B1G postseason position rankings: LB

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

NCAAF B1G postseason position rankings: LB - ESPN

From article:

7. Iowa (Preseason: 8): Stats alone would tell you that the Hawkeyes had one of the best linebacking corps around. First-year starter Anthony Hitchens was one of the top tacklers in the nation with 124 stops, while James Morris (113) and Christian Kirksey (95) also ranked among the league leaders in that category. But tackle numbers alone don't tell the whole story, and Iowa lacked the kind of high-impact plays from its linebackers that teams above it on this list produced.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

IMO we are prob just a little bit better than this. Top five perhaps

 

[CAARHawk]

This linebacking corp reminds me of the Iwebema, Kroul, King, and Mattison DLine.

 

[Hawknick]

Espn is staffed by morons.

 

[thawks1]

We simply do not have a good run stopping MLB. Morris gets caught in traffic or takes the wrong hole too often. He also gets run over or dragged for 3-5 yards alot. Hitchens while good has a habit of diving when making the tackle which led to several big plays which is why he was benched some towards the end of the year. 6-8 seems about right to me.

 

[PJHawk]

We simply do not have a good run stopping MLB.... Hitchens while good has a habit of diving when making the tackle which led to several big plays which is why he was benched some towards the end of the year. 6-8 seems about right to me.

Hitchens was benched vs. Purdue and yes 6-8 is right where they should be.

 

[Wreckonize]

Just b/c a couple guys had alot of tackles doesnt mean these LBs are worthy of a higher ranking. Teams moved the ball on the ground against the hawks. Thats like saying a CB is good cuz he has alot of tackles, when really hes just getting thrown on.

 

[FreedComanche]

Just b/c a couple guys had alot of tackles doesnt mean these LBs are worthy of a higher ranking. Teams moved the ball on the ground against the hawks. Thats like saying a CB is good cuz he has alot of tackles, when really hes just getting thrown on.

True. By the way, what happened to Morris? He seemed to get worse as the year went on.

FreedComanche

 

[dave3912]

True. By the way, what happened to Morris? He seemed to get worse as the year went on.

FreedComanche

I wonder if it was the ankle injury from before still lagging him maybe?

 

[dave3912]

Just b/c a couple guys had alot of tackles doesnt mean these LBs are worthy of a higher ranking. Teams moved the ball on the ground against the hawks. Thats like saying a CB is good cuz he has alot of tackles, when really hes just getting thrown on.

I agree with this as LBs SHOULD have alot of tackles, it's their primary job in the Iowa defense.

I think in the KF program it isn't about one or two guys or a group playing above their rankings but all groups on defense doing their assignments properly. If the DL doesn't play well and the OL is getting to the second level and blocking the LBs then it is up to the DBs to make plays and by then they already gained 4-8 or possibly 10 yards by then.

 

[GoHawks24]

This linebacking corp reminds me of the Iwebema, Kroul, King, and Mattison DLine.

Care to elaborate on this? I would take this d-line over this linebacking corps all day long.

I think the main problem is that our linebackers are undersized, not a whole lot of size to any of them.

 

[hawkeyegamefilm]

True. By the way, what happened to Morris? He seemed to get worse as the year went on.

Morris was playing with a groin injury from game 5 on. Not an excuse as playing with injuries is a part of CFB but he definitely wasn't a 100% and missed some time and one start(Northwestern) because of the injury. Groin injuries can be nagging and long lasting if you don't have time to let them heal properly. Morris has played both of his last two seasons with nagging injuries. Hope he can finally put together a healthy season in '13.

 

[HawkeyeMHA]

So is Morris good or not? As a freshman we all thought he was the next coming. Lately... Not so much. Is he the by product of bad d lines in front of him or not as good as we thought he would be. One thing is for sure, the stash is ridic. He looks like a really bad porn star from the 70's.