What is the over/under on Nate having 20 td passes to just TIGHT ENDS in 2018? I mean Fant had 11 this year, could he get 13 next and Hockenson 7?
(If so, how many does Nate end up with?)
Sedge
Your 2018 Starters! Do we have what it takes to win the West?
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
(If so, how many does Nate end up with?)
Sedge
Thanks FransTheMan for posting this awesome article.. I think C Welch is going to be very VERY special
QUOTE="Franisdaman, post: 4996421, member: 64945"]The entire discussion is here: http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...ecting-iowa-football-starters-2018/986974001/
SUMMARY: 2018 projected starting lineup
Offense
SE — Ihmir Smith-Marsette (soph.): Wide receiver will continue to be a question mark that it was in 2017 for the Hawkeyes. Smith-Marsette, though, clearly showed promise by launching himself into the rotation from the get-go as a true freshman.
TE — Noah Fant (jr.): Enjoyed a breakout season in his first year as a starter, showing a combination of size and speed that burned the linebackers and safeties who tried to cover him. The Omaha native wound up with 11 touchdown receptions, tops in the Big Ten.
LT — Tristan Wirfs (soph.): One of the many young players thrust into action this year, Wirfs ended up becoming the first true freshman in the Kirk Ferentz era to be a starting tackle.
LG — Ross Reynolds (sr.): Though he only made one start (in the season opener against Wyoming), the Waukee native was essentially a half-time starter in a rotation here with Keegan Render.
C — James Daniels (sr.): If he doesn't turn pro early, Daniels (an athletic 6-4, 295) will enter 2018 as one of the top centers in college football. He won't turn 21 until September, yet has already amassed 25 career starts. If he does choose to leave, redshirt sophomores Cole Banwart and Spencer Williams could be vying for this crucial spot.
RG — Keegan Render (sr.): Considering he has 20 career starts (19 at guard), he almost certainly will be somewhere inside on Iowa's 2018 offensive line.
RT — Alaric Jackson (soph.): Started 12 games at left tackle before being suspended for the bowl game for undisclosed reasons. At 6-7, 320, he should only get better.
TE — T.J. Hockenson (soph.): Became a clutch, crucial piece to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s two-tight end offense as a redshirt freshman. Seventeen of his 24 receptions went for first downs, and he also showed excellent blocking skills that will only get better.
WR — Nick Easley (sr.): The walk-on from Newton became Iowa’s leading receiver in 2017 and should be on scholarship soon.
QB — Nate Stanley (jr.): Undoubtedly Iowa’s quarterback for the next two years after a strong true-sophomore season that saw him throw for 2,437 yards, 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
FB — Brady Ross (jr.): The fullback position isn’t going away at Iowa, and with Drake Kulick’s eligibility expired, Ross’ role will increase.
RB — Toren Young (soph.): With Akrum Wadley and James Butler moving on, the running-back position at Iowa gets a lot younger. The role will likely be shared, but Young has the size (5-11, 220) and durability to rack up the team’s most carries. Ivory Kelly-Martin could become the primary third-down back after an impressive true-freshman season. Incoming freshman Henry Geil might also play immediately.
PK — Miguel Recinos (sr.): Newly placed on scholarship, Recinos had an impressive first season as Iowa’s full-time placekicker, making 55 of his 57 total attempts. After beating out incumbent Keith Duncan for the role, the Mason City native was particularly solid on kickoffs. His emergence allowed Duncan to redshirt and preserve three years of eligibility.
Defense
LE — Anthony Nelson (jr.): The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder from Waukee was Iowa’s best edge rusher, and he keeps getting better. Nelson’s backup, Sam Brincks, played well this fall and will be in the rotation, too.
LT — Matt Nelson (sr.): Seemed to gain traction toward the end of his first season as 6-foot-8 defensive tackle after spending his first two playing seasons at defensive end. Replacing the gritty work of Nathan Bazata (37 career starts) will be difficult.
RT — Cedrick Lattimore (jr.): Needs to take a big step from his sophomore to junior year, as many Iowa defensive tackles in years past have done. Think Louis Trinca-Pasat. Incoming junior-college transfer Daviyon Nixon will compete for playing time, too.
