Biggest surprise performer

clim

Well-Known Member
We had some nice surprising performances last year. Who's the one that steps up big this year? I'm guessing spearman and lomax.
 
I would like to see Daniels break out at the RB position. That would be a nice 1-2 punch with Canzeri, with a little Wiesman mixed in.
 
On defense I think Alston will be huge this year at linebacker. He seems very capable and eager to show what he can do in his Senior year.

On offense I'd have to say Willies as well, but if I was to pick another WR, I'll say Derrick Mitchell Jr. He's probably one of the most athletic kids on the team and I've heard he's made some pretty amazing catches in bowl prep last year and in practice this Spring.
 
Alston on defense; that guy has shown a lot of ability in limited action, just sucks that he was stuck behind a very strong group of incumbents. On offense, I'll go with Hamilton. I think he might surprise us with his receiving ability now that he'll be the top guy at TE, kind of like a Brandon Myers-type.
 
Alston on defense; that guy has shown a lot of ability in limited action, just sucks that he was stuck behind a very strong group of incumbents. On offense, I'll go with Hamilton. I think he might surprise us with his receiving ability now that he'll be the top guy at TE, kind of like a Brandon Myers-type.
I forget about Hamilton. He has shown some flashes. We have a talented group at TE, and I think Ray can be another special one in a long line of great Hawkeye tight ends.
 
And you can probably throw in any number of players like Jaleel, ott, faith, cooper, any one of them wouldn't surprise me if they had a big year with the talk of their potential
 
I'll go Tevaun Smith and Jake Duzey on offense and Quinten Alston and Mo Flemming on defense.
 
Alot of the people being listed as surprises here really shouldn't be... Smith and Alston are going to be starters after having played quite a bit... If they aren't good that'd be bad... I agree that Willies would be a great surprise. I got to see a couple of their practices 2 wkends ago and he made some nice plays over the top of the corners covering him in jump balls on the sideline. I think he'll be in there alot. On defense I'll go with Flemming. We haven't seen much of him yet and I think he'll be a heck of a player the more reps he gets. Going back to Alston he is running with the 1s most of the time but Gilson has taken first team snaps too.. Reid has said that job hasn't been won yet. Alot of the media has already handed it to Alston as it is his to lose. But Gilson has looked pretty good and Reid has described him as the "thug" of the group... I saw two different articles saying how it's Alstons one shot at starting yadda yadda well it's also Gilsons one shot and he happens to be a walk on home grown Iowan. You think he's not hungry?? Neither has separated themselves so far and if that holds true through the spring game it won't be decided till fall camp.
 
I'm looking at it more as breakout performers more than surprise performers.
Alot of the people being listed as surprises here really shouldn't be... Smith and Alston are going to be starters after having played quite a bit... If they aren't good that'd be bad... I agree that Willies would be a great surprise. I got to see a couple of their practices 2 wkends ago and he made some nice plays over the top of the corners covering him in jump balls on the sideline. I think he'll be in there alot. On defense I'll go with Flemming. We haven't seen much of him yet and I think he'll be a heck of a player the more reps he gets. Going back to Alston he is running with the 1s most of the time but Gilson has taken first team snaps too.. Reid has said that job hasn't been won yet. Alot of the media has already handed it to Alston as it is his to lose. But Gilson has looked pretty good and Reid has described him as the "thug" of the group... I saw two different articles saying how it's Alstons one shot at starting yadda yadda well it's also Gilsons one shot and he happens to be a walk on home grown Iowan. You think he's not hungry?? Neither has separated themselves so far and if that holds true through the spring game it won't be decided till fall camp.
 
As mentioned, ANY of the WRs having a big year would be nice. Seems like we still have a plethora of TEs and RBs. As for the LBs, it's been said enough times that the better the DL does, the better the LBs will do.

It will be interesting to see if there really is a competition at QB. If Beathard gets twice as many reps, it can't mean anything really bad barring injury or woeful play from Rudock. I don't see the latter happening, but it's hard to say how banged up his knees might be.
 
Biggest Surprise on offense: Passing attack takes a big step forward.
Biggest surprise player on offense: Derrick Willies at WR
Expected to step it up: Hamilton & Duzey at TE & Tevaun Smith at WR, Rudock at QB
Badly needed: Andrew Donnal needs to settle into the Right Tackle position. Some good run blocking on the right side please.

Biggest Surprise on defense: If they can stay healthy there is the potential for little drop off from last year on defense. Relative to last year you would expect some drop off at linebacker but defensive line and defensive backs might both be a big step up from last year. Individuals who may be something of a surprise: Maurice Fleming at CB, Lomax ending up at FS is still a bit of an experiment, Spearman has potential at LB
Expected to step it up: Drew Ott continues improvement at DE, Quinton Alston at LB
Badly needed: Everyone staying healthy, starters look good but the only position with obvious depth is interior defensive line. CB may have some depth with the potential of switching Lomax back from FS if needed.
 
Offense: Barkley Hill finds a way to crack into the 2-deeps (AIRBHG strikes) and surprises people.

Defense: Riley McMinn becomes a legit pass rusher while deflecting passes left and right with his length.

Special teams: Tony Danza converts on all of his XP's throughout the season and successfully hits five 50+ yard FG's.
 

Latest posts

Top