Ten things to watch for - Eastern Illinois

It will have been 242 days since Iowa’s convincing Orange Bowl victory and the Iowa fans have yet to come down from cloud nine. Add to that the preseason magazines picks for Iowa and the fans are in frenzy about the season to start. Here are ten things to look for this weekend in Iowa City:


1. Who will be the backup running back
In the preseason Jewel Hampton solidified his position as the #1 running back for the Iowa squad, unfortunately his brush with the law this summer will cause him to miss the game this weekend. Brandon Wegher split carries last fall, but in fall camp he left for personal reasons and has yet to return. That leaves last years leading rusher, Adam Robinson, as the primary ball carrier this weekend. Last season Adam proved he could be a quality Big Ten running back, however he didn’t have to be the workhorse last year, so nobody know how he will do getting the bulk of the carries. Backing up Adam will be Paki O’Meara, who last year was the starter week 1, but didn’t see much action after that. If Paki gets meaningful carries outside of week 1 this year, the Hawks are in trouble. Jason White will probably get the carries as the third back this week, but don’t look for him to get many carries this season without someone getting hurt. De’Andre Johnson and Marcus Coker are true freshman that the Iowa staff would love to red-shirt this season, but if the injury bug hits the running back corps, look for one or both of them to play. Coker almost assured himself of a red-shirt getting injured in camp, but if Johnson plays on Saturday, it could be the Iowa coaches tipping their hand that Wegher is not going to be back this season and they want Johnson to get experience in case of an injury.

2. Offensive line
Last year’s starting offensive line essentially lost four starters, Riley Reiff and Julian Vandervelde being the only two back with significant experience. That is the bad news, the good news is that the second string has worked together most of last season and now those guys are the starters. In Iowa’s zone blocking scheme, cohesiveness is very valuable and having worked together, this offensive line does have that.

3. Other offense play calling
You would have had to have been living under a rock to not know that Iowa’s defensive line is very good. In college football today, it is almost like a backyard football game with 4 and 5 receivers very commonly used. I don’t see any teams running that many receivers into routes this year, because it would leave their offensive line to use five guys to block Iowa’s four lineman, which means four guys would be getting blocked man on man, Iowa’s line wins that scenario 90% of the time. You will see a lot of max protects and chip blocks to try and slow down the Iowa pass rush.

4. An act of Stanzi
Last year opposing teams returned four of Ricky Stanzi’s interceptions for touchdowns and collected 15 total interceptions. Coming into the season Ricky has said that he needs to make better decisions and that the pick 6’s were all the same route. In the fall you saw Stanzi make a point to check down to the backs in the flat, something that you didn’t see much of last year. With the stable of receivers at his disposal, the only person that can stop Stanzi is himself.

5. The island
Iowa has ranked 5th and 4th nationally the last two years in interceptions. They sent Amari Spievey to the NFL off of last season’s squad. The other starting corner back last season, Shaun Prater, injured his leg this fall and may or may not play on Saturday. That leaves Greg Castillo and Micah Hyde as the starters. Both are very skilled defenders, but both are very young and lack game reps. They will be helped by the Iowa defensive line, which should cause most opposing quarterbacks to throw passes before they want to and with pressure on them.

6. Linebacker depth
Any time that you get two of your three linebackers drafted into the NFL you will have a drop-off in experience. However there may not be much of a drop-off in talent. Jeff Tarpanian takes over in the middle and has played special teams for the last three years and spot duty at linebacker. He will be great in pass coverage, however his size is a concern in the run game. Tyler Nielsen will take over at Leo linebacker and has had very little game experience, but was the understudy of one of the better Leo’s at Iowa in A.J. Edds. Just like the corner backs, both of these linebackers will benefit from the defensive line drawing a lot of attention.

7. Injury bug
Iowa fans need to hope that the only time they see the green gator tractor is when it leaves the field with supplies, not carrying a player. A game that the outcome should not be in question, you have to leave without major injury. However, at most positions this is the deepest Iowa squad in recent memory, but there are some positions that are thin, running back being one of them.

8. True freshman to play
In his press conference this week, Kirk Ferentz alluded to the fact that we could see as many as seven true freshman on the field this weekend. My best guess is: Carl Davis (DT), Christian Kirksey (LB), James Morris (LB), C.J. Fiedorowicz (TE), Kevonte Martin-Manley (WR), Jim Poggi (LB), and one defensive back of the following Tanner Miller, B.J. Lowery, and Anthony Hitchens.

9. Who kicks
Last year, Iowa had the luxury of Trent Mossbrucker using his red-shirt, so there was never a kicking controversy. This season both players will play and neither one has grabbed the starting spot yet. What you will probably see is them alternating kicks this weekend and through the non-conference until one of them starts to out-perform the other and becomes the starter.

10. Offensive sets
As a fan of Iowa you are accustomed to two wide receivers, one tight end, and two running backs as the basic set. Last year we saw more three wide receiver sets than most can remember in the Kirk Ferentz era at Iowa. This season the stable of receivers is the deepest at Iowa in the last several decades. Each one has the ability, along with being able to catch passes, to be a good down the field blocker. Will Iowa deploy more three wide sets to spread out defenses to run or possibly even four wide receiver sets? They certainly have the players to do that, but the question remains, will they?