RE — A.J. Epenesa (soph.): Putting the true sophomore here is no slight against Parker Hesse, who made his 34rd career start Wednesday and is a team leader. But it’s going to be hard to keep Epenesa out of the starting lineup after his first winter and spring with Chris Doyle.
WLB — Aaron Mends (sr.): “Where’s Mends?” has been a frequent question over the years. The supremely strong, fast player needs to improve on the mental side of the game. The prediction here is he puts it together for his fifth year, much like Cole Fisher did for Iowa in 2015.
MLB — Kristian Welch (jr.): Replacing Josey Jewell will be an impossible task, but somebody’s got to do it. Welch seems to have the inside track over Jack Hockaday and Amani Jones (who will also battle Mends at weak-side linebacker) at this point, though this will likely be an ongoing story that could spill into the season. Iowa has to get this one right.
OLB — Jake Gervase (sr.): Going out on a limb here, but when Phil Parker mentioned he might move a safety into this role in 2018, it would make sense if Gervase is that guy. If he can add five pounds to get to 6-1, 215, he could be the hybrid cover guy and run stopper that the Hawkeyes need as three-year starter Ben Niemann moves on. Also watch for Nick Niemann, Ben’s brother and a sophomore-to-be, to get a shot here.
LC — Manny Rugamba (jr.): The assumption here is that junior all-American Josh Jackson turns pro. Rugamba had a wobbly sophomore campaign. He was suspended for the season opener, then later lost his starting job after struggling against Purdue. Still, he has loads of talent and should be able to rebound.
SS — Amani Hooker (jr.): Became one of Iowa’s most impactful players in his true sophomore year, down to the finish when he made two touchdown-saving tackles against Boston College.
FS — Brandon Snyder (sr.): This will be an interesting story to follow. Snyder is recovering from his second ACL tear and also must work his way back into good standing after his December OWI arrest.
RC — Matt Hankins (soph.): Got his chance late in the year and ran with it; made seven tackles in the Pinstripe Bowl. Iowa has recruited a lot of defensive backs in the last two cycles as it tries to bolster its secondary, so the competition will be crowded.
P — Ryan Gersonde (soph.): A major weakness in 2017. Gersonde, who is on scholarship, got his chance midway through the season and showed a booming leg but wild inconsistency before an injury sidelined him down the stretch.[/QUOTE]
QUOTE="Franisdaman, post: 4996421, member: 64945"]The entire discussion is here: http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...ecting-iowa-football-starters-2018/986974001/
SUMMARY: 2018 projected starting lineup
Offense
SE — Ihmir Smith-Marsette (soph.): Wide receiver will continue to be a question mark that it was in 2017 for the Hawkeyes. Smith-Marsette, though, clearly showed promise by launching himself into the rotation from the get-go as a true freshman.
TE — Noah Fant (jr.): Enjoyed a breakout season in his first year as a starter, showing a combination of size and speed that burned the linebackers and safeties who tried to cover him. The Omaha native wound up with 11 touchdown receptions, tops in the Big Ten.
LT — Tristan Wirfs (soph.): One of the many young players thrust into action this year, Wirfs ended up becoming the first true freshman in the Kirk Ferentz era to be a starting tackle.
LG — Ross Reynolds (sr.): Though he only made one start (in the season opener against Wyoming), the Waukee native was essentially a half-time starter in a rotation here with Keegan Render.
C — James Daniels (sr.): If he doesn't turn pro early, Daniels (an athletic 6-4, 295) will enter 2018 as one of the top centers in college football. He won't turn 21 until September, yet has already amassed 25 career starts. If he does choose to leave, redshirt sophomores Cole Banwart and Spencer Williams could be vying for this crucial spot.
RG — Keegan Render (sr.): Considering he has 20 career starts (19 at guard), he almost certainly will be somewhere inside on Iowa's 2018 offensive line.
RT — Alaric Jackson (soph.): Started 12 games at left tackle before being suspended for the bowl game for undisclosed reasons. At 6-7, 320, he should only get better.
