About future: A thought that intrigues me

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
I'm excited about the 2010 season. However, the following thought occurred to me, and it kinda got me a little giddy.

Suppose that Iowa lands Christian French, he initially gets reps with Soup at WR, and he (perhaps miraculously) develops into a Hawkeye version of James Hardy. I know that this may be a stretch given what some folks have observed about his hands ... however, it isn't exactly impossible either. So please humor me and not let this degenerate into any sort of bash-fest.

Anyhow, if the above scenario were to play out ... just imagine what Iowa's personnel would look like in 2 years on O (2012 season):

ACE set:

WR: Keenan Davis
WR: Christian French
WR: Marcus Grant/Don Shumpert/Jordan Cotton [or put Duzey, a TE, out in the slot]
TE: CJ Fiedorowicz
RB: Jewel Hampton or Marcus Coker or Melvin Gordon (angry vs thunder vs versatility)
OT: Riley Reiff or Nolan MacMillan (admittedly, Reiff could be gone by then)
OT: Van Sloten/Scherff/Donnal
OG: Boffeli/Walsh
OG: Scherff/Clark/Blythe
C: Ferentz/Boffeli
QB: Vandenberg

All the possible mismatches kinda make me giddy. And the 2 TE sets are pretty cool to fathom as well! In the pass-game, the combo of size and speed that the WRs and TEs bring to the table would be VERY tough for opposing Ds to match up. And, perhaps even more exciting to think about is how devastating they could end up being blocking downfield! The running game could be phenomenal ... even out of the ACE set!

Keenan Davis is pretty much alread "NFL-sized" ... and if French were to develop into Iowa's version of Hardy ... there we're then talking about about him being in the 6-6/230 territory. And, let's say that Shumpert is the 3rd guy ... then we're talking around 6-3/200 territory. Lastly, CJ Fed is 6-7 and will probably be around 260 (he doesn't need to get bigger ... he'll just get stronger).

Needless to say, a pretty wild combo of size, strength, and speed among those guys.

Anyhow, even if French doesn't even end up a Hawkeye (and that would be too bad, in my estimation ... but certainly not the end of the world) ... only one word comes to mind when I fathom that 2012 Hawk O ... and that is "Juggernaut." The only caveat is this ... my gut feeling is that the D will have plenty of rebuilding/reloading to do that year.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
I'm excited about the 2010 season. However, the following thought occurred to me, and it kinda got me a little giddy.

Suppose that Iowa lands Christian French, he initially gets reps with Soup at WR, and he (perhaps miraculously) develops into a Hawkeye version of James Hardy. I know that this may be a stretch given what some folks have observed about his hands ... however, it isn't exactly impossible either. So please humor me and not let this degenerate into any sort of bash-fest.

Anyhow, if the above scenario were to play out ... just imagine what Iowa's personnel would look like in 2 years on O (2012 season):

ACE set:

WR: Keenan Davis
WR: Christian French
WR: Marcus Grant/Don Shumpert/Jordan Cotton [or put Duzey, a TE, out in the slot]
TE: CJ Fiedorowicz
RB: Jewel Hampton or Marcus Coker or Melvin Gordon (angry vs thunder vs versatility)
OT: Riley Reiff or Nolan MacMillan (admittedly, Reiff could be gone by then)
OT: Van Sloten/Scherff/Donnal
OG: Boffeli/Walsh
OG: Scherff/Clark/Blythe
C: Ferentz/Boffeli
QB: Vandenberg

All the possible mismatches kinda make me giddy. And the 2 TE sets are pretty cool to fathom as well! In the pass-game, the combo of size and speed that the WRs and TEs bring to the table would be VERY tough for opposing Ds to match up. And, perhaps even more exciting to think about is how devastating they could end up being blocking downfield! The running game could be phenomenal ... even out of the ACE set!

Keenan Davis is pretty much alread "NFL-sized" ... and if French were to develop into Iowa's version of Hardy ... there we're then talking about about him being in the 6-6/230 territory. And, let's say that Shumpert is the 3rd guy ... then we're talking around 6-3/200 territory. Lastly, CJ Fed is 6-7 and will probably be around 260 (he doesn't need to get bigger ... he'll just get stronger).

