Developmental Programs

[SCHawkeye2]

I tell people Iowa is a school where if they had all the pieces even at an average level they'd be a top 10 fairly regularly at the end of the year because our coaching tends to be really good. They're always right on the cusp but every year there's at least one unit or position that cuts the team's achilles. 2015 was the last time we didn't have any glaring deficiencies; since CJ left it's been a maddening 6 year streak of sub par quarterbacks and the traditionally strong Iowa OL has been regressing each year. Stanley could look like Joe Montana against .500 teams but shit the bed against teams with a pulse. Petras, nice guy but more of an FCS player.

IMO recruiting misses have hurt more than coaching issues, with the exception of Brain Farence.

For me, the biggest weakness has been the OL for the last 2-3 years.

 

[HuckFinn]

For me, the biggest weakness has been the OL for the last 2-3 years.

Yes. But weakness at QB contributed.

 

[NCHawker]

3-Star U: Which schools are best (and worst) at developing NFL Draft talent? - The Athletic

I know this site is paywalled, but some on here are subscribers.
Interesting analysis of the best and worst developmental FBS programs.
Iowa is neither in the top 10 or bottom 10 for % of 3-star recruits drafted into the NFL, which is a bit surprising.
Wisconsin is 10th best at developing 3* talent into NFL draft picks.

Its the The Andy Staples Show & Friends: A show about college football

Here's the podcast for free... also on youtube or your favorite platform

GooglePodcast

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

Correct.

It's like Pro Football Focus and their bogus ratings. They love to tell you how they rate every player on every play of every game, and how they go in-depth as far as assignments, route running, blah blah blah.

There are 285 games in an NFL season. Last year the average was 158 snaps per game.

285 x 158 x 22 players = 990,660 individual "evaluations" every year. That's horseshit. All done by "evaluators" who don't know shit about football and have zero clue what a player's assignment was on any particular play. It's total crap, made up numbers to sell subscriptions and generate twitter clicks. People who pay money for that stuff are morons.

AI might change that just a bit as far as the raw stats go. But there's still the question of how much upside a player has and how they fit into your system.

 

[okeefe4prez]

For me, the biggest weakness has been the OL for the last 2-3 years.

Longer. Go back to 2017. We had some good players, but we were pathologically incapable of blocking a 3-4 look with an unknown 4th rusher. Crushed Ohio, then had under 100 yards against Wisconsin the next week. Once Brian stopped coaching line the wheels came right off the bus.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

I didn't read the article, but I would point out that it's next to impossible to accurately assess "development" across teams. These players don't play in a vacuum, and progress is heavily reliant upon the talent and/or ability around you.

For instance, a 3-star receiver at Ohio State immediately has a much higher ceiling than, say, an identical player at Iowa. One will be surrounded by talent that not only elevates his stats through better offensive play, but said talent also draws attention from defenses giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Iowa does a respectable job with development. At one point a few years ago, it was second only to Ohio State in the B1G in terms of number of players in the NFL. Not too shabby. I guess that's one of the reasons the inconsistencies and weak links (... see OL and QB recently) year after year is so maddening.

 

[BigD]

I tell people Iowa is a school where if they had all the pieces even at an average level they'd be a top 10 fairly regularly at the end of the year because our coaching tends to be really good. They're always right on the cusp but every year there's at least one unit or position that cuts the team's achilles. 2015 was the last time we didn't have any glaring deficiencies; since CJ left it's been a maddening 6 year streak of sub par quarterbacks and the traditionally strong Iowa OL has been regressing each year. Stanley could look like Joe Montana against .500 teams but shit the bed against teams with a pulse. Petras, nice guy but more of an FCS player.

IMO recruiting misses have hurt more than coaching issues, with the exception of Brain Farence.

That’s a great summation.

 

[BigD]

I didn't read the article, but I would point out that it's next to impossible to accurately assess "development" across teams. These players don't play in a vacuum, and progress is heavily reliant upon the talent and/or ability around you.

For instance, a 3-star receiver at Ohio State immediately has a much higher ceiling than, say, an identical player at Iowa. One will be surrounded by talent that not only elevates his stats through better offensive play, but said talent also draws attention from defenses giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Iowa does a respectable job with development. At one point a few years ago, it was second only to Ohio State in the B1G in terms of number of players in the NFL. Not too shabby. I guess that's one of the reasons the inconsistencies and weak links (... see OL and QB recently) year after year is so maddening.

“For instance, a 3-star receiver at Ohio State immediately has a much higher ceiling than, say, an identical player at Iowa. One will be surrounded by talent that not only elevates his stats through better offensive play, but said talent also draws attention from defenses giving him more opportunities to succeed.”

This is why I feel that Walter sweetness Payton was the greatest running back. Yes Emmitt ended up with more yards but Emmitt was surrounded by All Pro players while Payton was the offense and even though defenses keyed on him they could stop him.

Walter Payton Nobody does it Better

In 1977 Walter Payton set the NFL single game rushing record with 275 yards. CBS Sports made a short tribute video of Walter, with the song, "Nobody does it ...

youtu.be