QB - Cade McNamara, Labas, May Lainez. Clearly McNamara's job for the next couple of years. It seems like it will only be a matter of time before Labas enters the portal as well. Question then becomes who will step-up as the heir apparent backup between May and Lainez. Having McNamara is an instant upgrade at the position and should lead to a better offense not just from a passing aspect but also by getting our offense into the right plays and out of the WRONG plays based upon pre-snap reads; now this will also depend on the offensive line development but this had to be something to work on.
RB - Kaleb Johnson, L. Williams, Patterson (Harris??) Kaleb Johnson is Iowa's star RB in the making. With some improvement in the line, Johnson should at least be a 1500 yard rusher next year. The interesting part is who will spell Johnson? Patterson has the explosiveness to be a change of pace back. Williams is more of a power downhill runner. The wild card is Arlen Harris Jr.; in watching his film, he looks like shorter version of KJ2 but runs more like Williams with the power and less breakaway speed than KJ2. If Harris transfers to Iowa, I think there would be an interesting battle for carries between Williams and Harris. Patterson's carries will largely depend on his development especially as third down blocking and pass catching back at least for 2023.
WR - (Ragaini?) (Holden?) (Teslaa?) Vines, Brecht, Bostick, Mota. This has to be the most up-in-the-air position right now. It sounds like it's going to be a complete turnover at the position. 1f we get Holden at 6'3" with a 4.5 40, he looks like he could be the Z receiver. Add in that we could potentially get Isaac TeSlaa who is 6'4" with a 4.54 40, he could play the X receiver spot. Question then comes who plays the flanker #3 spot. Does Ragaini return for a Covid year or does this spot go to another transfer? There is speculation that Vines will be the next guy to leave; while that is a bummer considering I felt he made some strides, I don't think we will really remember him in 5 years either. Brecht is a bondafide X receiver mostly because of his size and the fact that he's not THAT fast. I think he will stick around because he also plays baseball. But the reality is that Brody is not a starting B1G receiver at least right now based on his development. Bostick we have not seen enough of yet. Mota looks to be more of a Flanker who will eventually take Ragaini's role of running those shallow underneath routes. We absolutely HAVE to score some of these upper-end receivers to give McNamara the weapons to bring this offense up and take the pressure off of KJ2.
TE - Lachey, Stillanos, Ostrenga - Lachey is the unquestioned receiving threat here. Question really is how the depth is developing. We did not see much of Stilianos this season after he transferred in last year. We saw Ostrenga get some playing time after LaPorta went down but really didn't show us too much. Does a major TE threat go into the portal? Or are we going to stick to the homegrown developed talent?
OT - (Proctor) Davidkov, DeJong, Richman, etc Iowa had SERIOUS issues on the offensive line this year and it was very evident from the Tackle position, particularly in the Nebraska game. For Iowa to make any true offensive progress, the line MUST improve. Starting with the elephant in the room. I believe that Proctor is going to be a Hawkeye. The path is open for him to start early in his career which will be important for him to get to the NFL quickly and make the real $. I believe Proctor will be starting at one of the tackle spots opening weekend. It is hard to give credit to any of the guys who started at tackle this year. Davidkov was injured and thus really wasn't able to get a shot it seems. I really thought he would've taken one of the tackle spots if not for the injury. Hopefully he has recuperated from his injury. His high school take shows a very lean athletic tackle who would really be able to handle end rushers and LBs well especially with a couple years of strength and conditioning. DeJong and Richman both have experience on their side but unfortunately, it has been pretty poor experience so they may be the utility guys who could also push for reps at Guard.
OG - Colby, Britt, Elbsury, Stephens, Dunker, Lauck etc. It seems pretty apparent based on cross section performance that Connor Colby is a GUARD and needs to stay there. Britt has the experience but just had an issue with injuries. If he can stay healthy, the other guard spot probably is his to lose. Elsbury, Stephens, and Dunker all got shots this year to show what they had, it didn't go well. Again, I don't think these guys are lost causes but they just were not ready or properly coached to play the way they needed to be B1G starting linemen. Dunker and Stephens are both going to be sophomores so hopefully they can learn from their experience and build on that for the future. Lauck could be a dark horse here but it takes a lot to start as a true freshman but worth keeping an eye on especially if there are any injuries.
C - Jones, Myslinski (Nugent?) - This has been a frustrating year especially coming off having Linderbaum lead the line for so long at such a high standard of play. I'll start from the top with Jones. The kid picked up the position in bowl prep and appears to be a Ferentz darling. Unfortunately, his play this year was not good. Between bad snaps, inability to make line calls, and just bad blocking in general I have a hard time imagining that he will just be handed the job going forward. I don't think it is all his fault as he is new to the position but this isn't a feel good job either. Myslinski came to Iowa as a bondafide center. He very possibly would be starting now if not for an untimely injury that opened the door for Jones. Reality is that Center is a very tough position to play much less master. Having played the position in high school gives him an inherent advantage. Can he make up the ground in bowl prep and overtake Jones for next year? Finally, I have seen that Drake Nugent from Stanford who I believe is up for the Rimington Award has entered the portal. This really could be the kind of one year filler player who could come in start for a year to further build his NFL resume and then move on. I would be thrilled if Iowa could land this kid which at minimum would then allow Jones and Myslinski to further develop.