TE — T.J. Hockenson (soph.): Became a clutch, crucial piece to offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s two-tight end offense as a redshirt freshman. Seventeen of his 24 receptions went for first downs, and he also showed excellent blocking skills that will only get better.
WR — Nick Easley (sr.): The walk-on from Newton became Iowa’s leading receiver in 2017 and should be on scholarship soon.
QB — Nate Stanley (jr.): Undoubtedly Iowa’s quarterback for the next two years after a strong true-sophomore season that saw him throw for 2,437 yards, 26 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
FB — Brady Ross (jr.): The fullback position isn’t going away at Iowa, and with Drake Kulick’s eligibility expired, Ross’ role will increase.
RB — Toren Young (soph.): With Akrum Wadley and James Butler moving on, the running-back position at Iowa gets a lot younger. The role will likely be shared, but Young has the size (5-11, 220) and durability to rack up the team’s most carries. Ivory Kelly-Martin could become the primary third-down back after an impressive true-freshman season. Incoming freshman Henry Geil might also play immediately.
PK — Miguel Recinos (sr.): Newly placed on scholarship, Recinos had an impressive first season as Iowa’s full-time placekicker, making 55 of his 57 total attempts. After beating out incumbent Keith Duncan for the role, the Mason City native was particularly solid on kickoffs. His emergence allowed Duncan to redshirt and preserve three years of eligibility.
Defense
LE — Anthony Nelson (jr.): The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder from Waukee was Iowa’s best edge rusher, and he keeps getting better. Nelson’s backup, Sam Brincks, played well this fall and will be in the rotation, too.
LT — Matt Nelson (sr.): Seemed to gain traction toward the end of his first season as 6-foot-8 defensive tackle after spending his first two playing seasons at defensive end. Replacing the gritty work of Nathan Bazata (37 career starts) will be difficult.
RT — Cedrick Lattimore (jr.): Needs to take a big step from his sophomore to junior year, as many Iowa defensive tackles in years past have done. Think Louis Trinca-Pasat. Incoming junior-college transfer Daviyon Nixon will compete for playing time, too.
RE — A.J. Epenesa (soph.): Putting the true sophomore here is no slight against Parker Hesse, who made his 34rd career start Wednesday and is a team leader. But it’s going to be hard to keep Epenesa out of the starting lineup after his first winter and spring with Chris Doyle.
WLB — Aaron Mends (sr.): “Where’s Mends?” has been a frequent question over the years. The supremely strong, fast player needs to improve on the mental side of the game. The prediction here is he puts it together for his fifth year, much like Cole Fisher did for Iowa in 2015.
MLB — Kristian Welch (jr.): Replacing Josey Jewell will be an impossible task, but somebody’s got to do it. Welch seems to have the inside track over Jack Hockaday and Amani Jones (who will also battle Mends at weak-side linebacker) at this point, though this will likely be an ongoing story that could spill into the season. Iowa has to get this one right.
OLB — Jake Gervase (sr.): Going out on a limb here, but when Phil Parker mentioned he might move a safety into this role in 2018, it would make sense if Gervase is that guy. If he can add five pounds to get to 6-1, 215, he could be the hybrid cover guy and run stopper that the Hawkeyes need as three-year starter Ben Niemann moves on. Also watch for Nick Niemann, Ben’s brother and a sophomore-to-be, to get a shot here.
LC — Manny Rugamba (jr.): The assumption here is that junior all-American Josh Jackson turns pro. Rugamba had a wobbly sophomore campaign. He was suspended for the season opener, then later lost his starting job after struggling against Purdue. Still, he has loads of talent and should be able to rebound.
SS — Amani Hooker (jr.): Became one of Iowa’s most impactful players in his true sophomore year, down to the finish when he made two touchdown-saving tackles against Boston College.
FS — Brandon Snyder (sr.): This will be an interesting story to follow. Snyder is recovering from his second ACL tear and also must work his way back into good standing after his December OWI arrest.
RC — Matt Hankins (soph.): Got his chance late in the year and ran with it; made seven tackles in the Pinstripe Bowl. Iowa has recruited a lot of defensive backs in the last two cycles as it tries to bolster its secondary, so the competition will be crowded.
