Coker

taekwonthis said:
This is the biggest thing I notice about Coker. He will get killed if he runs like that against big ten defenses. I'm sure the coaching staff will bring this up watching film. If he doesn't learn by watching, he will learn once he takes a few hits. Other than that, holy crap he's going to be a powerful runner. His legs are already thick.
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Shonn Greene ran too upright as a TR FR too. Greene also contended with injuries through his first 2 years on campus too. I wouldn't be shocked if Coker ends up getting dinged too. However, that said, I really think that Coker demonstrated that he has a Greene-like upside too.

Given how good Iowa's OL is going to be in 2011 and given that Coker is going to be a good bit more experienced going into 2011 ... I'm all the more excited about the future of Iowa's running game!
 
tm3308 said:
We'll have to see next week. This was just Coker's first game. But I was surprised at how quick and fast Rogers looked. Not that he was a burner, but for a fullback he looked pretty damn fast. That's a fullback that will get carries in the future.
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KF was surprised, too. He commented on that in his radio postgame w/ Dolph 'n Eddie
 
Also, might I add, I like what I saw out of Rogers too. He definitely took advantage of his opportunity too.

I'm a bit more relieved now that it appears that we have some quality guys who can help spell ARob.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Shonn Greene ran too upright as a TR FR too. Greene also contended with injuries through his first 2 years on campus too. I wouldn't be shocked if Coker ends up getting dinged too. However, that said, I really think that Coker demonstrated that he has a Greene-like upside too.

Given how good Iowa's OL is going to be in 2011 and given that Coker is going to be a good bit more experienced going into 2011 ... I'm all the more excited about the future of Iowa's running game!
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The only difference between Greene and Coker that I think I saw today was that Coker didn't seem to have Greene's breakaway speed. Granted, he didn't have a lot of opportunities to show it, and he's also a freshman. True freshman usually don't run with authority very often (pretty much just the ones that are finished products when they step on campus, like Adrian Peterson was). But I thought Rogers looked faster than Coker today.
 
Coker definitely looked solid and definitely played up to my expectations. But for not knowing much about Rogers, I thought he was a beast, but could be a better back if he learned to occasionally try to make a defender miss instead of trying to run right through them. Definitely feeling better about the depth with Jewel out.
 
I love the physical element that Coker and Rogers bring to the table. That tends to put a little bit more giddy-up into the step of O-linemen. Furthermore, it also tends to help the development of the O-line by giving them a little bit more "wiggle-room."
 
I thought Rogers looked better than Coker, but Rogers has had an additional year of reps, so IMO that's expected. I also think the running game would be in capable hands if A-Rob happened to go down. Obviously A-Rob is the clear #1, but I'd be comfortable w/ the other 4 RB's we've seen this year (that I think are still expected to return) - Jason White, Paki, Rogers and now Coker. The other thing I'd add is that now that Coker's RS is burned, he needs to get reps and ensure this season will be worth it. Put him on ST, get him 2-5 carries/game, just do something so today is not his only action all season.

Lastly, who's the FB after Rogers?
 
SeattleHawkeye said:
I thought Rogers looked better than Coker, but Rogers has had an additional year of reps, so IMO that's expected. I also think the running game would be in capable hands if A-Rob happened to go down. Obviously A-Rob is the clear #1, but I'd be comfortable w/ the other 4 RB's we've seen this year (that I think are still expected to return) - Jason White, Paki, Rogers and now Coker. The other thing I'd add is that now that Coker's RS is burned, he needs to get reps and ensure this season will be worth it. Put him on ST, get him 2-5 carries/game, just do something so today is not his only action all season.

Lastly, who's the FB after Rogers?
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As far as I know, we don't have a third fullback now that Leppert left the team. I obviously don't want Morse to get hurt, but having Rogers at fullback would give us a new wrinkle. It'd open up plays like the fake FB iso with a HB pitch, thanks to the running threat that Rogers would bring to the table. Morse is the better option because he's a good receiver and a very good blocker. But if Rogers can improve those areas for next year, it'd add a subtle but potent threat to an offense that won't be hurting for firepower.
 
