From Chad Liestikow:
Can the D be better than last year?
Can the D be better than last year?
Practice nuggets..
- Thread starter BigOHawk
- Start date
Lukas is built for the edge, although was nice to see him disrupt so much from the interior last year.
Dough boys could be scary in years to come, and nice to have Moss and all his experience back for this season.
Dough boys could be scary in years to come, and nice to have Moss and all his experience back for this season.
Logan Lee, Y. Black, Shannon, & Pittman in the middle. There are also a few other interior guys that could make waves too. When you are strong up the middle, including what could possibly be one of the top interior LB crews...you aren't running the ball on these guys. The Wisconsin match up is going to be epic.
If Van Ness, who I believe is going to stay outside most of the time...adds a few wrinkles to his rushing abilities...he's going to be a freak. You have Waggoner on first and second down...then add Craig, Hurkett, Evans...and a few others who could pop in there.
This defense is going to be scary. The best part...our offense has to practice against them. Steel sharpens steel.
Much tougher schedule...but no one is going to push these guys around. Everyone talks about Michigan...well...that game was 14-6 late in the third and their two TDs were big plays. Our offense kept putting them on the field in plus territory. I think this one is circled on the Calendar in Kinnick by many on this team.
If Van Ness, who I believe is going to stay outside most of the time...adds a few wrinkles to his rushing abilities...he's going to be a freak. You have Waggoner on first and second down...then add Craig, Hurkett, Evans...and a few others who could pop in there.
This defense is going to be scary. The best part...our offense has to practice against them. Steel sharpens steel.
Much tougher schedule...but no one is going to push these guys around. Everyone talks about Michigan...well...that game was 14-6 late in the third and their two TDs were big plays. Our offense kept putting them on the field in plus territory. I think this one is circled on the Calendar in Kinnick by many on this team.
Ill wait for practice pics before I believe guys look fast.
Aaron Graves may be the best of all the lineman.
More like, feather tickles steel, steel pulverizes feather.
Not this year. Long way to go.
Get them boys out in this lovely April weather. It’s like October. Get them kickers kicking into the wind.
I'm efforting that as we speak.
Aaron certainly will have some great raw tools. However, there's still going to be a learning curve for a guy playing in Iowa's 2-gap scheme. He's NOT going to be the best from day 1.
Besides, Iowa's DL-room has some dudes. It's exciting to think about how some of those guys will develop. Just look at Logan Lee ... this past season he was finally healthy ... and he ended up being every bit as promising as Coach Bell had been foreshadowing.
If you look at Yahya Black ... hearing Noah Shannon speak about the guy ... young man has impressive size and raw tools. For a guy like that ... a lot of the deal is about learning how to properly wield your body as a weapon. The guy is long and young ... so not only does he have to be extra careful about fundamentals like pad-level ... but because the game is so much faster on the interior, it's that much more important to get down play-recognition so that you can play fast. But think about it ... if the guy is "thinking too much" as it relates to recognition ... then there might end up being lapses in leverage (pad-level). The flip-side is possible too ... if you cannot playing adequately fast with good pad-level ... then that will affect your timing as it relates to being where you need to be given how you read your keys. The exciting thing about Black will be the pay-off when he puts it all together.
What Van Ness pulled off last year ... out of almost nowhere!? He wasn't even a name on my radar going into last spring-camp. Because so many people were dinged ... he and Stec were reputed to be the "surprises" of last spring on the DL. However, it was hard to take that too seriously ... because they were almost like the last guys standing. Given that the coaches respected Stec enough to give him quality reps last season ... hindsight indicates that that praise was not vacuous.
So who might emerge this spring? We know that a healthy Hurkett can definitely play the game! Morgan Llewellyn was a dude who grew from having a WR body to a DL body ... but without losing the athleticism. Maybe he has the chops to the surprise?!
Should be fun to see how things unfold.
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Biggest thing the D needs to improve on is a more consistent pass rush. Overall solid, but also disappeared at times.
yeah ... need look no further than the Purdue game on that one. Got pretty manhandled in the Michigan game too.
Probably not start game 1 but this kid is, I think, on a different athletic plane than our other guys, and, as you aptly noted, pretty good themselves. Yes, we are deep on the line and talented.
Don’t forget about Mad Max at DE. His HS vids are impressive. He plays mean and I see he is in the early 2 deeps.
This and Chris Reames has made strides. He's pretty big now.
I saw Reams on campus last year when back in IC. He looked more like a BB player than a FB player, imo.
With the talent and depth on the DL, he might want to consider a path similar to Matt Nelson
I do have a good practice source but haven't heard much lately, I'll check again.
I feel like that should have happened a year or two ago. Probably too late now. Hoping he can at same point he can be a Sam Brincks level player.
this has me pumped and frothing already. keep posting like this and i'll have nothing left in the tank at kickoff which is 5 months away. please pace yourself.
Let us not waste this elite defense. Can Fran consult with Brian?
i would have to add they need to identify the WR that torches our DBs and ensure that 1 guy never does that again.
Leather sharpens steel. Aluminum oxide bonded in resin sharpens steel.
Someone give Kelvin Bell a raise!
No doubt that is part of it and agree.
Just spit balling here but I recall him coming in fairly skinny. The staff is always evaluating each players ability to gain and support good weight.
Last year, from what I saw, I was actually surprised by the weight he has put on. Admittedly to lazy to check the charts here but he looks all of 6’6” 275.
Obviously the coaches know, but IF his frame can support another 25 and IF he has decent lateral movement and can establish some leverage, the foundation is there and the transition from DE to OT might not prove be that difficult for a D1 football player.
With the rich and young talent that is progressing on the Dline, CR most likely is not necessarily needed for DE depth. Plus, making a switch could be his best opportunity to see the field and he should have a couple years of eligibility with a cov year to practice.
Matt Nelson did recently sign a new contract and believe he’s in the 2 deeps at RT with Detroit. As we all know he graduated as a DT.
We’ve seen success with positional switches at Iowa before but absolutely CR would have to take that shot soon.
GO HAWKS
here's a nugget.
looks like elite offense to me!!!
looks like elite offense to me!!!
David Bell aside, Iowa under Phil’s direction has mostly done a good job at that. We saw it a bit more down the stretch and in the bowl game last year in part because injuries took a toll on the secondaries depth and limited somewhat what Phil could dial up, especially with an inconsistent pass rush. You get left with the choice of sell out to rush the passer or sit back in coverage.
? He redshirted his first year, and was injured all year the year after that. So last year was the first year he could play. A little early to write off a kid that could potentially play 3 more years.
Moss and the Death Squad. I like it.