P — Ryan Gersonde (soph.): A major weakness in 2017. Gersonde, who is on scholarship, got his chance midway through the season and showed a booming leg but wild inconsistency before an injury sidelined him down the stretch.[/QUOTE]
I think Fant and Hockenson will have fewer TD catches next year. Any DC worth his salt is going to look at Stanley's strengths/weaknesses in the off season. They'll see that he doesn't throw the deep ball very well and our OL doesn't pass pro very well. So, they'll likely game plan to take away the underneath stuff to the TEs, forcing Stanley to hold the ball longer and try and make deep, difficult throws. DCs won't have to worry about Wadley next year either. Having to focus on Wadley in the run and passing game, left a lot of room for our TEs to work. That's what DCs will do, to force Stanley into uncomfortable situations. The question is, how will BF tweak the routes and game plan, to beat that? Will he just count on Stanley to learn to make those deep throws? Or will he add some motion and different looks to keep defenses from putting Stanley in bad spots? Will our WRs step up and get open in the intermediate routes? It should be interesting.
How long is eventually? He only has another year left. Seems he would have to screw up monumentally while somebody else improved by leaps and bounds for him to get passed up even at the end of the season. I suppose some body could have a meteoric rise in the receiving corp but not counting on it.
Most games, when you have a 240lb RB gaining yards in the first half, the defense wears down and gives up in the 4th quarter. Against Boston College, Iowa's DL took control in the second half and looked fresher. This is why a solid rotation in smash mouth football is important.
As others have said, starters don't matter much on the d-line. Iowa will play 8-9 guys across the line if they have the quality depth, and it looks like they might. Certain games will see some guys getting more snaps than others due to matchups and who is playing well.
Right at this juncture, a lot depends on development and health.
Here is my take on the starters (and some of the depth):
Getting Defensive ....
RDE: Hesse/Epenesa/A. Nelson (rotation)
RDT: M. Nelson/Hesse, Reiff (Reiff could push for the starting spot too)
LDT: Lattimore, Nixon (I wonder if Brincks moves in?)
LDE: A. Nelson, Brincks, Golston
LEO ("base" OLB): N. Niemann/Welch
Bandit (hybrid OLB - "packaged" for pass-happy teams): Hooker
MIKE: Welch/Hockaday/Jones
WILL: Mends/Jones, Colbert
SS: Hooker
FS: Snyder/Gervase/Stone
RC: Hankins
LC: Rugamba
Getting Offensive ....
RT: Wirfs, LeGrand
RG: Paulsen/Render
C: Daniels
LG: Render/Reynolds
LT: Jackson, Ferguson
TE: Fant, Beyer/Cook
TE: Hockaday, Wieting
WR: Easley, Tracy
WR: ISM
FB: Ross
RB: Young/IKM
QB: Stanley, Mansell
Here is my take on the starters (and some of the depth):
Getting Defensive ....
RDE: Hesse/Epenesa/A. Nelson (rotation)
RDT: M. Nelson/Hesse, Reiff (Reiff could push for the starting spot too)
LDT: Lattimore, Nixon (I wonder if Brincks moves in?)
LDE: A. Nelson, Brincks, Golston
LEO ("base" OLB): N. Niemann/Welch
Bandit (hybrid OLB - "packaged" for pass-happy teams): Hooker
MIKE: Welch/Hockaday/Jones
WILL: Mends/Jones, Colbert
SS: Hooker
FS: Snyder/Gervase/Stone
RC: Hankins
LC: Rugamba
Getting Offensive ....
RT: Wirfs, LeGrand
RG: Paulsen/Render
C: Daniels
LG: Render/Reynolds
LT: Jackson, Ferguson
TE: Fant, Beyer/Cook
TE: Hockaday, Wieting
WR: Easley, Tracy
WR: ISM
FB: Ross
RB: Young/IKM
QB: Stanley, Mansell
- Based on Pinstripe performance, Wirfs back to RT, LT Alrec and maybe Paulson at LG if not RG.
