Over the prior 2 years, a few factors that had really deleteriously impacted Iowa's OL were:
When we turn to the '23 OL ...
Without question, the center position was a weakness in '22 ... Logan Jones doesn't hide from that observation. However, like many an admirable young man ... he faces it "head on" and attempts to learn from it. Obviously, the '23 season will rely upon significant improvements at the C spot. Why do we have reason to suppose/hope that there will be improvement there?
Elsbury remains as a guy who hasn't yet truly "broken through" developmentally ... from 2nd team to 1st team. However, he's clearly a guy who the coaching staff thinks highly of (at the very least, he's been a special-teams regular).
Exiting the '23 spring camp, this is how the OL shook out (keeping in mind that Parker was "grounded" due to injury).
LT - Richman
LG - DeJong (maybe a surprise ... displaced Colby as a listed starter)
C - Jones (not a surprise, given that Feth hadn't yet joined the program)
RG - Stephens
RT - Dunker
Things to note ...
The coaches love Richman. He's already been one of our more consistent guys on the OL. I look for him to really continue to make strides though. It's still wild to think that he was just a SO last season. I honestly believe that he has a great chance of upholding Iowa's tradition of placing our starting LTs in the 1st round of the NFL draft.
As I've stated numerous times ... RT is the "big question" entering '23. Dunker IS a young guy ... but he did get some experience last season. Furthermore, Parker is a transfer who explicitly came ... with an opportunity to make some noise and push for the starting spot at RT. Lastly, Colby has some experience at RT ... and has extensively practiced there too.
Health permitting (knock on wood), I think that this really could be the year when things come together for this OL. For McNamara's sake, I hope that it does (b/c that also implies that we should then have a pretty darn good O!).
- deficiencies of starting experience: Linderbaum was the only real multi-year regular starter on the '21 unit. Nobody was a multi-year regular starter in '22.
- deficiencies is veteran leadership: Linderbaum and Schott were leaders in '21 ... unfortunately, Schott was less than 100%. Plumb never materialized as a true leader in '22 ... and he was the only veteran in '22.
- rampant injuries and attrition issues: Poor health on the OL has been well documented over the past 2 years. Complementing this observation is the semi-unexpected departure of Kallenberger prior to the '21 season and the subsequent losses of Ince, Britt, and Davidkov.
When we turn to the '23 OL ...
- Richman and Colby are returning multi-year starters (at Iowa)
- Parker and Feth are multi-year starters at their prior programs
- DeJong will be a SR veteran ... a guy who HAS improved over the past several years.
Without question, the center position was a weakness in '22 ... Logan Jones doesn't hide from that observation. However, like many an admirable young man ... he faces it "head on" and attempts to learn from it. Obviously, the '23 season will rely upon significant improvements at the C spot. Why do we have reason to suppose/hope that there will be improvement there?
- We've learned that Jones didn't really know what he was doing last year. That allows us to put his performance more in context. He's a bright guy who is noted as a very diligent worker. There's little reason to suppose that he WON'T improve.
- Feth has extensive prior experience at C. At the very least, he could be a steadying influence to Jones. At best ... he takes over the starting C spot.
- Mylinski is a talented young guy who's health has been the primary thing keeping him from earning more reps on the field. What happens if he can remain healthy?
- As I recall, both Kade Pieper and Leighton Jones were recruited as being strong prospects for the C spot. They obviously WON'T be in the picture to play in '23 ... but it never hurts to have more depth at the spot!
Elsbury remains as a guy who hasn't yet truly "broken through" developmentally ... from 2nd team to 1st team. However, he's clearly a guy who the coaching staff thinks highly of (at the very least, he's been a special-teams regular).
Exiting the '23 spring camp, this is how the OL shook out (keeping in mind that Parker was "grounded" due to injury).
LT - Richman
LG - DeJong (maybe a surprise ... displaced Colby as a listed starter)
C - Jones (not a surprise, given that Feth hadn't yet joined the program)
RG - Stephens
RT - Dunker
Things to note ...
- Colby is listed as 2nd team LG
- Entering the upcoming fall camp, Feth is listed as the 2nd team RG - Feth has 34 career starts (i.e. I expect him to play ... A LOT)
- Elsbury is listed as 2nd team C (however, IIRC, Mylinski may have been coming off a surgery)
- Entering the upcoming fall camp, Parker is listed as the 2nd team RT.
- Dotzler (RS FR) is listed as 2nd team LT
The coaches love Richman. He's already been one of our more consistent guys on the OL. I look for him to really continue to make strides though. It's still wild to think that he was just a SO last season. I honestly believe that he has a great chance of upholding Iowa's tradition of placing our starting LTs in the 1st round of the NFL draft.
As I've stated numerous times ... RT is the "big question" entering '23. Dunker IS a young guy ... but he did get some experience last season. Furthermore, Parker is a transfer who explicitly came ... with an opportunity to make some noise and push for the starting spot at RT. Lastly, Colby has some experience at RT ... and has extensively practiced there too.
Health permitting (knock on wood), I think that this really could be the year when things come together for this OL. For McNamara's sake, I hope that it does (b/c that also implies that we should then have a pretty darn good O!).