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 Ricky Stanzi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ricky Stanzi. 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
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The quarterbacks 2010
Will the leash on incumbent Ricky Stanzi be shorter this year? Will all the quarterbacks on the roster stay on the team? Will all the quarterbacks listed on the roster be quarterbacks when they graduate? These questions and more will be answered in the summer quarterback preview.
Ricky Stanzi -SR- All the guy does is win, in games he has started in the last two seasons, Iowa is 19-4. He has all the tools of an NFL quarterback, 6'4" 230 pounds, can make all the throws, but the one thing he has to improve on is his decision making. In 2009 he threw 15 int's, 4 of which were returned for touchdowns and countless other times where he passed up the sure throw to try for the more difficult one. He won't wow you with his stats and you won't see him high on the all time Iowa passing records, but he wins games. He has all the weapons around him to not have any excuses for not winning this season. There is no denying that he is the #1 quarterback on this team, but the gap has closed some between him and the #2, James Vandenberg.
James Vandenberg -SO- We got a glimpse of how good a quarterback James is last year when he went in to Ohio State, one of the toughest places to play in the nation, and nearly pulled off the upset. You could argue that he is the better pure passer of the top two Iowa signal callers for 2010, but the quarterback at Iowa isn't routinely asked to be the star. What he has to work on is his leadership and ability to lead the team to wins, even when he doesn't have good games. The gap has closed, but I think that even if Ricky Stanzi throws 5 int's in a game, see Indiana last season, you will see Kirk Ferentz stick with Ricky. It was apparent at the end of the season that Vandenberg was the clear cut #2 and John Weinke was the #3.
John Weinke -SO- We have yet to see John get any reps, but one can assume that since both Vandenberg and Weinke were listed as the co-backups most of last season that they were at about the same level. Nobody outside of the football program knows what made Vandenberg get the backup reps last year and Weinke sit, but the highly touted recruit will have a big decision to make after this season. Stanzi will be graduating and the air-apparent is Vandenberg. Weinke can either stay and battle Vandenberg for the starting job or he can transfer. All Hawk fans should be hoping for Weinke to take a page out of the Jason Manson play book as after Weinke, the quarterbacks on the roster get pretty limited.
Wyatt Suess - RS FR- Wyatt spent last season operating the scout team and barring a rash of injuries will probably be doing the same this season. The Cedar Rapids native is the son of former Hawk Phil Suess. He has some talent as he was a 1st team Elite All-State as a senior. He will gain some valuable experience in the off-season as well as the fall camp and make a move for the back-up role next spring. He wouldn't be the first Iowa player to go from obscurity to the two deep roster.
A.J. Derby - FR- Will he or won't he, that is the question. A.J. isn't traveling far from home for his college experience, the Iowa City native came to the Hawks as a quarterback, but will he stay? Dallas Clark or Chad Greenway, take you pick of which former Hawk A.J. reminds you of, both former high school quarterbacks that are now cashing big NFL paychecks at different positions. Derby played some DB in high school and has the body and athleticism to play either TE or LB in college. Right now he is 6'4" 225 lbs and he has yet to work with the Iowa Strength and Conditioning team, so who knows where he ends up. This spring I attended an event where Norm Parker stated that every time he sees Derby he asks him if he wants to come play LB. I don't think he was joking, either. So it will be interesting to see what decision A.J. makes as the Iowa coaching staff has a long history of suggesting position changes that really benefit the player as well as the team.
While the list is not long of names, there are some very talented players in the bunch, this is a position that if an injury happens, the wheels won't fall off of the season. Vandenberg has proven that he can handle the pressures of being a starting quarterback in the Big Ten and Weinke is itching for his chance to shine. That's all that is on the roster for quarterbacks and with one running out of eligibility this fall, look for Iowa to take one if not two quarterbacks in this next recruiting class.
Ricky Stanzi -SR- All the guy does is win, in games he has started in the last two seasons, Iowa is 19-4. He has all the tools of an NFL quarterback, 6'4" 230 pounds, can make all the throws, but the one thing he has to improve on is his decision making. In 2009 he threw 15 int's, 4 of which were returned for touchdowns and countless other times where he passed up the sure throw to try for the more difficult one. He won't wow you with his stats and you won't see him high on the all time Iowa passing records, but he wins games. He has all the weapons around him to not have any excuses for not winning this season. There is no denying that he is the #1 quarterback on this team, but the gap has closed some between him and the #2, James Vandenberg.
