Early look ahead to 2019
Nate Stanley leads the Iowa offense for the third straight year.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The dust hasn't even started to gather on the final chapter of the 2018 Iowa football team, but it's never too early to look ahead to the 2019 season.
The story of the 2018 Iowa season for many Iowa fans might be what might have been, wondering about a possible missed opportunity to win the Big Ten West and make a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes lost contests against Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern by a combined total of 12 points and that kept Iowa from the Big Ten West crown.
On the flip side, Iowa finished their season with a New Year's Day bowl win over an SEC team and wrapped up the year with a bowl win in back to back seasons for the first time since 2010. They also won nine games this season and in the highly competitive world of college football, seasons like that shouldn't be taken for granted.
We will be diving in much deeper into the 2019 Iowa football team with a position by position breakdown, but from an overview perspective, let's take a look at the Iowa offense and defense, along with what I think is a pretty tough schedule.
OFFENSE
The good news is quarterback Nate Stanley returns.
Any time you can have a senior quarterback leading your offense, it's usually a good thing. Stanley improved his numbers in his junior year and has 52 career touchdown passes, the most in a two year span by any quarterback in Iowa football history.
Iowa will also have their entire backfield returning next season. By the end of the year, Mekhi Sargent was the top back, but a healthy Ivory Kelly-Martin could have a few things to say about playing time. I'd also keep an eye on incoming freshman Tyler Goodson, who could find a role next fall.
The biggest hit will be at the tight end position, where Iowa has already lost Noah Fant to the NFL and it's likely that Mackey Award winner T.J. Hockenson will join him. Shaun Beyer missed a good portion of the year due to knee surgery and he's going to be the Hawkeyes next good one at the position if he can stay healthy. Drew Cook will get a look and perhaps one of the freshmen will emerge as well.
At the wide receiver position, the Hawkeyes lose Outback Bowl MVP Nick Easley, who has been a two year feel good story and now they will lean heavily on the duo of Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Both want to be big time play makers and they grew quite a bit in their sophomore year. Who will emerge behind them? I think that's a major question heading into spring ball.
Speaking of major questions, who will be Iowa's starting center next year? Keegan Render took over after James Daniels departed and did a nice job, but I think Iowa wants to find a longer term solution.
That brings us to Tyler Linderbaum. He started the year as a backup at defensive tackle and moved to center during bowl prep. Phil Parker wasn't happy about the move, but I've said for a while, I think Linderbaum would be a good defensive tackle, but potentially great center. We know it's a position that Kirk and Brian Ferentz think is the most important along the offensive line and I think Linderbaum is probably the guy next year.
That leaves the rest of the line pretty much as is. Ross Reynolds had a highly under-rated senior season at guard and he will probably be replaced by either Levi or Landan Paulsen with Cole Banwart staying at the other guard position and Tristan Wirfs and Alaric Jackson at tackle. My wild card on the offensive line is Ezra Miller. He will be a true freshman and he's coming in early and he's really good. Could he push for playing time at guard? Something to keep an eye on.
A.J. Epenesa will move into a starting role next season.
DEFENSE
On the defensive side of the ball, the big story that has yet to be fully written are the NFL decisions of Amani Hooker and Anthony Nelson. Both declined to reveal their plans after the Outback Bowl, but they have decisions to make. Hooker is likely leaning towards leaving for the NFL and Nelson is probably a coin flip at this point.
The other big topic is will Phil Parker stick with his 4-2-5 defensive alignment? Parker had kind of been hinting around it for about a year and with Hooker on the roster and his desire to get Geno Stone on the field, plus injuries at linebacker, he made the switch and it worked very well.
I think the big question is did it work because of Hooker's level or talent and is there someone on the roster that could play that "star" position, as Parker called it during bowl prep? Iowa's defensive coordinator hinted that he could look at cornerbacks Michael Ojemudia or D.J. Johnson at the position if Hooker leaves for the NFL.
Up front, Iowa could be great at defensive end. They lose the leadership and playmaking of Parker Hesse, but potentially returning a trio of Anthony Nelson, A.J. Epenesa, and Chauncey Golston is going to cause a lot of headaches for Big Ten teams. Epenesa should move into a starting role no matter what Nelson decides regarding the NFL and I think a year from now he will also have a decision to make.