Needless to say, a pretty wild combo of size, strength, and speed among those guys.

Anyhow, even if French doesn't even end up a Hawkeye (and that would be too bad, in my estimation ... but certainly not the end of the world) ... only one word comes to mind when I fathom that 2012 Hawk O ... and that is "Juggernaut." The only caveat is this ... my gut feeling is that the D will have plenty of rebuilding/reloading to do that year.
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I'm with you. Our offense looks very good going forward. Even without French, we still have not only CJF and Duzey, but Henry Krieger-Coble at TE as well. He's another TE who did a lot of receiving in high school and appears to have good mobility in the open field.

Defense doesn't concern me so much. From everything I've seen, LB James Morris will be the next great Hawkeye defensive leader. He's smart, a hard worker, and comes full of in-state accolades. We'll also have two DE that I'm very excited about. John Raymon is a freak athlete for his size. He just started playing the position last year and is already a high 3* on Rivals. His coach says once he learns to play the position there's no limit to how good he can be. Riley McMinn is another end, and his size has plenty of room for Doyle to add bulk (6-7, 220), with a claimed 4.6 40. Micah Hyde will have solidified his position at CB. We are a bit shaky at safety, as Tanner Miller appears to be our top option. At this point, though, I'm curious where QB stands with AJ Derby/Jake Rudock. If Jake has a decided edge do we move Derby to safety and try to get his athleticism on the field? Just spitballing, something to consider. We'll also have Donovan Johnson and Carl Davis, 6-5 300, at DT. We also have to consider ATH Torrey Campbell. He could wind up at RB, WR, CB, or S. Wherever he is, he'll be the fastest guy on the field.

The defense relies on the development of guys like Raymon, McMinn, Derby, Miller, and Davis, but I don't think there's cause for concern. With the coaching staff that we have, there's no reason to believe Raymon and McMinn won't add the necessary bulk to make an impact. I see good things for the future but we need to stay hungry and make sure these players develop in time to go right away.
 
I think you guys are forgetting one player, a guy who has me at least as excited as having French sign up: Ray Hamilton. Remember him? 4-star TE, would be a sophomore (or redshirt frosh) in 2012? The double-tight formation with him and C.J. are going to be a nightmare for defenses to handle, especially with Davis on the outside and Hampton/Robinson/Coker/Wegher?/Gordon/you get the idea lining up behind Vandenberg. If guys like Cotton and the incoming recruits at WR can develop, that could produce the most electric offense at least since 2002.
 
I love all these new WR's we are getting, I dont think its by chance either, I think I need to go thank me(again,lol) a UofM fan who was on the "fire Carr" band wagon.
 
tm3308 said:
I think you guys are forgetting one player, a guy who has me at least as excited as having French sign up: Ray Hamilton. Remember him? 4-star TE, would be a sophomore (or redshirt frosh) in 2012? The double-tight formation with him and C.J. are going to be a nightmare for defenses to handle, especially with Davis on the outside and Hampton/Robinson/Coker/Wegher?/Gordon/you get the idea lining up behind Vandenberg. If guys like Cotton and the incoming recruits at WR can develop, that could produce the most electric offense at least since 2002.
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tm3308 -

Absolutely, that's why I said that I'm also VERY excited about the future of our 2 TE sets. Heck, our 3 TE sets have some serious potential too!

CJ Fed, Duzey, and Hamilton are the more highly esteemed recruits ... however, I wouldn't sleep on Vier or Krieger-Coble either. Definitely a group with a VERY high ceiling!

I don't know how well Hamilton can "run" ... however, I know that Vier, CJ Fed, and Duzy each have surprisingly impressive "wheelz." Definitely plenty of possibilities to create mismatches.
 
