Next year’s defensive line
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Hoping he comes back. Wasn’t overly impressed him last season but he’s really turned it on this year. Same with Heflin...he needs to come back.
Nobody mentioning Benson...if someone did I apologize. The kid had a terrific year and I think he and Campbell are our starters. Niemann will be missed he had a great year and will be a pro.
Thank God we should have a spring session this year. Guys like Black, Craig, Lee, Jones and Lorsbeck need the development. I have a feeling Heflin comes back...don't have that feeling on ZVV but you never know.
Thank God we should have a spring session this year. Guys like Black, Craig, Lee, Jones and Lorsbeck need the development. I have a feeling Heflin comes back...don't have that feeling on ZVV but you never know.
It all depends on what they want (duh). I could see where they (Van Valkenborg and Heflin) both liked playing Big 10 football and would like a season with fans in the stands now that they proved they can play at this level. If both were to come back, it would help a lot. As others have pointed out, there are other bodies and folks who could emerge. Between Shannon, Lee, Jones, Black, Evans, Waggoner and others hope they can get some good depth. There was a noticeable drop-off from the starters to the backups this year. Evans played a lot of snaps as a pass-run guy, and I would imagine he will continue to do that.
I would think Iowa would welcome the right grad transfer as well on the d-line.
It will be very interesting to see if any seniors come back on the line. I think Golston is gone for sure and if I was Nixon I would be gone as well. No one will be able to replace him. Iowa has had good edge guys but haven't had someone that dominate on the interior for awhile. If some of the Seniors don't come back, they are going to be very green. Evans, Shannon and Waggoner will at least have lots of snaps under their belt. Lorbeck should be a good contributor. I think Waggoner moves the the inside. Then I think you have Lee and Black as probably the guys that round out the top 6. I can see Jones emerging for playing time, Craig as well. But who knows, seems like there is usually someone that comes on that people weren't expecting. There are lots of underclassmen in Bruce, Van Ness, Karchinski, Reames and McCall if he comes back.
Don't forget about Lorbeck, the other transfer from Northern Illinois. He's expectd to contribute at DE beginning in the spring.
My guess is VV comes back. 50/50 on Hefflin but hope he does.
That leaves us with Waggoner/Black/Lee/Shannon with the other spots.
Really like Black's size but he needs to work on his first step bad.
That leaves us with Waggoner/Black/Lee/Shannon with the other spots.
Really like Black's size but he needs to work on his first step bad.
With the transfer portal and players leaving early, etc., I stopped worrying about any position group as I think this will become the norm in college athletics ... I thought we would be down after losing AJ ... and this defense excelled... I have faith in the coaches they have guys in the locker room who will step up.
Add to that we should be very good at LB, so as long as the DL is solid, then we'll be fine in the front seven. Don't be shocked if someone like Bruce or Jones or Black BLOW up next year though. Almost no one knew who Nixon was before this year either, and we've been totally turning the DL over for the last four years, and here we are.....
ZVV and Waggoner at the ends, Shannon and Lee at DT as next years starters.
Nixon DID still have something like 29 tackles and 5.5 TFLs on limited snaps last season. I was predicting for him to have a great year this season. My main concern was about him playing his responsibility and not trying to do extra free-lancing. Sometimes when you have a big guy like him ... who can move like that ... they sometimes try to make every play. That obviously can lead to blown gap assignments. That's part of the reason why Bell kept on mentioning being a "good teammate." To the credit of BOTH Bell and Nixon ... Nixon played disciplined ball, was a great teammate, and still made plays all over the place. Really happy for the young man!
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Even when guys were healthy, we were seeing a lot of LBs seeing positional action. Wade saw reps ... as did Benson, Campbell, and Niemann.
I expect that Jacobs has a good chance and grow his role at LB. And then we'll see an active rotation with Campbell, Benson, and Colbert.
LB will continue to be a strength for the Hawks in '21. Certainly, Benson played really solidly for the Hawks.
Even when guys were healthy, we were seeing a lot of LBs seeing positional action. Wade saw reps ... as did Benson, Campbell, and Niemann.
I expect that Jacobs has a good chance and grow his role at LB. And then we'll see an active rotation with Campbell, Benson, and Colbert.
I can see Bensen staying at MLB and playing along side Campbell (Leo) and Jacobs (weakside) when we have 3 LBs in the game. Otherwise I could see Bensen and Campbell with a Cash, with Jacobs rolling in at the weakside to spell that position. Lots of talent in these 3.
And there's the question about D. Colbert. That will be interesting.
Is there a question about Colbert?
Obviously he had plenty of room for improvement ... but he also has 2 years of starts under his belt. Seems like a recipe for a substantial amount of playing time ... at the very least.
Between Colbert and Jacobs, guessing one of them won't be on the roster next fall
Nixon's chances of coming back are only slightly higher than Richard Nixon's reputation making a huge comeback. So, cherish the memories (of Daveyon Nixon, not Richard Nixon, that is)
Continuity and experience at MIKE will continue to help our DL be aligned correctly. That is a benefit in itself.
I can see Jacobs being the one playing more at LEO ... as I recall, Wallace tries to train the guys at each of the spots.
Our ILB spots are the ones who will see the most snaps ... and Benson and Campbell are guys who will see a lot of the snaps there.
Just airing ideas here ... but I'm still surprised that Black saw more snaps than Lee and Lorbeck combined.
Do you suppose that was simply because he was "better" than those 2 ... OR was it because Bell and Niemann figured that it was a necessary step to expedite the overall development of our DL?
Obviously, part of it is that the see the young man having an exceedingly high potential.
However, I still found the utilization fascinating.
Do you suppose that was simply because he was "better" than those 2 ... OR was it because Bell and Niemann figured that it was a necessary step to expedite the overall development of our DL?
Obviously, part of it is that the see the young man having an exceedingly high potential.
However, I still found the utilization fascinating.
Jacobs is listed as the backup to Niemann this year, this that role next year. Just a guess.
i think Black was doing better in practice so got more reps. I recall KF making a comment that Black “needs to stop asking permission” to beat the OL in games as he is not hesitant in practice. ThT is not exact quote but inference was he was being too nice in game reps
Podcast (can’t remember which one) said he will have his masters degree after this year. Don’t see him coming back
I see Benson and Campbell as starters. We only play 3 lbs about half the time. Doesn't leave much for them. With today's transfer portal, I think there's a good chance one moves on
I recall that quote too. I also remember Ferentz saying that Black had one of the best DL camps that they had ever had with a prospect ... part of the reason why he was such a priority recruit out of high school.
I only asked because I remember Lee having a ton of internal praise and buzz based on the prior year. Honestly, I was expecting Lee to jump into the scene this past season ... so I was intrigued/surprised that Black had seen the game reps he had.
Jalen Hunt is up to 340lbs at MSU. He was a loss and so was Aaron Witt to Wisconsin.
This.....after so many years of high level play on defense, Phil needs to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Yeah ... I was very disappointed about what transpired with Jalen. I thought he was the gem of that class ... so it stinks that he didn't end up a Hawk.
Kirk made a comment that was something to the effect of “Black is one of the most impressive true freshman they’ve had in fall camp the last 20 years.”
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