- Also, I think a healthy Manny wins back a starting role at CB and Michael Ojemudia keeps his spot too. Hankins will be Nickle, Dime and solid back up on both sides.
- And, I think there are many really good options and combo's that we will see in spring ball at LB too...without pulling up Gervase or Stone out of the Defensive backfield.
- But, who are our backups at FB, SE, WR, WR2 (1 & 2).
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Matt Hankins is our best returning corner if JJ goes pro. Hankins is penciled in as a starter!
Possibly, but Michael and Manny have much more experience and knowledge of the system and all the calls. It will be interesting to see how they end up after spring ball competition. Hankins has all the skills needed no doubt.
There WILL be A LOT of competition at CB .... Ojemudia will be in the thick of that competition. However, a lot of his issues deal with being slow to recognize things and close on the ball and/or the receiving target. If we need to play soft coverage and have a guy who can communicate with the rest of the D ... OJ probably has that covered. As I've said before ... Ojemudia reminds me quite a bit of Bradley Fletcher.
It took a while for Fletcher to develop and improve ... I dare say that it was even a "slow" process for Fletcher. But the important thing is that he "got there." Fletcher's SR campaign was pretty darn impressive ... so that's a credit to him and a credit to Phil's teaching/coaching.
However, if we're talking about current roster trajectories ... I'd initially give the CB nods to Hankins and Rugamba. However, it will also be interesting to see how the RS FR (Turner and Creamer) and TR FR (Roberts, Johnson, and Brents) can continue to push the competition forward. If history has taught us anything ... Phil doesn't shy from playing young guys if they execute how he wants them to.
What about true freshman Craddieth seeing the field next year. Seems he is most physically capable but maybe has some things to learn in coverage.
Everything looked great until you said Rugumba. If he starts, we are in BIG trouble.
Remember in 2016 when Mabin went down with his injury. Manny came in and played great. Watch the Michigan game again to see how well he played. Spent most of this season with injuries and perhaps was a little content from his freshman successes.
I think you may be on to something with moving Hesse inside. Regardless Epenesa WILL START NEXT YEAR.
I think Manny and Hankins will be the starters but as you noted, I'm convinced these true freshmen are going to make some waves.
You cannot statically define people or their capabilities. Going off of King's high school skill set .... you knew that he had great ball skills. However, from his FR and SO seasons in college .... he was still getting up to speed (before he could incorporate all of his skill sets into his game). If you went solely from his SO tape, you never would have seen his JR season coming.
My guess is Rugumba got a little comfortable last off season and ate a humble pie this season. It happens a lot but he will learn from it and come back strong
Phil and Kirk really liked Clayberg and expected that he would play down the road. With him gone, Phil DOES have 4 safeties whom he trusts ... but he's also going to be looking to expand their roles so that they can all play more.
The aforementioned expansion will further press the need for building depth at safety. Consequently, I see Craddieth playing early ... likely mostly playing on special teams .... but he'll also be practicing with the upper teamers (and hence, learning the D). Depending on how Phil "packages" the safety play ... Craddieth could see packaged action too.
Rugamba was also dinged on and off through the season ... that could impact his confidence and his play too. Also, there would be the term "sophomore slump" if it weren't a thing. My guess is that Rugamba may have entered the season with a bit too much complacency and immaturity ... and it came back to bite him in the ass. You live and you learn. I just hope that he learned from all of Josh Jackson's hard work and perseverance. If guys learned from King and Jackson .... AND if they trust Phil (and themselves) ... ultimately, they should be okay.
I think that there is a decent chance that Stone's development could land him ahead of Gervase next year ... however, whether he can pull off being a starter might relate to Snyder's rehab and the competition between himself and Snyder. Hooker's production is just too consistent for him to NOT be a starter in '18 (he's always near the ball).
Good stuff. Thanks for posting.
I'll go out on a line and predict Aaron Mends will have an outstanding season. Nothing more than a hunch and lots of hope, but I think 2018 will be his year.
And....................if another one of my favorite Hawkeyes, Amani Jones doesn't find the field I will also be surprised. I understand that comprehending the system and doing your job is critical. But this young man has been coached a long time and he's a hitter. Just hoping my hunch plays out for Amani.