I hope I'm wrong but I think that French is hands down the most overrated prospect on our board. I've never once heard a person say the words "he is a good football player". I don't think he ends up a hawk anyway. I hope I am wrong on both counts, but I don't think I will be.
 
tm3308 said:
I think you guys are forgetting one player, a guy who has me at least as excited as having French sign up: Ray Hamilton. Remember him? 4-star TE, would be a sophomore (or redshirt frosh) in 2012? The double-tight formation with him and C.J. are going to be a nightmare for defenses to handle, especially with Davis on the outside and Hampton/Robinson/Coker/Wegher?/Gordon/you get the idea lining up behind Vandenberg. If guys like Cotton and the incoming recruits at WR can develop, that could produce the most electric offense at least since 2002.
Click to expand...

Don't know how I overlooked Hamilton. I'm shamefaced.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
tm3308 -

Absolutely, that's why I said that I'm also VERY excited about the future of our 2 TE sets. Heck, our 3 TE sets have some serious potential too!

CJ Fed, Duzey, and Hamilton are the more highly esteemed recruits ... however, I wouldn't sleep on Vier or Krieger-Coble either. Definitely a group with a VERY high ceiling!

I don't know how well Hamilton can "run" ... however, I know that Vier, CJ Fed, and Duzy each have surprisingly impressive "wheelz." Definitely plenty of possibilities to create mismatches.
Click to expand...

Oh I agree with your assessments of the other TE's as well. Just didn't see Hamilton's name in your OP and thought he may have just slipped your mind is all.
 
tm3308 said:
Oh I agree with your assessments of the other TE's as well. Just didn't see Hamilton's name in your OP and thought he may have just slipped your mind is all.
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Nah ... didn't overlook Hamilton. I just anticipate that Duzey is a bit faster and possibly a bit more versatile. However, Hamilton's background as a TE will arguably give him an advantage with regard to receiving more time in our 2 TE sets because we'll need a guy who is a quality blocker.
 
NEIChawk said:
Homer, let's see what you have in store for the defense....
Click to expand...

The way that our depth is currently staggered, it's A LOT easier to project the O for 2012. The D is currently so top heavy at LB and DL ... who knows who will be the top guys by then?

However, since when has that stopped me from giving it a stab? So, here's my poor attempt ...

2012 D:

DT: Carl Davis
DT: Steve Bigach/Louis Trinca-Pasat
DE: Dominic Alvis
DE: Donavan Johnson/John Raymon
LEO: Jim Poggi/Dakota Getz
MIKE: James Morris
WILL: Shane DiBona/Christian Kirksey
SS: Nick Nielsen/Anthony Hitchens
FS: Tanner Miller
CB: Micah Hyde
CB: Greg Castillo/BJ Lowery/Torrey Campbell

I really believe that the D will have quite a bit of talent and potential ... however, it will also feature plenty of first-year starters.

Also, my stab at the safety spots is pretty much complete guess work. My best guess is that the coaches will give Bernstine increasingly many backup reps at safety in 2010 ... and then he'll be poised to start there in 2011. That then would imply that we'd be graduating BOTH starting safeties after the 2011 season! Thus, we'd be needing to reload at safety big-time ... and we won't have a whole lot of proven commodities to step up there. I'm really hoping Iowa lands Dondi Kirby and/or Nick Law ... because either guy would have a legit shot of stepping in and receiving early playing time. Of course, that's not to say that the guys we have are completely ill equipped ... I anticipate that Nielsen, Hitchens, White, and Miller have the potential to develop favorably. However, the more talent you have at such critical positions ... the better!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
The way that our depth is currently staggered, it's A LOT easier to project the O for 2012. The D is currently so top heavy at LB and DL ... who knows who will be the top guys by then?

However, since when has that stopped me from giving it a stab? So, here's my poor attempt ...

2012 D:

DT: Carl Davis
DT: Steve Bigach/Louis Trinca-Pasat
DE: Dominic Alvis
DE: Donavan Johnson/John Raymon
LEO: Jim Poggi/Dakota Getz
MIKE: James Morris
WILL: Shane DiBona/Christian Kirksey
SS: Nick Nielsen/Anthony Hitchens
FS: Tanner Miller
CB: Micah Hyde
CB: Greg Castillo/BJ Lowery/Torrey Campbell

I really believe that the D will have quite a bit of talent and potential ... however, it will also feature plenty of first-year starters.