James Vandenberg -SO- We got a glimpse of how good a quarterback James is last year when he went in to Ohio State, one of the toughest places to play in the nation, and nearly pulled off the upset. You could argue that he is the better pure passer of the top two Iowa signal callers for 2010, but the quarterback at Iowa isn't routinely asked to be the star. What he has to work on is his leadership and ability to lead the team to wins, even when he doesn't have good games. The gap has closed, but I think that even if Ricky Stanzi throws 5 int's in a game, see Indiana last season, you will see Kirk Ferentz stick with Ricky. It was apparent at the end of the season that Vandenberg was the clear cut #2 and John Weinke was the #3.
John Weinke -SO- We have yet to see John get any reps, but one can assume that since both Vandenberg and Weinke were listed as the co-backups most of last season that they were at about the same level. Nobody outside of the football program knows what made Vandenberg get the backup reps last year and Weinke sit, but the highly touted recruit will have a big decision to make after this season. Stanzi will be graduating and the air-apparent is Vandenberg. Weinke can either stay and battle Vandenberg for the starting job or he can transfer. All Hawk fans should be hoping for Weinke to take a page out of the Jason Manson play book as after Weinke, the quarterbacks on the roster get pretty limited.
Wyatt Suess - RS FR- Wyatt spent last season operating the scout team and barring a rash of injuries will probably be doing the same this season. The Cedar Rapids native is the son of former Hawk Phil Suess. He has some talent as he was a 1st team Elite All-State as a senior. He will gain some valuable experience in the off-season as well as the fall camp and make a move for the back-up role next spring. He wouldn't be the first Iowa player to go from obscurity to the two deep roster.
A.J. Derby - FR- Will he or won't he, that is the question. A.J. isn't traveling far from home for his college experience, the Iowa City native came to the Hawks as a quarterback, but will he stay? Dallas Clark or Chad Greenway, take you pick of which former Hawk A.J. reminds you of, both former high school quarterbacks that are now cashing big NFL paychecks at different positions. Derby played some DB in high school and has the body and athleticism to play either TE or LB in college. Right now he is 6'4" 225 lbs and he has yet to work with the Iowa Strength and Conditioning team, so who knows where he ends up. This spring I attended an event where Norm Parker stated that every time he sees Derby he asks him if he wants to come play LB. I don't think he was joking, either. So it will be interesting to see what decision A.J. makes as the Iowa coaching staff has a long history of suggesting position changes that really benefit the player as well as the team.While the list is not long of names, there are some very talented players in the bunch, this is a position that if an injury happens, the wheels won't fall off of the season. Vandenberg has proven that he can handle the pressures of being a starting quarterback in the Big Ten and Weinke is itching for his chance to shine. That's all that is on the roster for quarterbacks and with one running out of eligibility this fall, look for Iowa to take one if not two quarterbacks in this next recruiting class.
Monday, September 14, 2009
ISU game analysis- Offense
QB- What would the score had been if Rick Stanzi had a good game? It would have been ridiculous. Stanzi missed a lot of open receivers almost all of them high. There have only been a couple of times this season that Stanzi has hit a receiver in stride and allowed the receiver make a play with the ball in his hands. Stanzi did throw 4 TD's, but he missed at least two other TD's. He threw two INT's that were poorly thrown. He needs to play better as Iowa gets into the meat of their schedule. James Vandenberg came in at the end of the game and showed his arm strength as he tried to drive the ball between the 1's on Nordeman's jersey. Overall grade: C
RB- Coming off of the performance last week against UNI the RB unit needed a big performance. Adam Robinson started the game and Brandon Wegher got his first significant carries as a Hawkeye. Both backs ran the ball well and more importantly blocked well. Wegher showed that he might be the featured back sooner rather than later. Both backs run the ball hard and never seem to be taken down by the defender that makes first contact. Wegher showed great field vision making cuts and moves that made him look like a seasoned veteran. Brett Morse had a great game blocking and showed that he can also be a receiving threat. Overall grade: A-
TE/WR- Another stellar game for the receivers of Iowa, you have to see the correlation between Erik Campbell coming on as a coach and the emergence of Iowa's receivers. They all run good routes. block well, and make the plays when they are called on. It was good to see DJK get some early reps and Keenan Davis pop his touchdown cherry. Moeaki is a stud, his blocking was awesome on Saturday, I saw several times that he made the key block on running plays. Overall grade: A
OL- With Bulaga out the Hawks were figured to have trouble with blocking, but they played light years better than they did the previous week. Riley Reiff filled in for Bulaga and will be a stud when he gets a chance to play. Look for him to be on an NFL roster in four years. Vandevelde and Calloway were both back in the starting lineup and it showed. There was a great pocket all day long around Stanzi, they only gave up one sack and that was on a well called blitz on a naked boot leg. The run blocking left some to be desired, but Iowa State had 8 players in the box all day long and were daring Iowa to throw it. Overall grade: B
Overall offensive observations:
Iowa wore down the ISU defense.
