I realize he was not up to snuff on the road the his year, and he has to improve on his consistency.
But he threw for over 3000 yards this year, the 4th highest total in a single season in Iowa history...25 touchdowns to 6 interceptions.
The kid has ability...top shelf ability. He just wasn't consistent..and he also had a lot of dropped balls this year. He needs to calm down a bit more on the road.
He has the skill..there is no doubt about that. Now, he has a season of starting under his belt.
Some are acting like he is the second coming of Jake Christensen, which is just not the case.
I'll take his junior year over Stanzi's. Stanzi lead us back in a number of games but he had a top 10 defense and strong special teams that was keeping us in games while he threw "pick 6's". Vandenberg, really didn't have terrible games he simply looked shaky at times, but played generally well. I'm hoping that JVB has a similar jump in improvement from his junior to senior year like "Love it or leave it" Ricky had.
My concerns and expectations about next season.
OL-I expect this unit will be about the same. A B/B+ group, higher if Reiff surprises and comes back. This is a squad that KF and staff have been stock piling talent. In terms of recruiting hype(usually justified on the OL) the young talent here probably is the best it's been under Ferentz.
QB-I expect Vandenberg will be better in the upcoming season, maybe much better. Iowa is a developmental program and that certainly holds true for the QB's who tend to be their best as seniors.
RB-I expect and hope Coker comes back and new (four stars?) recruits and the returning muscled up freshman add valuable depth here. This group with Coker is probably at least a B+.
TE-Have to have better production here and I think CJF will provide much of it. He really made strides in his blocking and overall approach and dedication to the game this year. More is needed but he's as talented a TE as we've had since Clark. Derby should be an adequate back up, and Zack Hamilton could be the next star TE at Iowa.
WR's-some concern in losing McNutt, but Davis should grow into "the-go-to-guy" like McNutt did and I like KMM. Some decent depth guys should be available. Not seeing real game breakers unless they come from the true freshman ranks. The TE will get a lot more receptions next year.
Overall, even without Reiff I expect the offense to be better. More experience for a QB is invaluable, and my guess is that the jinx on Iowa RB's is broken with Coker positioned to have a Shonn Greene like junior elig. year.
Defensively a lot more question marks.
DL-A scary year. This unit could be really bad, I guess the good news is most of the year Mike Daniel was hurt and so even with a lot of youth playing early the DL's production won't likely be significant drop off from what we had most of this year(*fingers crossed*). The good news here is that we have AT LEAST one redshirt freshmen four star DT(Cooper) and two true freshmen four stars in Faith E. and JJ. So, we'll likely have a serious influx of
RAW talent. Hopefully Alvis is back and takes a step forward. He seemed to settle in to that DE spot when he was injured.
LB-I feel good about where we're at here. The weakest aspect of this group is a lack of size and that Mr. Doyle can take care of. Kirksey, and Morris look very solid and Hitchens played pretty well in relief. I think this group is a little stronger next year.
DB-The loss of Berstein and Prater hurts. I like BJ Lowery but he won't likely be all-conference right out of the starting gate. We need Law to step up and Hyde to take a leadership role. I like the young talent we've recruited the last two years here but expect some drop off.
My guess is this team overall is a little better than 2011. About the same as the team finished with one defense this year, but better offensively. A senior QB is a very good thing. Without breaking down the schedule I'd think we'll go around 8-4 pre-bowl. Similar, but better than this year, and a year away from being a BCS bowl contender in 2013.
