Freshman Nate Meier working at RB

HawkeyeHypnosis

HawkeyeHypnosis

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Iowa Freshman Nate Meier Working at Running Back | KCRG-TV9 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather | Local

From article:

For now, the freshman from Fremont-Mills High School will work at running back, an obvious need for the Hawkeyes.

“That is a position that he came in that he really wanted to give a shot to,â€￾ Iowa running backs coach Lester Erb said. “So we’re working him right now in the backfield.â€￾

Meier, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 235 pounds, was named the state’s 8-man player of the year. He rushed for 2,497 yards and 57 touchdowns as a senior while leading his school to the state title. He scored 61 touchdowns overall. As a junior he ran for 1,674 yards and 30 touchdowns.
 
He'll obviously have a tougher time trucking college defenders than he did in high school, but he was the most dominating high school back I've ever seen in person. If he can pick up the offense and pass protections, I think he'll get some time this year. He still may not stay there for four years, but the lack of depth this year all but demands he stay in the backfield.
 
The High School video of this kid is simply...Man among boys. It will be interesting to see how that translates to NCAA D1.
 
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hawkfan1319 said:
lol we have gotten this desperate eh?
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I'm sure a lot of people out there said the same thing when Iowa first relied on guys like Adam Robinson, Brett Greenwood, and Marvin McNutt.

I'm not saying Meier will be like any of those guys, but it'd be foolish to write a guy off without ever having seen him play a college game.
 
I started a thread about him a couple weeks ago. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he impresses enough to get touches come game day. We'll see how things play out he certainly provides the one thing the other backs coming in and already there don't. Size and strength. If he's athletic enough & fast enough to be D1 material will be decided before long. I think he's goal line material right now. Time will tell.
 
His HS film was great...but it was also hilarious. I had never really seen 8 man until I youtubed him. The gameplay reminded me of an awesome, intense pick up game.

I don't want to be Mr. KneeJerk, just because someone started a thread on a fan blog... but the kid has never even played 11 man football (assuming his youth experience was also reduced player count). I could put it more rudely and say that he has NEVER EVEN PLAYED REAL FOOTBALL.

However, physical talent is physical talent and I think he could be really good. So many reasons to be skeptical though
 
IowaTeddy said:
His HS film was great...but it was also hilarious. I had never really seen 8 man until I youtubed him. The gameplay reminded me of an awesome, intense pick up game.

I don't want to be Mr. KneeJerk, just because someone started a thread on a fan blog... but the kid has never even played 11 man football (assuming his youth experience was also reduced player count). I could put it more rudely and say that he has NEVER EVEN PLAYED REAL FOOTBALL.

However, physical talent is physical talent and I think he could be really good. So many reasons to be skeptical though
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Chad Greenway played 7-man football in high school.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
The High School video of this kid is simply...Man among boys. It will be interesting to see how that translates to NCAA D1.
Click to expand...

That's because he was literally playing against "boys."

Competition doesn't get any weaker anywhere on earth than what that guy saw last year in southwest Iowa 8-man ball.
 
Iowa doesnt need a super star. They need a back that tries hard(Arob and Coker were players that put it out there and kept their feet moving, but were not overly talented). If a player that runs the ball out of the back field(I will not use the term for them) picks up the blocking then they can play in an Iowa offense. Blocking is the key factor on who KF lets on the field. With the OL that Iowa has on a regular basis the guy that is handed the ball in the backfield and then given a chance to run does not need to have great running skill for the Iowa offense to work. On the other hand, a guy like Greene comes along then you have something great. You dont need that to make this offense good though.

If the kid can block then he will see the field.
 
tm3308 said:
Chad Greenway played 7-man football in high school.
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was greenway a feature player as a true freshman?

playing a part of the defense or special team where 10 other guys have your back is a bit different than playing on an island with all eyes on you.

can it be done as a true freshman? sure, a certain western IA 3A player did pretty well at it a couple years ago, no matter what some tavern hok wannabe (read:clown grad) has to say about his ability. that being said, that 3A player could play ball and had a fantastic OL to run behind.
 
tm3308 said:
Chad Greenway played 7-man football in high school.
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OKay okay, I knew people would have examples for me (this is Iowa Football after all) and I didn't mean to offend anyone. Seriously. No offense at all, this kid is a way better athlete than I am, or anyone on my HS team was either.

