2012 Offensive Line

WinOneThisCentury

Well-Known Member
Let's say this is where things land:

LT - Scherff
LG - Tobin
C - Ferentz
RG - Blythe
RT - Van Sloten

Scherff may be at guard / Tobin at tackle, but what would this line have in common? All kids from the Iowa HS ranks. Has that ever happened?

I'm not saying it will, but they all will definitely be in the mix. Blythe probably has the biggest climb to get there, but rumor has it he was kicking some butt in practice by the end of last year. I'm hoping Nolan Mac is back, but this would be a very good group.
 
no offense to tobin, but i hope we have better options available. every gamefilm breakdown had tobin as a negative grade. that LG spot seems to be the spot they put the young up-and-comer in (bulaga and reiff IIRC).
 
no offense but Scherf will be a guard, and Donall will be the LT.
MY front line is
LT 6'7 300 lb Donnal SO
LG 6'6 290 lb Tobin SR
C 6'2 284lb Ferentz SR
RG 6'5 310 lb Scherff SO
RT 6'7 290 lb Van Sloten JR
2 sr, 2 so and 1 jr, whatever Tobin lack can and will be corrected by Ferentz,
the only other player that may start over Tobin will be Nolan if he is 100%
 
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I'm not list a position by position basis, but instead a top 7, who I think has good opportunities to start: Nolan M, Scherff, Boffelli, Tobin, Ferentz, Van Slotten, with Blythe & Donnal trying to get into that other spot.
 
if Mac is back then Tobin is on the outside looking in, and you left out Walsh and Boffeli .
i personnaly hope Mac is back as you can just pencil in the 2 deeps for the Oline, and i just can't understand people dismissing Donnall has not starting at the LT as he was the backup to Reiff all fall and season long, for people to just throw him to the side.
 
Historically teams with this much line turnover struggle. MacMillan can really help, but a lot of people with that injury don't make it back to competition, so we will have to see on that one.

Think the future looks bright, but...
 
if Mac is back then Tobin is on the outside looking in, and you left out Walsh and Boffeli .
i personnaly hope Mac is back as you can just pencil in the 2 deeps for the Oline, and i just can't understand people dismissing Donnall has not starting at the LT as he was the backup to Reiff all fall and season long, for people to just throw him to the side.

Interesting, because when Reiff went down in a game last year...Tobin moved to Left Tackle and Scherff to guard.

I'm hoping Nolan is back to take a spot...but I think it's going to be hard to keep Blythe off the field.
 
First the losses- Iowa loses Riley Reiff, Adam Gettis, Markus Zusevics and Woody Orne from 2011. All were basically two year starters and Zusevics may be one of the most underrated linemen in Iowa history- he stepped in for a very good multi-year starter in Calloway and there was no significant drop in play. Reiff is a Consensus Top 10 draft pick, stepped in for Bulaga and really anchored the line last season. Gettis had two solid seasons and really played well last season. All three have a chance at making NFL rosters* and Orne provided solid blocking and receiving skills in his short time at TE. Orne was a solid depth player and the kind of unsung player that make Iowa’s program successful. All will be missed, but Reiff will be the hardest to replace.

*Zusevics was injured in the combine and depending on the severity of his injury may not get a shot.

Iowa returns four players with significant playing time- Center James Ferentz (SR) and this will be his third season as a starter, Matt Tobin(SR) and Brandon Scherff (R. SO) split time at left guard last season with Tobin receiving the majority of time and starts. Ferentz is a lock for the center spot and it is likely Tobin and Scherff will start somewhere on the line next season. The fourth player is Nolan MacMillan (R. JR with a legit chance to get a 6th year, however “oldâ€￾ for his class) who was lost for the entire season and his future is still a bit cloudy. He may not be able to return or he may not be able to live up to his promising red shirt freshman season, but it is my opinion that he has the most raw talent of any of Iowa’s lineman headed into next season, assuming he will return at full strength. His status will likely be known by the end of spring and he could really bolster the talent and ability of the offensive next season.

