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"I put them [Iowa's OL] on par w/ Alabama."

OnceAhawk

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Jan 29, 2015
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Wisconsin LB Joe Schobert was co-defensive player of the week.

He said this about Iowa's Offensive Line:

“I put them on par with Alabama, maybe even a little more,” Schobert told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. “They want to hit you more than Alabama wants to hit you. Alabama is a good, physical offensive line, but I think Iowa kind of takes it to that next step and wants to run at you and wants to physically punch you. We knew that coming in and they lived up to it today. It was just great competition between us and them.”

Other notes on Iowa's OL, from Marc Morehouse of the CR Gazette:

Against the Badgers, junior Cole Croston made his starting debut in place of sophomore Boone Myers, who’s had a recurring shoulder/neck stinger.

Ferentz acknowledged Tuesday that the race between Myers, who Ferentz deemed “day-to-day,” and Croston in camp was close, as close as quarterback was last season between C.J. Beathard and Jake Rudock. Ferentz said he was pleased with Croston’s performance.

“I thought he did a really nice job the other day,” Ferentz said. “He gave up one play at the end, I believe, and I heard about that when I got home, some TV scout. That’s a dangerous thing for a TV scout to base things off a couple of plays. He played really well, and he’s a good football player. We’re growing in that area. We’re not home yet, but we’re growing.”

Another sort of interesting O-line development was true freshman James Daniels lining up at right tackle in warmups. Against North Texas, that spot was held by redshirt freshman Keegan Render. He moved inside and Daniels moved outside. Daniels also saw time at left guard in the second quarter against the Badgers. (Overall against UW, Daniels played 10 snaps around 16 percent of Iowa’s plays. He’s played 20 to 25 percent of snaps most weeks, so you can’t count this as a reckless burning of a redshirt.)

If it seems as if Daniels’ role grows a little every week, that’s because it is. Ferentz did, however, emphasize that Daniels at right tackle was more of an emergency than exploratory situation.

A lot of what Ferentz says is meant for a nudge, especially for offensive linemen, the star position group in Iowa football followed closely by the defensive line. It’s not so much what anyone said, it’s the fact that Ferentz went for a fourth-and-inches at Iowa’s 25 with just more than 11 minutes left in the game.

Beathard ran a sneak behind Blythe and gained 2 yards. Schobert did sack and strip the ball from Beathard on the next play, but still, Ferentz went for a fourth-and-inches deep in Iowa territory in the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium. And that was kind of a big deal.

“It’s our job to go out and be nasty,” Blythe said when asked about Ferentz’s compliment to the inside O-line. “It’s our job to be bulldozers up there and set the tempo for the offense and offensive line. I think we’ve done a good job on that, but there’s a lot of stuff we can improve on still.”

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/iowa-ol-works-its-way-toward-nasty-bulldozer-20151007
 
Our interior offensive line is very, very good. Our tackles are a work in progress. There is a lot of potential there, but they have a lot of improvements to make. They should be able to make big strides during the season, especially since this is their first year of starting experience. By the end of this season, if they stay healthy, this could be an excellent offensive line.
 
Our interior offensive line is very, very good. Our tackles are a work in progress. There is a lot of potential there, but they have a lot of improvements to make. They should be able to make big strides during the season, especially since this is their first year of starting experience. By the end of this season, if they stay healthy, this could be an excellent offensive line.
It could end up (later in the season)being a small blessing having Meyers sit for a few weeks and letting Croston play. Maybe even get a few others some playing time at tackle as well.
 
I think that has been the area of greatest improvement this year. In the run game our OL seems able to change the line of scrimmage by 2-3 yards almost every play.
 
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Schobert's quote is just a step below the infamous "Bullies of the Big Ten" quote. Not quite there yet but getting close!
 
Daniels also saw time at left guard in the second quarter against the Badgers. (Overall against UW, Daniels played 10 snaps around 16 percent of Iowa’s plays. He’s played 20 to 25 percent of snaps most weeks, so you can’t count this as a reckless burning of a redshirt.)
If it seems as if Daniels’ role grows a little every week, that’s because it is. Ferentz did, however, emphasize that Daniels at right tackle was more of an emergency than exploratory situation.


Go back and watch that 2nd Q when Iowa was really successfull running the ball. JD is going to be a beast where ever he ends up.
 
Schobert showed a lot of class in his comments. He's a heckuva player, and now we know he's also a fair-minded and honest man. I hope he continues to have a great season.

As for the Iowa O-line, many of us owe them an apology. And I'm sure they will take pride in and be inspired to keep on improving after seeing what Schobert had to say about them.

Woe to the Illini this week. I still see an Iowa blowout.
 
Would love to separation by the WR so the line doesn't have to try and hold blocks for quite so long.
 
That's very magnanimous of him after drilling the tackles he played against all game long.
 
That's very magnanimous of him after drilling the tackles he played against all game long.
That did not happen nearly as much as it seemed. He beat Croston once and I keep once. When they got a chance, they generally did their job with him. He came from a million different places.
 
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