RB - Kaleb Johnson, L. Williams, Patterson (Harris??) Kaleb Johnson is Iowa's star RB in the making. With some improvement in the line, Johnson should at least be a 1500 yard rusher next year. The interesting part is who will spell Johnson? Patterson has the explosiveness to be a change of pace back. Williams is more of a power downhill runner. The wild card is Arlen Harris Jr.; in watching his film, he looks like shorter version of KJ2 but runs more like Williams with the power and less breakaway speed than KJ2. If Harris transfers to Iowa, I think there would be an interesting battle for carries between Williams and Harris. Patterson's carries will largely depend on his development especially as third down blocking and pass catching back at least for 2023.
WR - (Ragaini?) (Holden?) (Teslaa?) Vines, Brecht, Bostick, Mota. This has to be the most up-in-the-air position right now. It sounds like it's going to be a complete turnover at the position. 1f we get Holden at 6'3" with a 4.5 40, he looks like he could be the Z receiver. Add in that we could potentially get Isaac TeSlaa who is 6'4" with a 4.54 40, he could play the X receiver spot. Question then comes who plays the flanker #3 spot. Does Ragaini return for a Covid year or does this spot go to another transfer? There is speculation that Vines will be the next guy to leave; while that is a bummer considering I felt he made some strides, I don't think we will really remember him in 5 years either. Brecht is a bondafide X receiver mostly because of his size and the fact that he's not THAT fast. I think he will stick around because he also plays baseball. But the reality is that Brody is not a starting B1G receiver at least right now based on his development. Bostick we have not seen enough of yet. Mota looks to be more of a Flanker who will eventually take Ragaini's role of running those shallow underneath routes. We absolutely HAVE to score some of these upper-end receivers to give McNamara the weapons to bring this offense up and take the pressure off of KJ2.
TE - Lachey, Stillanos, Ostrenga - Lachey is the unquestioned receiving threat here. Question really is how the depth is developing. We did not see much of Stilianos this season after he transferred in last year. We saw Ostrenga get some playing time after LaPorta went down but really didn't show us too much. Does a major TE threat go into the portal? Or are we going to stick to the homegrown developed talent?
OT - (Proctor) Davidkov, DeJong, Richman, etc Iowa had SERIOUS issues on the offensive line this year and it was very evident from the Tackle position, particularly in the Nebraska game. For Iowa to make any true offensive progress, the line MUST improve. Starting with the elephant in the room. I believe that Proctor is going to be a Hawkeye. The path is open for him to start early in his career which will be important for him to get to the NFL quickly and make the real $. I believe Proctor will be starting at one of the tackle spots opening weekend. It is hard to give credit to any of the guys who started at tackle this year. Davidkov was injured and thus really wasn't able to get a shot it seems. I really thought he would've taken one of the tackle spots if not for the injury. Hopefully he has recuperated from his injury. His high school take shows a very lean athletic tackle who would really be able to handle end rushers and LBs well especially with a couple years of strength and conditioning. DeJong and Richman both have experience on their side but unfortunately, it has been pretty poor experience so they may be the utility guys who could also push for reps at Guard.
OG - Colby, Britt, Elbsury, Stephens, Dunker, Lauck etc. It seems pretty apparent based on cross section performance that Connor Colby is a GUARD and needs to stay there. Britt has the experience but just had an issue with injuries. If he can stay healthy, the other guard spot probably is his to lose. Elsbury, Stephens, and Dunker all got shots this year to show what they had, it didn't go well. Again, I don't think these guys are lost causes but they just were not ready or properly coached to play the way they needed to be B1G starting linemen. Dunker and Stephens are both going to be sophomores so hopefully they can learn from their experience and build on that for the future. Lauck could be a dark horse here but it takes a lot to start as a true freshman but worth keeping an eye on especially if there are any injuries.
C - Jones, Myslinski (Nugent?) - This has been a frustrating year especially coming off having Linderbaum lead the line for so long at such a high standard of play. I'll start from the top with Jones. The kid picked up the position in bowl prep and appears to be a Ferentz darling. Unfortunately, his play this year was not good. Between bad snaps, inability to make line calls, and just bad blocking in general I have a hard time imagining that he will just be handed the job going forward. I don't think it is all his fault as he is new to the position but this isn't a feel good job either. Myslinski came to Iowa as a bondafide center. He very possibly would be starting now if not for an untimely injury that opened the door for Jones. Reality is that Center is a very tough position to play much less master. Having played the position in high school gives him an inherent advantage. Can he make up the ground in bowl prep and overtake Jones for next year? Finally, I have seen that Drake Nugent from Stanford who I believe is up for the Rimington Award has entered the portal. This really could be the kind of one year filler player who could come in start for a year to further build his NFL resume and then move on. I would be thrilled if Iowa could land this kid which at minimum would then allow Jones and Myslinski to further develop.
