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Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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, June 25, 2009
Wish List
So as the summer nears its midway point, I thought that I would add my two cents into the recruiting picture. Recruits are busy making summer camps and some are nearing their decisions, here is what I would say is my top 5 list of recruits/positions that are still in need for Iowa:
1. Seantrel Henderson - OT - If Chris Doyle is not praying every night for this guy to commit, then we have issues. Henderson is a player that has the body, 6-8 300 lbs, and the athleticism, he has a basketball offer from Marquette, to step in as a true freshman and start on almost any team in the nation. One can only hope that he looks at the recent history of OL that the Hawks have put in the NFL and decides to play for Iowa. Although he will get a lot of pressure to stay close to home and play for the home state Gophers, Iowa already has two players from his high school on the roster in Broderick Binns and Rafeal Eubanks.
2. C.J. Fiedorowicz - TE - Coming out of Illinois, CJ reminds many people of another great high school TE to come out of the state in Tony Moeaki. CJ is the total package, along with having great hands and route running skills he can block with the best of them. With Iowa's recent history of sending TE's to the NFL, and the fact that their two starting TE's will be gone in two years, they figure to have a good shot of landing CJ's services.
3. QB - Sean Robinson, Hutson Mason, or AJ Derby - With not having a QB in the last two recruiting classes, Iowa may look at bringing in two with this class. Robinson is out of Illinois and seems to be more of a dual threat QB, rushing for over 1,000 yards last season. He has the prototypical QB size, standing 6'4" and 210 lbs. Mason is more of a traditional pocket QB and threw for over 3,700 yards and 31 TD's last season. He is from Georgia, but grew up in IL and is family friends with current Hawkeye Brad Herman. Iowa was his first offer and that means quite a bit to a lot of players. Derby is the wild card here, the Iowa City product plays QB in high school, but that could be more of a product of his athleticism and wanting to have the ball in his hands on every play. Several recruiting services have him projected at TE or LB at the college level, and Iowa has a track record of bringing in players at one position and turning them into stars at another. His recruiting is tough because if he wants to stay at QB, Iowa's current system isn't the best fit for his skills, he is of the same mold of Tim Tebow at Florida. But in a state like Iowa, you need to lock down the borders when it comes to the top recruits, which Iowa has been able to do in past years.
4. RB - Andre Dawson, James White, and Joe Randle - Iowa has a very good stable of running backs on campus already, but you can never have too many, see Iowa 2004. Dawson, 6'1" 200 lbs, is the local product from Cedar Rapids and grew up a Hawkeye fan, so you would assume that after watching Shonn Greene rip through the Big Ten he could see himself doing the same thing. I see him ending up about the same size as Greene and is the same type of runner from what I hear, very strong and powerful. White is out of Florida and a little bit smaller in size, 5'11" 190, doesn't have the high school production, but is a legit player at a high level in Florida. Randle is out of Kansas and is a newcomer to being thought of as an Iowa recruit. He had a great sophomore season, 1,700 yards 22 TD, but saw his production fall to 800 yards and 15 TD's his junior year. Any two of these players would be great additions to the Iowa backfield.
5. WR - Matt Milton - Up until last season, Iowa didn't have much luck in recruiting WR's with good size. This season they are among the leaders for Matt Milton, a 6'6" 200 lb receiver from IL. As a junior he grabbed 40 balls for just short of 800 yards and 9 TD's. The Iowa staff has had pretty good luck the last couple years and you have to think that that is directly a result of Coach Campbell coming on board. The facts don't lie, he has put several receivers into the National Football League and Milton brings the size and athleticism to be the next.
1. Seantrel Henderson - OT - If Chris Doyle is not praying every night for this guy to commit, then we have issues. Henderson is a player that has the body, 6-8 300 lbs, and the athleticism, he has a basketball offer from Marquette, to step in as a true freshman and start on almost any team in the nation. One can only hope that he looks at the recent history of OL that the Hawks have put in the NFL and decides to play for Iowa. Although he will get a lot of pressure to stay close to home and play for the home state Gophers, Iowa already has two players from his high school on the roster in Broderick Binns and Rafeal Eubanks.
2. C.J. Fiedorowicz - TE - Coming out of Illinois, CJ reminds many people of another great high school TE to come out of the state in Tony Moeaki. CJ is the total package, along with having great hands and route running skills he can block with the best of them. With Iowa's recent history of sending TE's to the NFL, and the fact that their two starting TE's will be gone in two years, they figure to have a good shot of landing CJ's services.
3. QB - Sean Robinson, Hutson Mason, or AJ Derby - With not having a QB in the last two recruiting classes, Iowa may look at bringing in two with this class. Robinson is out of Illinois and seems to be more of a dual threat QB, rushing for over 1,000 yards last season. He has the prototypical QB size, standing 6'4" and 210 lbs. Mason is more of a traditional pocket QB and threw for over 3,700 yards and 31 TD's last season. He is from Georgia, but grew up in IL and is family friends with current Hawkeye Brad Herman. Iowa was his first offer and that means quite a bit to a lot of players. Derby is the wild card here, the Iowa City product plays QB in high school, but that could be more of a product of his athleticism and wanting to have the ball in his hands on every play. Several recruiting services have him projected at TE or LB at the college level, and Iowa has a track record of bringing in players at one position and turning them into stars at another. His recruiting is tough because if he wants to stay at QB, Iowa's current system isn't the best fit for his skills, he is of the same mold of Tim Tebow at Florida. But in a state like Iowa, you need to lock down the borders when it comes to the top recruits, which Iowa has been able to do in past years.