I'll go out on a line and predict Aaron Mends will have an outstanding season. Nothing more than a hunch and lots of hope, but I think 2018 will be his year.
And....................if another one of my favorite Hawkeyes, Amani Jones doesn't find the field I will also be surprised. I understand that comprehending the system and doing your job is critical. But this young man has been coached a long time and he's a hitter. Just hoping my hunch plays out for Amani.
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Defense seems like it could be good. We return a bunch on Offense, but they didn't score much this year and lost the most dynamic player.
The OL needs to become a dominant unit---I like our OT's, but where is the depth at OT? Our guards have not been special.
The OL needs to become a dominant unit---I like our OT's, but where is the depth at OT? Our guards have not been special.
Bryan is a player at RB that has been completely forgotten due to an injury his redshirt year. Unless I missed a transfer rumor about him, I wouldn’t sleep on him being in the mix for playing time next year.
I agree with you. However, I would LOVE to see Hooker move down to play OLB so that we are no so outmatched when teams go 3-4 WR sets on us. With Hooker playing LB, he would be a natural to slide into the slot when we are holding to out traditional 4-3 set. I agree that Stone will challenge Gervase for the starting job. The remaining question then becomes, how early, how much, and where do Craddieth and Brents play? I have seen some services actually classify Brents as a CB. Perhaps these guys get in when we go to our Nickel and (if we ever...go into our Dime) packages.
I honestly don't know what will happen. Nick Niemann has seen a few reps at the LEO spot ... in mop-up duty. However, past him ... we have absolutely ZERO experienced depth. If Hockaday can remain healthy and has some great camps ... he could catapult himself into contention for an ILB spot ... and that could potentially allow Welch to move back out to the LEO spot (where he worked most of his freshman year). It sounds like the coaches have been giving Amani Jones some work at the MIKE spot ... so that could be another attempt to try to work Welch back to LEO.
As I've posted before ... my impression is that the safety to OLB thing is mainly just a packaged thing. However, given our lack of experienced depth at LEO ... maybe the consideration is more along the lines of what you're suggesting.
As for Brents ... he's a young man who is "long and lean" ... reminiscent of guys like Hyde, Mabin, and Jackson. I'd be surprised if he wasn't going to get his first looks at CB for the Hawks. Thus, if I were a betting man ... I'd likely put money on Brents as a CB (at least initially).
The guy who has me curious is Roberts. Is he going to be like Jovon Johnson or Desmond King ... a possibly undersized guy with great ball skills ... who ultimately ends up as a great CB for us. Or will we transition him immediately over to the O because of our continuing need to upgrade our talent at WR? If you look at Roberts production ... the young man makes plays!
Lastly, as it relates to Craddieth ... I have no idea. Djimon Colbert was a similar type of player ... and transitioned pretty quickly over to LB for the Hawks. However, the Hawks moved pretty quickly back to recruiting Craddieth once they learned that Clayberg was leaving the program ... hence, I'm inclined to believe that Phil wants him at safety initially. As you suspect ... maybe he'll package Craddieth as a "bandit" LB for the Hawks (kinda like Hooker might play).
Yep! Wait huh? These stats are what about what any starter should produce. If you really believe Easley is better than average man your a homer who doesn’t know what they are watching.
A key difference with most of those numbers is that Easley managed that production during the first year a new offense was being implemented ... all while a new QB was cutting his teeth on the starting job.
I'm pretty confident in declaring that Easley is an exceedingly solid WR for the Hawks. In fact, provided that he remains healthy ... he should only continue to improve for the Hawks and be MORE productive next year.
I fully recognize that "new guys" can and often do pass more experienced guys. That was evident when McNutt passed DJK back in '09 (if memory serves). If that happens in '18, few people will be more happy about it than Easley .... because it will indicate that more elements of our passing game are advancing ... and that will most likely equate to more W's for the Hawks.
If that's what any starter should produce then explain why so few Iowa receivers in the team's history have recorded 50 catches in a season?. 59 catches would put a guy in the top 10.
Here are just a few Iowa receivers never to catch as many balls in a single season as Easley.
