Iowa has always taken 3 star athletes and turned them into good lineman. Many with impressive NFL careers. So what specifically was the problem with Iowa's line last season? Were they too inexperienced? Too weak and simply could not compete? Too little effort? or Too many defenders to account for? Meaning teams just filled the box because they had no respect for the passing game. It would be easy to just say yes, all of the above. I'm curious if there were specific issues and have they been addressed, in your opinion.
O-Line?
- Thread starter Iowa-WildCat
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Simple. Youth and a center who had never played center, ever. When guys got hurt the line shuffled almost weekly and at one point early Colby who was a guard was moved to tackle and that didn't work. To have a successful line in college football a team needs seven guys in the same spots or with the same players throughout a season. If you can go deeper with continuity it's even better.
Iowa had zero of that scenario last season and has had a rough few years.
Makes sense^
Also, the absence of a longtime strength and conditioning guru is starting to catch up to them.
Also, the absence of a longtime strength and conditioning guru is starting to catch up to them.
Strength and conditioning has NOTHING to do with missed assignments and completely letting someone go right past you.
If you play D1 football and you completely WHIFF your guy in multiple games, you suck.
IMO there has been no excuse for the terrible play of the O-line other than coaching/recruiting.
Doesn’t seem to have hurt the defense.
So given the long track record of Iowa success at the offensive line. Was this an anomaly and consequently the issues have been addressed?
The recruited far superior athletes on the DL.
And have gotten lucky on the injury front.
Never had a solid starting OL and too much switching guys around due to injuries. Scrapping the zone scheme would really be what they need.
We’ve now got 20+ years of evidence to show that the zone scheme only really works if you have five really good or better offensive linemen. The only year we really had a dominant O line was 2002. Every single player was a multi year starter on that line. There’s been years where we’ve had multiple future NFL linemen and we’re still just average or slightly above. And they’ve also had multiple first round offensive lineman, but just so-so results. Of course, some of that could probably be attributed to lack of downfield threats or mediocre QB play allowing teams to stack the box.
Was listening to Luke Fickle yesterday and they had 16 OL for spring practice. Said if you have 7-8 available, it is hard to practice anything well with the limited numbers of OL. Affects what you can get done on both offense and defense.
Now, Iowa had what, 7 available.
Have no idea if true but interesting.
Now, Iowa had what, 7 available.
Have no idea if true but interesting.
Sometimes I feel like I’m piling on Petra’s but it is absolutely the case that opponents moved LBs and D-backs closer to the LOS against Iowa.
The OL was frequently facing 6-7 man fronts. I blame BF for failing to make adjustments.
The OL was frequently facing 6-7 man fronts. I blame BF for failing to make adjustments.
Well, that's a much different answer than it being the strength and conditioning coach.
The big question right now is will the OL be better in 2023? I hate to say it but I have yet to see any evidence of notable improvement. I'm hoping and praying the OL proves me wrong.
Every team in America uses zone blocking. Iowa also uses gap blocking and that didn’t work so well either.
If we only all knew everything when we started a job. Sometimes people have to experience things and see things to build up their abilities and cut reaction times and understand hand placement, etc. Those dang opponents don't just do standard things so we learn and keep getting better as individuals.
Our former S&C guy was considered the reason our OL was so good ...if you've been around any amount of time on this board, back when Doyle could walk on water, he was given most of the credit for our OL being so dominant ...especially as the season wore on. (Better answer?)
You're legs would be stronger so you would get over quicker and not WHIFF.
The OP referred to history of developing, but if the kids don't develop, then no.
Hasn't O-line declined for several years? At least the last two. I'd look at BF-KF as the reasons. They are responsible for recruiting and developing players. Neither has been a strength over the past couple of years, but nothing changes.
There were plays where guys went unblocked. Not a matter of a whiff, but not knowing what and who to block.
IMO yes, the o-line has been on a decline for several years and crashed last year. KF's attention appears to be grooming BF for Iowa head coach which failed and now his focus is on saving BF's job. JMO
Not so fast. The online has stumbled mightly for more than two, but last year was the glaring reality. To blame coaches for injuries and attrition is the easy way out for some of the people on this board. Think about an injury taking out the main center for your team, so you have to bring a guy over to play center who has never played the line. I don't care who the coach is that is a major project. You hope the guy can run with it and learn one of the toughest positions really fast. Having a five star decommit and injuries to two key players is like slamming the brakes on at 90 mph. Flips everything that coaches have been working towards. Message board heroes sit back with puffed out chests and blame everything but reality.
Last year a good defensive coordinator had three objectives 1) load the box, 2) fool Jones eyes on his reads, 3) Make Petra's see blitz, run or pass. Hard for an offensive coordinator to do anything but try to improve week to week. Film study for Jones was loaded with fantastic looks last winter and through to fall. Sucked to be him and his linemates last season though as teams just loaded up and messed with them week in and week out.
Then you get the dumb fan comments about Kirk grooming Brian for his job. Kirk could care less about that crap as Brian chose the proffession and they care more about the players than a stupid job. If you believe otherwise you know zilch about that family.
It actually crashed the year before. The only difference between last year's line and the year before was Lindy. Not exactly a success story for Barnett since he arrived.
Would be curious to see if there would have been any better results last year with Reese Morgan as the coach as opposed to Barnett. Is it a coincidence that the two years of Barnett's tenure have been two of the worst lines and offenses we have had? I agree that we were very young last year and were weak at the center position. My point is, Barnett needs to show that he can develop people. This year will be crucial for his evaluation from a fan perspective.
