Post Spring Game Thoughts

[Bryzzo]

* Amani Hooker is going to be a stud. He was all over the field in the final scrimmage and he has playmaking ability. He is going to be fun to watch

* Following the likely season ending injury to Mends, it appears that the likely starters at LB will be Amani Jones, Nick Niemann and Welch. The LB depth will most likely include Hockaday, Colbert, Wade and Kyle Taylor. I expect that both Dillon Doyle and Jayden McDonald will play during their true freshman seasons - probably on special teams.

* Max Cooper will carve out a role this fall. Iowa needs reliable pass catchers who can avoid the dropsies and Max looks like a prime candidate for the slot and will most likely get a lot of 3rd down passes thrown his way - especially if he shows he can consistently move the chains in crucial situations. The top 3 in the WR pecking order looks to be Easely, B. Smith, ISM, but after those 3, it will be interesting to see how much Cooper, Groeneweg, Ragaini and Tyrone Tracy get involved in the passing game.

* The interior of the O-line is going to be a work in progress. I think that Reynolds and Paulson will end end up being the starting guards and Render will be the starting Center, but I would expect to see some additional guys see some time (Banwart at Center), especially early in the season.

* The progression of Cedrick Lattimore is critical - Hawks will be plenty deep at DE, but lack some size at the DT position, so having Lattimore step up his game will go a long way in creating a formidable front.

* Toren Young looks like a legit battering ram - I hope he gets 200 plus carries this fall. I think he can approach a 1,000 yard season.

* I think Gersonde wins the Punting job and keeps it all year. Sounds like he was battling injuries all last year, and if he is fully healthy, I think he can at least provide a 40 Yard Average with some semblance of hang time - which was sorely lacking in last year's punting game.

* The next big Football milestone will be the Big 10 Media days - I think Ferentz brings Nate Stanley, Noah Fant, Parker Hesse and Anthony Nelson to Chicago to represent the Hawks.

 

[TKingpin]

He usually takes only 3 to media days. It was huge news when he took Josey as a junior. I suspect we see 3 seniors.
1) Hesse for certain. Leader of the DL. 4 year starter.
2) Render - leader of the OL, Sr., 3-year starter.
3) hmmm. I could see either Stanley or Fant. I would REALLY think it would be great if he took Mends. Even if he never plays a meaningful down, he would be rewarding a guy who stuck with it, worked hard, didn’t transfer, had a great attitude and was a great teammate.

I realize that is re-directing the thread from the OP.

My spring game thoughts are that
1) the interior OL needs to keep pushing to get better.
2) it may not be a good sign that 2 of our starting 3 WR are walk-ons assuming Easley and Groeneweg have earned it, along with ISM. I would bet the farm that we would be the only P5 school in that situation.
3) we are stacked at TE and Safety.
4) we need Aleric and Tristan to stay healthy.
5) Stanley is not out of the woods, yet, on deep ball accuracy and putting some “touch” on shorter passes.
6) LB concerns have diminished greatly as long as there are no more injuries. Jones, Welch, Niemann looked good and we may not lose any production bringing in Hockaday, Wade And possibly Colbert as back-ups. Especially if PP is serious about bringing Gervase and Hooker forward into the Hybrid LB role on passing downs.

 

[Harbinger273]

Amani Hooker blows up this year and has a season making him draftable in the first 3 rounds of the 2019 draft. He is that good and will show it this season. We have seen more than glimpses so far.
Amani Jones storms on to the scene this year and a major force in the B1G. I'll say 2nd team all B1G.
Stanley def has work to do to keep ascending as a solid qb. We need him to do this.
Iowa is still struggling with attracting solid playmakers to play Receiver. I'm still concerned about the development of guys like B. Smith and ISM even tho its early in their careers. Others will step up and make plays but they may not be game breakers.
Must have O line chem and cohesion develop nicely before the start of the season to make successful gains as a team during the season.

 

[MNHawk]

I never get tired of hearing how terrific Hooker is looking. He is from my kids’ school district and remember watching his older brother play terrific basketball for Park Center before playing 4 years at North Dakota and leading his team to an NCAA berth his senior year. Never saw Amani play football because his team didn’t play my son’s but believe he played on their varsity hoops team a little as a freshman (I think he may have quit playing hoops in high school at some point to concentrate on football). Hope Amani has a healthy season and tears up the field.

 

[nu2u]

I believe Jeff Jenkiins can compete right away for a back-up spot at OG during Fall camp. If I'm right, that could help alleviate some of the concerns regarding interior OL depth, Jenkins and Ince are the most technically sound of the incoming linemen recruits (in my amateur analysis). Both need to add weight but another 5-10 lbs over the summer should be enough to put JJ in the mix. My prediction for surprise newcomer is Jenkins. I think he wins a back-up spot.

