Diving into the two deeps
Tom Kakert | Editor
Nathan Stanley is listed as the starting QB heading into spring football.
Lost in the shuffle of what turned out to be a pretty significant day for Iowa football news was the release of a new depth chart for the Hawkeyes.
This has become somewhat of an early January tradition for Kirk Ferentz. Three years ago following the poor performance in the Tax Slayer Bowl, Ferentz felt he needed to talk with the media in January and he also wanted to clear up the quarterback controversy between C.J. Beathard and Jake Rudock, so he released a new depth chart that named Beathard as the starting quarterback. That depth chart put the wheels in motion for Rudock’s transfer to Michigan and set in motion Iowa’s run to a perfect regular season in 2015.
The big news from Monday’s meeting with the media was the naming of Brian Ferentz as the offensive coordinator. That news wasn’t surprising as most assumed his son would be taking over the playcalling duties, but that it was announced so quickly following the retirement of Greg Davis was a little bit of a shock.
There will be plenty of time between now and September to discuss Brian Ferentz as the offensive coordinator, so let’s dive into the new two deeps that were released.
First, let’s start on the offensive side of the ball where we have a new quarterback at the top of the depth chart.
SE - J. Smith, D. Young
LT - Myers, Jackson
LG - Render, Reynolds
C - Daniels, LeGrand
RG - Welsh, Levi Paulsen
RT - Boettger, Ferguson
TE - Pekar, Fant
WR - VandeBerg, Scheel
QB - Stanley, Wiegers, Cook
RB - Wadley, Akinribade, Mitchell
FB - Kulick, Ross
K - Duncan, Recinos
No real surprises on this side of the ball.
At quarterback, Nathan Stanley was listed as the backup all season, so moving him up one spot is logical. Kirk Ferentz has said it will be an open competition this spring and into the fall, so it will be interesting to see how the reps go in practice. Having said all that, odds are that Stanley ends up being the starter when the 2017 season gets underway.
Seeing Akrum Wadley on the depth chart should make Iowa fans feel very good about their run game next year. While I think they would have been able to run the ball regardless, Wadley is a special talent. This will allow Toks Akinribade to ease into a larger role. Perhaps we see Derrick Mitchell get back the third down role in 2017 after battling injuries this past season.
The strength of the offensive side of the ball is clearly on the offensive line. Every player listed in the first five started several games this past season. Also, two players listed with the second unit started at least one game, so there is some depth up front.
I would suspect that Drake Kulick, who suffered an ugly lower leg injury late in the season, misses spring ball, but should be ready in the fall.
Under Greg Davis, Iowa listed three receivers as “starting”, but now we are down to two. The positive with the outlook there is Matt VandeBerg is one of the starters. He was practicing with the team in Tampa and looked pretty good. Other players are going to have to step forward in a meaningful way in 2017 and the door will be wide open for incoming freshmen to earn snaps at wide receiver. The tight end spot kind of feels a bit more wide open with several young players contending for snaps.
Josey Jewell lead the returning players on defense.
LE - A. Nelson, M. Nelson
LT - Lattimore, Reiff, Jansen
RT - Bazata Hulett
RE - Hesse, Brincks
OLB - B. Niemann, Ward, Welch
MLB - Jewell, Hockaday, Garbutt
WLB - Bower, Jones, Mends
LCB - Ojemudia, Boswell
RCB - Rugamba, Jackson
SS - Taylor, Hooker
FS - Snyder, Gervase
P – Rastetter
We move over to the defensive side of the ball, where nine players return who have started in the past season, led by All American candidate Josey Jewell. All three Iowa linebackers return and should be in the starting lineup in the fall. Behind them, it sure feels like a bit of musical chairs as far as who lands where in the two deeps.
Is there a message being sent to Matt Nelson? It kind of feels that way as he is listed behind Anthony Nelson on the initial two deeps for 2017. During the time leading up to the Outback Bowl, defensive line coach Reese Morgan said moving Matt Nelson to defensive tackle had been kicked around in meetings. Certainly something to watch during spring ball.
Iowa will be looking to replace Jaleel Johnson at tackle and right now the odds on favorite is Cedrick Lattimore, who saw limited duty as a true freshman. Kirk Ferentz admitted they played Lattimore this past year to get him ready for the 2017 season. Expect Brady Reiff and Levi Jansen to also get into the rotation at tackle.
In the defensive backfield, Desmond King is gone. That’s a huge hole, but Iowa should feel good about what they have in Manny Rugamba. Before he was hurt in the Nebraska game, his arrow was pointing way up. It should be noted that Iowa is painfully thin at cornerback. It was also a bit of a surprise to see Michael Ojemudia listed as the starter opposite of Rugamba given that Josh Jackson started the bowl game. Perhaps they simply feel better about one over the other on one side of the field.
Also, punter will be an interesting spot. Ron Coluzzi was a great find for the Hawkeyes last spring. Will they be searching for another graduate transfer? Is Colten Rastetter ready to take over the duties?
