Ferentz' teams have two solid tight ends in Moeaki and Reisner. There has never been a question of whether Tony has the skills, it has just been a matter of him staying healthy. He made a couple nice catches at practice yesterday and at times looks like the 6th OL in there. Reisner looks to be more of the H-back type of TE, and is a much better pass catcher than a blocker. Behind them JD Griggs was taking reps with the 2's along with Peterson.
WR- In my opinion this is the deepest wide receiver corps in the Ferentz era. They return Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Trey Stross, Paul Chaney, and Colin Sandeman with experience and add to that group converted QB Marvin McNutt and freshman Keenan Davis and you will have guys who don't get the playing time the probably deserve. Looked like McNutt and Stross were starting, but DJK didn't go because of an undisclosed injury. Chaney saw a lot of reps out of the slot and it looks like there is a conchies effort to use him as a weapon. Stross, if healthy, adds experience and is still waiting on his "moment." Davis looks and plays the part, however depth could see him getting less reps than he would have a year ago.
OL- One word, deep. The offensive line, which is one of Iowa's specialties is deep this year. They return five players with starting experience, anchored by tackles Bulaga and Calloway. Calloway will sit the first game, giving some backups some much needed playing time. At the guards yesterday were Adam Gettis and Dan Doering. Much like Stross, Doering is still waiting to live up to his potential. At center was a combination of Eubanks and Koeppel. Dace Richardson was taking reps at right tackle in anticipation of Calloway being out. Julian Vandevelde is a player that when he gets back from injury figures to be pushing for a starting spot somewhere along the line. Riley Reiff, Haganman, Ferentz, Kuempel, and MacMillan were running with the 2's. For the first couple of games you could see upwards of 10 guys getting reps until they find the best 5.
DL- If you lose two players with the experience of King and Kroul, you aren't supposed to be better, but this year's defensive line could be just that. Look for Iowa to line up with Clayborn and Binns on the ends and Klug and Ballard inside. Clayborn is just a man child and will only make himself and Bulaga better by the two future NFL players going against each other every day. Binns has been singled out several times by Ferentz since last season and is too good to keep off the field and might be Iowa's best pass rusher since Matt Roth. Ballard's athleticism inside reminds me of Jonathon Babineaux. Klug received Big Ten Player of the week honors last year in a backup role, so he has the skills and a motor to match. Lebron Daniel and Travis Meade will backup the tackles and Huntermark and Daniels backing up the ends.
LB- The trio of linebackers are probably the second best unit in the big ten behind Penn St., but that is nothing to sneeze about. Angerer is a tackling machine and plays a throw back kind of middle linebacker. Edds is a former TE that can run like a deer and is a three year starter. Hunter from ever thing I heard was in a race for his starting job with Jeff Tarpanian, but seems to have planted himself as the #1. So long as the defensive tackles do their job of keeping offensive lineman off of the LB's these guys will shine. The backups were Tarpanian at the will, Bruce Davis and Troy Johnson at the mike, and Tyler Nielsen at the leo. Did see in one drill where Iowa took a DL out and put Tarpanian in as almost a rover in the middle of the field behind the LB's.
DB- If Jordan Bernstein hadn't broken his ankle I would have went on a limb and said that this was the best defensive backfield of the Ferentz era. After he broke his ankle it is still good. Spievey will lock down one corner and cut the field down by a third. Shaun Prater will be the other corner, but is suspended for two games. That leaves the door open for William Lowe, Greg Castillo, or freshman Micah Hyde to step in and play early. The safeties will once again be Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash, while neither is flashy, they epitomise an Iowa Hawkeye in that they just get the job done and don't make mistakes, guys that Norm Parker loves. The backups are Lowe, Castillo and Hyde at corner with David Cato and Jack Swanson at safety. Cato in my opinion could be a special teams leader this year, he likes to hit and has the same build as a former Hawk now playing safety for the Colts.
Spec- Donahue isn't going to get the most yards, but he hangs them high and gets very few return yards. Daniel Murray looks to have locked down the kicker job and you might see Mossbrucker take his redshirt and have three years to start after Murray is gone.
