Any observations from Kids Day?

MelroseHawkins said:
My observations.

1) RB's - Solid! Wadley was Wadley. Bulter is just a ball of muscle. Compact and balanced. He won't side step dance or spin like Wadley but he'll cut an burst when he sees a hole. Toren Young was a pleasant find that day at RB. I see him getting some carries a game to spell the other two. He had a nice long TD run and looked very good. Depth very good at RB.
2) QB's - I believe Stanley has the edge at this point. Pretty close though. QB's seemed to have quite a few batted balls down. The freshman Mansell looks quite promising for the future. He probably has the quickest footwork of all the QB's. I think the future is bright for the Hawks at QB in the future.
3) Kickers - A very pleasant surprise. They had a very good day. Miguel Recinos really surprised me that day. He was spot on and very consistent which was different than last years Kid's day. He has the more robust leg and drove the ball better on longer FG kicks (42 or longer). From what I saw I'm not sure there won't be a little bit of a competition there. Duncan was solid as well but some of his longer kicks, well think of the little train that could, "I think I can, I think I can...". They would go thru but you seem to wait on them and will them through. Sometimes you wondered if had enough to clear the bar on the longer kicks where Recinos seemed to drive the ball to the back of the net. I feel very confident with the kicking position. I wonder if Recinos will get the longer FG attempts and Duncan from inside a certain position on the field. We will see.
4) WR's - I also noticed that Easely wasn't out there but saw from above battling a hamstring issue. There might be enough there to help keep the offense in balance. I think Devonte Young is in the mix and could be a nice find this year. I am still waiting for Adrian Falconer to break out but that seems to be a yearly wait. I think the TE's are going to be a solid group and think KOK will utilize them more and even downfield more.
5) Surprise of the day and completely out of the blue! - When going to these things, there is always a player that stands out and your consistently looking at the program to see who's #71, then forget later and do all over again. I kept seeing plays and running across the same player when looking up. That player for me that day was Mark Kallenberger who plays O line. He's only a freshman so he obviously isn't going to see much time this year if any, but, in one-on-one drills he was consistently fighting his guy off and by the end of the drill pile driving his guy into the turf until the whistle was blown. I appreciated his aggressiveness, drive and aggression thru the whole play. I would just kept seeing him pile drive players and ask myself "Who the heck is #71". He just stuck out to me. Remember his name as he very well may be Iowa's next great tackle.
6) The Turf - Looked terrific! They got it right and the Tiger Hawk actually looks even better than it did in the pics. My one boy notices weird crap and he noticed the font in the numbers was different along with the placement of the arrows by the numbers. It seems the font of the numbers wasn't just a blocky kind of font. It had a little "angle" to the numbers which was kind of cool and different. The field look great overall.

That's it!
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How do you feel about these young OL (all sophomore or younger)?
Cole Banwart (RS Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Spencer Williams (RS Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Landon and Levi Paulsen (RS So, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day; at least 1, maybe both when healthy)
Mark Kallenberger (Tr Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Coy Kirkpatrick (Tr Fr, 6'5", 275 lbs)
Tristan Wirfs (Tr Fr, 6'5", 315 lbs)
Alaric Jackson (RS Fr, 6'7", 320 lbs)
 
I for one am glad that they are tinkering around with the OL. Because, I'm sorry, but Boone Myers is NOT a good LT when it comes to pass pro. They have to get that right. I'm trying to remember the last senior starter at LT that WASN'T drafted.....but I can tell you that if Boone gets the start at LT, he'll be the next LT senior starter that doesn't get drafted.
 
CP87 said:
How do you feel about these young OL (all sophomore or younger)?
Cole Banwart (RS Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Spencer Williams (RS Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Landon and Levi Paulsen (RS So, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day; at least 1, maybe both when healthy)
Mark Kallenberger (Tr Fr, on 2 deeps from Kid's Day)
Coy Kirkpatrick (Tr Fr, 6'5", 275 lbs)
Tristan Wirfs (Tr Fr, 6'5", 315 lbs)
Alaric Jackson (RS Fr, 6'7", 320 lbs)
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I think the future looks very promising. Wirfs and Jackson are just ginormous! Again, Kallenberger really stuck out to me on one-on-one blocking drills. Technique VERY sound and he ended all his plays with his defender on the ground and him towering over him after the whistle. Virtually every play I saw. One of the Paulsen's were in street clothes. Not sure which one is which or who is battling the injury. It seems to me one is a bit ahead of the other but again, I can't tell you which one.

This is from a father of twins but mine aren't identical, AT ALL.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I think the future looks very promising. Wirfs and Jackson are just ginormous! Again, Kallenberger really stuck out to me on one-on-one blocking drills. Technique VERY sound and he ended all his plays with his defender on the ground and him towering over him after the whistle. Virtually every play I saw. One of the Paulsen's were in street clothes. Not sure which one is which or who is battling the injury. It seems to me one is a bit ahead of the other but again, I can't tell you which one.

