BIGGEST STEP AS "NEXT MAN IN" IN 2011

Come on folks ... Iowa's play is built off of line play! Considering that we all know that Gettis and MacMillan can "bring it" ... it's kinda cheating to pick them.

Thus, I think that the most natural position where we might end up seeing the "NEXT MAN IN" step up is on the DL. Of course, in checking out the DL ... Binns and Daniels are the known commodities ... so we already know that they're capable of great things. Thus, who else might we hope to really step up?

To that end, the most natural candidates are Daniel, Forgy, Alvis, and Bigach. Heck, Carl Davis or some other young guy could potentially enter the picture and surprise.

However, my pick is ....

Steve Bigach
 
On a side note ... I think that folks are overplaying the Vandenberg card.

Iowa's OL should be MONEY in 2011. Furthermore, we're returning a great WR in McNutt, a great RB in Coker, and some high-quality TEs. I'm inclined to believe that the Iowa O could be poised to be VERY good in 2011.

And, in order to be very good ... Vandenberg really won't have to do much more than be a good game manager. If Vandenberg proves to be much more than that ... then Iowa could be much BETTER than that.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
On a side note ... I think that folks are overplaying the Vandenberg card.

Iowa's OL should be MONEY in 2011. Furthermore, we're returning a great WR in McNutt, a great RB in Coker, and some high-quality TEs. I'm inclined to believe that the Iowa O could be poised to be VERY good in 2011.

And, in order to be very good ... Vandenberg really won't have to do much more than be a good game manager. If Vandenberg proves to be much more than that ... then Iowa could be much BETTER than that.
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I guess from my perspective Homer thats just the point of JVB being the pick here.
I am comfortable with guys stepping up and filling those other positions at least to the degree of not losing any ground. There are a few positions that guys haven't really had a good chance to show themselves but they have enough to not be too concerned.
The QB position is a little different as JVB basically hasn't played and it is the most important position to success. I have a strong feeling about his abilities and feel pretty good about our chances but if he bombs it will be a problem. I suspect we stand a pretty good chance that he will excel and blow up.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
I guess from my perspective Homer thats just the point of JVB being the pick here.
I am comfortable with guys stepping up and filling those other positions at least to the degree of not losing any ground. There are a few positions that guys haven't really had a good chance to show themselves but they have enough to not be too concerned.
The QB position is a little different as JVB basically hasn't played and it is the most important position to success. I have a strong feeling about his abilities and feel pretty good about our chances but if he bombs it will be a problem. I suspect we stand a pretty good chance that he will excel and blow up.
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Vandenberg has actual careers STARTS under his belt. I don't exactly see how that ends up equating to the claim that he "basically hasn't played."

An argument could be made stating that Jake Christensen had starts before the 2007 season ... and we all knew how the '07 season turned out. However, on the flip side, there had been VERY strong rumors suggesting that Christensen's development was much slower than anticipated leading into the '07 season. In STARK contrast, Vandenberg has done nothing but generate pretty darn positive buzz ... and, what's more, his play against Ohio State did nothing but CONFIRM the buzz.

Of course, other could also point to Vandenberg's failings against Northwestern and Minnesota as being big points of concern too. I wouldn't dispute that fact ... however, most of those issues simply concerned how Vandenberg reacted to pressure ... and it was a pretty standard reaction that you'd see from a FR. When Vandenberg saw reps early in the 2010 season, he played with great composure and demonstrated improvement with regard to how he felt pressure. Thus, I fully anticipate that we WILL NOT see Vandenberg flop. HOWEVER, that said, I'm not going to heap undue pressure on the young man either. I think that he'll initially NOT be asked to do much more than manage the game ... and that will BOTH help the Hawks be successful AND help him push his development forward.
 
I have to say CJF. We are dependent on the TE. Reisner was the safety valve, but if CJF lives up to potential he can stretch the field ala Moeaki like. If he can get going with McNutt that could open things up for Davis as well.

Also worth mentioning.

Anybody on ST. If we have good ST we could've been 10-2 last year (Arizona, Wisky, and Minnesota(on side kick))

Also saying Coker, or McNutt doesn't count as they are starters. It'd be like saying Morris.
 
We need someone on the DLine to step up.

My guess is Steve Bigach as homer stated.. or Darian Cooper
 
bkim24 said:
Doesnt have the weapons Stanzi had though.
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I think that depends on Keenan Davis' development. He's got the best physical skill set of any WR we've had under Ferentz, including DJK. We still have McNutt, and we'll have to see what CJF does to improve for next season. But the O-Line should be top-notch, and Vandy will have Coker to take pressure off. A-Rob is a very good back, but Coker is more talented.
 
bkim24 said:
Doesnt have the weapons Stanzi had though.
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I'm torn about that assertion. A lot depends on whether the guys we have take the next step or two. Furthermore, folks shouldn't forget that while DJK was a great talent ... he was also a great distraction too. How much of the O might improve simply by "addition by subtraction?"