Also, my stab at the safety spots is pretty much complete guess work. My best guess is that the coaches will give Bernstine increasingly many backup reps at safety in 2010 ... and then he'll be poised to start there in 2011. That then would imply that we'd be graduating BOTH starting safeties after the 2011 season! Thus, we'd be needing to reload at safety big-time ... and we won't have a whole lot of proven commodities to step up there. I'm really hoping Iowa lands Dondi Kirby and/or Nick Law ... because either guy would have a legit shot of stepping in and receiving early playing time. Of course, that's not to say that the guys we have are completely ill equipped ... I anticipate that Nielsen, Hitchens, White, and Miller have the potential to develop favorably. However, the more talent you have at such critical positions ... the better!
Click to expand...

So I take it you figure Derby stays at QB long-term then?
 
2012.......that is a loooooooonnnnnngggggg way away. This is assuming no carrier ending injuries, carreer ending suspensions, transfers etc....Too many variables to even be having this conversation, but I guess that is what these boards are for. :)
 
So difficult to predict this kind of thing, it almost isn't worth trying.

At the start of 2008, when Jake was still QB, who was saying...think about our roster in 2010? I bet we'll have a top 10 or top 5 team.

That skinny backup, Stanzi, will likely emerge as a great QB...hey, I bet one of those other QBs, McNutt, could play WR. Probably be a dam good WR for that matter. And how about this back-up running back? The true freshman that only Ball State wanted. I'm thinking he'll be dam good by 2010. And I bet that marginal division 1 walk-on from Des Moines, Robinson or something, will compete as a starting RB in the Big Ten.

And that Clayborn kid from St. Louis. Hasn't played much yet, but I'll bet he might be the #1 pick in the NFL draft in a couple more years!

It is fun to think about the talent Iowa is getting, but if we've learned anything (maybe more than any other program), is that a lot of the guys we think will be players won't be, and there are others we don't know the names of yet who will be all conference players for Iowa in a couple more years.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
So difficult to predict this kind of thing, it almost isn't worth trying.

At the start of 2008, when Jake was still QB, who was saying...think about our roster in 2010? I bet we'll have a top 10 or top 5 team.

That skinny backup, Stanzi, will likely emerge as a great QB...hey, I bet one of those other QBs, McNutt, could play WR. Probably be a dam good WR for that matter. And how about this back-up running back? The true freshman that only Ball State wanted. I'm thinking he'll be dam good by 2010. And I bet that marginal division 1 walk-on from Des Moines, Robinson or something, will compete as a starting RB in the Big Ten.

And that Clayborn kid from St. Louis. Hasn't played much yet, but I'll bet he might be the #1 pick in the NFL draft in a couple more years!

It is fun to think about the talent Iowa is getting, but if we've learned anything (maybe more than any other program), is that a lot of the guys we think will be players won't be, and there are others we don't know the names of yet who will be all conference players for Iowa in a couple more years.
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You make a good point, but that just reinforces how strong the team looks in a couple of seasons. Look at what we did with largely unheralded recruits. Your description of all of them in '08 is really accurate yet through hard work and good coaching they became standout players. With these recruits and incoming players, we have even more reason to think they'll pan out. At QB, instead of a skinny backup we have a player recruited by just about everyone to play something on the field and another player who leads one of the best HS programs in the country. Instead of a backup RB and a walkon we have two guys in Gordon and Coker who were very highly recruited and look like they'll develop into sure-fire offensive stars. Instead of playing the guessing game at WR, we have a guy in Davis who saw time as a freshman and looks like he has the frame to develop into a reliable playmaker.

When we get so used to doing so much with so little, it gets really exciting to think about what we can do with players everybody else wanted too.
 
WR: Keenan Davis
WR: Christian French
WR: Marcus Grant/Don Shumpert/Jordan Cotton [or put Duzey, a TE, out in the slot]


Ngumu/ Martin-Manley???
 
