Two deeps?

[Ladell-hawk]

He didn't play particularly well. He had 1 hit and 2 hurries in a total of 121 pass rush attempts for a pathetic 0.9% win rate. For comparison, Graves had a 9.3% win rate in 338 pass rush attempts, Black had 5.0% in 290 pass rush attempts, and Will Hubert was at 4.2% in 25 pass rush attempts. Jonah Pace had a 10.5% win rate in 313 pass rush attempts at CMU. Hawthorne had a 12.7% win rate in 193 pass rush attempts at South Dakota State. Pace and Hawthorne obviously faced weaker competition, but a 0.9% win rate is downright terrible. Furthermore, his win rate in true pass rush sets was literally 0%. He did not win a single rep as a pass rusher when he was allowed to pin his ears back and attack. Pittman was slightly better against the run, but still mediocre. His stop% was 4.8%, compared to 4.5% for Graves and 9.3% for Black. His missed tackle % was very high, at 16.7% (Graves had 12.9%, Black had 5.3%). Lastly, his average depth of tackle was 2.9 yards (Graves had 2.6 yards, Black had 1.6 yards). He also had only 1.5 TFL for a total of 3 yards, no sacks, and 1 pass deflection. He simply didn't get much penetration and he was making tackles after losing ground.

For comparison, Pace had a 7% stop rate, 0.3 yards average depth of tackle, a 12.1% missed tackle rate, 11 TFL for 46 yards, 4 sacks for 30 yards, 2 pass deflections, 6 qb hits, 1 FF, and 1 blocked kick. Hawthorne had a 7.1% stop rate, 1.6 yards average depth of tackle, a 7% missed tackle rate, 5.5 TFL for 36 yards, and 4.5 sacks for 35 yards. Pace's stats closely resemble Jack Heflin's stats during his last season at NIU and Heflin worked out well for Iowa, so the argument that good players can transition from the MAC to the Big Ten can certainly be made.

This was the first season Pittman got much playing time, I think the coaches felt he did well and will expect more next season.

 

[coorsoriginal02]

This was the first season Pittman got much playing time, I think the coaches felt he did well and will expect more next season.

I feel you're letting your high-level Hawkeye fandom get in the way of realistic assessments.....This is not new for you though.

 

[BHoppy]

I feel you're letting your high-level Hawkeye fandom get in the way of realistic assessments.....This is not new for you though.

They all better improve for next year.

 

[Birky]

Even the all-time great LB's under KF ha e struggled their first season or two as starters. The LB's will be taking a pretty good step back in production. The DB's could take a step forward but they really struggled this last season. The DL has a lot of questions. It is very likely the D takes another step back this year. The D's struggles against top 25 teams is well documented. I think that continues and we likely even see them struggle against some the middle level B1G teams like we saw against some of those teams this last season.

You’re correct about the LBs in most cases, but most cases weren’t guys that have been in the program as long as a guy like e.g. Sharrar. He seems more like Higgins, in that he should have been starting a year or two ago, he just had to wait his turn. Higgins in fact, did not struggle for one second. The fact that they haven’t even considered a LB in the portal suggests we’re sitting well with that position.

Now, Corner is a different story. We saw those guys, and Iowa is still pursuing Corners in the portal. I do think they really like Godfrey and Watson, but you can’t count on them next year. I think Hall was starting to figure it out later in the year. I’m buying Hall stock for next year. It’s insane that Iowa has had a hard time attracting a Corner in the portal two years in a row.

I also think Pace is a lot better than anyone realizes, but at best, they’re still not deep at DT. Unless a freshman or two develop really quickly. Again, I’m not counting on that.

 

[HawksRule73]

You’re correct about the LBs in most cases, but most cases weren’t guys that have been in the program as long as a guy like e.g. Sharrar. He seems more like Higgins, in that he should have been starting a year or two ago, he just had to wait his turn. Higgins in fact, did not struggle for one second. The fact that they haven’t even considered a LB in the portal suggests we’re sitting well with that position.

Now, Corner is a different story. We saw those guys, and Iowa is still pursuing Corners in the portal. I do think they really like Godfrey and Watson, but you can’t count on them next year. I think Hall was starting to figure it out later in the year. I’m buying Hall stock for next year. It’s insane that Iowa has had a hard time attracting a Corner in the portal two years in a row.

I also think Pace is a lot better than anyone realizes, but at best, they’re still not deep at DT. Unless a freshman or two develop really quickly. Again, I’m not counting on that.

I'm not surprised that Iowa is being very selective in the portal when it comes to corner. In Phil's system, the corner HAS to be a willing tackler. The majority of corners aren't willing tacklers.

 

[hexumhawk]

I'm not surprised that Iowa is being very selective in the portal when it comes to corner. In Phil's system, the corner HAS to be a willing tackler. The majority of corners aren't willing tacklers.

Which is why you see a lot of Iowa corners make the NFL.

 

[the24fan]

Back 7 on D looks very mediocre. It’s hard not to think the D will continue to take steps back. Front 4 as of right now doesn't look like it has enough depth. Small school transfers are really hit and miss.

Offense is really going to need to take some steps forward. I think there is some hope at OL. Some really solid veterans mixed with some youngsters that have shown some huge upside. RB's should be solid. Really need a couple playmakers to step up at TE/WR.

My thoughts exactly. They better score some points next year on offense. Cause that D is not going to be a lock down defense.

 

[GunnerHawk]

I think some of the young linebackers may supplant the vets; Weiskopf, Keuter, Buffington, Ries

Watch for Buffington. Have heard great things about his size and speed. Looks like our next great Mike to me.