And it's true about Greenway, and awesome. But Chad Greenway redshirted year 1, then had injuries/sat for most of his second year. And in his 3rd year, he started as a sophomore. Greenway had two full years to come into the program and develop physically and mentally. He didn't emerge from 7 man football as an 18 year old and start contributing in the Big 10.

I am willing to bet that VERY few guys have done that ever. But I've never seen/heard of a more physically ready 8 man player than Nate Meier. So let's see.

I am not hating on him at all. When he committed, I literally starting thinking about him in the Ron Dayne mold.
 
DaCoach said:
No he didn't, he played 9 man.
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My bad. Still not "real" football.

And Greenway wasn't a feature player as a true freshman, no. But he also wasn't as physically mature as Meier is, and needed to bulk up to play defense. It wasn't because the game of football was somehow foreign to him.
 
tm3308 said:
hawkfan1319 said:
lol we have gotten this desperate eh?
Click to expand...
I'm sure a lot of people out there said the same thing when Iowa first relied on guys like Adam Robinson, Brett Greenwood, and Marvin McNutt.I'm not saying Meier will be like any of those guys, but it'd be foolish to write a guy off without ever having seen him play a college game.
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He's mpre of a FB that's why I'm doubting him at RB. who knows he could surprise.
 
OUTofTOWNHAWK said:
Iowa doesnt need a super star. They need a back that tries hard(Arob and Coker were players that put it out there and kept their feet moving, but were not overly talented). If a player that runs the ball out of the back field(I will not use the term for them) picks up the blocking then they can play in an Iowa offense. Blocking is the key factor on who KF lets on the field. With the OL that Iowa has on a regular basis the guy that is handed the ball in the backfield and then given a chance to run does not need to have great running skill for the Iowa offense to work. On the other hand, a guy like Greene comes along then you have something great. You dont need that to make this offense good though.

If the kid can block then he will see the field.
Click to expand...

Just to nit pick a few things:
I think Iowa does need a superstar at RB. Now you can say, every team needs a superstar at every position. But if Iowa's ball control on D is mediocre, having an elite RB paired with the good OLine is what Iowa needs. This is subjective though

Also, I slightly disagree about Coker. I think he was really talented. You can argue that he had a fairly limited range of skills, but he was big, fast and tough to bring down.

And the old adage about RB pass blocking...is always going to be true to an extent. However, some offenses necessitate it, like KOK's. We shall see if the new scheme is the same. Once again, it would clearly help to have everyone on the field be a good blocker, but maybe Davis' offense isn't so play-action dominant and it won't matter as much. Also, I think that KOK's offense was not as multifaceted, not as versatile. Therefore he needed guys with certain skill sets, and if you didn't have that skill set, you didn't fit. RBs needed to block well on slow developing play action passes. Maybe Davis' offense is more flexible to accomodate for a young RB with blocking deficiencies.
 
IowaTeddy said:
Just to nit pick a few things:
I think Iowa does need a superstar at RB. Now you can say, every team needs a superstar at every position. But if Iowa's ball control on D is mediocre, having an elite RB paired with the good OLine is what Iowa needs. This is subjective though

Also, I slightly disagree about Coker. I think he was really talented. You can argue that he had a fairly limited range of skills, but he was big, fast and tough to bring down.

And the old adage about RB pass blocking...is always going to be true to an extent. However, some offenses necessitate it, like KOK's. We shall see if the new scheme is the same. Once again, it would clearly help to have everyone on the field be a good blocker, but maybe Davis' offense isn't so play-action dominant and it won't matter as much. Also, I think that KOK's offense was not as multifaceted, not as versatile. Therefore he needed guys with certain skill sets, and if you didn't have that skill set, you didn't fit. RBs needed to block well on slow developing play action passes. Maybe Davis' offense is more flexible to accomodate for a young RB with blocking deficiencies.
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I agree with you. Coker and Arob were not elite backs but I think they were good. I thought Coker was very good even though the masses said he was too slow to the hole.

We dont know what GD will do to the offense, but we do know that KF has said time and time again that guys in the backfield could not see the field util they can block.

This is why I think that Iowa doesnt need a great back they need a back that can block well and not fumble the ball.

If GD is going to pass more than you need a really good blocking back that can catch the ball. You dont need a superstar that makes people miss.

When I think of a superstar back I think of a back that you hand the ball to and he creates on his own.
 
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