Yes, the Iowa WR room has been an embarrassment for years. But in a program without accountability, coach Copeland has somehow retained his job year after year while collecting unwarranted raise after raise. If Kirk ever needed objective proof spoon fed right in his fas at just how poorly Iowa's WRs are coached, the Northwestern game is a textbook case for firing your WRs coach.
Everyone remembers last year how IowaLaw continuously noted the perplexing case of Brody Brecht. Brecht came in a 6'4, 4**** WR with all kinds of athleticism. Despite his talent, every time a ball was thrown his way, he would unnecessarily jump and fall after every catch, even on balls that were thrown right on the numbers when he was wide open. It made no sense and cost the team countless yards, but Brody did it game after game gaining zero yards after catch. It was piss poor coaching that anyone could see.
Well, we saw something similar against Northwestern. We've all been waiting for 4**** phenom Kaleb Brown to finally make his first catch. In the 4th quarter, at a critical time, he snagged a 23 yard grab near midfield. Great play, right? However, did anyone notice just how awkward he became immediately after the ball hit his hands? He was wide open, yet looked exactly how an OL looks when unexpectedly fielding a squib kick. Brown caught the ball in a tie game with plenty of green to dash toward the endzone. Instead of making a cut and sprinting down the field (like even an average DII WR would instinctively do), Iowa's 4**** speedster instead gripped the ball into his stomach with two hands and just crouched, almost taking a knee, waiting for the defenders to catch up with him and tackle him. You could see right before your eyes an Ohio State caliber WR had all the big play moxie coached right out of him. It was painful and sad and nearly cost Iowa the game.
Compare Brown’s catch with catches by any of the 4**** WRs playing in the USC v Washington game last night. Despite being an equally close game, the guys with Brown same talent level caught the ball in stride and immediately looked to extend the play by 20 or 30 yards after catch simply by making a cut and aggressively moving the ball down the field. These guys were no more talented than Brown, but they've been coached by a competent WR coach who understands offense.
Then there was the interception thrown into the endzone. I've been as hard on Hill as anyone, but that interception was totally on the WR who passively just watched as the defender simply wanted the ball more than him and went up and grabbed it. Do Iowa's WRs not run any jump ball drills at all? It was pathetic. That lapse in coaching cost Iowa 7 points.
Copeland's WR recruiting has been abysmal, his WR development has been awful (see Ragaini after 6 yrs in the program), and his accountability has been nonexistent (earlier this year he basically said "it's too hard to recruit at Iowa" and "I don't call the plays so I can't control the lack of WR production).
This coaching staff needs a serious shakeup and Copeland needs to follow Brian's underperforming butt to the unemployment line.
Everyone remembers last year how IowaLaw continuously noted the perplexing case of Brody Brecht. Brecht came in a 6'4, 4**** WR with all kinds of athleticism. Despite his talent, every time a ball was thrown his way, he would unnecessarily jump and fall after every catch, even on balls that were thrown right on the numbers when he was wide open. It made no sense and cost the team countless yards, but Brody did it game after game gaining zero yards after catch. It was piss poor coaching that anyone could see.
Well, we saw something similar against Northwestern. We've all been waiting for 4**** phenom Kaleb Brown to finally make his first catch. In the 4th quarter, at a critical time, he snagged a 23 yard grab near midfield. Great play, right? However, did anyone notice just how awkward he became immediately after the ball hit his hands? He was wide open, yet looked exactly how an OL looks when unexpectedly fielding a squib kick. Brown caught the ball in a tie game with plenty of green to dash toward the endzone. Instead of making a cut and sprinting down the field (like even an average DII WR would instinctively do), Iowa's 4**** speedster instead gripped the ball into his stomach with two hands and just crouched, almost taking a knee, waiting for the defenders to catch up with him and tackle him. You could see right before your eyes an Ohio State caliber WR had all the big play moxie coached right out of him. It was painful and sad and nearly cost Iowa the game.
Compare Brown’s catch with catches by any of the 4**** WRs playing in the USC v Washington game last night. Despite being an equally close game, the guys with Brown same talent level caught the ball in stride and immediately looked to extend the play by 20 or 30 yards after catch simply by making a cut and aggressively moving the ball down the field. These guys were no more talented than Brown, but they've been coached by a competent WR coach who understands offense.
Then there was the interception thrown into the endzone. I've been as hard on Hill as anyone, but that interception was totally on the WR who passively just watched as the defender simply wanted the ball more than him and went up and grabbed it. Do Iowa's WRs not run any jump ball drills at all? It was pathetic. That lapse in coaching cost Iowa 7 points.
Copeland's WR recruiting has been abysmal, his WR development has been awful (see Ragaini after 6 yrs in the program), and his accountability has been nonexistent (earlier this year he basically said "it's too hard to recruit at Iowa" and "I don't call the plays so I can't control the lack of WR production).
This coaching staff needs a serious shakeup and Copeland needs to follow Brian's underperforming butt to the unemployment line.
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