Running Backs 2010

Will there be a three-headed monster?  Will the Paki-Bomb make an appearance?  Is Brandon Wegher going to be a part of the backfield?  These questions and more will be answered below:

Jewel Hampton - SO -  Jewel returns to the backfield after missing last season due to a knee injury.  The question is, will he return to his pre-injury form or more like Jermelle Lewis and never have that same burst.  In 2008 Jewel rushed for 463 yards and 7 touchdowns in a backup role of Shonn Greene.  It will be interesting to see if he can perform as well against fresh defenses and not ones that have been pounded by Greene and the offensive line.  Hampton sure didn't help himself this off-season when he was cited for being in a bar under the age of 21 in Iowa City.  The repercussions of this transgression will be watching the first game of the season, which in most cases wouldn't be a big deal, but I will expand on this later.

Adam Robinson - SO - Adam enjoyed a breakout year last year for the Hawks and looks to build on his solid red shirt freshman season.  Last year he split time and carries with Brandon Wegher and still put up very respectable numbers with 834 yards and 5 touchdowns.  One thing that Adam does that goes unnoticed to the normal fan is his pass protection, last year as a first time contributor in the Big 10, I can't remember a time that he was beat on a blitz.  Much like Jewel he does seem to get bitten by the injury bug nursing both ankle and shoulder injuries most of last season.  This fall in camp Adam has been injured, which coupled with Brandon Wegher's absence and Jewel Hampton's suspension creates a gaping hole at running back for the opener.

Brandon Wegher -SO-  Brandon burst on to the scene last year as a true freshman playing in one of the most physical football conferences in the nation.  While splitting time with Adam Robinson Wegher amassed a total of 967 all purpose yards and 641 rushing with 8 rushes finding the end zone, which is an Iowa freshman record.  Wegher has been curiously absent from camp since media day with a bevy of rumors surrounding his situation.  I am no expert, nor do I know anyone related to Brandon, however what I have heard from a reliable source, warrants an absence for personal reasons.  Optimism is high from Kirk Ferentz that it is only a matter of time until Wegher is back with the team.  The good thing is that if it comes to it, Brandon still has his red-shirt available to use.

Paki O'Meara - SR -  Paki is a great special teams player and I think that we saw what his capabilities are as a running back in the UNI game last year.  He is fundamentally sound, knows the scheme, but just lacks the play making ability to be a Big Ten running back.  If Paki sees significant carries for the Hawks this season, it will be a long one for the Iowa team.

De'Andre Johnson - FR -  Iowa seems to be being rewarded for being loyal to Johnson.  De'Andre rushed for 1,848 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a sophomore and junior at Monsinger Pace in Miami, Florida.  He tore his ACL and missed his entire senior season, but Iowa honored their scholarship offer.  This is the kind of player that excels at Iowa because he will have a chip on his shoulder about not being recruited by in-state schools like Miami, Florida, and Florida State.  Under normal circumstances, Iowa would love for De'Andre to red shirt, but with the turmoil going on at the top of the depth chart for running backs, he could burn his red shirt and play this season.

Marcus Coker - FR -  Marcus was the more heralded running back recruit last season coming out of the football factory of DeMatha Catholic in Baltimore, Maryland.  In his three years of playing he rushed for 3533 yards at an average of over 10 yards a carry and 43 touchdowns, including one game last year when he rushed for 392 yards.  Coker looks to be a running back of the future for the Hawks and could use his red shirt since he broke his collar bone early in fall camp.




Year projections:
With Wegher playing:
Hampton - 175 carries 925 yards 8 TD's
Robinson - 130 carries 475 yards 3 TD's
Wegher - 95 carries 355 yards 5 TD's
O'Meara - 25 carries 45 yards
Johnson - RS
Coker - RS

Without Wegher playing:
Hampton - 190 carries 980 yards 10 TD's
Robinson - 160 carries 650 yards 6 TD's
Wegher - RS
O'Meara - 20 carries 35 yards
Johnson - 25 carries 55 yards 1 TD
Coker - RS

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. 

2011 Schedule

As the calendar continues to turn and the year inches closer and closer to the beginning of the college football season, let’s take a look at the schedule for the reigning Orange Bowl Champion, Iowa Hawkeyes.

Bold denotes 2009 Bowl Team
(Game location, 2009 record, returning starters, before and after game)

Eastern Illinois (Home, 8-4, 7 Off, 8 Def, -,Central Arkansas)- Should be nothing more than a tune up game to get quality reps and timing down in the offensive line, but after last seasons dramatic opener, better just get through the game with a win.

Iowa State (Home, 7-6, 8 Off, 4 Def, Northern Illinois, KSU @Kansas City)- The annual rivalry game will once again be a good game, even though ISU has not scored a touchdown in 14 quarters. The Cyclones know that if they want to make a bowl with the Big 12 schedule, they need to sneak out of Iowa City with a win.

