Best defensive recruiting class in school history?
- Thread starter tony0051
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As far as potential it might be. But they have a tough task to live up to the 2006 class that produced DE Clayborn, LB Hunter, LB Edds, DB Spievey, DT Klug and some very nice depth. They also will have a challenge out performing the 2007 class that produced DT Ballard, DE Binns, DB Sash, DT Daniels, DB Bernstine, LB Nielsen as well as plenty more depth. Those two classes back to back created the best D Norm ever had at Iowa.
I will add that the one area I am concerned about is LB. Doyle looks like he could develop into a Jewell type which is cool. However this staff has really struggled to recruit at the LB position the last couple of seasons. If they are not careful there could be a huge lack of depth and talent at the position in a couple seasons. The 2006 and '07 classes produced some amazing LB's that were a huge reason why those classes turned out so great on D. The talent on paper isn't there right now in the '17 and '18 classes.
Best D-line talent I can remember. Great size inside and Waggoner on the edge. Defensive back is best I can recall also. Two 4 star d-backs in Brent and Craddieth, Johnson was A 4 star by some services.
We really need Honas, I think Doyle is the real deal.
We really need Honas, I think Doyle is the real deal.
The pitch to the top-end LB's has been tough the last couple of years as Iowa had all the returning starters. It's why Honas is a big deal. Iowa is in need of a guy who can come in and play right away. He would fit the bill.
Are you sure that's not because we've had three straight years of the same starting linebackers and it just gives you the appearance we might not have anything there? Definitely not singling you out but last year Colbert has already moved to outside linebacker and they've been pretty excited about him, the year before they signed 4 linebackers and Jones and Welch I think both played as true freshman and have seen the field & Neiman's younger brother they're very excited about it...so I'm not sure I agree with that.
Shaping up as potentially the best defensive backfield and the deepest DL in the Ferentz era to start the 2018 season. Very positive development. Adding Honas would be a major plus to strengthen and shore up the LB unit. As a defensive-minded football fan, I am stoked for next year already. Now if we can get the offense to consistently score at least 27-28 ppg ....... undefeated.
By no means was I slamming the current guys on the roster just that by the time these guys are JR's and SR's there may just be nothing for depth behind them and then a year or two of having to play underclassman again because of the holes in recruiting years.
Iowa tends to get itself into these situations every few cycles with the LB position. It was only a few seasons ago that Jewell, Bower and Niemann were forced into playing too early because of a lack of depth. a few years before that it was the James Morris group. Next year we will be repeating that cycle. Im just saying in a few more years we could be doing the same thing. Its tough to win 8 or more games a year when you have position groups that are in that type of cycle. Its a big reason why Wisconsin has been able to do just that win 8 or more games a year consistently.
I count 12 returning linebackers on the roster plus Colbert and Doyle. So we have recruited that position.
If you look at the class two years ago they brought in Niemann, Welch, Jones, and Wade and Kyle Taylor. Then they also have Hockaday and Mends who will be Seniors and they moved Colbert at some point last year to LB and also Nate Wieland.
Agreed, but I believe something that has changed for us is, we kept a guy like Mends in school here instead of transferring. In years past transfer outs have killed us at times. Keep in mind Linebacker is another one of those positions like DB that we play those guys often as true Frosh. As a result the clock starts ticking and sometimes those guys bail. We have quite afew bodies there as has been said. Athletic, talented bodies, albeit a bit inexperienced. But Welch, Mends, Hockaday and Jones have all played and all been spoken very positively about. If you believe that certain outspoken section of the message board those guys are all already better than Bower...LOL
I forgot Wade, who I watched play against Bradley Bourbonais in the playoffs two years ago and Weiland.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Nixon by name yet. The Iowa DL is what makes the defense really tick, IMO. Bringing in an experience tackle like him who is physically ready to play is huge. The depth on the DL will do wonders - fresh players, healthy competition, pushes the OL around more than opponents will, etc.
Edit - I should also say that LBs will look better with a strong DL. Not sure how it will translate into LB pass coverage though. We might take some early lumps with that?
Edit - I should also say that LBs will look better with a strong DL. Not sure how it will translate into LB pass coverage though. We might take some early lumps with that?
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Colbert is a LB now, Doyle from this class. That is two guys from 2 classes. By 2021 or as early as 2020 we could have a serious lack of experienced depth or even experienced starters. Every 3-4 years Iowa goes through this. They end up relying on FR and SO's that aren't really ready yet for a season or two. Clearly the Coaching staff see's this potential problem and it is why they are going after Honas and have already started searching for fallback options. I remember last year on here almost everyone stated LB was going to be a position we needed to address in 2018.
