Countdown – 15 Most Indispensable Hawkeyes for 2018
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Starting left tackle only #15? Hard to imagine 14 more important. Heck...hard to imagine 6 or 7
Ferentz playing the long con to build up OL depth
Motigerhawk
Well-Known Member
I hope the punter isnt on this list.
I think we'll be pleasantly surprised if Gersonde emerges as the starter. He had a nagging back injury all of last year but was effective in his limited appearances.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Hey spliff, this rumor has been confirmed.
RobHowe
Administrator
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
Even if he NEVER starts at wide-out, if his kick returns continue to go like a couple that he had last year, ISM may warrant a higher ranking.
Maybe we should give this a few days, see if any more news comes out, and then decide if you can continue or not. We don't want Rob Howe lumped together with SI and Madden covers.
AreWeThereYet
Well-Known Member
Here's my two cents. Someone more talented may be lower on the chart if there is good talent behind him. Some of these young guys we haven't seen much of so far, are just going to have to produce or Iowa is in big trouble.
Fifteen most indispensable.
Nate Stanley
Noah Fant
Tristan Wirfs
Anthony Nelson
Keegan Render
Amani Hooker
Nick Easley
Alaric Jackson
Amani Jones
A.J. Epenesia
Matt Hankins
Matt Nelson
Parker Hesse
Cedrick Lattimore
Ihmar Smith-Marsette
Honorable Mention
Toren Young
Michael Ojemudia
Nick Neimann
Ryan Gersonde
MIguel Recinos
TJ Hokenson
Comments: The tackle spot is thin after Wirfs & Jackson. Maybe that changes a bit after the first game. Wirfs goes much higher because Jackson is running out of strikes.
The defensive line is going to have to be salty. They have to keep opposing offenses off the young linebackers and create enough pressure on the quarterback to help the cornerbacks. I think there is a decent chance they will do just that.
Amani Hooker and Amani Jones are going to have to be solid in the middle. They don't have to be superman but solid in their role. OK, it helps if one of them is superman. Either that or A.J. terrorizes opposing offenses.
Gotta find a pair of linebackers who will move into this list real quick.
Easley may not be the most talented receiver around, but he's the only proven one Iowa has.
Gotta find a good receiver on the outside. Although, if Stanley keeps overthrowing the long ball it won't matter.
Fifteen most indispensable.
Nate Stanley
Noah Fant
Tristan Wirfs
Anthony Nelson
Keegan Render
Amani Hooker
Nick Easley
Alaric Jackson
Amani Jones
A.J. Epenesia
Matt Hankins
Matt Nelson
Parker Hesse
Cedrick Lattimore
Ihmar Smith-Marsette
Honorable Mention
Toren Young
Michael Ojemudia
Nick Neimann
Ryan Gersonde
MIguel Recinos
TJ Hokenson
Comments: The tackle spot is thin after Wirfs & Jackson. Maybe that changes a bit after the first game. Wirfs goes much higher because Jackson is running out of strikes.
The defensive line is going to have to be salty. They have to keep opposing offenses off the young linebackers and create enough pressure on the quarterback to help the cornerbacks. I think there is a decent chance they will do just that.
Amani Hooker and Amani Jones are going to have to be solid in the middle. They don't have to be superman but solid in their role. OK, it helps if one of them is superman. Either that or A.J. terrorizes opposing offenses.
Gotta find a pair of linebackers who will move into this list real quick.
Easley may not be the most talented receiver around, but he's the only proven one Iowa has.
Gotta find a good receiver on the outside. Although, if Stanley keeps overthrowing the long ball it won't matter.
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RobHowe
Administrator
AreWeThereYet
Well-Known Member
I was tempted to rate their indispensability similarly based solely on what we have seen so far. Given what we have already seen of the field last year and the progress he has made through practice, A.J. has a special talent for disruption that no one else on the team has. With all the new guys in the back 7 that disruption is badly needed. Hesse was better at contain and against the run. I expect A.J. to catch up in those respects.
RobHowe
Administrator
RobHowe
Administrator
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Last time we had a star lineman and turned over the LBs it was Clayborn and he was forced to basically become an extra LB a lot of the time. It was painful to watch. Hopefully that doesn't happen to AJ this year.
By the way, back when the Sox used to have AJ playing catcher, every time he went up to bat they used to play the loop from this song (starts at 0:41) and it was awesome. I think Iowa needs to do the same whenever our AJ makes a huge play.
AreWeThereYet
Well-Known Member
The whole defensive line was often gassed by the end of games in 2010. They didn't have much in the way of a rotation on defensive line at the time. Phil Parker changed that a long time ago. I don't expect them to leave starters out there the whole game like that.