If we get healthy and stay healthy I think there will be some sizable improvements this year....especially at both guard positions and center. Also, while I have not seen him play, our new tackle via the portal sounded as though he was making an impact at practice before he got hurt. All of this plus a QB that will have some better pocket presence and making it harder to rush 5 or 6 people.
So you don't think that Kirk was attempting to groom Brian to take over as head coach?
To say any parent cares more about another child's success over their own child's success is frankly hard to believe. I think it would be very hard for any good parent to say they don't use all tools available to set their kids up for immediate and future success. I mean that is part of the job of a parent, right?
You think head coach of U of I football and OC at U of I football is a "stupid job"? I disagree. The millions of dollars per year salary says those are not stupid jobs....they are life changing for current and future generations type jobs.
Mary, did you just try to say that Kirk doesn’t really care about Brian’s job or grooming him for the HC job and if we believe that we don’t know your family at all. Ok! You have won me over.
Didn’t Parker get hurt in the first couple practices? I thought that is what I heard. Is that not accurate?
I think a mixture of things led to last years piss poor performance on the OL.
1. George Barnett has not been a good replacement for Tim Polasek.
2. Brian F./ Chris D. contributed to transfers and or made players quit.
2020 was when Kirk should have retired IMO. That settlement, Tim Polasek leaving, and no real punishment for his son’s actions have been the demise of our OL.
If it weren’t for Phil Parker holding down the fort KF woulda been history. . .
1. George Barnett has not been a good replacement for Tim Polasek.
2. Brian F./ Chris D. contributed to transfers and or made players quit.
2020 was when Kirk should have retired IMO. That settlement, Tim Polasek leaving, and no real punishment for his son’s actions have been the demise of our OL.
If it weren’t for Phil Parker holding down the fort KF woulda been history. . .
Iowa hasn't had the players the last couple years, other than Linderbaum. Getting very little out of the 2018 and 2019 OL recruiting classes is the core reason why.
From Dochterman on 10/27/2022:
In a traditional year, the Hawkeyes would have perhaps a senior tackle and guard to lead the unit. But none of their starting five are fourth- or fifth-year players. In the 2018 and 2019 classes, Iowa signed seven offensive linemen out of high school. Of the three recruits in 2018, injuries forced Cody Ince to retire during the offseason, Jeff Jenkins quit after barely a year at the school and Jack Plumb has become a rotational tackle this year. Of the seven, Plumb is the only one who has played, and he could pick up his first start of the season Saturday at right tackle.
In the 2019 class, injuries have crushed guard Justin Britt, who is out for the season. Tyler Endres has yet to crack the two-deep. Noah Fenske and Ezra Miller transferred to Colorado and Nebraska, respectively. Fenske is a second-team center while Miller has yet to play this year.
Ince, who had All-Big Ten potential, and Britt previously were listed as starters before injuries ruined their careers. Plumb also has nine career starts. They could have formed that foundation up front. Instead, the Hawkeyes have started four sophomores and a freshman the past two games. It has led to protection issues — 23 sacks allowed, ranking 111th — as well as perpetual running-game problems.
theathletic.com
From Dochterman on 10/27/2022:
In a traditional year, the Hawkeyes would have perhaps a senior tackle and guard to lead the unit. But none of their starting five are fourth- or fifth-year players. In the 2018 and 2019 classes, Iowa signed seven offensive linemen out of high school. Of the three recruits in 2018, injuries forced Cody Ince to retire during the offseason, Jeff Jenkins quit after barely a year at the school and Jack Plumb has become a rotational tackle this year. Of the seven, Plumb is the only one who has played, and he could pick up his first start of the season Saturday at right tackle.
In the 2019 class, injuries have crushed guard Justin Britt, who is out for the season. Tyler Endres has yet to crack the two-deep. Noah Fenske and Ezra Miller transferred to Colorado and Nebraska, respectively. Fenske is a second-team center while Miller has yet to play this year.
Ince, who had All-Big Ten potential, and Britt previously were listed as starters before injuries ruined their careers. Plumb also has nine career starts. They could have formed that foundation up front. Instead, the Hawkeyes have started four sophomores and a freshman the past two games. It has led to protection issues — 23 sacks allowed, ranking 111th — as well as perpetual running-game problems.
Iowa's offensive line recruiting misses, injuries and growing pains
As the line goes, so goes the offense. And so go the Hawkeyes.
theathletic.com
Our oline being so dominant? What fantasy land were you living in? Even if true, giving the S&C guy more credit for Iowa's good olines over the guys that recruited them and were their position coach is just ridiculous.
Iowa has had some dominant individual olinemen but rarely dominant units. Are you too senile to remember all the olines that weren't that impressive while Doyle was there? I'm not, there were plenty. The only consistently very good program in the west in the last decade Doyle was there was Wisconsin and they dominated Iowa's olines much of the time. Sometimes it was downright embarrassing.
Maybe you have an affinity for skinhead douchebags but they are less that 2 years removed from giving Brathwaite a $245,000 raise so Kirk must approve of what he is doing
I think the argument that some have made was that Doyle was more than a strength and conditioning coach with respect to the oline and was integral to the coaching of that unit. I have no idea whether that was true or not, but it is accurate to suggest that, at least from a timing perspective, the collapse of the oline more or less coincides with his departure.
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