Im not worried about cb
- Thread starter yiana
- Start date
Studs? Yes. Good depth? Borderline. I know the guys emerge well but Hankins is still young and OJ is unproven. I think he could do well but will he. We'll be relying on our upper echelon Safety corp for support. A couple guys will need to play beyond their years to make up for losses at the position.
Looks pretty thin. If we have a couple of injuries, it could be a wild ride....
The situation was perceived as good enough that it drove 2 CBs to leave the team ... Boswell and Rugamba. If there's any concern about the projected starters ... the RS FR and FR on the squad are a talented group of guys. The offer sheets for many of the guys were pretty nice ...
Creamer - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Michigan State and Kansas State.
Turner - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Boston College and Wisconsin (recruited by Jim Leonhard himself).
Johnson - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of LSU and Notre Dame.
Brents - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Michigan State and North Carolina State.
Roberts - Iowa was his only "major" offer ... and I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he earned reps ahead of the others. It's ridiculous how "under the radar" this young man was.
Creamer - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Michigan State and Kansas State.
Turner - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Boston College and Wisconsin (recruited by Jim Leonhard himself).
Johnson - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of LSU and Notre Dame.
Brents - At times during his recruitment he had offers from the likes of Michigan State and North Carolina State.
Roberts - Iowa was his only "major" offer ... and I honestly wouldn't be shocked if he earned reps ahead of the others. It's ridiculous how "under the radar" this young man was.
In '13 we were slated to start Lowery and Lomax. Lomax saw some back-up action in '12 but didn't see the same quantity or quality of reps that Hankins saw. Lomax never saw a down as a starter that year though ... because Lomax got injured and Desmond King made his entrance, starting as a TRUE FRESHMAN!
There is no doubt that Desmond King was a talented guy ... but folks are foolish if they don't attribute some of King's success as a freshman to Lowery's leadership (he helped to mentor King) and Phil's coaching!
The Hawks will play young CBs in critical situations in '18 ... and I expect that we'll see them give us quality snaps.
The Hawks Defensive coaching tree is pretty strong when you consider that Phil Parker played for and coached under Norm Parker who was d-coordinator under George Perles who was defensive coach of the famed Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh. Great hires by KF
I don't recall anyone predicting the season JJ had last year. I really like our young stable and I think it will be a position of strength.
Other important things to remember is that not only does the CB room have a pretty nice collection of talent ... albeit most of it on the young side ... but it will be complemented by an extremely experienced and talented group of safeties. Strong safety play can be huge when breaking in new CBs. The leadership and communication can help ensure that the CBs are more apt to know their assignments and are properly positioned. In '09, we broke in Prater as a new starting CB and our pool of back-up CBs was pretty weak ... with the exception of Hyde. All the same, the transition at CB was still pretty smooth. Similarly, when Hyde was the new starter in '10 ... there were a few bumps early ... but again, as a whole, that too was a pretty smooth transition.
Furthermore, as has been oft mentioned ... another good friend of the secondary is DL play. Many of us, myself included, are very bullish on what our DL brings to the table. I'm willing to bet that Iowa's QB disruption numbers continue to be excellent ... and here I'm referring to QB hurries, deflected balls, interceptions, and sacks. The production by the DL in '17 was excellent as it relates to QB disruption numbers ... and given the leadership in that group ... I expect those numbers to only continue to trend up!
So am I worried about Iowa's CBs? Heck no! Do I think that there may be some "bumps along the way" ... sure I do! That's the nature of the beast whenever you have new starters ... but I also anticipate that we'll see a lot of fine play from them too!
Furthermore, as has been oft mentioned ... another good friend of the secondary is DL play. Many of us, myself included, are very bullish on what our DL brings to the table. I'm willing to bet that Iowa's QB disruption numbers continue to be excellent ... and here I'm referring to QB hurries, deflected balls, interceptions, and sacks. The production by the DL in '17 was excellent as it relates to QB disruption numbers ... and given the leadership in that group ... I expect those numbers to only continue to trend up!
So am I worried about Iowa's CBs? Heck no! Do I think that there may be some "bumps along the way" ... sure I do! That's the nature of the beast whenever you have new starters ... but I also anticipate that we'll see a lot of fine play from them too!
Can't 90% of college teams say the same. A couple of injuries and you aren't as good and probably in trouble. Tom Brady, Big Ben..I could go on?
Pretty sure we were talking about the Iowa CB position. There is a reason that it is the subject of it's own thread here.
I guess I am one of those who is thinking Ojemudia is NOT the answer at CB. After Rugumba got benched against Purdue, Ojemudia got his chance and did no better (then he got benched and Matt Hankins hasn't looked back). I'm guessing we find a couple of real gems by the end of the year but I fear that CB will be rough around the edges early.