Tom Kakert | Editor
Nathan Stanley is listed as the starting QB heading into spring football.
Lost in the shuffle of what turned out to be a pretty significant day for Iowa football news was the release of a new depth chart for the Hawkeyes.
This has become somewhat of an early January tradition for Kirk Ferentz. Three years ago following the poor performance in the Tax Slayer Bowl, Ferentz felt he needed to talk with the media in January and he also wanted to clear up the quarterback controversy between C.J. Beathard and Jake Rudock, so he released a new depth chart that named Beathard as the starting quarterback. That depth chart put the wheels in motion for Rudock’s transfer to Michigan and set in motion Iowa’s run to a perfect regular season in 2015.
The big news from Monday’s meeting with the media was the naming of Brian Ferentz as the offensive coordinator. That news wasn’t surprising as most assumed his son would be taking over the playcalling duties, but that it was announced so quickly following the retirement of Greg Davis was a little bit of a shock.
There will be plenty of time between now and September to discuss Brian Ferentz as the offensive coordinator, so let’s dive into the new two deeps that were released.
First, let’s start on the offensive side of the ball where we have a new quarterback at the top of the depth chart.
SE - J. Smith, D. Young
LT - Myers, Jackson
LG - Render, Reynolds
C - Daniels, LeGrand
RG - Welsh, Levi Paulsen
RT - Boettger, Ferguson
TE - Pekar, Fant
WR - VandeBerg, Scheel
QB - Stanley, Wiegers, Cook
RB - Wadley, Akinribade, Mitchell
FB - Kulick, Ross
K - Duncan, Recinos
No real surprises on this side of the ball.
At quarterback, Nathan Stanley was listed as the backup all season, so moving him up one spot is logical. Kirk Ferentz has said it will be an open competition this spring and into the fall, so it will be interesting to see how the reps go in practice. Having said all that, odds are that Stanley ends up being the starter when the 2017 season gets underway.
Seeing Akrum Wadley on the depth chart should make Iowa fans feel very good about their run game next year. While I think they would have been able to run the ball regardless, Wadley is a special talent. This will allow Toks Akinribade to ease into a larger role. Perhaps we see Derrick Mitchell get back the third down role in 2017 after battling injuries this past season.
The strength of the offensive side of the ball is clearly on the offensive line. Every player listed in the first five started several games this past season. Also, two players listed with the second unit started at least one game, so there is some depth up front.
I would suspect that Drake Kulick, who suffered an ugly lower leg injury late in the season, misses spring ball, but should be ready in the fall.
Under Greg Davis, Iowa listed three receivers as “starting”, but now we are down to two. The positive with the outlook there is Matt VandeBerg is one of the starters. He was practicing with the team in Tampa and looked pretty good. Other players are going to have to step forward in a meaningful way in 2017 and the door will be wide open for incoming freshmen to earn snaps at wide receiver. The tight end spot kind of feels a bit more wide open with several young players contending for snaps.
Josey Jewell lead the returning players on defense.
LE - A. Nelson, M. Nelson
LT - Lattimore, Reiff, Jansen
RT - Bazata Hulett
RE - Hesse, Brincks
OLB - B. Niemann, Ward, Welch
MLB - Jewell, Hockaday, Garbutt
WLB - Bower, Jones, Mends
LCB - Ojemudia, Boswell
RCB - Rugamba, Jackson
SS - Taylor, Hooker
FS - Snyder, Gervase
P – Rastetter
We move over to the defensive side of the ball, where nine players return who have started in the past season, led by All American candidate Josey Jewell. All three Iowa linebackers return and should be in the starting lineup in the fall. Behind them, it sure feels like a bit of musical chairs as far as who lands where in the two deeps.
Is there a message being sent to Matt Nelson? It kind of feels that way as he is listed behind Anthony Nelson on the initial two deeps for 2017. During the time leading up to the Outback Bowl, defensive line coach Reese Morgan said moving Matt Nelson to defensive tackle had been kicked around in meetings. Certainly something to watch during spring ball.
Iowa will be looking to replace Jaleel Johnson at tackle and right now the odds on favorite is Cedrick Lattimore, who saw limited duty as a true freshman. Kirk Ferentz admitted they played Lattimore this past year to get him ready for the 2017 season. Expect Brady Reiff and Levi Jansen to also get into the rotation at tackle.
In the defensive backfield, Desmond King is gone. That’s a huge hole, but Iowa should feel good about what they have in Manny Rugamba. Before he was hurt in the Nebraska game, his arrow was pointing way up. It should be noted that Iowa is painfully thin at cornerback. It was also a bit of a surprise to see Michael Ojemudia listed as the starter opposite of Rugamba given that Josh Jackson started the bowl game. Perhaps they simply feel better about one over the other on one side of the field.
Also, punter will be an interesting spot. Ron Coluzzi was a great find for the Hawkeyes last spring. Will they be searching for another graduate transfer? Is Colten Rastetter ready to take over the duties?
