New Two Deeps
- Thread starter Blair Sanderson
- Start date
Perhaps, but I don't see it at this point. Starters are Matt Nelson, a senior who has 30+ starts in his career. Lattimore, who played in all 12 games last year. Reiff is likely suspended 1 game but will probably be ready for Game 2 and who played significant snaps. Gholston who played some snaps. And they are talking about rotating Brincks in at DE or DT. Iowa has 8-9 guys across the DL they can legitimately go to. Of course, injuries to key guys will be a big factor but Iowa is in much better spot on the DL as a whole than most teams.
It all depends. If Wirfs and Jackson only play as much as Myers and Boettger did last year, then yes it's a problem. There are years where OL can largely remain unscathed. Let's hope this is one of those years. I like Iowa's top 5-7 guys.
That's pretty much how I see it too. Hopefully we're right!
Unfortunately, quite apart from talent ... the very best Ferentz teams are invariably also characterized by having really great team leadership. The SRs (and select JRs) elevate themselves and everyone around them. As a consequence, you see a collection of guys who play exceedingly well TOGETHER ... and, by playing that way, they can take the field against anybody and be competitive!
In 2015, the Hawks had all new starters at OT ... and Myers even got injured, so ultimately Croston (another walk-on) took over at LT. Boettger got dinged during that season too ... so we ended up having Daniels and Welsh see action at RT at times.
On that 2015 OL, 3 starters were sophomores ... 2 of whom were all-new starters. Even then, Welsh ultimately lost the staring gig in '14 ... so he wasn't a returning full-time starter (and he didn't participate in spring camp in '15 either).
Who was our depth in '15? Daniels helped supply some depth at OG ... and he was a true freshman. Ferguson was a back-up OT ... and he was a RS FR. Simmons was a SR back-up C ... and contributed a bit on special teams. As mentioned before ... Croston started off the season as a back-up LT ... and he hadn't really played much previously either (except some on special teams). The primary advantage for the '15 group was that Blythe and Walsh were SR starters. Also, it didn't hurt that Welsh had seen some prior starts back in '14 (when he was a RS FR).
Thus, not only was the '15 OL relatively inexperienced ... it took injuries through the season for us to develop depth ON THE FLY!
As we look to the '18 season ... we return 4 guys with starts (3 essentially being regular starters) ... we return a few other guys who have seen quality prior snaps ... and we might have some younger guys who might prove to be "emergers."
I won't put ANY ceiling on the '18 team. They could still have a poor season ... that is possible. But it is just as possible that they could have an exemplary season!
You know perfectly well the problem isn't injuries. Hawkeyes freak out when kids graduate because back-ups don't get as many reps as they should. And that's because Iowa doesn't run up the score so the second team stays on the bench more than they should. If Iowa's gonna have a joke OOC use that to season the guys behind the starters.
Really like our 2 deeps and think that Golston is going to get a nice jumpstart to his increased playing time along the DL with the season opening suspension coming for Reiff.
Despite the relative lack of experience, I am super ultra pumped about the LB 2 deep at least on paper. I think these guys have loads of potential and will adjust nicely. Colbert and Wade are intriguing and hope they play well when they get the chance.
Despite the relative lack of experience, I am super ultra pumped about the LB 2 deep at least on paper. I think these guys have loads of potential and will adjust nicely. Colbert and Wade are intriguing and hope they play well when they get the chance.
In '15, he was a pretty solid backup DE. Then, he was really quite productive at LDE in '16. However, he also saw what Anthony brought to the table at DE ... and also saw that we landed Epenesa. Then, in a courageous move that can only be described as epitomizing team play ... he requested to move to the interior DL.
As we all saw ... it was a little bit of a transition for Matt at DT last year ... however, by the time he "got it down" ... he was executing at a really high level AND he was being really disruptive! If you doubt this latter assertion ... ask why BC was running away from Nelson and Nelson in the bowl game last year!
The intriguing thing to me is where Nelson plays in the NFL. There have been 6-8 interior lineman in the NFL but not very many. He might end up back at DE. I think if he is productive in 2018 a team will draft him in the later rounds.
