This is neither the deepest nor the most talented line we have had here. I have no idea where that thought process is coming from.
The 2 deepest and most talented Iowa OLs that I can think of right off hand are the '02 and '09 units. '02 had literal superstar level talents in Gallery, Steinbach, and Nelson. When guys like Aiello and McMahon are back-ups (both of whom started and played well in '03) - the indication is that there is a high level of talent.
'09 had the likes of Bulaga, Richardson, and Reiff. Of course, Reiff was only a redshirt freshman that season. I'll forever wonder about the "what could have been" had the '09 OL not suffered so many injuries ... particularly in the off-season. IIRC Bulaga, Vandervelde, and Calloway were each nicked up during the off-season ... and we then went on to lose Richardson in the latter part of the season. We had high-quality back-ups like Gettis, Zusevics, and Ferentz ... all guys who would go on to start in '10.
I think that too many Iowa fans are counting chickens too much before they hatch as it relates to our redshirt freshmen and freshmen o-linemen as we enter the 2016 season. Don't get me wrong though ... I am very bullish on the potential of the '16 group. However, I wouldn't wish to hang my hat on hyperbole either.
I think that the Hawks have legit elite talents in the likes of Welsh and Daniels. It's interesting because usually our elite players are our OTs. I think that Render is an awfully solid #6 for us ... he'll play this year. Who else might push Render for the #6 spot? LeGrand might work his way in the convo. It's fascinating that Ward is still on the outside of the depth chart ... I presume he's still an important contributor for us in terms of scout-team and what-not ... however, it's interesting nonetheless because he has seen a bit of prior playing time (including time as a jumbo TE).
If you look at the pattern of prior great Iowa LTs ... a common pattern is that guys who often develop the best are guys who really don't have a ton of high school experience on the OL. I presume that a lot of this deals with the fact that those guys haven't yet acquired as many bad habits and don't have to unlearn as much stuff as others. This pattern includes Gallery, Bulaga, Reiff, and Scherff. I know that Alaric Jackson is another one of those guys who is raw player ... but who has a high ceiling. I don't know about Waechter ... I believe I remember reading that he's played a number of different positions in high school ... and only played on the OL toward the end of his career.
Thus, it would appear that we have some depth ... definitely there are a lot of young guys. Many of whom might yet emerge as high-end contributors. However, at this juncture, we don't have the power of hindsight ... so we don't yet have enough info to anoint any of the inexperienced younger guys.