They score should have been a lot worse, Stanzi missed wide open targets
The running game looked a lot better in the second half.
The run blocking will get better with all the projected starters playing
This is the deepest passing game in the Ferentz era, hopefully they don't lose any players for not getting the ball very much.
RB- Coming off of the performance last week against UNI the RB unit needed a big performance. Adam Robinson started the game and Brandon Wegher got his first significant carries as a Hawkeye. Both backs ran the ball well and more importantly blocked well. Wegher showed that he might be the featured back sooner rather than later. Both backs run the ball hard and never seem to be taken down by the defender that makes first contact. Wegher showed great field vision making cuts and moves that made him look like a seasoned veteran. Brett Morse had a great game blocking and showed that he can also be a receiving threat. Overall grade: A-
TE/WR- Another stellar game for the receivers of Iowa, you have to see the correlation between Erik Campbell coming on as a coach and the emergence of Iowa's receivers. They all run good routes. block well, and make the plays when they are called on. It was good to see DJK get some early reps and Keenan Davis pop his touchdown cherry. Moeaki is a stud, his blocking was awesome on Saturday, I saw several times that he made the key block on running plays. Overall grade: A
OL- With Bulaga out the Hawks were figured to have trouble with blocking, but they played light years better than they did the previous week. Riley Reiff filled in for Bulaga and will be a stud when he gets a chance to play. Look for him to be on an NFL roster in four years. Vandevelde and Calloway were both back in the starting lineup and it showed. There was a great pocket all day long around Stanzi, they only gave up one sack and that was on a well called blitz on a naked boot leg. The run blocking left some to be desired, but Iowa State had 8 players in the box all day long and were daring Iowa to throw it. Overall grade: B
Overall offensive observations:
Iowa wore down the ISU defense.
They score should have been a lot worse, Stanzi missed wide open targets
The running game looked a lot better in the second half.
The run blocking will get better with all the projected starters playing
This is the deepest passing game in the Ferentz era, hopefully they don't lose any players for not getting the ball very much.
Monday, September 7, 2009
UNI Game Recap Offense
So since we had our second child last Thursday, I wasn't able to do a pre-game look at the Panthers. On top of that, the hospital didn't have the Iowa game on, so I had to wait until Sunday night to actually see the game. Now had the Hawks come through with one of the most improbable wins I have ever seen, I probably wouldn't have even watched the film, but here is my position by position breakdown.
QB- Stanzi came out with guns a blazing in the first half, he looked very sharp on the opening drive, but even on that drive his passes were in front or behind most of their targets. After that first drive Stanzi looked awful the rest of the first half, missing many open targets and making bad reads. In the second half he put a couple of drives together and started making better reads. Some of the positives that I saw were that he spread the ball around, hitting 7 different receivers with at least one pass, when it was crunch time he put the team on his shoulders and led them on a couple of scoring drives. Couple negatives, he tried to force the ball too much, showed a lack of maturity by not throwing the ball away when he was pressured outside the pocket. Overall grade C+
RB- Going into the game we knew that it would be a struggle going with what most fans considered the #3 and #4 options at the position. Paki O'Meara started the game and got the bulk of carries in the first half. He seemed to lack the burst that is needed to get through the hole on the zone play, a staple in the Iowa offense. He also fumbled on the first drive of the second half and wasn't heard from again in the game. O'Meara channeled his inner Marcus Schnoor getting tackled by the initial tackler several times, often the shoestring variety. Adam Robinson was second string and saw his first collegiate action for Iowa. He looked good at times, but other times looked like a freshman. He showed the burst that is needed by an Iowa running back (4.2 ypc) and also showed some strength, rarely going down on first contact. For only being a freshman Robinson showed that he could also take on defenders as a blocker. Overall grade: O'Meara D+ Robinson B
WR/TE- The one bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was the pass catchers. The wide receivers that started the game were McNutt and Stross with McNutt being Stanzi's favorite target early. Changing positions in the spring from QB to WR, McNutt looked like a seasoned veteran. Paul Chaney looked light years better than he has at any time at Iowa, his speed could be a weapon for the Hawks this season. Tony Moeaki looked like the player that Iowa thought they were getting four years ago. The leading receiver of the last two season barely even played, at some point we will find out what DJK has done to find his way into the doghouse. Overall grade A-