Back in 2013 coaches were scrambling for LB's and they ended up offering Jewel as a fallback in February I think it was and then Bower was a greyshirt offer if memory serves me correctly. Ended up being a great gamble but the coaching staff knew they needed immediate help with depth and knew they needed to fill the position group out for the future.
I'm not saying they are not recruiting the position they just haven't had a lot of luck the past couple years. This year kind of reminds me of the position they were in back in 2013. Hopefully if they end up taking fallback recruits they turn into Jewell types again. Also hopefully Colbert moving from DB to LB helps out as well.
Yeah, as of right now Parker made it sound like Niemann and Wade are going to be battling to take over for the older Niemann. Of course, things always change once spring ball starts and sometimes even in fall camp guys emerge.
Going after Honas says nothing about last year's class. Next year they will have
Srs. Mends and Hockaday
Jrs. Jones, Welch
So. Wade, Taylor, Niemann
Rs Fr. Colbert, Wieland
Tr Fr. Doyle and they are still looking at another LB.
So actually I don't see a problem. And the So. listed are all redshirts so it will be their 3rd year in the program.
I'll try to be measured in the hyperbole ... but I was just watching some of Noah Shannon's film. Man is he hard to move .... even better, he's clearly smart and active. There were several plays where he diagnosed screens and got his big body in positions to make plays. Really impressive stuff.
Just going to list out the guys from 06. Obviously can't tell at this point, but if this class of defensive guys turns out close to the 06 guys, there is going to be some fun years ahead for Iowa football.
I like the space eaters that go 6-1 and probably eventually 320 lbs. Fire hydrants.
The '16 LB recruiting was the group that the coaches targeted to fill the coming void in '18. I'm not certain that the coaches anticipated the emergence of guys like Fisher and Bower at WILL ... so they may have thought that they'd most likely have to replace 2 starters instead of 3.
Furthermore, as health has gone ... Jewell, Bower, and Niemann have been remarkably healthy ... consequently, the only "back-up" who has seen significant positional reps (Hockaday) himself has suffered a lot of injuries ... consequently, Iowa has very few LBs entering '18 who have seen many quality positional reps. Consequently, that is arguably why the Hawks decided to tap the JUCO market ... because we are in definite (although I wouldn't go so far as to say "dire") need of experience at LB.
For the long-term health (and depth) of the LB unit ... we need to approximately keep the number of guys in the LB room constant. Thus, while we won't "replace" all 4 'ships that are departing ... we'll likely fill 3. With an eye to staggering eligibility - the coaches are probably eyeing a more complete "restock" at LB in the '19 class.
Augur points out Hunter, Bernstine, and Nielsen ... but failed to mention Tarpinian? Hunter was the relative "weak link" at LB back then ... and both Bernstine and Nielsen were so oft-injured ... their relative impacts were muted as a result.
Daniels was mentioned too ... and he truly developed into a great Hawk. However, he was so undersized that he really didn't start contributed in a bigger way until 2010. If our LBs had remained healthy ... that D may have gone down as superior to the '09 version. However, sadly things didn't transpire that way.
Also, Jacody Coleman and Dez Moses weren't mentioned? They were both in the '07 class ... both played as TR FR in '07 and were critical contributors for stabilizing LB depth. Moses sadly didn't embrace the position move to DE ... and Coleman, while loved by the coaches, had to leave the program. Coleman was originally slated to be our starting LB in '08 ... but Angerer emerged with a vengeance during the spring of '08 ... and quickly made it an even competition during the non-con part of the schedule. Ultimately, Angerer's greater versatility (he was much better in coverage and was a faster athlete) ultimately won him the starting MIKE spot. To give you an idea of how much the coaches liked Coleman ... they wanted to redshirt Coleman in '09 so that he could be our starting MIKE in '10. If only that came to pass ....
Tarp was a stud, but if you're pointing to injury for Bernstine and Nielson, I think Tarp would be a prime example as well. I'm also question Hunter being a "weak link" when he was a three year starter, and was 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in the team in tackles those three years.
Regardless, that was a great defensive class.
all recruiting classes start from paper. some don't even look good on paper.
Yeah, I remember walking out of the Taxpayer Bowl and hearing that an Iowa LB named Josey-something was named the Defensive Playrer of the Game for Iowa, a game in which we were destroyed by UT. Little did we know back then what he was to become and the 2015 team as well. I trust our coaches in the guys we have in the program right now. Here's hoping Honas sees what our program is all about for him; Benson, too.
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