Arizona (Away, 8-5, 7 Off, 4 Def, Citadel/California)- Every Iowa fan remembers the last time that the Hawkeyes were in Arizona to play a night game, pretty sure that Andrew Walter still watches that game replay as a personal highlight reel. Similar to the 2003 Orange Bowl, look for Kirk Ferentz to learn from his mistakes and have his team ready to go in the Arizona heat.

Ball State (Home, 2-10, 9 Off, 7 Def, @Purdue/@Central Michigan- This should be a game that the Hawks can lick their wounds from the duel in the desert and prepare for their Big Ten title run.

Penn State (Home, 11-2, 7 Off, 5 Def, Temple/Illinois)- Penn State will be taking their second road trip of the season to their personal house of horrors. Iowa is 7-1 in their last 8 games with Penn State including three straight wins inside Kinnick Stadium. Penn State will have this game circled on their schedule and look for a similar finish to the 2008 thriller.

Michigan (Away, 5-7, 7 Off, 7 Def, Michigan State/@ Penn State)- Classic trap game, Penn State the week before and Wisconsin the week after for the Hawks, however Michigan will be coming off their rivalry game with Michigan State and looking down the barrel of a trip to Happy Valley. The Big House isn’t what it used to be, but Rich Rodriguez has talent on the roster and if they can put it together on the field they will be tough.

Wisconsin (Home, 10-3, 10 Off, 5 Def, Ohio State/@ Purdue)- This game will be old-school Big Ten football, the battle in the trenches could be epic. Wisconsin will come to Iowa City with possibly the best offensive line in the nation to go up against possibly the nation’s best defensive line in the Iowa front four. Iowa is 6-2 in the last 8 against Wisconsin and this game could play a huge role in what team is playing in Pasadena.

Michigan State (Home, 6-7, 5 Off, 7 Def, @Northwestern/Minnesota)- Don’t think for a minute that the Spartans have forgotten how Iowa snatched victory out of the hands of defeat last year. Their defensive back seven will be one of the better in the Big Ten, but with most of the offensive skilled positions being new, they will have to keep opponents’ scores down.

Indiana (Away, 4-8, 7 Off, 3 Def, Northwestern/@Wisconsin)- The “pistol” offense will be prolific this season as Indiana has a bevy of talented receivers and a quarterback, Ben Chappell, to get them the ball. They will have to score a lot of points to win games however as they will replace 8 starters on defense, six of which are in the back seven.

Northwestern (Away, 8-5, 6 Off, 6 Def, @Penn State/Illinois @ Chicago)- Iowa will have to exercise their own demons as they have lost four of the last five to the Wildcats. Even though they will be replacing almost all of their starting skilled position players, coach Pat Fitzgerald will have his team ready for the Hawkeyes.

Ohio State (Home, 11-2, 8 Off, 6 Def, Penn State/Michigan)- The Klash at Kinnick or whatever witty name that the talking heads will dub this game could be the biggest game ever at Kinnick Stadium or it could just be another game, the first 10 games of the season will determine that. Iowa won too many close games last year to count on being undefeated for this game. If both teams are unscathed at this point, this game will pit two top 5 teams and have National Championship implications.

Minnesota (Away, 6-7, 9 Off, 2 Def, @Illinois/-)- Will the new TCF Bank Stadium prove to be Kinnick North like its predecessor did? Iowa has won three of the last four in Minnesota and 8 of the last 9 overall against the Gophers. Nobody knows what kind of team Brewster will put on the field as they have changed their offense twice in his three years at the helm.

Skilled positions too deep?

This blog entry has gone a little bit further than most of mine, check it out at collegefootballnews.com:

http://cfn.scout.com/2/962147.html


As a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes we have become accustomed to having great defenses and solid offensive lines. The one thing that Iowa never seems to have is a stable of offensive threats. Sure they have had their stars, Shonn Greene, Dallas Clark, and Tim Dwight to name a few, but they never seem to have these stars on the same team. This season, Iowa will have three running backs that all have rushed for more than 400 yards in a season. Adam Robinson runs well between the tackles, but lacks the home run threat. Brandon Wegher has the home run threat, but isn’t the best between the tackles. Jewel Hampton showed both power and speed backing up Shonn Greene two years ago, but did so against worn down defenses.


At wide out, Iowa returns a player who will probably break both the career receptions and career receiving yards school records this season in senior Derell Johnson-Koulianos. While DJK makes a lot of catches and a gains a lot of yards, in the red zone quarterback Ricky Stanzi has a knack for hooking up with former quarterback turned receiver Marin McNutt. In his first full season as a receiver, McNutt hauled in 8 scores and really learned how to use his 6’4” frame to his advantage. Following those two Iowa has a pair of seniors in often injured Colin Sandeman and speedy Paul Chaney Jr. Sandeman has been bit by the injury bug almost every year he has been at Iowa, but when he is on the field he has shown a knack for making big catches at crucial times. Chaney was experiencing a breakout year on the field last year before it was cut short due to injury. Both players are healthy right now and are expected to add depth to the receiving corp. Keenan Davis and Jordan Cotton are both young men that came to Iowa with a lot of promise and are looking to log more playing time either as receivers or in the return game. With all these weapons to choose from, the question remains to be seen, will offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe use them?