On a side not it was sad to see Jamie Murphy wearing a red jersey and will have a very limited role with the team on the field this year due to the effects of too many concussions. The Irish Car Bomb as he was appropriately nicknamed was one of my favorite Hawks to watch on special teams.
Check back this weekend for a preview of the Iowa vs UNI game.
QB- Stanzi is the manzi as they say and he looks to have put on some muscle since last year. In watching Rick's practice, you can easily tell that he is carrying himself differently and I have heard several times that he has become a leader on the team. He is seeing more of the field and has an overall better grasp of the offense then he did last year. The backup reps were split between Wienke and Vandenberg. Neither on stood out over the other one, they both throw a nice ball and have the potential to be good, but neither one probably knows the offense very well as they were both running the scout team a year ago. Speaking of scout team, the only other QB on the roster is Wyatt Suess, a walk-on that comes to the Hawks from Cedar Rapids.
RB- In my opinion this is the one position that scares me. Going into the spring we knew that Greene was gone, but had high hopes for Hampton. Now, a knee injury, and a tweak (whatever that means) later we are down to the second string. All fall long last year we kept hearing that Jeff Brinson would have split time at #2 with Hampton if it hadn't been for an illness in camp. However he hasn't made the anticipated strides from year one to year two and didn't get any reps of live action that I saw yesterday. I saw him warming up, but beyond that he was non-existent. That worries me a lot as Paki O'Meara and Adam Robinson took the bulk of the carries with the first team. Neither one of them is a "game changer," but both can be serviceable. Paki has more experience, but Robinson seems to have more talent, so you could see a committee to start the season. The other running back that saw reps was freshman Brandon Wegher, but a year with Doyle could help him as he looked a little on the small side.
TE- This Iowa team, not unlike almost all of Ferentz' teams have two solid tight ends in Moeaki and Reisner. There has never been a question of whether Tony has the skills, it has just been a matter of him staying healthy. He made a couple nice catches at practice yesterday and at times looks like the 6th OL in there. Reisner looks to be more of the H-back type of TE, and is a much better pass catcher than a blocker. Behind them JD Griggs was taking reps with the 2's along with Peterson.
WR- In my opinion this is the deepest wide receiver corps in the Ferentz era. They return Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Trey Stross, Paul Chaney, and Colin Sandeman with experience and add to that group converted QB Marvin McNutt and freshman Keenan Davis and you will have guys who don't get the playing time the probably deserve. Looked like McNutt and Stross were starting, but DJK didn't go because of an undisclosed injury. Chaney saw a lot of reps out of the slot and it looks like there is a conchies effort to use him as a weapon. Stross, if healthy, adds experience and is still waiting on his "moment." Davis looks and plays the part, however depth could see him getting less reps than he would have a year ago.
OL- One word, deep. The offensive line, which is one of Iowa's specialties is deep this year. They return five players with starting experience, anchored by tackles Bulaga and Calloway. Calloway will sit the first game, giving some backups some much needed playing time. At the guards yesterday were Adam Gettis and Dan Doering. Much like Stross, Doering is still waiting to live up to his potential. At center was a combination of Eubanks and Koeppel. Dace Richardson was taking reps at right tackle in anticipation of Calloway being out. Julian Vandevelde is a player that when he gets back from injury figures to be pushing for a starting spot somewhere along the line. Riley Reiff, Haganman, Ferentz, Kuempel, and MacMillan were running with the 2's. For the first couple of games you could see upwards of 10 guys getting reps until they find the best 5.
DL- If you lose two players with the experience of King and Kroul, you aren't supposed to be better, but this year's defensive line could be just that. Look for Iowa to line up with Clayborn and Binns on the ends and Klug and Ballard inside. Clayborn is just a man child and will only make himself and Bulaga better by the two future NFL players going against each other every day. Binns has been singled out several times by Ferentz since last season and is too good to keep off the field and might be Iowa's best pass rusher since Matt Roth. Ballard's athleticism inside reminds me of Jonathon Babineaux. Klug received Big Ten Player of the week honors last year in a backup role, so he has the skills and a motor to match. Lebron Daniel and Travis Meade will backup the tackles and Huntermark and Daniels backing up the ends.