OL- Going into the season, all fans thought that the strength of the offense was going to be the line. The starting line for the UNI game was from L to R: Bulaga, Gettis, Eubanks, Doering, and Richardson. Normally, I would just break the line down as a whole, but in watching the game, the tackles played phenomenally. I don't even know if you heard the names of the two UNI defensive ends all game. The interior of the line on the other hand was the exact opposite. For being a 5th year senior, Doering looked like he was a freshman out there. The interior defensive line and linebackers owned the interior of the Iowa line and it was a problem the whole game. Gettis showed flashes of promise, but he is still young. Overall grade: T's- B+; G's and C- D
Coaching- There were times where you thought that Iowa was going to be different, opening with a pass and not a zone play. Even busting out a reverse early in the game. I liked how they brought in several different packages, however if they weren't able to get holes, I thought that they should have gone to a more spread out offense to keep the 8th defender out of the box. In the 4th quarter when Iowa was trying to run out the clock they went to a pass on second down and having an incomplete pass instead of running the ball and either taking up more time or forcing UNI to use a timeout. Overall grade: C+
QB- Stanzi came out with guns a blazing in the first half, he looked very sharp on the opening drive, but even on that drive his passes were in front or behind most of their targets. After that first drive Stanzi looked awful the rest of the first half, missing many open targets and making bad reads. In the second half he put a couple of drives together and started making better reads. Some of the positives that I saw were that he spread the ball around, hitting 7 different receivers with at least one pass, when it was crunch time he put the team on his shoulders and led them on a couple of scoring drives. Couple negatives, he tried to force the ball too much, showed a lack of maturity by not throwing the ball away when he was pressured outside the pocket. Overall grade C+
RB- Going into the game we knew that it would be a struggle going with what most fans considered the #3 and #4 options at the position. Paki O'Meara started the game and got the bulk of carries in the first half. He seemed to lack the burst that is needed to get through the hole on the zone play, a staple in the Iowa offense. He also fumbled on the first drive of the second half and wasn't heard from again in the game. O'Meara channeled his inner Marcus Schnoor getting tackled by the initial tackler several times, often the shoestring variety. Adam Robinson was second string and saw his first collegiate action for Iowa. He looked good at times, but other times looked like a freshman. He showed the burst that is needed by an Iowa running back (4.2 ypc) and also showed some strength, rarely going down on first contact. For only being a freshman Robinson showed that he could also take on defenders as a blocker. Overall grade: O'Meara D+ Robinson B
WR/TE- The one bright spot on the offensive side of the ball was the pass catchers. The wide receivers that started the game were McNutt and Stross with McNutt being Stanzi's favorite target early. Changing positions in the spring from QB to WR, McNutt looked like a seasoned veteran. Paul Chaney looked light years better than he has at any time at Iowa, his speed could be a weapon for the Hawks this season. Tony Moeaki looked like the player that Iowa thought they were getting four years ago. The leading receiver of the last two season barely even played, at some point we will find out what DJK has done to find his way into the doghouse. Overall grade A-
OL- Going into the season, all fans thought that the strength of the offense was going to be the line. The starting line for the UNI game was from L to R: Bulaga, Gettis, Eubanks, Doering, and Richardson. Normally, I would just break the line down as a whole, but in watching the game, the tackles played phenomenally. I don't even know if you heard the names of the two UNI defensive ends all game. The interior of the line on the other hand was the exact opposite. For being a 5th year senior, Doering looked like he was a freshman out there. The interior defensive line and linebackers owned the interior of the Iowa line and it was a problem the whole game. Gettis showed flashes of promise, but he is still young. Overall grade: T's- B+; G's and C- D
Coaching- There were times where you thought that Iowa was going to be different, opening with a pass and not a zone play. Even busting out a reverse early in the game. I liked how they brought in several different packages, however if they weren't able to get holes, I thought that they should have gone to a more spread out offense to keep the 8th defender out of the box. In the 4th quarter when Iowa was trying to run out the clock they went to a pass on second down and having an incomplete pass instead of running the ball and either taking up more time or forcing UNI to use a timeout. Overall grade: C+
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.Sunday, March 15, 2009
Pre-Spring Practice
Over the next two weeks I will be assessing the depth chart in detail and by position. Starting today with the most pivotal position on the field, QB.