I love how he ran downhill. He'll be great against defenses that A-Rob has worn down. Perfect compliment!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Also, might I add, I like what I saw out of Rogers too. He definitely took advantage of his opportunity too.

I'm a bit more relieved now that it appears that we have some quality guys who can help spell ARob.
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Thank you Homer- while the love for Coker is well deserved, let's not forget that Rogers ran VERY strong as well. You could actually see him start running "lower" as he got more carries. Both of them will be/are very capable backups.
 
PlanoHawk said:
Thank you Homer- while the love for Coker is well deserved, let's not forget that Rogers ran VERY strong as well. You could actually see him start running "lower" as he got more carries. Both of them will be/are very capable backups.
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That's my concern with him. He didn't do too bad either but the way he was running makes him very vulnerable to a knee injury and it won't help him hold on to the football either.
 
He learned quickly when he got clocked a few times for not getting low enough. Baptism by fire makes for a quick learning curve.
 
Did I understand Ferentz's comments after the game that this was the first time Coker had been tackled since getting on campus? Or at least it's definitely been quite a while, so he could just be adjusting to getting hit again.
 
I thought bothrepresented themselves well and looked like they were having fun yesterday.

Roges looked more polished which is expected. Coker seems to run with rage in him. Stiff arming , driving the legs and just fighting. He will be really really good I think.

I agree with a previous poster that said get him involved now that he burned his redshirt.

I like the idea of getting Rogers involved in the backfield a little more as well. That opens up a few options. Been dying for Iowa to bring back the FB draw play.

My biggest concern with both of the freshmen is ball control. We need to make sure both of those guys secure that ball. Neither lost a ball yesterday but both had a "be carefull!" molment.
 
IATrainMaster101 said:
I thought bothrepresented themselves well and looked like they were having fun yesterday.

Roges looked more polished which is expected. Coker seems to run with rage in him. Stiff arming , driving the legs and just fighting. He will be really really good I think.

I agree with a previous poster that said get him involved now that he burned his redshirt.

I like the idea of getting Rogers involved in the backfield a little more as well. That opens up a few options. Been dying for Iowa to bring back the FB draw play.

My biggest concern with both of the freshmen is ball control. We need to make sure both of those guys secure that ball. Neither lost a ball yesterday but both had a "be carefull!" molment.
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I can't remember which one it was, but I think it was Rogers, whose fumble was pretty unavoidable. A defender put his helmet right on the ball when Rogers was airborne. That's not a play you see very often, and it usually will result in a fumble if the defender puts his hat on the ball.
 
I didn't see Coker running upright, in fact I think he ran behind his pads exceptionally well today. You don't move piles and bounce of first contact like he did if you don't.
 
tm3308 said:
I can't remember which one it was, but I think it was Rogers, whose fumble was pretty unavoidable. A defender put his helmet right on the ball when Rogers was airborne. That's not a play you see very often, and it usually will result in a fumble if the defender puts his hat on the ball.
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I didn't meant to imply that either have fumbling problems, but neither secured the ball like Robinson does. If I'm not mistaken the ball was in the left arm and Rogers was hit helmet on ball on the left side. Both hands wrapped around the ball during contact and the ball likely doesn't pop out that way.

If you watch Adam Robinson run he prepares the ball for contact. Yesterday, I counted 2 times Robinson could have stretched for extra yards (one time a touchdown) but he secured the ball from a defender who was tacking the football instead. Adam Robinson puts on a ball security clinic every week.

I don't expect either of the freshmen to do that but then again Robinson did that last year too as a RS freshmen.

There will be no way of proving this but if there were, I would be willing to bet that Adam Robinson would not have had the ball in a place where the defender would have gotten a hat squarely on it.

I loved the performance yesterday but worried a bit about ball security going forward.
 
If they can grind out the yards while maintaining ball security, I'm happy with our RB situation.

We just can't get into obvious 3rd and long. And the run game is going to be key in getting us those 5-6 yards on 1st or 2nd down.
 
One thing I find interesting about ARob and ball security. As far as I can tell, he ALWAYS carries with his right arm, even when its the "wrong" arm. Smart move to find a method that works for him.
 
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