LB- The trio of linebackers are probably the second best unit in the big ten behind Penn St., but that is nothing to sneeze about. Angerer is a tackling machine and plays a throw back kind of middle linebacker. Edds is a former TE that can run like a deer and is a three year starter. Hunter from ever thing I heard was in a race for his starting job with Jeff Tarpanian, but seems to have planted himself as the #1. So long as the defensive tackles do their job of keeping offensive lineman off of the LB's these guys will shine. The backups were Tarpanian at the will, Bruce Davis and Troy Johnson at the mike, and Tyler Nielsen at the leo. Did see in one drill where Iowa took a DL out and put Tarpanian in as almost a rover in the middle of the field behind the LB's.
DB- If Jordan Bernstein hadn't broken his ankle I would have went on a limb and said that this was the best defensive backfield of the Ferentz era. After he broke his ankle it is still good. Spievey will lock down one corner and cut the field down by a third. Shaun Prater will be the other corner, but is suspended for two games. That leaves the door open for William Lowe, Greg Castillo, or freshman Micah Hyde to step in and play early. The safeties will once again be Brett Greenwood and Tyler Sash, while neither is flashy, they epitomise an Iowa Hawkeye in that they just get the job done and don't make mistakes, guys that Norm Parker loves. The backups are Lowe, Castillo and Hyde at corner with David Cato and Jack Swanson at safety. Cato in my opinion could be a special teams leader this year, he likes to hit and has the same build as a former Hawk now playing safety for the Colts.
Spec- Donahue isn't going to get the most yards, but he hangs them high and gets very few return yards. Daniel Murray looks to have locked down the kicker job and you might see Mossbrucker take his redshirt and have three years to start after Murray is gone.
On a side not it was sad to see Jamie Murphy wearing a red jersey and will have a very limited role with the team on the field this year due to the effects of too many concussions. The Irish Car Bomb as he was appropriately nicknamed was one of my favorite Hawks to watch on special teams.
Check back this weekend for a preview of the Iowa vs UNI game.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Weekend of News
So usually the holiday weekend brings nothing much in the way of Hawkeye news, but this year was anything but. Jewell Hampton, who projected to be Iowa' opening game starter at tailback is reported to have injured his knee on Friday. The official diagnosis is not in yet, but rumors are rampant that it is a ligament tear and that he is done for the year. While this is bad news, I don't think we will have 2004 redux when Sam Brownlee led the team in rushing, for a couple reasons.
1. IF and I say if this is a season ender for Jewell, the good news is that he still has his red shirt year, so you don't have to worry about asking the NCAA for a medical red shirt, which can sometimes be tricky.
2. The injury occurs early enough that Iowa can plan around it, imagine if this had happened in late August? And if it is the dreaded ACL, then Jewell should have plenty of time for surgery and rehab and be 100% for fall ball 2010, or sooner if his rehab goes well.
3. Jeff Brinson isn't bad at all. Going in to last season it was said that both Jewell and Jeff were pretty equal in the abilities to help Iowa as freshman, I can't remember what gave Jewell the edge, but had Shonn Greene not exploded onto the scene we might have seen two true freshman running backs for Iowa last year play. Jeff is a player that coming out of high school spurred a last ditch all hands on deck recruiting effort from in-state power Florida State, to remain committed to play for the Hawks. Make no doubt about it, he has the talent to play in the big ten and be successful.
4. Brandon Wegher is already on campus and should be ready to contribute right away. Did the coaches want to have to use him as much as they probably will have to? No, but he has the skills to be effective with the ball in his hands and if he can pick up the blocking responsibilities, then he could see significant minutes this year.
5. What were we saying last year at this time? "Who is going to run the ball for us this year?" We knew that Shonn Greene was coming back, but nobody thought that he would have the kind of season that he did.
I am not saying that we are going to catch lightning in a bottle again, but I don't think we will go back to 2004 were we completely changed the playbook with our 5th string tailback either.
The other big news from the weekend was the Jacody Coleman had left the program to move closer to home in Texas. While he wasn't projected to start this year, he has started in the past and you hate to lose a guy that brought the kind of intensity that Jacody brought to the team. He will most likely be replaced by Bruce Davis from Ohio, who was that state's defensive MVP his senior year.