Hooker played high school football just a cab ride from the University of Minnesota campus. Why the Gophers did not offer him a football scholarship is still baffling to me. Amani was a superb multi position HS athlete (DB, WR, RB, QB, PR) voted Conference MVP and finalist for MN POY - you don't let talented home town prospects like that get away. Iowa coaches did their homework.

WR appears to be a big concern for most Iowa fans. IMO, if Nick Easley stays healthy then the Hawks will be fine this season. Smith-Marsett is a legitimate deep threat and Iowa will field the best TE receiver group in the B10, perhaps the entire nation. Easley had 51 receptions in his first year in the program, he is as close to "solid" as you can get. If Brandon Smith starts to click, we're set. Bottom line, in my view, Stanley will have at least 3 very reliable receiving targets heading into the season. Also, don't forget Kelly-Martin is a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Already looking forward to kick-off.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I believe Jeff Jenkiins can compete right away for a back-up spot at OG during Fall camp. If I'm right, that could help alleviate some of the concerns regarding interior OL depth, Jenkins and Ince are the most technically sound of the incoming linemen recruits (in my amateur analysis). Both need to add weight but another 5-10 lbs over the summer should be enough to put JJ in the mix. My prediction for surprise newcomer is Jenkins. I think he wins a back-up spot.

Hooker played high school football just a cab ride from the University of Minnesota campus. Why the Gophers did not offer him a football scholarship is still baffling to me. Amani was a superb multi position HS athlete (DB, WR, RB, QB, PR) voted Conference MVP and finalist for MN POY - you don't let talented home town prospects like that get away. Iowa coaches did their homework.

WR appears to be a big concern for most Iowa fans. IMO, if Nick Easley stays healthy then the Hawks will be fine this season. Smith-Marsett is a legitimate deep threat and Iowa will field the best TE receiver group in the B10, perhaps the entire nation. Easley had 51 receptions in his first year in the program, he is as close to "solid" as you can get. If Brandon Smith starts to click, we're set. Bottom line, in my view, Stanley will have at least 3 very reliable receiving targets heading into the season. Also, don't forget Kelly-Martin is a receiving threat out of the backfield.

Already looking forward to kick-off.

I really like our class of '18 OL recruits ... however, I see them all as being developmental guys. Guys like Bulaga, Daniels, and Wirfs are rare ... they each had uncommon size and strength for their age ... all while moving exceedingly well (most young guys with that size have a lot of bad weight and consequently don't move nearly so well).

It's possible that one of them might impress enough to be listed as a 2nd teamer ... but I'd be absolutely shocked if they don't all redshirt.

A lot is likely going to depend on guys like Banwart, Kallenberger, and both Paulsen bros to all emerge and be capable of giving us quality reps ... especially if its in a next-man-in sort of scenario.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

WR appears to be a big concern for most Iowa fans. IMO, if Nick Easley stays healthy then the Hawks will be fine this season. Smith-Marsett is a legitimate deep threat and Iowa will field the best TE receiver group in the B10, perhaps the entire nation. Easley had 51 receptions in his first year in the program, he is as close to "solid" as you can get. If Brandon Smith starts to click, we're set. Bottom line, in my view, Stanley will have at least 3 very reliable receiving targets heading into the season. Also, don't forget Kelly-Martin is a receiving threat out of the backfield.

How the chips fall at the skill positions is a tough thing to foresee. You can have an idea that guys have talent ... but that still doesn't tip their hand as it relates to how consistently they might execute in a given season.

Entering the 2016 season ....

• We were slated to return VandeBerg, who has coming off of 65 receptions and 700+ yards in the '15 season.
• We were slated to return Kittle ... who nabbed 6 TD receptions as our #2 TE!
• We had Jerminic Smith, who flashed enough as a TR FR ... that he was one of our very few TR FR WRs to manage to put up 100+ yards in a single game (against the Illini).
• We had Jay Scheel, a former 4-star athlete, who was finally supposed to be healthy - and ready to hit the grid-iron.
• We were seemingly loaded at RB - with Wadley, Daniels, and Mitchell. All guys who had prior experience and flashed serious ability.
• We returned a veteran starter at QB ... a guy who exhibited fantastic leadership skills (and toughness AND moxy) in the '15 season.