Here are some other remarks/observations:

[Advantage 2011]

- The TE situation in 2010 was arguably WORSE than it is in 2011. Herman, as a SR, has every bit as much upside as Reisner had this past season.

- After Hampton got injured, our RB depth in 2010 sucked. When you consider that Coker is arguably better than ARob (and the stats and play on the field support that contention) and notice that the stable of RBs in 2011 will at least feature more candidates to earn reps ... I think that the RB situation will be more healthy in 2011 than it was in 2010.

- I absolutely LOVE the upside of the 2011 Iowa OL! Provided that the group can remain healthy, it's going to be a GREAT unit!

- While Stanzi was one of my favorite QBs during the Ferentz era ... everything I've heard still suggests that Vandenberg actually has a BETTER upside then Stanzi. I've long thought that Stanzi's extra "touch" on the ball gave him an additional advantage over Vandenberg ... however, given how Stanzi's passing game always seemed to suffer in poor weather ... I'm starting to think that Vandenberg could end up giving us better consistency in the passing game throughout the season. That could end up being HUGE for our O!

- While DJK was well liked by many on the team, he was also a distraction. How often do fans actually remember DJK actually piecing together multiple consistent performances in a row? Folks like to tout how DJK is Iowa's stats leader ... however, he also became the stats leader by effectively being a 4-year starter. Furthermore, while guys like Jon love to tout what an impressive athlete and talent DJK was ... they fail to recognize that DJK also never became a truly "complete" and dominating WR for Iowa.

[Advantage 2010]

- Stanzi was a returning starter at QB. That translates to an inherent advantage when it comes to game-prep and ability to read opposing Ds.

- Despite the aforementioned "issues" concerning DJK, that doesn't change the fact that DJK was a veteran guy and made A LOT of plays for the Hawks. Furthermore, Colin Sandeman was a highly underrated Hawk contributer. While I love Keenan Davis's upside ... that doesn't change the fact that Keenan was unable to displace Colin from the #3 WR spot.

- To complement the above remark ... Iowa had A LOT of solid upperclassman WRs in 2010. Namely, we had McNutt, DJK, Sandeman, Chaney Jr, and Nordman. In contrast, we only have McNutt and Davis in 2011. Another thing to remark about the experience of the group is that that usually translates to better downfield blocking by them too.

- While I do believe that Coker is a better RB than ARob, to ARob's great credit, he was a more versatile RB for Iowa. ARob really developed quite a bit in the passing game and was pretty good when it came to his pass-blocking responsibilities. Thus, losing ARob also hurt our passing game to some extent.

- Morse was a high quality FB. The advantage of having Morse is lessened if Rogers is good to go in 2011 ... however, all the same, Morse's experience and toughness was a great attribute. Also, in 2010, we at least had decent depth at FB between Morse and Rogers. The Hawks are seemingly NOT as deep at FB in 2011.

[The GRAY AREA]

- The 2011 group of WRs arguably possessed more overall athleticism than the 2010 group. By all accounts Keenan Davis is a freak ... and now he's a more experienced freak who will have an opportunity to be in a more prominent position to contribute. Similarly, Don Shumpert is ANOTHER athletic freak. Paul Chaney may have had speed ... however, Shumpert has speed, SIZE, and athleticism to burn. Shumpert had already been generating buzz last year as being the most athletic WR we had. Through the past 2 years, Jordan Cotton has been earning plenty of buzz when it comes to his athleticism and play-making ability ... however, the knock on him admittedly concerns the fact that he WAS a bit of a raw talent. Hopefully, through hard work and experience, Cotton continues to develop and improve. Lastly, BOTH McNutt and DJK have had pretty glowing things to say about K-Mart. Both have stated that K-Mart is quite a confident play-maker and he also has the advantage of starting off his college career as being a more polished WR than either Marvin or DJK. Lastly, DJK is also on record claiming that while K-Mart brings a lot to the table ... he also does so WITHOUT DJK-like antics (which is a big positive in my book).