Iowa returns three players that have had limited game experience- Conor Boffeli, Brett Van Sloten, and Andrew Donnal. All three have very good size, positional flexibility and will be entering at least their third season at Iowa. I think all three of these guys have legitimate chances to land a spot in the lineup heading into the spring. Of these three Van Sloten has the most significant playing time as he stepped in for Zusevics during the Insight Bowl and held his own. Van Sloten and Donnal probably have the most tackle ready bodies and abilities, and will likely be in contention for one the open tackle positions. I am a fan of Boffelli from the limited appearances he has had and believe he has the size and ability to play any interior position.

Four players return with little or no significant experience- two highly recruited red shirt freshman in Austin Blythe and Jordan Walsh, as well as Casey McMillan (SR) and Drew Clark (JR) who have very little game experience. Of this group Blythe likely has the best chance to push for PT this season as Walsh may need one more season to add strength as he was listed at 270 last season. McMillan has never made significant push for PT, but given the staff’s propensity for rewarding upperclassmen he will likely have a spot on the initial two deep. Clark has been on campus for three seasons now and will likely need a big spring to launch himself into the mix.
Iowa signed a Juco center Eric Simmons from Iowa Western and he has four years to play three seasons. I doubt he will red shirt and may have a chance to impact right away or could be in the mix to replace Ferentz after next season. I would be surprised if Simmons doesn’t push for time and he will certainly be a player to watch this spring.

Here is a (VERY) rough depth chart followed by ranking players by tackle and interior positions. Iowa traditionally tries to get the best five players on the line and once they settle on that spot it is rare to see player rotation after the first two or three games. Brian Ferentz already trotted the “best fiveâ€￾ out in his introductory press conference, but realistically only four or five players have the size and athleticism to play tackle on the roster right now. The lists will be an attempt to reflect that. Several players will show up on both lists.

LT Nolan MacMillan, Donnal/Van Sloten/ Sherff
LG Matt Tobin, Boffeli/Blythe/ Walsh
C James Ferentz, Boffeli /Simmons/ Blythe
RG Brandon Scherff, Boffeli/ Blythe/ Walsh
RT Brett Van Sloten/ Donnal, Scherff

Top Tackles
1. MacMillan
2. Van Sloten
3. Scherff
4. Donnal
5. Tobin

Top Interior Players
1. Ferentz
2. Scherff
3. Blythe
4. Tobin
5. Boffeli
6. Walsh
7. Simmons

Basically I am saying there is one position locked down- Ferentz at center and then possibly 9 players competing for the four other spots. I think Scherff and a healthy MacMillan are locks for two spots.
 
Clearly a line in transition. A lot of big "ifs". No offense to our new O-Line coach but I would feel more comfortable with an experienced coach such as Reese Morgan trying to fit these particular pieces together.

Good luck to young Ferentz. It will be an interesting baptism and fun to watch.
 
not sure what side of the line everyone will be on but i know that iowa has never cared that much about the depth chart since the zone scheme is built around flexibility on the line they play the 5 best linemen and dont really distinguish between guard/tackle. remember reiff started at guard and moved out and we have had backups at 1 spot go in at that spot and someone move over before. just cause someone was #2 on a depth chart at a spot doesnt mean they go in if someone goes down. with that stated here are my guesses.

lt - van sloten
lg - scherff
c - ferentz
rg - tobin or macmillan (if healthy)
rt - tobin or donnal (if nolan isnt healthy)

backups (but remember what i said)
lt - walsh/donnal
lg - boffeli/macmillan
c - blythe/boffeli
rg - boffeli/macmillan
lt - mcmillan/donnal
 
The question is, is Iowa replacing Reiff and Zus with guys that were as good as they were when they replaced Calloway and Bulaga? KF had been talking up Zus for a year before he got the start and we all knew were Reiff was in his development.

This year, that just isn't the case. This isn't even 2005 when you had BF and Mike Jones returning as upper class starters, that is unless MacMillan gets back in the swing of things.

There is reason for hope, particularly for the future. But we just don't really know about this year.
 
