Attrition is killing the Hawks

[ColumbusHawk]

Excellent article by Harty. I agree with him.

Harty: Attrition could be partly to blame for Hawkeyes’ struggle | Hawk Central

Eight of the 22 players in Iowa’s 2007 recruiting class left the team early, as did 11 of the 25 players in the 2008 class and eight of the 20 players in the 2009 class.

You’d expect those three classes to fill the bulk of the 2011 roster because the players would either be in their third, fourth or fifth year in the program.

Wisconsin is the program to which Iowa is most compared. But the Badgers have only had 12 players leave the team from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 recruiting classes, including just four from 2009 and 2010 classes, according to the current roster.

On the other hand, four of the 22 players in Iowa’s 2010 recruiting class already have left the team, including two defensive linemen — Donavan Johnson and Anthony Ferguson — and linebacker Austin Gray.

It’s hard enough recruiting players to Iowa, but keeping them here is no easy task, either.

But to lose more than a third of the players in three recruiting classes doesn’t help the program.

 

[NewMexHawk]

So is a staff that is unemotional, uninspiring, and frightened of its own shadow.

 

[DuffMan]

That is a good read.

 

[BSpringsteen]

Attrition is on the coaches.

Sometimes kids get homesick, it is up to the coaches to help.

Sometimes a kid thinks he made the wrong decision, it is up to the coaches to show them that thtey have not.

I do think that we have too much of a people who want to be here will be here attitude on the team, where the oldest teammate is 23.

 

[MNHawkeyeFreak]

It would be interesting to have a breakdown of the real reasons they leave. Not the ones we hear about.

 

[ajones1996]

Attrition is magnified more at a school like Iowa over a Texas or tOSU. The real difference between 2-3 star and 5 star kids is that the 5 star kid can play from day one usually while the 2-3 star guys need 2-3 years of development before they hit the field and if you keep having those kids leave after a year or two you have to replace them with more kids that need 2-3 years of beefing up and getting ready to play so its easy to get behind and our dline is an example of that this year.

 

[acgclone]

There are many reasons for attrition and the vast majority are completely out of the coaches control so you can't blame Ferentz and co. for all of that.

With that said, I get the feeling that if players come in with a little "showmanship" or cockiness (which I believe is very common among athletes), that Kirk basically shuns them and tries to shut that stuff down immediately. A prime case would be DJK. I have a feeling that with another coach, he would have turned out much better and not gotten into that trouble towards the end of his career.

This is purely an amateur opinion, but I think Kirk Ferentz has too high of expectations for his athletes in regards to maturity and it probably shows a little in your attrition. Sometimes people from a completely different walk of life (black athletes from NJ or Florida or wherever) will feel very much different than the vast majority of their schoolmates, and in that situation if you don't think your head coach "likes" you or is trying to shun you, I can see how it would lead to transfers and problems.

 

[SteveGarvey]

So is a staff that is unemotional, uninspiring, and frightened of its own shadow.

So are shallow fans who turn on the coaches as soon as they lose a game. We almost won this game and if we had everybody would happy go lucky. Unbelievable.

 

[storminspank]

Part of the reason Hawkeye fans cherish the double-digit win seasons and the Big Ten titles is because they don’t happen very often at Iowa.
Iowa has been playing football since 1889, but only has seven double-digit win seasons to its credit.
That’s seven more than Iowa State has, but it falls well short of the some of the glamour programs like Ohio State (20) and Oklahoma (32).

And four of the seven double-digit win seasons have come in the last nine seasons under Kirk Ferentz. Chew on that.

Keeping the players around, yes, that's been bad.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

Interesting. So apparently Todd Lickliter isn't the only UofI coach who has had problems with players quitting or transferring in recent years. Only difference is that we haven't heard much of anything about all the football transfers, but it still seems to be having a negative impact on the program and it's continuity.

 

[clicheusername3]

So are shallow fans who turn on the coaches as soon as they lose a game. We almost won this game and if we had everybody would happy go lucky. Unbelievable.

