CANT RESIST: My First Look at Iowa Football 2014

So, for all of you recruitniks; what’s better, Kirk Ferentz landing a highly rated high school offensive lineman who may or may not become a great player, or a future first round NFL draft pick returning for his senior season after another year with Chris Doyle?
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My God, JD, now I'm worried. Scherff with another year of Doyle could be illegal in some states. Dude is going to be so strong that the mere act of him touching another human being will be construed to be assault with a deadly weapon. This would certainly not be unprecedented in athletic competition.

[video=youtube;lWj8mKNAmeE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWj8mKNAmeE[/video]
 
okeefe4prez said:
My God, JD, now I'm worried. Scherff with another year of Doyle could be illegal in some states. Dude is going to be so strong that the mere act of him touching another human being will be construed to be assault with a deadly weapon. This would certainly not be unprecedented in athletic competition.
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SEE? I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!
 
good diversion, ready to look on to next season. Jan 1 may be rake the leaves or shovel the snow day.
 
He's a solid 315 now. Give him another year and 10 more pounds. He should be a solid top 5 pick in 2015. Iowa could have a line as good as any in the conference. Certainly one of the best in Kirk's time.
 
HawkeyeDenis said:
He's a solid 315 now. Give him another year and 10 more pounds. He should be a solid top 5 pick in 2015. Iowa could have a line as good as any in the conference. Certainly one of the best in Kirk's time.
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It won't touch the 2002 line because while Scherff may be nearly as good as Gallery, there is no guard on this team as good as Steinbach.
 
If Jake takes a big leap next year we could be a very good team. The accuracy is there, but next year he needs to be pushing 65% and his yards per attempt needs to take a big leap as well.
 
I think Donnal will take over the right tackle spot as that's his more natural position as opposed to guard and then the guard spot up for grabs will be between Simmons, Gaul and Ward.

Also to the people who think Gilson will be the starting MLB. No. It will be Alston. It would be huge to get a pass rushing end like Young. It would make the dline complete.
 
hawkinn3 said:
If Jake takes a big leap next year we could be a very good team. The accuracy is there, but next year he needs to be pushing 65% and his yards per attempt needs to take a big leap as well.
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The way Iowa's offense is designed his ypa will be determined by how well the receivers can make plays after the catch.
 
HawkeyeDenis said:
He's a solid 315 now. Give him another year and 10 more pounds. He should be a solid top 5 pick in 2015. Iowa could have a line as good as any in the conference. Certainly one of the best in Kirk's time.
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Why more weight? Speed is what he need! Gotta kick-step lightning quick to pick up NFL ends and blitzes
 
David79 said:
I think Donnal will take over the right tackle spot as that's his more natural position as opposed to guard and then the guard spot up for grabs will be between Simmons, Gaul and Ward.

Also to the people who think Gilson will be the starting MLB. No. It will be Alston. It would be huge to get a pass rushing end like Young. It would make the dline complete.
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edit - sorry - brain cramp - see my note below...
 
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I don't know about that, David79. In one of the games toward the end of the season (Purdue?) they brought in the 2nd team OLine for several series. IIRC it was Donnal at LT, Ward at RT, and Simmons and Gaul along with someone else ... and I can't guarantee who that was but they may have left Walsh in at RG ( or possibly they left in Blythe at Center). I think that was a pre-curser to what we might see in 2014, if Scherff jumped. Scherff coming back allows Donnal to move to LG and I really think that they will keep Ward over there at RT to give him time to develop alongside of Walsh.

That would give them a pretty powerful left side of the OLine in 2014 and pretty salty Right side in 2015.

Just my 2 cents. I'm sure the Ferentzes will try lots of different combos, including Donnal at RT. If I am a gambling man, though, I would bet it would be from Left to Right: Scherff, Donnal, Blythe, Walsh, Ward.
 
Clark said:
The way Iowa's offense is designed his ypa will be determined by how well the receivers can make plays after the catch.
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Exactly. While we shouldn't take anything for granted, it's pretty much known what Rudock gives us. He's very accurate, he brings great preparation into games which leads to very few big mistakes. This is not to say that he is forever a game manager, because he could improve and take his game to the next level. But right now, he is a reliable distributor of the ball at QB. For "him" to improve his yards/attempt, our receivers need to make more big plays. Part of this could be stretching the field vertically, which would require more functional arm strength from Rudock. KMM will always be an underneath-intermediate zone route kind of receiver. If one of: Hillyer, Smith, AJ Jones, and Willies (or Powell!), could emerge as a deep ball / big play threat then we will see Rudock elevate his game and the offense will explode
 
One of the more intriguing questions about next year is will Damond Powell explode with a year's experience and a full off-season of practices, physical development and some 7 on 7's with Rudock. He's potentially is a bigger big play WR than DJK was but effectively he was a two-three play guy. Which really limited his PT and effectiveness. Would love to see him on more crossing pattens, slants and screens. Give him the opportunity for big yards after catch.
 
I am optimistic. Stay healthy, development throughout the season, and I think this could be a year I would say its OK to Expect 9+ wins....which means I'm doing Exactly what I tell people not to do in terms of expectations...yikes.
 
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