Donnal was a 4* tackle out of HS and he was a RS FR backing up a OL that is going to be a 1st round draft pick. Walsh is a interior lineman at 6'3, and i don't recall Nolan playing at Tackle, with the Juco Simmons at center i don't think Blythe will play center, but he will push for plaing time at either guard spots,
who knows if Nolan isn't going to play he may push Tobin to be the backup at left guard, with Bofelli making a push as well at a guard.
the line play will not be a problem as I believe KF is a hands on HC with the OL players
 
Sorry,but I do not remember KF ''talking up'' Zeus for a year before he started. He was pretty much a total mystery man, a volleyball player in high school,who seemed undersized to be a tackle. He came in and was solid from day one,to everyone's surprise.
There will be the normal growing pains with some new guys in the mix,but I do not think the talent level drops off much,cept at Reiff's slot. The biggest job will be protecting Vandy and I think they have the athleticism to do that just fine.
Run blocking could be tougher.
 
What was the nature of Nolan Macs' injury? People on this thread are talking as if it could be career ending.
 
MacMillan had sports hernia most of 2011. Cant recall his injury in 2010 that made him miss games. HOpefully he is able to shake the injury jinx.

My own pick to start at OG would be Bofelli. I think 2012 will be his time to shine after sitting behind Ferentz past two years. With Brian being new this Spring, I think all will get their chances and OL probably will not be decided until August.
 
Sorry,but I do not remember KF ''talking up'' Zeus for a year before he started. He was pretty much a total mystery man, a volleyball player in high school,who seemed undersized to be a tackle. He came in and was solid from day one,to everyone's surprise.
There will be the normal growing pains with some new guys in the mix,but I do not think the talent level drops off much,cept at Reiff's slot. The biggest job will be protecting Vandy and I think they have the athleticism to do that just fine.
Run blocking could be tougher.

He did go out of his way on multiple occasions to state Zues and Gettis were eventually going to be starters even though they were passed up by a younger player at the time.
 
My educated guess is that Scherff or possibly McMillian will be at LT.

When guys get in as freshman it has usually indicated that they are ahead of other guys listed as backups regardless of what position they are listed.

Bulaga and Rieff both started off at guard as freshman.

I very much doubt a player with no starting experience is going to be at LT next year.
 
Spring practice is just around the corner. Not the best harbinger of things to come at the skill positions for sure, but not a bad way to see what's going on with the lines in a relative way.

Walking out of the 2011 spring practice I was thinking either the O line was very good or the D line was substandard. Turned out to be the later for most of the season.

What was unusual last year was the feeling that O "won" the practice. First time I remember leaving feeling that way. Mostly due to the penetration the OL guys were getting.

This year's DL is a total mystery at this point - the attrition of the last two years clouds any objective prognosis. The general thinking on this forum is to not be to optimistic.

I suspect that we will see a Spring practice similar to last year's w/ the OL dominating. In this case I believe that we will have an adequate to good OL and a DL that is adequate to substandard.

If we don't see a dominating performance by the OL then I am going to be really worried about the offense as whole from that point forward. Sure, it could be the result of stellar DL play, but that's just not likely giving the attrition over the last two years on the DL.

I am really anticipating the spring practice w/ all the changes in the coaching staff and all of the new and returning players.
 
My educated guess is that Scherff or possibly McMillian will be at LT.

When guys get in as freshman it has usually indicated that they are ahead of other guys listed as backups regardless of what position they are listed.

Bulaga and Rieff both started off at guard as freshman.

I very much doubt a player with no starting experience is going to be at LT next year.

Scherff was no better or worse than Donnall as they both were back up RS FR, Donnall at LT, and Scherff at LG behind Tobin, so i think that speaks more about Donnal than it does about Scherff, Donall played backup to a 1st rounder in Reiff and Scherff backed up Tobin, who some feel shouldn't be a starter this year
so why start a player that couldn't displace another player that some say is a questionable starter, over one who had to sit behind a NFL'er
 
Scherff was no better or worse than Donnall as they both were back up RS FR, Donnall at LT, and Scherff at LG behind Tobin, so i think that speaks more about Donnal than it does about Scherff, Donall played backup to a 1st rounder in Reiff and Scherff backed up Tobin, who some feel shouldn't be a starter this year
so why start a player that couldn't displace another player that some say is a questionable starter, over one who had to sit behind a NFL'er

Scherff split time equally with Tobin, Donnal saw as many meaningful reps at LT as Jason White did at RB despite being listed as the backup all season. Zero.

Not even comparable
 

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