Hawks in the draft

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.

Record Performances?

With spring practice about to commence, I thought that I would look into some records that stand to be broken:

Just a matter of time:
Career Receptions
157 Kevin Kasper
127 Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (30 back)
Outlook:  Barring injury DJK should surpass this as he has averaged 42/season

Career Receiving Yards
2271 Tim Dwight
1871 Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (400 back)
Outlook:  Again barring injury DJK should surpass this record as well as he has averaged 623/season

Good possibility:
Career Interceptions:
18 Nile Kinnick
11 Tyler Sash (7 back)
Outlook:  In two years Sash has 11 and seems to be a bit of a ball hawk

Career Receiving TD's
21-Tim Dwight
8-Marvin McNutt (13 back)
Outlook:  McNutt burst onto the scene last year with 8 TD's and has two years to get to 21.  McNutt's size makes him a target inside the red zone

Long shot:
Tackles for Loss Season
25- Jonathon Babineaux
Outlook:  Adrian Clayborn had 20 TFL's last year and could press this record by season's end

Sacks in a season
18- Leroy Smith
Outlook:  Adrian Clayborn had 11.5 last year

Rushing TD's career
33- Tavian Banks & Sedrick Shaw
8- Brandon Wegher
7- Jewell Hampton
Outlook:  Depending on how the carries are divided the next three years either one of these players could come close to this record

ISU Game Analysis- Defense

DL- Once again the D-line played a solid game, against teams like UNI and ISU you aren't going to see a whole lot of stats from the line. I thought that they put good pressure on the Cyclone quarterbacks all game long and basically had their way with a larger offensive line. What concerned me was the amount of rushing yards ISU got in the game. Part of that was due to the scheme that ISU uses, that zone read running play coupled with the wider OL splits will cause the vanilla Iowa defense fits all season. Binns led the charge with 9 tackles and Klug had the only TFL for the DL. Overall grade: B

LB- After last weeks poor performance the linebackers stepped it up this last week. However they still missed too many tackles. Most of the time it was the basic fundamental of not wrapping up the ball carrier. The LB play on the option was for the most part good, I thought that their decision to make Arnaud carry the ball was well played by Edds most of the game. In pass coverage the LB's did all right against a bevy of crossing patterns, but still showed room for improvement. Overall grade: B

DB- Well after saying that the safeties played a sub-par game against UNI, they brought their A game against ISU. Sash and Greenwood both had multiple INT days with Sash being Arnaud's second favorite target with three grabs. The entire defensive backfield had a stellar game, William Lowe got the start at the corner opposite Spievey and was hardly picked on at all. It appeared that Iowa played more man coverage on Saturday than they normally do and they played it exceptionally well. Everyone wants to talk about the bad passes Arnaud made, but there was little room to get the ball to his receivers as they couldn't get any separation from the Iowa DB's. Overall grade: A

Defensive notes:
Team did a great job of gang tackling
Arnaud still does not know that Iowa plays a cover 2
Looked shaky against the run at times
6 TO's is going to win you a lot of games

UNI game recap - Defense

DL- Considering that Iowa replaced two four year starters at defensive tackle, I thought that the line played a very good game. Playing against UNI is probably different than almost any other team Iowa plays this year, they run what some would call an unconventional offense. I noticed that the line really got a good push up front and for the most part controlled the line of scrimmage. They did get into trouble sometimes when they ran line stunts on running plays and on misdirections. Klug showed that he has a motor and is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Ballard looked like a guy that was new to the DT position, he did well in 1 on 1 situations, but showed some struggles against double teams. The ends were solid and that was to be expected. Overall grade: B

LB- A unit that returns all of the starters from last season had a very sub-par game for the most part. Several missed tackles and just lacked play making on Saturday. Edds didn't look like the senior that he is, missing tackles and not taking good angles. Angerer played OK, but was beat in coverage for UNI's touchdown. Hunter played an average game, coming up with a huge FG block to end the game. Overall I expected more out of this group and hope this is a one game deal. Overall grade: C

DB- Returning three of four starters, the defensive backfield was though of as a strength for Iowa. Greenway seemed to be a step slow on every play, don't know what his problem was, but didn't perform well at all. Castillo looked like a freshman out there, playing the traditional Iowa CB position to a T, 15 yard cushion, make the tackle after they get a first down. He is just keeping the position warm until Prater is back. Sash showed some emotion and could be the emotional leader for the defense, he flew around and seemed to pick up the defensive intensity. Spievey is dominate, you won't see too many teams that throw his way, even when his guy made a catch, Amari was right there with him. Overall Grade B-