One of the bigger question marks for the Iowa defense will be at tackle, where Iowa loses their starting duo of Matt Nelson and Sam Brincks. They were a steady combo in the middle of a very good Iowa defensive line. The starters will likely be Cedrick Lattimore and Brady Reiff, but it's fair to be concerned about depth at defensive tackle.
In the secondary, Iowa will return the two deep at corner, but the safety position will be in transition. If Ojemudia ends up moving to the "star" position, then it would mean Johnson, Riley Moss, or Julius Brents move into the starting lineup opposite Matt Hankins at cornerback. Geno Stone anchors the back end of the Iowa defense, but who starts next to him?
Parker was singing the praises for Kaevon Merriweather during bowl prep, so perhaps that's the pairing. I do wonder if Brents or Moss could move to safety in the spring to provide depth and competition at the position.
SPECIAL TEAMS
On special teams, I suspect the dual between Colten Rastetter and Ryan Gersonde will continue next year. Hopefully the Hawkeyes can find more consistency at the position.
The biggest question mark will be at placekicker. Miguel Recinos has been very good handling field goals and kickoffs the last two seasons and had two key field goals in the Outback Bowl win. Caleb Shudak has been listed as the backup this season, but Iowa also has Keith Duncan still on the roster. If the past is any indicator of the future, I'd bet on this race lingering into fall camp.
THE SCHEDULE
While many viewed the 2018 schedule as "easy" for the Hawkeyes, the slate of games in 2019 is anything but easy.
The non-conference slate of games includes Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee State. Miami finished this year 6-6 and won their last three. Middle Tennessee is always a very good team, so those two games will be challenging. Then there's a trip to Ames against a strong Iowa State team. You can bet that Matt Campbell has a strong desire to get his first win over the Hawkeyes.
The Big Ten schedule for Iowa is pretty brutal. The Hawkeyes host Rutgers in week two of the season, which will be different. Then there's October and that's the real difficult stretch for Iowa. It starts with a trip to Michigan. Followed by hosting Penn State and Purdue. Then it's back to back road games at Northwestern and Wisconsin wraps up the stretch on the first weekend in November. Iowa then hosts Minnesota in a big rivalry game, followed by Illinois before going to Nebraska.
A lot can change between now and August when fall camp gets underway, but on paper in early January, that is a really tough schedule.
Nate Stanley leads the Iowa offense for the third straight year.
Tom Kakert • HawkeyeReport.com
@hawkeyereport
The dust hasn't even started to gather on the final chapter of the 2018 Iowa football team, but it's never too early to look ahead to the 2019 season.
The story of the 2018 Iowa season for many Iowa fans might be what might have been, wondering about a possible missed opportunity to win the Big Ten West and make a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game. The Hawkeyes lost contests against Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern by a combined total of 12 points and that kept Iowa from the Big Ten West crown.
On the flip side, Iowa finished their season with a New Year's Day bowl win over an SEC team and wrapped up the year with a bowl win in back to back seasons for the first time since 2010. They also won nine games this season and in the highly competitive world of college football, seasons like that shouldn't be taken for granted.
We will be diving in much deeper into the 2019 Iowa football team with a position by position breakdown, but from an overview perspective, let's take a look at the Iowa offense and defense, along with what I think is a pretty tough schedule.
OFFENSE
The good news is quarterback Nate Stanley returns.
Any time you can have a senior quarterback leading your offense, it's usually a good thing. Stanley improved his numbers in his junior year and has 52 career touchdown passes, the most in a two year span by any quarterback in Iowa football history.
Iowa will also have their entire backfield returning next season. By the end of the year, Mekhi Sargent was the top back, but a healthy Ivory Kelly-Martin could have a few things to say about playing time. I'd also keep an eye on incoming freshman Tyler Goodson, who could find a role next fall.
The biggest hit will be at the tight end position, where Iowa has already lost Noah Fant to the NFL and it's likely that Mackey Award winner T.J. Hockenson will join him. Shaun Beyer missed a good portion of the year due to knee surgery and he's going to be the Hawkeyes next good one at the position if he can stay healthy. Drew Cook will get a look and perhaps one of the freshmen will emerge as well.
At the wide receiver position, the Hawkeyes lose Outback Bowl MVP Nick Easley, who has been a two year feel good story and now they will lean heavily on the duo of Brandon Smith and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. Both want to be big time play makers and they grew quite a bit in their sophomore year. Who will emerge behind them? I think that's a major question heading into spring ball.
Speaking of major questions, who will be Iowa's starting center next year? Keegan Render took over after James Daniels departed and did a nice job, but I think Iowa wants to find a longer term solution.