This is from a father of twins but mine aren't identical, AT ALL.
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Some have mentioned that Iowa's current OL, which excels at run-blocking but has struggled against good pass rushes, is made up of mostly guards and no true OT. I think that young group listed above has some potential elite OT (notably Jackson and Wirfs).
 
CP87 said:
Some have mentioned that Iowa's current OL, which excels at run-blocking but has struggled against good pass rushes, is made up of mostly guards and no true OT. I think that young group listed above has some potential elite OT (notably Jackson and Wirfs).
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Well, if that is true and comes to fruition and you add Kallenberger to that mix, that's a damn stout group.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
I think the future looks very promising. Wirfs and Jackson are just ginormous! Again, Kallenberger really stuck out to me on one-on-one blocking drills. Technique VERY sound and he ended all his plays with his defender on the ground and him towering over him after the whistle. Virtually every play I saw. One of the Paulsen's were in street clothes. Not sure which one is which or who is battling the injury. It seems to me one is a bit ahead of the other but again, I can't tell you which one.

This is from a father of twins but mine aren't identical, AT ALL.
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It's amazing what Kallenberger is doing as a true freshman and only at 260-265 lbs.. I think you are right, it's all technique. Looks like he was born to be a standout LT. Once he puts on another 30-35 lbs. watch out.

Alaric Jackson is also looking good but he does it more with his size, once he improves his technique he will be something to watch also.

The future is bright for the OL. If I was a 4/5 star RB being recruited by Iowa right now you'd have to love what you are seeing develop.
 
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Hawk1960 said:
It's amazing what Kallenberger is doing as a true freshman and only at 260-265 lbs.. I think you are right, it's all technique. Looks like he was born to be a standout LT. Once he puts on another 30-35 lbs. watch out.

Alaric Jackson is also looking good but he does it more with his size, once he improves his technique he will be something to watch also.

The future is bright at OL. If I was a 4/5 star RB being recruited by Iowa right now you'd have to love what you are seeing develop.
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Yep, I was thinking another 35-45 lbs as well. He was standing out Saturday at 265 lbs. To appreciate it, people need to watch some of his HS tapes like on Hudl, etc.. He was doing the same last Saturday against other Div 1 talent. Even after the whistle he'd give the guy on the ground one last arm push just for good measure. Luved it!!

This is why Iowa should be able to always get top OL and RB talent. A player should want to be developed by Iowa's staff with their Hx of putting linemen in the NFL. Also, what RB wouldn't want to run behind one of the top lines in America.
 
pootspot said:
While I agree on some points I feel the tackles will Be above average and a positive. Think the DE talent is legit at Iowa and top level. WR I'm not toe worried about as the pressure down the middle of the field caused by the TE will soften up the D and prevent stacking(for the most part)
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I'm more optimistic than normal. Just pointing out what has been obvious to everyone in recent years about pass protect and OT's. The DL looks like it has 8 legit in the rotation. The failure of the R package on 3rd and long with respect to the run has been worked on, and we now have some sort of derivation of a nascar package. If the wr's don't play great, we have 3 decent te's and a rb we can put in the slot. The 2 rb's change a lot of defenses. Probably, and especially on 3rd down. That remains to be seen however. The safety play wasn't as bad as most of us had thought it would be. Doesn't mean it's spectacular, but given what we have there, it's at least encouraging. Kicking wasn't bad. Punters weren't on display Saturday, but from what I've seen in other practices, not a disaster.

There are some younger athletes in the pipeline.

Mostly what I've seen, both in the spring game, and Saturday's practice, along with some closed practices I got to attend, is that it looks like we've been trying to "scratch where it itches." Both in terms of some packages designed to make up for past deficiencies, and in terms of recruiting. It really all fell apart in the classes of 09, 10 and 11. In my opinion, and without getting into the weeds. Those three recruiting years cost Iowa football wins in the last 3-6 seasons.

Now, I have no idea when we see tangible results from this. In other words, conventional wisdom would say not this season. This said, this season does have the potential to surprise for some of the above reasons. And if it's a ho hum 7-5, or 8-4, there is hope for the future, and some other things to watch at games with respect to some who will likely be 3 deep this season.
 
Rob, any idea if they have Kallenberger earmarked for a certain position down the road? If his technique and disposition are as described, he seems like the prototypical Iowa center.
 
CP87 said:
Rob, any idea if they have Kallenberger earmarked for a certain position down the road? If his technique and disposition are as described, he seems like the prototypical Iowa center.
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Probably depends on how his body develops.

He was a starter on Bettendorf's state qualifying basketball team last winter, so he's a good athlete. He played left tackle on Saturday and looked pretty good but still needs to add size and strength.

I think they'll keep him outside unless he shows them he can't play out there.
 
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