CJ Jones
Tevaun Smith
Danan Hughes
Andy Brodell
Tim Dwight
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SS Hooker
FS Stone
CB Rugumba
CB Hankins
LB Mends
LB Jones
LB Colbert
DE Eppy
DT Nixon
DT Lattimore
DE Nelson
FS Stone
CB Rugumba
CB Hankins
LB Mends
LB Jones
LB Colbert
DE Eppy
DT Nixon
DT Lattimore
DE Nelson
It would be hard to believe that Fant will have more then 11 TD's next year, but if they put a lot of effort or double him, that should leave some other guys open. Could see a big year from Hock and even Beyer next year. I know Wadley is gone, but am excited to see what IKM brings to the table even in the screen game. He and Young looked solid everytime their number was called. Continued improvement from ISM, Smith, Cooper, and Easley will be key of course.
If development works as it should, Hockenson and Fant should continue to improve ... AND, perhaps more importantly, develop more complete games (get better at blocking and disguising what they're going to be doing). In '16, Wieting essentially split reps with Fant. He didn't play near as much in '17 ... most likely due to injury (given all his surgeries, it seems like a safe bet). The point here being that the Hawks have some pretty darn fine complementary TEs in Wieting, Beyer, and Cook. Thus, the staff will have the freedom to play some "games" personnel-wise against opposing Ds. It will also help keep Fant and Hock fresh.
You're definitely correct in asserting that opposing DC's will use the tape they have on Nate to take away our TEs. Of course, those tendencies weren't exactly a mystery to opposing DCs in '17 either. Jim Leonhard's solution was to rough the TEs up at the line of scrimmage (so that they don't get a clean release ... that throws off timing) ... and then pressure the crap out of the QB so he cannot let slower developing plays work out. Of course, part of what facilitated his approach were Iowa's weaknesses .... our TEs were still young and can still develop a lot both physically and in terms of how they use their hand at the line of scrimmage (to beat LBs who try to disrupt them) ... and our OL still had a number of relatively "new" parts (Wirfs, Reynolds rotating in, and Jackson). On top of the above, Daniels was dinged through much of the season and Wadley was only moderately better in pass-pro.
It's not a stretch to figure that Iowa will counter the "issues" that Leonhard exploited. So what will other DCs choose to do?
It goes without saying that Fant will receive extra attention. Furthermore, if they man up on Hock .... it better be a good cover guy. That takes up what ... 3 defenders ... likely 2 LBs and a S or 2 DBs and a LB? So what is the D going to do then? Lets say Iowa plays with twins ... OR with the 2nd TE lined up as a H-back ... but then the Hawks are still using 2 WRs. Remember that the TEs are taking the attention of 3 guys (or 2 guys and freezing a LB). IKM is a guy who is a versatile guy who can catch the ball out of the backfield ... against the pass, a defender will definitely need to account for him.
The implication of the above scenario is that against most fronts ... if the D plays run ... they're potentially putting BOTH CBs on islands against our WRs. If they play pass ... then depending on Iowa's route trees and the spacing of the field (which dictates where defenders will be positioned on the field in coverage) ... that potentially opens up a lot of opportunity for our running game. For example, while many Iowa fans lamented the fact that Greg Davis placed a huge emphasis on using the passing game to attack outside the hashes .... the net effect was to open up huge opportunities for our running game .... particularly on the cutback lanes on our inside zone runs.
If you wonder why we didn't break as many big runs this year .... a big part was due to blocking by WRs and TEs. However, another component was attributable to the fact that our passing game relied heavily upon passes between the hashes. The implication being that there necessaily would be more defenders between the hashes ... and hence more defenders to clog the running game. Thus, if we're still going to continue to do that .... we need to improve how we attack the edges (particularly in the running game). Perhaps part of our problem this year, as it related to attacking the edges, was attributable to our youth/inexperience at OT and TE (as it relates to blocking the edges). However, surely this will be another facet of the O that they will work hard to fix.
Given our situation at LB I think it'd be interesting to give Duwa a look at MLB. He has the size and will likely still add some weight. I thought I read somewhere that he was impressing and has some nasty to him.