The scaffolding for the O looked alarmingly promising. We seemed to have proven guys and we seemed to have some promising guys too. We seemed to be returning some decent leadership too. What happened? VandeBerg got lost for the year pretty early in the season. Beathard got a dinged knee during camp right before the season - that totally limited his mobility. Kittle got dinged and wasn't 100% for the whole season. Something behind the scenes transpired with Mitchell ... which made him fade into the background. Jerminic Smith entered the season with a bit of an entitled attitude ... and he didn't sharpen his game nearly as much as he needed to. Jay Scheel continued to battle injuries ... and those injuries continued to limit his ability to play and produce. And that, of course, doesn't even touch upon all the juggling that also happened on the OL.

What we ended up seeing? What we ended up seeing was a historically poor Ferentz era passing attack ... and a season that fell far short of our pre-season expectations.

Entering the 2002 season ....

• We were slated to return a pretty impressive inside WR in CJ Jones.
• At TE, we also were slated to return a tremendously productive guy in Dallas Clark.
• We also returned a promising QB named Brad Banks who was apparently good enough to split reps with the incumbent starter, McCann. The QB Banks seemed to have some nice mobility and some moxy ... but he was a little on the short side AND he also made quite a number of bone-headed decisions during the prior season (2001 Michigan game anybody?).
• Who else? Nobody else was proven. We had a Michigan kid who had issues with academics out of high school ... who went to Milford Academy and who ultimately landed with the Hawks. If memory serves, he had come off an injury in 2000 and 21 career rushes in 2001 for the Hawks before landing the starting RB spot in 2002. His back-up was a young guy by the name of Jermelle Lewis who had no prior collegiate rushes.
• Who else? At WR we had a JR at SE who had a grand total of 3 prior collegiate receptions ... his name was Maurice Brown. The remainder of our promise at WR was in the young hands of a RS FR WR by the name of Ed Hinkel and a TR FR WR by the name of Clinton Solomon.
• As we all know, a saving grace of the O was that it returned quite a veteran an experienced group of O-linemen. What's more ... they were a group of O-linemen who had LOST a lot of ball games ... and they weren't going to let it happen on their watch (if they could help it).

What happened? Without the benefit of hindsight ... could a fan truly say that they would be able forecast what would come to transpire? Brad Banks definitely had something about him ... I think we could fairly assert that ... however, he HAD to make significant improvements from the 2001 season. Obviously guys like CJ Jones and Dallas Clark supplied us with some decent foundations ... but we were so unproven everywhere else. By Iowa football standards ... the health of our OL that season bordered on miraculous. How many of us, mere mortal Hawkeye fans, knew that Milford's football coach considered Fred Russell to be the best running back he had every coached (even better than Shonn Greene ... whom he would coach years later)? Who saw Mo Brown's emergence coming?

So often, Iowa fans like to put that 2002 squad on a pedestal ... but when your really critically inspect that O ... it is textbook Ferentz. Just like he always says ... guys need to emerge and create the storylines for the team for the season. We fans knew very little about that team before the season. There really was a ton of youth and inexperience on the squad. As much as we'd like to over-state the talent of our skill-players on that '02 offense ... the only guy to stick in the NFL was Clark.

Given how differently the aforementioned seasons transpired ... particularly compared to expectation ... what it the world could happen in '18?

The answer ..... ANYTHING!

 

[millhawk]

I really like our class of '18 OL recruits ... however, I see them all as being developmental guys. Guys like Bulaga, Daniels, and Wirfs are rare ... they each had uncommon size and strength for their age ... all while moving exceedingly well (most young guys with that size have a lot of bad weight and consequently don't move nearly so well).

It's possible that one of them might impress enough to be listed as a 2nd teamer ... but I'd be absolutely shocked if they don't all redshirt.

A lot is likely going to depend on guys like Banwart, Kallenberger, and both Paulsen bros to all emerge and be capable of giving us quality reps ... especially if its in a next-man-in sort of scenario.

Bingo, I love the potential of Jeff Jenkins. But I don't see him passing one of the Paulsen's, Kallenberger, Banwart. All the incoming ol guys redshirt and look out for Plumb in a couple of years.

 

[nu2u]

How the chips fall at the skill positions is a tough thing to foresee. You can have an idea that guys have talent ... but that still doesn't tip their hand as it relates to how consistently they might execute in a given season.

Entering the 2016 season ....

• We were slated to return VandeBerg, who has coming off of 65 receptions and 700+ yards in the '15 season.
• We were slated to return Kittle ... who nabbed 6 TD receptions as our #2 TE!
• We had Jerminic Smith, who flashed enough as a TR FR ... that he was one of our very few TR FR WRs to manage to put up 100+ yards in a single game (against the Illini).
• We had Jay Scheel, a former 4-star athlete, who was finally supposed to be healthy - and ready to hit the grid-iron.
• We were seemingly loaded at RB - with Wadley, Daniels, and Mitchell. All guys who had prior experience and flashed serious ability.
• We returned a veteran starter at QB ... a guy who exhibited fantastic leadership skills (and toughness AND moxy) in the '15 season.

