Presumably, by "prolific" you are referring to stats. That's a fair point and certainly true. Further, not many Hawk fans need to be convinced that Chuck Long is the greatest Iowa QB ever, particularly those of us that grew up watching him (your dad was right). I do think, though, that if Stanzi were to finish his career with one of those two accomplishments, I'd be inclined to say that his career was more impressive.
Could Stanzi Best Qb in Iowa History?
- Thread starter kdhawkeyes123
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Presumably, by "prolific" you are referring to stats. That's a fair point and certainly true. Further, not many Hawk fans need to be convinced that Chuck Long is the greatest Iowa QB ever, particularly those of us that grew up watching him (your dad was right). I do think, though, that if Stanzi were to finish his career with one of those two accomplishments, I'd be inclined to say that his career was more impressive.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
And that's the distinction. His level of success would be higher, I won't deny that. But as far as his skill level, Long has him beat (from what I've heard about Long).
DDHawkeye
Well-Known Member
I think the estimate of 20-25 TD passes by Stanzi next season is being EXTREMELY conservative. I'm expecting at least 36 TD passes to McNutt alone next season, which would only break the previous record for single season TD receptions by a receiver by 1 TD. That's only three TD receptions per regular season game for McNutt and that is VERY doable. Ferentz himself basically said that when he said McNutt will have a breakout junior season much like Clayborn had a breakout junior season last year. And let's not even bring up DJK because he is G*D D*MN GLORIOUS! Also, we will be national champs, Stanzi will win the Heisman trophy, and he will go down as not only the greatest QB in Iowa history, but the greatest QB in the history of college football. To think anything else would be just plain ignorant.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
Wow, when I got on Ghost for rarely being positive, I didn't mean we should all go nuts with the optimism.
GravyJones
Well-Known Member
Well, that was a little over the top.
jshawks
Well-Known Member
If in fact that did happen, and that's a pretty big if, Stanzi would be considered the QB of a better team, definitely NOT the better QB. In case you are too young to remember, or have just forgotten here is Long's college resume.
10,461 career passing yards. 74 touchdowns, 782 completions and a career 65.0 completion pct. 22 straight completions vs. Indiana in 1984. All of which are standing records at the U of I.
He was 35-13-1 as a starter, First team All Big 10 in 83, 84, and 85. The 1985 Maxwell, and Davey O'Brien award winner, the 1985 Big 10 POY, the Heisman runner up and a concensus 1st team All American.
As much as I love Ricky, and believe that he is the unquestioned leader of this team, he is nowhere near Chuck Long in terms of greatness. As I said in an earlier post, I don't think Ricky is even in the top 5 at his position, but he does happen to be on a better team than many of the other fine QB's we have had.
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No question that Chuck Long is, by any objective measure, the greatest Iowa QB. A huge statistical year by Stanzi would, by itself, not be enough to threaten CL's place on top - not even close. But in my modest opinion, a Heisman or NC, combined with his other two years as a starter, would put Stanzi on top.
I would also note that I live on the East Coast and on numerous occassions have had random people (young and old) mention Chuck Long as a reaction to my Iowa clothes or flag on the front of the house.
tm3308
Well-Known Member
You're still not separating talent from success, I don't think. Stanzi just is not as talented as Long, thereby Long is still the best quarterback in school history. But again, Stanzi could have a terrific year and win a NC, and go down as the most successful.
jshawks
Well-Known Member
I certainly don't wish to down play Stanzi's role on this team. He is a proven leader, and appears to have ice water in his veins. He is the quintessential example of the old saying that "Great players aren't always great. They're just great when they have to be." So while he has a legitimate shot at being on the most successful team in Iowa history, I still don't see him as the most succesfull QB in Iowa history. I point to the fact that this team is so good that we were able to go into Columbus last year with a red shirt freshman making his first start and took the eventual Big 10 champs to overtime before losing. I think most would agree that usually that formula spells doom for most teams. Ricky is an awesome QB and seems like a really good kid, but statistically he is not in the same galaxy as a Chuck Long. Nor do I consider him in the same catagory as Chuck Hartlieb, or Matt Rodgers.