1. IF and I say if this is a season ender for Jewell, the good news is that he still has his red shirt year, so you don't have to worry about asking the NCAA for a medical red shirt, which can sometimes be tricky.
2. The injury occurs early enough that Iowa can plan around it, imagine if this had happened in late August? And if it is the dreaded ACL, then Jewell should have plenty of time for surgery and rehab and be 100% for fall ball 2010, or sooner if his rehab goes well.
3. Jeff Brinson isn't bad at all. Going in to last season it was said that both Jewell and Jeff were pretty equal in the abilities to help Iowa as freshman, I can't remember what gave Jewell the edge, but had Shonn Greene not exploded onto the scene we might have seen two true freshman running backs for Iowa last year play. Jeff is a player that coming out of high school spurred a last ditch all hands on deck recruiting effort from in-state power Florida State, to remain committed to play for the Hawks. Make no doubt about it, he has the talent to play in the big ten and be successful.
4. Brandon Wegher is already on campus and should be ready to contribute right away. Did the coaches want to have to use him as much as they probably will have to? No, but he has the skills to be effective with the ball in his hands and if he can pick up the blocking responsibilities, then he could see significant minutes this year.
5. What were we saying last year at this time? "Who is going to run the ball for us this year?" We knew that Shonn Greene was coming back, but nobody thought that he would have the kind of season that he did.
I am not saying that we are going to catch lightning in a bottle again, but I don't think we will go back to 2004 were we completely changed the playbook with our 5th string tailback either.
The other big news from the weekend was the Jacody Coleman had left the program to move closer to home in Texas. While he wasn't projected to start this year, he has started in the past and you hate to lose a guy that brought the kind of intensity that Jacody brought to the team. He will most likely be replaced by Bruce Davis from Ohio, who was that state's defensive MVP his senior year.
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.Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Position Battles - Running Back
Here we are another off season and another big question mark at running back. Going into last season, Iowa was staring down the barrel of having Paki O'Meara as their feature back. No offense to Paki, but he is not an every down Big Ten back. Then Shonn Greene showed back up on campus and rewrote the single season rushing records on his way to winning the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the NCAA. The one good thing about Greene being the feature back was that he was not in good enough shape to take every snap and the Hawks were able to see what some of their other running backs could do in the Big Ten. Sophomore Jewel Hampton rushed 91 times for 463 yards in limited action for an over 5 yard per carry average. He had his best game of the year in mop up duty against Indiana rushing 22 times for 114 yards. For a true freshman he came in and turned more than a few heads. His strengths would be his speed and his ability to hit holes. What he is going to have to prove is his blocking ability and ability to carry the bulk of the carries. The other back that figures into the mix will be Jeff Brinson. Brinson redshirted last year and figures to be in the mix for some first team reps with Hampton. Brinson has the skills, rushing for just short of 2,000 yards as a senior in high school at Northeast High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He found the end zone 24 times as a senior and averaged over 7 yards a carry. Word out of Fort Kinnick was the Brinson was more than impressive running the scout team as a redshirt, so the Hawks could be looking at a running back controversy. Between these two the Hawks have a very solid 1-2 punch at running back. If anything happens to one of those two, you will have Paki O'Meara step in and be a very serviceable backup. Most of O'Meara's time will be spent on special teams, where he showed last season he can excel. After that you would be looking at true freshman Brandon Wegher, who comes to Iowa after a very successful career at Sioux City Heelan. Look for Wegher to get most of his reps on special teams as a returner, but don't be surprised if he ends up making a few plays while covering kicks as well.
At fullback the Hawks return both Wayne Leppert and Brett Morse who both helped pave the way for the Doak Walker award winner. Like any Iowa fullback neither touched the ball much after warm ups, but both are great blockers and will continue to do that for whatever back lines up behind them in the backfield in 2009.
At fullback the Hawks return both Wayne Leppert and Brett Morse who both helped pave the way for the Doak Walker award winner. Like any Iowa fullback neither touched the ball much after warm ups, but both are great blockers and will continue to do that for whatever back lines up behind them in the backfield in 2009.
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