Brandon Smith
- Thread starter sb33miz
- Start date
I remember him coming in to block at least one. Don't give up on him yet.
I'm expecting big jumps from him and ISM next year. They're talented, but it's clear they needed a little time.
This.
Few guys excel as Freshmen. No better example than Akrum Wadley. Wirfs, Epenesa, ISM, were all significant contributors this year and IKM, Stone, Hankins also played meaningful minutes. All true Freshmen...that's not bad.
I think a lot of our young guys will grow from their first season in the program and contribute more next year.
he's a freshman for god sakes. Give him a break.
Not too worried about the freshmen. I do wonder if we’ve seen the last of D Young and Falconer though.
Your hunch can go fly a kite!
I can see him going back home as well but hope he sticks it out as the opportunity to play next season is wide open for him to be a big contributor and help this team reach the B1G Championship game.
To my view...his playing time this year didn't justify pulling the shirt.
I may very well be wrong... wouldn't be the first time.
He got on the field quite a bit, which can really be invaluable for a kid like that heading into an off-season where he could earn a starting spot. No idea why that would make him want to transfer.
Why even start crap like this......unless you are a troll or a jackass.
Just a hunch on my part.
Never understand why people just assume that since he didnt play much as a FRESHMAN that he would look to bolt. He obviously chose Iowa for a reason, and like you said, the opportunity to play his position is definitely there for the taking, not to mention he should have a capable qb to get him the ball. I, for one, look for big things out of this young man in the future. Think he's got the tools...
Yeah F this thread. Brandon got on the field as a True freshman. We are talking D1 football, that's not common for a WR, and really not common for a KF WR. As much as we joke about it, step 1 for a KF WR is him getting trust in you being on the feild as a team player. I think Brandon did that and will grow in his role next year.
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He played quite a bit for a TF, but if I'm not mistaken he had a fumble and a couple of drops in the few targets he had. Not completely in KF's circle of trust yet.
Why? Many players have started getting on the field as freshman, even sometimes sparsely, helped them immensely in transitioning into the next year. That's a way too simplistic view you're taking.
He’s a true freshman who got his feet wet. Plenty of time left and he has a bright future.
I agree with you. Just disappointed as I bought into the preseason hype around him (my own fault).
Brandon Smith was in a class that signed 22 players. At the most, six of the could even make a case for making a bigger contribution than Brandon.
In the past week I have seen people claim that he was a bust, and now that he will transfer because of his lack of playing time...we have some fvcking stupid fans on this board.
He may transfer. There are about 75 players on the team that may transfer. A few will. Most will not.
In the past week I have seen people claim that he was a bust, and now that he will transfer because of his lack of playing time...we have some fvcking stupid fans on this board.
He may transfer. There are about 75 players on the team that may transfer. A few will. Most will not.
The B1G is not a easy league to play in, Brandon may become a good WR, we shall see. I'm not about throwing the baby out with the bath water, he'll get better with more playing time.
Sure hope he doesn't transfer. He has time and the opportunity to become great of he wants it. I hope he sees that. Adjust and get better.
A lot of people confuse being targeted in the passing game and playing time. Brandon had a ton of playing time and clearly was a featured blocking wr. Every snap, every route he ran, every block he made is on film and can be used to improve. The catches will come.
Exactly. Some of our fans are either the biggest trolls or just plain pricks. He played in every game. Caught 3 passes. Played a bunch of snaps. The time he got on the field this year will hopefully pay off next year. All of Vandeberg's snaps are going to be available. Smith-Marsette had the bigger impact, but he had issues too with drops and fumbles at times. It happens, they are first-year players. If Iowa's receiving corps was in better shape coming into the year, both of those guys would have redshirted. Congrats to both of them for getting on the field and contributing their first years on campus.
I'm curious about something .... how many reps to redshirts get in practice? Does a redshirt get basically the same amount of reps as a guy to hardly plays, for example?
I guess what I am asking, do the redshirts even get the feeling of actually being on the team?
Next year, BS will have some real game experience under his belt. Very valuable IMO.
I guess what I am asking, do the redshirts even get the feeling of actually being on the team?
