As Iowa fans we know or should know always to temper our expectations going into a season. We typically always have the pieces that lead us to believe we can compete within the B1G and especially within the B1G West. However these past 5 seasons Iowa has sat back and watched Wisconsin and Northwestern trade the title of West Champs. Many with knowledge inside Iowa Football right now think Iowa has the pieces to go on at least a 2yr run in the B1G West. One big reason why is because of what they're seeing on the OL.
A cousin of mine who is a former all time OL great under KF and who is still close to the Ferentz family recently told me to expect big things from the OL this year. It starts with the interior of the OL he told me. The interior of the OL has the pieces to be the most balanced, deep and talented of the KF era. Linderbaum is the best C in college football and likely best of the KF era. Comments made from coaches are that he has improved in all area's but the most important is his football IQ is at a level of former Iowa C great Nelson. Also Ince is drawing a lot of comparisons to Yanda. An immensely talented interior lineman that can also be an above average OT if needed. You have to go back to Steinbach as the last mega talent interior OL at Iowa that was able to play an entire season at OG. The hope is that Ince will be able to settle in at LG all season. Schott is expected to be at RG. Coaches are seeing a much more balanced level of play from him. His highs see him dominating games. His lows see him struggling throughout a game with consistency. If he is healthy expect mostly his high level of play. He is focused and KF has singled him out as a major highlight this offseason. Linderbaum, Ince, and Schott form the most talented interior OL group of the KF era. If those three can stay healthy as well as stay at their positions all year expect a big year from Iowa. There is also quality depth here too with Britt and Elsbury who are both deemed starter quality.
That moves us to OT. OT is where the major questions come in. Plumb is a guy who looks great in practice but he doesn't always translate that play to games where things move a lot faster. KF noted he knows what games look like now and he has taken that experience with him into this preseason and you can already tell the difference. I have heard the exact same thing from 3 sources about Connor Colby, Mason Richman, and Nick DeJong. All three have told me that KF who is usually pretty reserved can't seem to hold in his excitement about those three players. I remember hearing that same thing last season about Richman, DeJong and Elsbury. I guess Connor Colby came in and blew the socks off everyone. The dude is legit and KF even made the comment that Colby is going to be a really good one. One source told me Colby will see action at both OT and OG this year and he is probably in the top 8 of the Iowa OL right now and one of 3 (Britt, Richman, and Colby) that will be major rotation pieces on the OL. The buzz is that these SO's and FR are the most talented group of underclassmen anyone has seen at Iowa during the KF era. A group you can build a juggernaut at OL from. I was told to expect a battle between Plumb and Richman this season. Whichever one is more consistent will likely be the LT. If neither is ready in games the safe bet will be to slide Ince out there. If Ince is out there the OL's upside greatly reduces.
This years Iowa team should be very talented on O. The DL has some major ??'s and still does at this point. Nobody I talked with sugarcoated that the DL still has major ??'s. However the LB's and DB's look top notch. Petras just needs to be solid and this offense should be able to put 20+ on anyone in conference. The LB's and DB's are good enough to hold teams under 20. Every team in the West has major ??'s at one or more area's. Iowa can pull the West out this year. 2022-'23 with the young talent on OL and at WR could be loaded on O if Goodson comes back. The D will return some big talent at LB and DB and has some young talent at DL and DB that could break through this year. I can see why many think these next two years Iowa claims the West throne.
A cousin of mine who is a former all time OL great under KF and who is still close to the Ferentz family recently told me to expect big things from the OL this year. It starts with the interior of the OL he told me. The interior of the OL has the pieces to be the most balanced, deep and talented of the KF era. Linderbaum is the best C in college football and likely best of the KF era. Comments made from coaches are that he has improved in all area's but the most important is his football IQ is at a level of former Iowa C great Nelson. Also Ince is drawing a lot of comparisons to Yanda. An immensely talented interior lineman that can also be an above average OT if needed. You have to go back to Steinbach as the last mega talent interior OL at Iowa that was able to play an entire season at OG. The hope is that Ince will be able to settle in at LG all season. Schott is expected to be at RG. Coaches are seeing a much more balanced level of play from him. His highs see him dominating games. His lows see him struggling throughout a game with consistency. If he is healthy expect mostly his high level of play. He is focused and KF has singled him out as a major highlight this offseason. Linderbaum, Ince, and Schott form the most talented interior OL group of the KF era. If those three can stay healthy as well as stay at their positions all year expect a big year from Iowa. There is also quality depth here too with Britt and Elsbury who are both deemed starter quality.
That moves us to OT. OT is where the major questions come in. Plumb is a guy who looks great in practice but he doesn't always translate that play to games where things move a lot faster. KF noted he knows what games look like now and he has taken that experience with him into this preseason and you can already tell the difference. I have heard the exact same thing from 3 sources about Connor Colby, Mason Richman, and Nick DeJong. All three have told me that KF who is usually pretty reserved can't seem to hold in his excitement about those three players. I remember hearing that same thing last season about Richman, DeJong and Elsbury. I guess Connor Colby came in and blew the socks off everyone. The dude is legit and KF even made the comment that Colby is going to be a really good one. One source told me Colby will see action at both OT and OG this year and he is probably in the top 8 of the Iowa OL right now and one of 3 (Britt, Richman, and Colby) that will be major rotation pieces on the OL. The buzz is that these SO's and FR are the most talented group of underclassmen anyone has seen at Iowa during the KF era. A group you can build a juggernaut at OL from. I was told to expect a battle between Plumb and Richman this season. Whichever one is more consistent will likely be the LT. If neither is ready in games the safe bet will be to slide Ince out there. If Ince is out there the OL's upside greatly reduces.
This years Iowa team should be very talented on O. The DL has some major ??'s and still does at this point. Nobody I talked with sugarcoated that the DL still has major ??'s. However the LB's and DB's look top notch. Petras just needs to be solid and this offense should be able to put 20+ on anyone in conference. The LB's and DB's are good enough to hold teams under 20. Every team in the West has major ??'s at one or more area's. Iowa can pull the West out this year. 2022-'23 with the young talent on OL and at WR could be loaded on O if Goodson comes back. The D will return some big talent at LB and DB and has some young talent at DL and DB that could break through this year. I can see why many think these next two years Iowa claims the West throne.
