So Castro is our 10th, 11th best Defender…
- Thread starter cmhawks99
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The QB is a unique player because he handles the ball and makes all the reads on virtually every offensive play. A QB literally cannot win a game by himself, but he can lose a game by himself. That equation is more heavily weighted at Iowa where the QB is given more responsibility than a typical offense.
Iowa is rarely going to win major recruiting battles with 4/5* recruits. We just are not a blue blood and I'm guessing a lot of schools are willing to fall below Iowa's academic and citizenship requirements. For example, every school that has ever hired Rick Pitino.
So KF has come up with a strategy that minimizes the offensive talent differential, and it has won a ton of games and produced a lot more highs than lows. It's just boring. When execution fails a more athletic opponent will win those fights on the line or deep downfield.
A lot has gone wrong this year. Being down to one scholly receiver for the first few games didn't help getting out of the gate. It certainly made it easier to blanket Arland IV and Big Sam. An inexperienced line, and especially inexperienced as a unit didn't help the offense right out of the gate. All of that was aggravated by less than mediocre QB play-indeed the worst of all possible QB problems with a bad line and only two or three receiving threats, Spencer can't make plays outside the pocket and rattles when pressured. A great coach, as opposed to merely "outstanding" or "very good" might be able to overcome all those problems. Or a blue blood that has 4/5*s in their bench can just overwhelm almost every opponent with raw NFL talent. That just isn't Iowa and will never be Iowa.
Iowa is rarely going to win major recruiting battles with 4/5* recruits. We just are not a blue blood and I'm guessing a lot of schools are willing to fall below Iowa's academic and citizenship requirements. For example, every school that has ever hired Rick Pitino.
So KF has come up with a strategy that minimizes the offensive talent differential, and it has won a ton of games and produced a lot more highs than lows. It's just boring. When execution fails a more athletic opponent will win those fights on the line or deep downfield.
A lot has gone wrong this year. Being down to one scholly receiver for the first few games didn't help getting out of the gate. It certainly made it easier to blanket Arland IV and Big Sam. An inexperienced line, and especially inexperienced as a unit didn't help the offense right out of the gate. All of that was aggravated by less than mediocre QB play-indeed the worst of all possible QB problems with a bad line and only two or three receiving threats, Spencer can't make plays outside the pocket and rattles when pressured. A great coach, as opposed to merely "outstanding" or "very good" might be able to overcome all those problems. Or a blue blood that has 4/5*s in their bench can just overwhelm almost every opponent with raw NFL talent. That just isn't Iowa and will never be Iowa.
KF is an outstanding coach making the most at a small and relatively insignificant school. To paraphrase Louis XV, on his death bed après Kirk le déluge.
I wonder about the take of folks here ... predict the starting secondary for next year!
Option 1:
CB: Harris
CB: Roberts/Hall
CASH: DeJean
SS: Castro
FS: Schulte
Option 2:
CB: Harris
CB: DeJean/Roberts
CASH: Castro
SS: Nwankpa
FS: Schulte
Option 3:
CB: Harris
CB: Hall
CASH: DeJean
SS: Nwankpa
FS: Schulte
Option 4:
CB: Harris
CB: DeJean
CASH: Nwankpa
SS: Castro
FS: Schulte
Others???
Option 1:
CB: Harris
CB: Roberts/Hall
CASH: DeJean
SS: Castro
FS: Schulte
Option 2:
CB: Harris
CB: DeJean/Roberts
CASH: Castro
SS: Nwankpa
FS: Schulte
Option 3:
CB: Harris
CB: Hall
CASH: DeJean
SS: Nwankpa
FS: Schulte
Option 4:
CB: Harris
CB: DeJean
CASH: Nwankpa
SS: Castro
FS: Schulte
Others???
Good question - I am going to say Option 3.
Phil must really like Hall and I think with a year in the program, he takes the big step and wins a CB slot. I am going to say Harris and Roberts battle for the other one.
I think DeJean is solid at CB but really shines at Cash - that is his ideal spot like Belton.
Schulte is locked into FS.
I think everyone expects greatness from Nwankpa and like Hall, Phil likes him and knows his supreme talent.
In this scenario, this would leave the odd man out as Castro ... which kind of stinks because he has worked hard and filled in admirably this year. The nice thing is he can play SS or Cash.
I always have an eye to the future. A scenario where TJ Hall enters the fray earlier helps prevent bigger personnel-holes from developing in our secondary.
The sooner Nwankpa can earn a starter spot is good too ... particularly because it sets a nice precedent for future higher-rated DB-recruits who are interested in Iowa. High rated DB recruits who consider Iowa often are a little "softer" because they assume that they can just walk in and contribute right away. Phil is exacting and highly detail-oriented ... guys who underestimate the talent of our DB room do so at their own peril. A guy like Nwankpa is a smart, hard-working guy ... he paves the way for ALL DBs to be attracted to our program.
It's Castro's job to keep on improving ... and make it harder for Phil to take him off the field.
As we've seen with Merriweather ... Merriweather was a guy who'd be frequently rotated out. Now he's developed into a mainstay of our secondary. God I love these stories!
All of these are great points. To be clear, I don't want Castro to be the odd man out ... it's just clear PP thinks highly of X and Hall and with their talent, I think they will make a serious push and Dejean is solidly in some spot and Schulte is a sure thing at FS.
To your point about PP and that he demands exacting/highly-detailed from his guys, Schulte is the perfect example of that. A Walk-On who has been able to learn and be exactly the type of player that PP wants as the !B of his defensive backfield.
I liked Castro out of HS, great aggression, hit with authority.
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I bolded this for you, as it should be in giant font. This is so true.
Cash is really turning into our playmaker position. Amani Hooker was great there, Dane Belton was great there, and Cooper DeJean seems to really fit the mold. The cash always seems closer to the action and more able to impact the game, while teams can somewhat avoid a cornerback they don't want to deal with.
I also agree that Shulte is locked in at FS.
Castro may be the odd man out, but would basically back up all 5 positions, and be the first man off the bench. He would get decent playing time giving inevitable dings and injuries.
On top of that ... it might push Phil to work in more different DB package looks too ... rotate guys in the secondary more, etc. If you have depth ... you use it.
Also, it could open the door for using dime-looks that are still good at stopping the run.
That TD was on Moss, no reason to be covering the flat on 3rd and 18. He’s a gambler.
He is VERY MUCH. A gambler, he is less phenomenal than he plays more athletic fundemetally than any defensive player we have … I think in the NFL he’ll be a safety and his instincts will take over but my Lord has he ****ed up things over time, yet her we are!!!
Point being being, he overly relies on his athleticism…and puts himself in a poor position as a result!
Yet he has such recover ability he can recover and hence in my mind he is sloppy as a result!
Just my opinion!!
Yep, great call about the Cash being closer to the action. Feels more like a "rover" position that you can put all over the place to put your best playmaker.
Also, you are right. It is easier to avoid a CB, especially in PP's Defensive scheme where they don't tend to follow a WR but instead always play their side of the field.
I definitely think Castro can play Cash and both Safety spots but not sure about CB - I think his cover skills are his weakest point right now. I remember in this last game he took a bad angle on a receiver and Mertz dropped it right over him and I can recall a few other plays this year where he seemed late on coverage. But he is a big hitter and definitely not afraid to get his nose dirty.