I don't know about that. The fans on this site are quite intuitive about footballing matters. Just look at all of the breakdown on the game.

 

[1977Hawkeye]

And four of the seven double-digit win seasons have come in the last nine seasons under Kirk Ferentz. Chew on that.

Goes to show that it's possible to win at Iowa, with the right coach. I don't expect to ever be an OSU or Oklahoma, but it drives me nuts when people dumb down our program.

 

[hawkfan340]

Um, while credit should go the the staff for what they have accomplished, this is probably the stupidest way to validate their sucess that we can find. Might there be other reasons for the increase in 10-win seasons, like maybe the number of games per season?

 

[Drakebulldog93]

Yikes, 40% attrition in the three years Hardy used as the basis for the story. In those years (2007-2009) we lost Guillory, Brinson, Pugh, Hampton and Wegher just at the RB spot.

I used the commitment list on HN.com for these names, which doesn't include Adam Robinson (not sure why).

That is a hell of a hit at one position for any program to overcome.

 

[iowamike21]

Thanks for pointing out the double-digit wins thing is largely a function of playing more games. When you only play 8 or 9, it's hard to get those double-digit winning seasons. It's easier when you play 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14. And don't worry-- I've already done the math...

Mr. Harty did a great job on that attrition story. It's shocking, really, that this is the first spotlight to be thrown on this point. Clearly it's a huge factor in success or lack of it.

On another issue, since Iowa cannot cover kickoffs, how about holding an open tryout to find somebody on campus who can kick the ball deep into or out of the end zone on a regular basis? That way you never have to cover a kick, you're less likely to suffer injuries on the play, and you have an edge in the field position battle. It's hard to believe that there isn't ONE person on the Iowa campus who can kick a football far enough to prevent returns. We wasted a scholarship on that Mullings kid from Australia by way of Ottumwa. Has he had a shot at kicking off? He can take all the time he wants doing that and nobody will ever block it. Great use of a scholarship...

 

[acgclone]

We wasted a scholarship on that Mullings kid from Australia by way of Ottumwa. Has he had a shot at kicking off? He can take all the time he wants doing that and nobody will ever block it. Great use of a scholarship...

All coaches/schools waste some scholarships. Player evaluation is not black and white. Just look at all of the dollars spent paying scouts to evaluate talent in the NFL.......and yet they still draft 1st round players that are out of the league in 3 years.

 

[MultipleDundieAwardWinner]

And four of the seven double-digit win seasons have come in the last nine seasons under Kirk Ferentz. Chew on that.

Keeping the players around, yes, that's been bad.

Hayden Fry never coached 13 games in one season.

 

[tom43]

I had a post banned last year alluding to the fact (especially defensive lineman) the number left from the 07,08,09 and 10 classes. Look at the roster a d linemen that are not seniors on the 2011 roster.

 

[BSpringsteen]

Goes to show that it's possible to win at Iowa, with the right coach. I don't expect to ever be an OSU or Oklahoma, but it drives me nuts when people dumb down our program.

Bravo Sir.

That is exactly the point and the prime problem with the Iowa fanbase.

Ho Hum, we're Iowa. 7-5 is just fine.

 

[BSpringsteen]

My theory on why this happens at Iowa.

Iowa recruits telling kids, come here, work hard, bury your ego and you have a great chance of playing professional football.

But kids don't see facts, they see College Gameday, Prime Time games, ESPN.com and BCS games.

The kids we recruit aren't as serious as KF and the staff are. They get here and they realized just how much he wasn't kidding about owrking hard and burying the ego. They see losses that are jaw dropping in their frustration, and get more frustrated by the, we do not adapt to you, you adapt to us mentality.

So for the superstar kids, the kids who believe their own hype and have a reason to, this can be a really rude awakening. These weren't the 1 star recruits that no one else wanted that left the program.

Meanwhile the kids who feel like they are just lucky to be on a Division 1 roster feel that they owe the coaching staff everything since they gave them a chance.

Ergo, of all the players we've sent to the NFL, how many were walk ons or had their only BCS offer from Iowa? I would wager at least 50%.