Hawkeye, NFL Draft Bits and Pieces

ESPN: First Draft

Mel Kiper had some great things to say about Stanzi during the podcast today.
Kiper has Stanzi as a 2nd round pick and said he could prove to be the best QB in the draft a few years from now.

McShay says he lacks arm strength, played bad late in games this year, but was clutch last year. He also said Stanzi could be a big surprise in the NFL, and that NFL coaches love him.
 
This Stanzi hype is nuts. The guy was an above average quarterback who was not a difference maker. Heck of a guy, but not a great player.
 
Good write-up, Jon. Ballard's stock has been on the rise. Assuming he continues to impress at the combine, any chance he gets taken ahead of Clayborn?
 
Enginerd said:
This Stanzi hype is nuts. The guy was an above average quarterback who was not a difference maker. Heck of a guy, but not a great player.
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In Iowa career statistics, Stanzi is fourth in completions (542) and third in attempts (907), yards (7,377), touchdowns (56) and total offense (7,373). Stanzi is just the third Big Ten quarterback to start and win three bowl games (Mark Herrmann, Purdue and Brooks Bollinger, Wisconsin). His pass efficiency rating of 157.63 ranks best in school history and his total offense (2,998) is third best for a season. Stanzi is the only starting quarterback to beat Penn State three times in a career.

He also has the second most wins ever by an Iowa QB.

This year, he had 25 TD to 6 INT

I think Ricky is better than just 'above average'
 
Enginerd said:
This Stanzi hype is nuts. The guy was an above average quarterback who was not a difference maker. Heck of a guy, but not a great player.
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I have to disagree. I think Stanzi is without question, the best pro prospect Iowa has had at QB in 25 years.

I really hope he gets picked by a solid organization with good QB coaching. With a few years of grooming, he could challenge for a starting spot.

I'm very excited to see what he can do without Iowa's offensive staff. I know people probably won't like that comment but Iowa has had problems on this side of the ball, regardless of players, for many years.
 
Xerxes said:
I have to disagree. I think Stanzi is without question, the best pro prospect Iowa has had at QB in 25 years.

I really hope he gets picked by a solid organization with good QB coaching. With a few years of grooming, he could challenge for a starting spot.

I'm very excited to see what he can do without Iowa's offensive staff. I know people probably won't like that comment but Iowa has had problems on this side of the ball, regardless of players, for many years.
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For the talent that has come through this position over the years the Iowa staff hasn't had a great track record of developing it for NFL consideration.
 
Enginerd said:
This Stanzi hype is nuts. The guy was an above average quarterback who was not a difference maker. Heck of a guy, but not a great player.
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can you list other QBs who are now starting in the NFL who had an unremarkable college career?

And I agree with Miller in that you can not say that Stanzi's career at Iowa was unremarkable.
 
I think Ballard is going to be a very good pro player; in my opinion, he'll have the best NFL career of any Hawkeye that is entering the draft this year. Going into the draft, he reminds me quite a bit of Jonathan Babineaux, who has carved out a nice career for himself in Atlanta.

If Ballard ends up in the 2nd round, he'll be a steal for someone.
 
Jon,
I wasn't questioning his statistics or record at Iowa, they are excellent. I hope that he can translate those into a productive NFL career. His size, work ethic, character and intelligence may help him become a decent backup or lower tier NFL starter ala Kyle Orton or Trent Dilfer. And there's nothing wrong with that.

That being said, I never felt that Stanzi has the talent or ability to be much more than a game manger. Maybe that makes him a good college QB, but for Mr. Kiper to suggest that he may be the best in the draft is a real stretch.

It appears that Mr. Kiper may be sippin on the Hawkade.
 
I'd also like to know. How does one, who thinks the Manzi is a just a game manager, explain the NFL's supposed 3rd round interest in Stanzi? You know - I know Kiper is basing his draft projections on actually talking with NFL execs.

Doesn't Locker and Mallet have a lot more potential and therefore shouldn't they go higher in the draft than the Manzi?

Is it that NFL execs already see Stanzi as a more polished gem than Locker or Mallet? Wouldn't you have to 'blame' Iowa's coaching staff for that?
Wouldn't that be a great Iowa football selling point for high school QBs who want to play in the pros; wouldn't Ricky Stanzi be a great selling point for Iowa football? Hmmmmmm?
 
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Enginerd said:
Jon,
I wasn't questioning his statistics or record at Iowa, they are excellent. I hope that he can translate those into a productive NFL career. His size, work ethic, character and intelligence may help him become a decent backup or lower tier NFL starter ala Kyle Orton or Trent Dilfer. And there's nothing wrong with that.

That being said, I never felt that Stanzi has the talent or ability to be much more than a game manger. Maybe that makes him a good college QB, but for Mr. Kiper to suggest that he may be the best in the draft is a real stretch.

It appears that Mr. Kiper may be sippin on the Hawkade.
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Bear in mind, Locker and Mallett's stocks have fallen since last spring. Being put ahead of them doesn't make Stanzi the top choice in the draft. Gabbert will in all likelihood be the first quarterback taken. Newton will be a first-rounder, and Ponder might sneak in as well. Stanzi is not better than 3rd, and 4th/5th best is more likely.
 
It is funny how Kiper is a pompous blowhard almost all of the time...until he says something you want to hear. Then he is respected and in the know. It wasn't too long ago I was reading here that Kiper was an idiot for hyping Jimmy Claussen as the best QB in last year's draft.
 
Iowafarmgirl said:
It is funny how Kiper is a pompous blowhard almost all of the time...until he says something you want to hear. Then he is respected and in the know. It wasn't too long ago I was reading here that Kiper was an idiot for hyping Jimmy Claussen as the best QB in last year's draft.
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I've pretty much always respected Kiper's opinion. McShay is the one who I can't figure out why anyone would employ him.

Last year's quarterback class wasn't THAT strong, and with Bradford coming off his injury (plus we were unsure how he would handle being under center, and how he would handle pressure in the pocket), it wasn't hard to see why someone would make a case for Claussen. I was a big Colt McCoy fan, personally, but I could see why someone would jump on the Claussen bandwagon.
 
Iowafarmgirl said:
It is funny how Kiper is a pompous blowhard almost all of the time...until he says something you want to hear. Then he is respected and in the know. It wasn't too long ago I was reading here that Kiper was an idiot for hyping Jimmy Claussen as the best QB in last year's draft.
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Just because someone posts Kiper's opinion doesn't mean they actually agree with it.

I'm saying this mostly because I started that thread originally. While i don't think Rick is 2nd round material i still thought it was something that people would like to see and interesting none the less.
 
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