IATrainMaster101 said:
WR: Keenan Davis
WR: Christian French
WR: Marcus Grant/Don Shumpert/Jordan Cotton [or put Duzey, a TE, out in the slot]


Ngumu/ Martin-Manley???
Click to expand...

Ngoumou never made it after he went to Milford. I do expect a good bit from Martin-Manley in the future, however he'll just be a RS SO in 2012. Besides, I wasn't listing off starters as much as I was speaking about a possible personnel package for the ACE set. We often like to run out of the ACE set ... however, it's often considered more of a "finesse" set to run out of. However, part of what I was getting at is that with the personnel that we could use, is that not only would the guys provide mismatches that could help us in the passing game ... but we could also be getting out a bunch of guys with big, athletic bodies out there ... bodies that could develop into pretty darn good blockers. That could actually allow us to do some serious power running out of the ACE set ... kind of a cool thought!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Ngoumou never made it after he went to Milford. I do expect a good bit from Martin-Manley in the future, however he'll just be a RS SO in 2012. Besides, I wasn't listing off starters as much as I was speaking about a possible personnel package for the ACE set. We often like to run out of the ACE set ... however, it's often considered more of a "finesse" set to run out of. However, part of what I was getting at is that with the personnel that we could use, is that not only would the guys provide mismatches that could help us in the passing game ... but we could also be getting out a bunch of guys with big, athletic bodies out there ... bodies that could develop into pretty darn good blockers. That could actually allow us to do some serious power running out of the ACE set ... kind of a cool thought!
Click to expand...

Between Campbell, CJF, Gordon, and Duzey, we have some VERY versatile players coming into the program at the skill positions. We could put together some very interesting personnel packages to take advantage of speed and size mismatches.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
I'm excited about the 2010 season. However, the following thought occurred to me, and it kinda got me a little giddy.

Suppose that Iowa lands Christian French, he initially gets reps with Soup at WR, and he (perhaps miraculously) develops into a Hawkeye version of James Hardy. I know that this may be a stretch given what some folks have observed about his hands ... however, it isn't exactly impossible either. So please humor me and not let this degenerate into any sort of bash-fest.

Anyhow, if the above scenario were to play out ... just imagine what Iowa's personnel would look like in 2 years on O (2012 season):

ACE set:

WR: Keenan Davis
WR: Christian French
WR: Marcus Grant/Don Shumpert/Jordan Cotton [or put Duzey, a TE, out in the slot]
TE: CJ Fiedorowicz
RB: Jewel Hampton or Marcus Coker or Melvin Gordon (angry vs thunder vs versatility)
OT: Riley Reiff or Nolan MacMillan (admittedly, Reiff could be gone by then)
OT: Van Sloten/Scherff/Donnal
OG: Boffeli/Walsh
OG: Scherff/Clark/Blythe
C: Ferentz/Boffeli
QB: Vandenberg

All the possible mismatches kinda make me giddy. And the 2 TE sets are pretty cool to fathom as well! In the pass-game, the combo of size and speed that the WRs and TEs bring to the table would be VERY tough for opposing Ds to match up. And, perhaps even more exciting to think about is how devastating they could end up being blocking downfield! The running game could be phenomenal ... even out of the ACE set!

Keenan Davis is pretty much alread "NFL-sized" ... and if French were to develop into Iowa's version of Hardy ... there we're then talking about about him being in the 6-6/230 territory. And, let's say that Shumpert is the 3rd guy ... then we're talking around 6-3/200 territory. Lastly, CJ Fed is 6-7 and will probably be around 260 (he doesn't need to get bigger ... he'll just get stronger).

Needless to say, a pretty wild combo of size, strength, and speed among those guys.

Anyhow, even if French doesn't even end up a Hawkeye (and that would be too bad, in my estimation ... but certainly not the end of the world) ... only one word comes to mind when I fathom that 2012 Hawk O ... and that is "Juggernaut." The only caveat is this ... my gut feeling is that the D will have plenty of rebuilding/reloading to do that year.
Click to expand...

What happened to Homer? lol at RB/Christian French, I think French switched to DE at Oregon.
 
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