The scaffolding for the O looked alarmingly promising. We seemed to have proven guys and we seemed to have some promising guys too. We seemed to be returning some decent leadership too. What happened? VandeBerg got lost for the year pretty early in the season. Beathard got a dinged knee during camp right before the season - that totally limited his mobility. Kittle got dinged and wasn't 100% for the whole season. Something behind the scenes transpired with Mitchell ... which made him fade into the background. Jerminic Smith entered the season with a bit of an entitled attitude ... and he didn't sharpen his game nearly as much as he needed to. Jay Scheel continued to battle injuries ... and those injuries continued to limit his ability to play and produce. And that, of course, doesn't even touch upon all the juggling that also happened on the OL.

What we ended up seeing? What we ended up seeing was a historically poor Ferentz era passing attack ... and a season that fell far short of our pre-season expectations.

Entering the 2002 season ....

• We were slated to return a pretty impressive inside WR in CJ Jones.
• At TE, we also were slated to return a tremendously productive guy in Dallas Clark.
• We also returned a promising QB named Brad Banks who was apparently good enough to split reps with the incumbent starter, McCann. The QB Banks seemed to have some nice mobility and some moxy ... but he was a little on the short side AND he also made quite a number of bone-headed decisions during the prior season (2001 Michigan game anybody?).
• Who else? Nobody else was proven. We had a Michigan kid who had issues with academics out of high school ... who went to Milford Academy and who ultimately landed with the Hawks. If memory serves, he had come off an injury in 2000 and 21 career rushes in 2001 for the Hawks before landing the starting RB spot in 2002. His back-up was a young guy by the name of Jermelle Lewis who had no prior collegiate rushes.
• Who else? At WR we had a JR at SE who had a grand total of 3 prior collegiate receptions ... his name was Maurice Brown. The remainder of our promise at WR was in the young hands of a RS FR WR by the name of Ed Hinkel and a TR FR WR by the name of Clinton Solomon.
• As we all know, a saving grace of the O was that it returned quite a veteran an experienced group of O-linemen. What's more ... they were a group of O-linemen who had LOST a lot of ball games ... and they weren't going to let it happen on their watch (if they could help it).

What happened? Without the benefit of hindsight ... could a fan truly say that they would be able forecast what would come to transpire? Brad Banks definitely had something about him ... I think we could fairly assert that ... however, he HAD to make significant improvements from the 2001 season. Obviously guys like CJ Jones and Dallas Clark supplied us with some decent foundations ... but we were so unproven everywhere else. By Iowa football standards ... the health of our OL that season bordered on miraculous. How many of us, mere mortal Hawkeye fans, knew that Milford's football coach considered Fred Russell to be the best running back he had every coached (even better than Shonn Greene ... whom he would coach years later)? Who saw Mo Brown's emergence coming?

So often, Iowa fans like to put that 2002 squad on a pedestal ... but when your really critically inspect that O ... it is textbook Ferentz. Just like he always says ... guys need to emerge and create the storylines for the team for the season. We fans knew very little about that team before the season. There really was a ton of youth and inexperience on the squad. As much as we'd like to over-state the talent of our skill-players on that '02 offense ... the only guy to stick in the NFL was Clark.

Given how differently the aforementioned seasons transpired ... particularly compared to expectation ... what it the world could happen in '18?

The answer ..... ANYTHING!

Yes, we are well aware that injuries may occur and that players may not develop as planned. My point is that Nate Stanley will have at least 3 reliable receivers heading into the season. I consider Noah Fant, TJ Hockenson, and Nick Easley reliable receivers. These three players have proven their reliability over the course of at least one full season.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

Yes, we are well aware that injuries may occur and that players may not develop as planned. My point is that Nate Stanley will have at least 3 reliable receivers heading into the season. I consider Noah Fant, TJ Hockenson, and Nick Easley reliable receivers. These three players have proven their reliability over the course of at least one full season.

I completely agree! Furthermore, I'd add that Ihmir is a great young guy who will likely only improve. He had 18 receptions for a little over 180 yards.

Also, while Freddie Russell had 141 yards and 1 TD on 21 carries in 2001 ... Ivory Kelly-Martin had 184 yards and 3 TDs on 20 carries. Also, Toren Young had 193 yards and 2 TDs on 45 carries. Thus, I'm pretty confident that we return RBs who are capable of producing for us!

 

[obfuscating]

This could just be a template for Iowa football...

"WR appears to be a big concern for most Iowa fans."