Next year, BS will have some real game experience under his belt. Very valuable IMO.
In practice the focus is on getting the team ready for the next opponent. I don't know for sure, but my guess is the redshirting guys are running scout team, impersonating the other team. Probably not getting much if any reps with the first or second teams. They are also on a different training regimen than the people on the active roster.
All of the freshmen who played this year (Smith, ISM, Cooper, Wirfs, Stone, Hankins, anyone else?) will benefit from having played this year. They all traveled to away games, went through game preparation and all of them actually played meaningful snaps. It doesn't mean they will all be stars, but they will be more used to game speed and ready to really contribute.
What is your point? If you don't like to read posts, then why spend time on this site?
What no one knows yet is how is he doing adjusting to the academic load and being far from home. Since he did not redshirt, the load is not spread out over 5 years, it’s four.
Not saying he will do this but I will not be surprised if he transfers especially since he did not have success catching balls this season to give him something to hang his hat on early. It’s a huge adjustment coming from Mississippi to Iowa City including the weather which he will be experiencing for the first time.
Not saying he will do this but I will not be surprised if he transfers especially since he did not have success catching balls this season to give him something to hang his hat on early. It’s a huge adjustment coming from Mississippi to Iowa City including the weather which he will be experiencing for the first time.
The general principle that you're outlining is an accurate one. Unless a player requires quite a bit of physical development ... then IF a player can practice a lot with the #2s and possibly the #1s ... then those practice reps can be huge because they're explicitly working on executing OUR schemes. Furthermore, it also acclimates them to what actual game-prep should be like ... which is a big difference to the lower teamers who usually don't even travel during away games.
When a guy even sees quality game reps ... even if he doesn't get the ball in his hands or make a play ... that not only acclimates the guy to the speed of the game at the college level ... but it is also the "carrot." Guys put in all that work ... they want to play. The better a guy prepares ... the better he practices ... the better he plays on the field ... the more action he SEES on the field!
Ultimately, a guy may see action on the field ... but it's what he does with that experience ... how that translates to practice ... and how he uses it to improve ... those are all the ingredients that are the MOST important thing. We shouldn't forget that guys like Falconer, Young, and Quarells all have seen collegiate game snaps at WR too ... but those guys have seen very little positional action this year for the Hawks. Why is that? Presumably the answer relates to an overall lack of continued improvement and/or production seen in practice. As Copeland says ... you ARE what your tape says you are. Thus, just because a guy THINKS that he is more athletic than another guy ... that matters very little if he's play during practice and/or games doesn't translate to production!
Lastly, as it relates to WR play ... we cannot forget that Brian is willing to split RBs out wide ... that he's willing to utilize a ton of TEs. Consequently, if WRs actually want to see the field ... they're competing against more than just the other WRs ... they're competing against talented guys at RB and TE too. Given that the Hawks are currently pretty deep at TE and that we have a good group of RBs .... right now, a lot of the competition at WR right now is for the #3 WR spot. Unfortunately, a lot of WRs are short sighted ... and they're not thinking about how a deeper group of highly performing WRs could force Brian to rotate the WRs more (or utilize more multi-WR sets). Instead, they might be thinking that Easley and ISM likely have 2 of the top WR spots locked down ... so they have fewer morsels to fight over themselves.
If some of Iowa's WRs are thinking like I mention above ... then hopefully the continued infusion of new blood ... guys like Tracy, Evans, and Lockett can continue to "shake things up" at WR. We need EACH WR to prepare like he's going to be our #1 WR. As we saw in '16 ... injuries can happen ... and guys need to be ready to seize the opportunity when it comes. Guys need to make the personnel decisions VERY HARD on their position coach ... and their OC.
With as much young talent this Iowa team played this year this bowl win was essential. Every D1 team will go into off-season workouts hungry and talking championships, but winning this bowl game have not only the young bucks but the upper class man a taste of something more.
This off-season is huge. Make gains and stay/get healthy.
No, there is noise that he wants to return home but hopefully his parents make him stay at Iowa and honor his commitment to play football while also earning his degree. Kids need to learn they can't always go home to Mom and Dad when things get tough or they don't like how things aren't perfect in their world.
