First... good group of RBs ... Willing to pick up blitzes.
Absolutely, the size and physicality of the new RBs, in some respects supplies an upgrade from Akrum. Akrum developed the willingness eventually .... but his effectiveness in pass-pro was certainly limited.
Second...CONSISTENT group of pass-catchers .... Tevaun Smith was a legit deep threat, preventing teams from stacking the box or blitzes.
Ihmir has the most receptions and targets as a TR FR since Douglas in '06. Should he continue to improve, by spreading the field vertically ... his impact could be felt next year even when he's not having balls thrown his way. Of course, for the impact to be felt ... it needs to connect with success a little more regularly.
Easley can certainly continue to build off of what he had done as a JR. All the young man does is produce!
However, should our WR corps even mimic the '15 group ... the implication is that we still need more guys to step up (2 guys being able to step in and contribute at a pretty high level would be ideal).
Lastly, we had big leaders ... demonstrating toughness, FBs and QB ... Plewa, Cox, and Beathard. CJ had a couple hundred rushing yards, helping sustain drives picking up key 1st downs & avoiding sacks at times. His last year he was statue.
Most of CJ's yardage was gained up to and including the Pitt game. After that, the groin issue kicked in and his mobility was far more limited.
However, the spirit of your point is definitely "on point." If a QB can get yards with his feet when plays break down ... then it makes it a lot easier to convert even when you're not "on schedule" in terms of down and distance.
My impression here is that O'Keefe was trying to keep Stanley's plate manageable. The first order of business was that our passing game was abhorrent in '16 ... thus we needed to remedy that malady. 25 passing TDs later ... and a season of tape as a starter to learn from ... Stanley is now in position to both further DEVELOP his craft, while simultaneously HONING his craft. In his second season as a starter, I'm expecting that the game could "slow down" for him ... as it does for many players. Consequently, my guess is that O'Keefe and Brian will exploit this "slow down" effect by putting a little more responsibility on Stanley's plate.
Part of this will likely involve expanding how much Stanley can change things from the line, based on what he sees (pre-snap). Secondly, combining pre-snap and post-snap recognitions ... he might get a better idea of where things might open up for him (in terms of scrambling). This threat can put a lot more pressure on the LBs ... and open up the intermediate passing game more (especially when he breaks out of the pocket).
When you look at the trend on Iowa's OL ... almost every year we seemingly have a story of an underclassman who "emerged." Who might that "story" be in '18? Rooting for the Paulsen twins, both should be in the program 3 years now.
My vote is with Kallenberger. Kid is athletic for his size ... seems to have a great mean-streak too.
Also, although they're not "young," I wouldn't sleep on Ferguson or LeGrand as contributors either. Both suffered injuries and could work themselves legitimately into contributing positions should they continue to develop.
The OL will have 3 SRs on the interior in Reynolds, Render, and Daniels ... will they play to the level that Hawk SRs usually play? Hope so, but verdict is still out here.
Why? Both Render and Reynolds have played a ton. They have been rotating ... and part of that was in an attempt to develop depth. Render saw a wealth of snaps as a starter in '16 too.
Will Stanley gain superior pocket presence? Will he learn when to tuck and run? Will he develope touch on his passes?
As I've already alluded, I think that many facets of Stanley's game will invariably improve. However, the fact that he gets to work exclusively as the #1 in bowl-prep, spring camp, during the summer, and summer/fall camp will really improve the timing and chemistry that he has with the top WRs.