- What can we expect at TE? I'm confident that Herman will be good. I think that many of us have the vibe that IF Fiedorowicz steps up his game ... he has the chance to become the player that we hope he is. That could be HUGE for the O. However, until CJ makes those strides, we shouldn't necessarily place undue expectations on him. Zach Derby is probably like a Majerus-like TE for us ... and, in my book, that's still a nice positive. At this early juncture, Vier is a still a bit of a mystery to me. He's quite an athlete and he has a big frame. Will he be a TE ... or will he grow into an O-lineman? I don't know. I think that right now Derby will be our #3 TE ... and the coaches will be able to move Gimm over to that spot if we're more desperate for a blocking TE. However, I anticipate that there is a great opportunity for a newbie at TE to earn early playing time and potential see some positional reps as a TR FR. Considering that Hamilton enters the mix as more of a Moeaki-like TE in terms of being a more "complete package" ... I anticipate that he likely could make an early push to see action (albeit, most of action he'll see will be on special teams or in clean-up duty).

- Sorry but I cannot help but be stoked about our OL. That then suggests to me that Coker's back-up(s) at RB will have a great chance to see quality carries. Thus, the intriguing thing is who will earn those carries. Given that we recruited 3 RBs who are actually more likely to "stick" at RB (sorry, but I'm in the camp who believes that Coe will stick at RB) ... who will NOT redshirt. Will we end up seeing Canzeri get the early action because he provides the greatest contrast to Coker ... and because he could also potential contribute the most as a return man? Or, instead, will we see Coe or McCall forego their redshirt year because they're physically ready to take on the blocking responsibilities of an Iowa RB too? Also, let's NOT forget about DeAndre Johnson. He's a guy who the Iowa coaches evaluated as being on the same level as James White. Would it not be cool if Johnson could put up a James White-like freshman season?

- Depth and talent on the OL. With guys like Orne, Heiar, Boffelli, and Van Sloten likely in a position to be on the depth-chart ... and, consequently, in a great position to be a "next-man in" ... we have a chance for the OL to enjoy greater continuity even when somebody gets "dinged." Furthermore, I'm also especially excited about Scherff ... I still love the fact that he didn't need to "unlearn" bad OL-technique.

- Going along with the above point, I'm particularly struck that the Iowa coaches originally only intended on nabbing just TWO OL recruits. The immediately implication of that fact is that they're VERY comfortable with the guys who they already have on campus. To all the folks who "whined" about the Hawks passing on Bobek ... this obviously was the biggest reason.
 
As a guy how likes watching the big uglies just crush people I will go with James Ferentz. He is listed right now at 275 and he still has some room to grown left. That being said I think he did a good job this year but I feel that he could maybe make a jump into the group of elite centers in the Ferentz era, and boy that would be AMAZING to see because he is only going to be a junior.
 
I would like to see it be JVB but I think a lot of people have out of control hopes for a kid we have seen in limited time. Remember the most popular guy is always the back-up QB. I think it will be a DL that becomes the most dangerous pass rusher (which I can see as a guy with starting experience...Broderick Binns).
 
I love the J Ferentz call. A really good center can make the O much better........Great call Herschberger.........Great call.
 
bkim24 said:
Doesnt have the weapons Stanzi had though.
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Probably not with the loss of DJK but there's still plenty of talent to work with.
JVB definitely has a stronger arm and he could easily have a better running game to work with if Coker and the o-line stay healthy.
 
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Gettis and MacMillan easily can make the biggest influence. If they make strides, the O-Line might challenge the 2002 crew in terms of talent (but lacking the experience of the 2002 group) This line if full of fast, agile athletes, like few that have played for KF and Morgan.
 
Our LB play has to improve or we go nowhere fast. So my pick will be a any new starter at LB.

I feel comfortable about every other position on the field next year. If our LB play is much better than last year our defense will be better than last year. Our DL had great players last year but our LB play was so dreadful our great DL looked very average.
 
FBletterman said:
Our LB play has to improve or we go nowhere fast. So my pick will be a any new starter at LB.

I feel comfortable about every other position on the field next year. If our LB play is much better than last year our defense will be better than last year. Our DL had great players last year but our LB play was so dreadful our great DL looked very average.
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The LB play was "dreadful" last year because we were stuck effectively playing 3rd and 4th string LBs through much of the season. Morris has plenty of talent ... however, the lack of experience left him a bit exploitable.

When Tarp and Nielsen were healthy and playing together early in the season, Iowa's LBs looked pretty good. The problem is that we didn't get to enjoy having them play together much.

Anyhow, Nielsen really was playing good ball prior to his neck injury. Also, just like probably everybody else, I'm really excited about the development of Morris ... he really will develop into a good one. When you also consider that DiBona and Kirksey each saw some quality playing time last year, I anticipate that our third LB will be green but has the capability of getting up to speed rather quickly.
 
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