This is one of the positions that one would hope won't be up for grabs this Spring. Sophomore Ricky Stanzi played sparingly in the Hawks first four games and took the starting job for good in game 5 of last season. For the most part of the season he was told to hand the ball off to Doak Walker award winner Shonn Greene and get out of the way. At times last season he showed flashes of being a solid quarterback, throwing for over 150 yards 7 times on the season. He ended up being extremely efficient as he only threw 25+ passes 4 times in 2008. He showed lots of guts and reminded me of Drew Tate, the way that he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and avoid the sack and make plays with his feet. On the season he completed just short of 60% of his passes, which by itself doesn't sound that good, but after the 2007 season that Iowa fans suffered through, 60% is a welcome stat. For a good part of the season it seemed as if Rick was only seeing half the field, whether that was by design or just the inexperience of a sophomore quarterback in the Big Ten. What you have to remember is the Jake Christiansen had taken the lion's share of the snaps with the first team all spring and fall. A full off season of being the starter will do Rick's confidence the most good. He knows he is the starter going into the season and you have to hope that offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe will open up the playbook a little bit more and let Rick show us what he can do with a full compliment of plays. Let's just say that this Hawk fan is hoping that Rick has a better outcome than the last sophomore to start as QB. He is going to have to do better and stay healthy for that matter, behind Stanzi used to be Marvin McNutt, but late last season he made the switch to WR. Granted that if push came to shove Marvin would probably be able to move back if needed, but if he is moving positions, there is probably a reason for it. That leaves the backups as two untested and unproven redshirt freshman. While they are wet behind the ears, they came to Iowa with lots of expectations and talent. James Vandenberg came to Iowa after a record setting career at Keokuk high school, where he holds 12 different state records, including career passing yards and touchdown passes. The other redshirt freshman is John Wienke, a product of Tuscola, IL, who himself had a stellar high school career where he was named to the Elite 11 quarterback camp and only threw 9 INT's in 620 attempts. The only QB is Iowa's 2009 recruiting class in Micah Hyde out of Ohio, while it is not set in stone that Micah will play QB while at Iowa, he more than likely will spend the season running the scout team. That is a review of what Iowa returns at signal caller, check back to see other position breakdowns.
This is one of the positions that one would hope won't be up for grabs this Spring. Sophomore Ricky Stanzi played sparingly in the Hawks first four games and took the starting job for good in game 5 of last season. For the most part of the season he was told to hand the ball off to Doak Walker award winner Shonn Greene and get out of the way. At times last season he showed flashes of being a solid quarterback, throwing for over 150 yards 7 times on the season. He ended up being extremely efficient as he only threw 25+ passes 4 times in 2008. He showed lots of guts and reminded me of Drew Tate, the way that he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and avoid the sack and make plays with his feet. On the season he completed just short of 60% of his passes, which by itself doesn't sound that good, but after the 2007 season that Iowa fans suffered through, 60% is a welcome stat. For a good part of the season it seemed as if Rick was only seeing half the field, whether that was by design or just the inexperience of a sophomore quarterback in the Big Ten. What you have to remember is the Jake Christiansen had taken the lion's share of the snaps with the first team all spring and fall. A full off season of being the starter will do Rick's confidence the most good. He knows he is the starter going into the season and you have to hope that offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe will open up the playbook a little bit more and let Rick show us what he can do with a full compliment of plays. Let's just say that this Hawk fan is hoping that Rick has a better outcome than the last sophomore to start as QB. He is going to have to do better and stay healthy for that matter, behind Stanzi used to be Marvin McNutt, but late last season he made the switch to WR. Granted that if push came to shove Marvin would probably be able to move back if needed, but if he is moving positions, there is probably a reason for it. That leaves the backups as two untested and unproven redshirt freshman. While they are wet behind the ears, they came to Iowa with lots of expectations and talent. James Vandenberg came to Iowa after a record setting career at Keokuk high school, where he holds 12 different state records, including career passing yards and touchdown passes. The other redshirt freshman is John Wienke, a product of Tuscola, IL, who himself had a stellar high school career where he was named to the Elite 11 quarterback camp and only threw 9 INT's in 620 attempts. The only QB is Iowa's 2009 recruiting class in Micah Hyde out of Ohio, while it is not set in stone that Micah will play QB while at Iowa, he more than likely will spend the season running the scout team. That is a review of what Iowa returns at signal caller, check back to see other position breakdowns.
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