4. RB - Andre Dawson, James White, and Joe Randle - Iowa has a very good stable of running backs on campus already, but you can never have too many, see Iowa 2004. Dawson, 6'1" 200 lbs, is the local product from Cedar Rapids and grew up a Hawkeye fan, so you would assume that after watching Shonn Greene rip through the Big Ten he could see himself doing the same thing. I see him ending up about the same size as Greene and is the same type of runner from what I hear, very strong and powerful. White is out of Florida and a little bit smaller in size, 5'11" 190, doesn't have the high school production, but is a legit player at a high level in Florida. Randle is out of Kansas and is a newcomer to being thought of as an Iowa recruit. He had a great sophomore season, 1,700 yards 22 TD, but saw his production fall to 800 yards and 15 TD's his junior year. Any two of these players would be great additions to the Iowa backfield.
5. WR - Matt Milton - Up until last season, Iowa didn't have much luck in recruiting WR's with good size. This season they are among the leaders for Matt Milton, a 6'6" 200 lb receiver from IL. As a junior he grabbed 40 balls for just short of 800 yards and 9 TD's. The Iowa staff has had pretty good luck the last couple years and you have to think that that is directly a result of Coach Campbell coming on board. The facts don't lie, he has put several receivers into the National Football League and Milton brings the size and athleticism to be the next.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Line Backers
Turning our attention to the strength of the Hawkeyes, the defense, starting with the LB's. The Hawks return all three starters from last year, a trio that amassed 246 tackles, 16 for a loss, and 7 interceptions. They are paced by MLB Pat Angerer, the Bettendorf product essentially came out of no where to anchor the middle of the Iowa defense. Pat had very injury plagued three seasons at Iowa before bursting on the scene and earning 2nd team All Big Team last season. Pat has a knack for finding the ball and was second in the Big Ten with 5 INT's last season. He was one of 42 players to be named to the Lott watch list for 2009. Starting at the Leo linebacker position will be A.J. Edds for the third straight year, while his 2008 numbers were down from 2007, I don't think there is an Iowa fan alive that wouldn't tell you that he was equally as productive. AJ will be one of the two seniors that are projected as starters for the 2009 squad. Jeremiah Hunter has the inside edge on repeating as the starting will linebacker next season. Jeremiah came to Iowa as a heralded recruit out of PA and until last season hadn't seen the field much. With Jeff Tarpanian going down with an injury in the preseason he stepped in and performed brilliantly. The thing that really stands out about the linebacker corps is that the rarely seem to be out of position. While they won't win any beauty contests, they play fundamentally sound and in Norm Parker's defense, that is all that is needed. Backing up those three will be Jeff Tarpanian at the will, who will push Hunter for playing time, however if Tarpanian can't stay healthy it will be a one horse race. Tyler Nielsen will back up Edds at the leo and the one downfall of having a three year starter ahead of him is that he has had very little playing time so far in Iowa City. Nielsen has played a lot of special teams and will probably do the same for this season. At middle linebacker is the only backup spot that is up for grabs, Jacody Coleman is supposedly red shirting and won't be available unless Angerer gets injured. Look for Bruce Davis to be the #2, he is a sophomore out of Glenville high school in Ohio. He was another diamond in the rough player that the Hawks snuck out of Ohio. Overall the LB corps the Hawks will put on the field in 2009 will be one the top two in the Big Ten and top ten in the nation. This is a position where Iowa has some depth and could weather an injury or two if they have to.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
2005 Redux?
Beings that Iowa has no beaches or beautiful women walking around in bikinis every day, it is a lot tougher to recruit to Iowa City than it is at a lot of other Universities. Granted that the only year in recent memory that the Hawks had success getting the high star recruits was 2005 and we all know how that class has panned out. It seems that Iowa has better success with getting the players that have a chip on their shoulder because they weren't recruited by the major programs in the nation and turning them into great players. The 2010 recruiting class is shaping up to be a repeat of the 2005 class. There are a lot of top level talent that are looking at Iowa for a college destination. Now there is a lot of time before signing day, but the list of players is pretty impressive. Scout.com recently came out with their top 300 prospects for 2010. Of those 300 prospects 20 listed Iowa as a school of interest. The breakdown goes as follows, 1 quarterback, 4 RB, 5 WR, 1 TE, 3 OL, 1 DL, 2 LB, and 3 DB. Now there is no way that Iowa gets all 20 of these players, but the fact that Iowa is mentioned is a move in the right direction. Every time that I read something about a recruit, they say that Iowa is recruiting them the hardest and that they think Kirk Ferentz is one of the most genuine coaches in the country. As the old adage goes, "In Kirk we Trust!"
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