That brings us to Tyler Linderbaum. He started the year as a backup at defensive tackle and moved to center during bowl prep. Phil Parker wasn't happy about the move, but I've said for a while, I think Linderbaum would be a good defensive tackle, but potentially great center. We know it's a position that Kirk and Brian Ferentz think is the most important along the offensive line and I think Linderbaum is probably the guy next year.
That leaves the rest of the line pretty much as is. Ross Reynolds had a highly under-rated senior season at guard and he will probably be replaced by either Levi or Landan Paulsen with Cole Banwart staying at the other guard position and Tristan Wirfs and Alaric Jackson at tackle. My wild card on the offensive line is Ezra Miller. He will be a true freshman and he's coming in early and he's really good. Could he push for playing time at guard? Something to keep an eye on.
A.J. Epenesa will move into a starting role next season.
DEFENSE
On the defensive side of the ball, the big story that has yet to be fully written are the NFL decisions of Amani Hooker and Anthony Nelson. Both declined to reveal their plans after the Outback Bowl, but they have decisions to make. Hooker is likely leaning towards leaving for the NFL and Nelson is probably a coin flip at this point.
The other big topic is will Phil Parker stick with his 4-2-5 defensive alignment? Parker had kind of been hinting around it for about a year and with Hooker on the roster and his desire to get Geno Stone on the field, plus injuries at linebacker, he made the switch and it worked very well.
I think the big question is did it work because of Hooker's level or talent and is there someone on the roster that could play that "star" position, as Parker called it during bowl prep? Iowa's defensive coordinator hinted that he could look at cornerbacks Michael Ojemudia or D.J. Johnson at the position if Hooker leaves for the NFL.
Up front, Iowa could be great at defensive end. They lose the leadership and playmaking of Parker Hesse, but potentially returning a trio of Anthony Nelson, A.J. Epenesa, and Chauncey Golston is going to cause a lot of headaches for Big Ten teams. Epenesa should move into a starting role no matter what Nelson decides regarding the NFL and I think a year from now he will also have a decision to make.
One of the bigger question marks for the Iowa defense will be at tackle, where Iowa loses their starting duo of Matt Nelson and Sam Brincks. They were a steady combo in the middle of a very good Iowa defensive line. The starters will likely be Cedrick Lattimore and Brady Reiff, but it's fair to be concerned about depth at defensive tackle.
In the secondary, Iowa will return the two deep at corner, but the safety position will be in transition. If Ojemudia ends up moving to the "star" position, then it would mean Johnson, Riley Moss, or Julius Brents move into the starting lineup opposite Matt Hankins at cornerback. Geno Stone anchors the back end of the Iowa defense, but who starts next to him?
Parker was singing the praises for Kaevon Merriweather during bowl prep, so perhaps that's the pairing. I do wonder if Brents or Moss could move to safety in the spring to provide depth and competition at the position.
SPECIAL TEAMS
On special teams, I suspect the dual between Colten Rastetter and Ryan Gersonde will continue next year. Hopefully the Hawkeyes can find more consistency at the position.
The biggest question mark will be at placekicker. Miguel Recinos has been very good handling field goals and kickoffs the last two seasons and had two key field goals in the Outback Bowl win. Caleb Shudak has been listed as the backup this season, but Iowa also has Keith Duncan still on the roster. If the past is any indicator of the future, I'd bet on this race lingering into fall camp.
THE SCHEDULE
While many viewed the 2018 schedule as "easy" for the Hawkeyes, the slate of games in 2019 is anything but easy.
The non-conference slate of games includes Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee State. Miami finished this year 6-6 and won their last three. Middle Tennessee is always a very good team, so those two games will be challenging. Then there's a trip to Ames against a strong Iowa State team. You can bet that Matt Campbell has a strong desire to get his first win over the Hawkeyes.
The Big Ten schedule for Iowa is pretty brutal. The Hawkeyes host Rutgers in week two of the season, which will be different. Then there's October and that's the real difficult stretch for Iowa. It starts with a trip to Michigan. Followed by hosting Penn State and Purdue. Then it's back to back road games at Northwestern and Wisconsin wraps up the stretch on the first weekend in November. Iowa then hosts Minnesota in a big rivalry game, followed by Illinois before going to Nebraska.
A lot can change between now and August when fall camp gets underway, but on paper in early January, that is a really tough schedule.