IIRC OJ got schooled pretty bad in the MSU game....
They pretty much all played like crap vs isu.
Levi starts if he's healthy and can go thru fall camp without missing time. I wouldn't be surprised to see Banwart rotate at guard like we've done in the past. I'd love to see Kallenberger make a push also. In '19 AJ, MK Banwart, Levi and Wirfs. That lineup gives the young studs time to develop, like Plumb, Ince and Jenkins (who I think will be a star when he gets bigger).
Shannon and Linderbaum have a lot to learn for their position, the closer your position to the ball the harder it is to see early playing time.
The first question is whether Matt wants to go to the NFL. He's a smart dude ... and has interest in medicine (IIRC).
The big question last year at DT was that we really didn't have any experience at the position beyond Bazata. Furthermore, Matt Nelson is obviously a tall dude ... and it was a transition for him to get leverage on the interior (among other technical things).
Now, entering the '18 season, we return a bunch of guys who've seen quality reps at DT. Plenty of guys still have a lot of learning and improving to do ... but we have no reason to believe that they won't make the requisite improvements.
Amani Hooker was out for that game - so that didn't help. Also, we obviously were having issues at RCB (until Phil used Jackson to match-up in coverage).
The nice thing about young players is that they're capable of improving as they learn more and gain more experience. I'm anticipating that OJ and Hankins will both be improved ... we'll be having talented freshmen continue to push the level of competition ... and our safety play should be exemplary. Good communication and good team-play in the secondary can produce much improved execution.
We played Lattimore as a true freshman out of absolute necessity in 2016 ... because we knew that we were graduating 2 experienced SRs at DT. Furthermore, Bazata had been having health issues ... so the coaches were very concerned about his snap count in '17. Thus, Lattimore got the early snaps ... because we needed him to be ready to contribute in '17.
As we look to '19, we're only explicitly graduating Matt Nelson at DT ... and we should be returning Lattimore, Reiff, Golston, and Jansen. Of course, I expect that Golston has the flexibility to shift back outside to LDE if needed. Furthermore, Nixon has a whole year of snaps that he received at IWCC last year ... and this year he'll be learning positional fundamentals (and the D) as he's keeping his academics squared away. Hence, Nixon will presumably be coming "online" for the '19 season too.
Given these aforementioned considerations, that suggests to me that we're not going to need to rush the development of Shannon or Linderbaum. In fact, given that Lattimore and Reiff will be SRs in '19 ... it is really useful, in terms of eligibility, for them to redshirt. That way they can apprentice under SRs in '19 ... and they'll see their load significantly increase entering the '20 season.
Since 2012, Iowa's QB disruption numbers (by DEs) were at their highest in '17 ... and that was with Epenesa and Brincks being first-year positional contributors. Each season, both Anthony and Parker have improved ... and I expect both to have a terrific season in '18. AJ will know the D better too ... so he should be able to continue to ramp up the octane at DE.
The '18 DT QB disruption numbers only trailed the production of '14 and '16 ... but that's not too surprising given that in each of those years the Hawks had pretty good depth and a lot of experience.
Given the personnel that that Hawks return ... I expect that the Hawks will have better disruption numbers by BOTH DEs and DTs in '18.
Part of it will certainly depend how ready the guys can be ... and whether the Hawks can get big enough leads to get the younger guys in.
100%. Kirk seems really excited about the 4 game rule. If "we" get up on someone using freshman to keep the reps down on the starters, while getting some tape, will be vital for those guys moving forward. I look for DT and CB to be a place we see that 4 game rule used.
No, not yet. They are both currently in the two deeps. Almost certain that they will play unless injuries keep them out.
I think OL depth is fine if they guys stay relatively healthy. Levi has played some, Ferguson has played some, they are high on Kallenberger. They key for Iowa though is to remain relatively healthy on the OL. That hasn't happened for a few years. There has been a lot of guys in and out or out completely for a period of time.
I think Kallenberger has the potential to be a first round draft choice in the NFL after his time at Iowa comes to an end.
