JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Top 10 For Iowa in 2010; Too High, Too Soon? | Hawkeye Nation
One of my favorite days in the college football calendar is when Phil Steele’s preseason magazine hits the newsstands. Phil mails some complimentary copies to me at the radio station, so I could wait a few days and get one for free. But the second I find out his magazines have hit the shelves, I am in the car and I go plunk down the $8.00 or so bucks so that I can get one right away. Sure, that is instant gratification, but it’s SOOOOO gratifying.
Steele has his own style and flair and while a decent portion of his magazine is him telling you what he thought your team would do last year the year before, the year before that and the year before that, it’s a resource I turn to all season long.
Steele also offers up a few fun nuggets or opinions on his website prior to the start of the season, and he did that this week when he took his shot at predicting what the preseason Associated Press Top 10 would look like when it comes out in August. CLICK HERE FOR LINK
Steele believes, as do I, that Iowa will be ranked in the preseason Top 10; he has them pegged for #7. Here is his list:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. TCU
7. Iowa
8. Florida
9. Nebraska
10. Virginia Tech
Steele goes on to say that the thinks the next five might look something like this:
11. Georgia Tech
12. Wicsonsin
13. Oklahoma
14. Miami
15. LSU
The last time the Hawkeyes were invited to ‘this dance’ was before the start of the 2005 season. The Hawks checked in at #11 in the AP preseason poll and #10 in the coaches poll. They moved up to 8th in both polls before losing 23-3 at Iowa State. The Hawks would go on to finish 7-5 that year, losing close games late against Northwestern and Michigan. It was a disappointing season based on preseason expectations.
But should we have seen a few things coming that year? Should we see a few things coming this year? I will talk about this topic over the course of a few stories…first, let’s go back to that 2005 season and remind ourselves of what happened.
In 2005, the Hawkeyes had to replace Matt Roth, Jonathon Babineaux, Derrick Robinson and Tyler Luebke on the defensive line. Babineaux was the leader in tackles for loss amongst BCS programs and #2 in the nation overall. We all remember the force Roth was on the outside, and D-Rob and Luebke did a great job, too. I recall Kirk Ferentz being asked the following question at media day: Would you rather replace a defensive line or linebackers? Iowa returned Abdul Hodge and Chad Greenway at the linebackers. Ferentz said something along the lines of ‘Well, since I have the linebackers still here, I guess I should say them.â€
Iowa started freshmen Mitch King and Matt Kroul at tackles along with Bryan Mattison and Ken Iwebema at ends. Iowa wound up allowing 126 rushing yards per game that year, roughly the same territory as the 2009 Iowa defense. They allowed 380-ish total yards and 20 points per game. Those are not bad figures, they just aren’t the ‘norm’ under Norm Parker. This most glaring weakness of that defense was its inability to get opponents off the field; teams converted 45% of their third down attempts against Iowa. Iowa’s offense averaged 30 points per game that year and 432 yards per game, one of the better offensive groups as far as production goes. Iowa also only turned the ball over 17 times all season, but that defense forced just 16 turnovers.
Iowa did not routinely win the battle up front, they didn’t create a lot of turnovers and they were not really remarkable in any of the primary defensive categories.
It all starts up front…that’s an age old cliche, and and Ferentz says, things are cliches because they are true.
This year for Iowa, as it heads into a season full of hope and promise coming off the highest end of season ranking since the late 1950’s and their biggest bowl win since the same decade, things are going to start and end up front on the offensive line. The defense? No worries, man. No worries.
Iowa loses four multiyear starters along the offensive line in Dace Richardson, Bryan Bulaga, Rafael Eubanks and Kyle Calloway. That is a lot for any school, and it’s a lot for Iowa. The Hawkeyes are also going to be a bit ‘undersized’ relative to where they have been in recent years, probably averaging around 285 pounds on the hoof for 2010. Emphasis on technique will be as strong as it ever has been.
The last time Iowa was this young entering a season was back in 2007. That team averaged just 126 rushing yards per game, in the same territory as the 2009 Hawkeyes. The defense allowed just 18.8 points per game, but the offense scored just 18.5 per game. Jake Christensen was sacked more times than any quarterback in the FBS that year, as Iowa allowed a total of 46. For those of you new to the game, that’s very, very bad. Some of that was on Jake, but most of it was on a very young offensive line. Jake was also a first year starter that year, where Iowa will have a third year starter in Rick Stanzi heading into this season he has a career mark of 18-4 as the #1 under center.
Iowa also has a much deeper and more experienced collection of receivers this year than they did in 2007, and the 2010 Iowa defense should be fearsome. The Hawkeyes return both kicking specialists this year, too. But the 2007 team converted just 32% of its third downs, again due to a young line and a young quarterback.
Here was the pre-camp two deep heading into August of 2007:
LT 78 Dace Richardson 6-6 305 Jr./60 Kyle Calloway 6-7 305 So.
LG 68 Andy Kuempel 6-7 295 So./74 Dan Doering 6-7 300 So.
C 52 Rafael Eubanks 6-3 285 So./58 Rob Bruggeman 6-3 287 Jr.
RG 75 Wesley Aeschliman 6-8 318 Jr./61 Travis Meade 6-2 285 So. or 63 Jul. Vandervelde 6-3 295 #Fr.
RT 71 Seth Olsen 6-5 305 Jr./ 72 * Tyler Blum 6-6 285 So. or 76 Alex Kanellis 6-4 295 Jr.
Neither Kuempel or Doering emerged at guard. Richardson would get injured, Bruggeman had a knee injury in the spring and never played, Meade saw duty as did Vandervelde, Seth Olseon was the best of the bunch, Kanellis never saw the field again due to concussions and Blum’s back injury ended a promising career before it ever got going.
None of those players at that time was as good as Riley Reiff is right now; Reiff will be an anchor at left tackle. Vandervelde has as much experience going into his senior season as any of those players listed above, and Adam Gettis has started a few games. Unless injuries decimate this year’s bunch, I would expect for them to be better than the 2007 group, but health is going to be so critical for this year’s offensive line I shudder to think about what a few injuries could mean to the 2010 Iowa season.
There will be names that have yet to make their mark in the psyches of Iowa fans who will step up and take the reigns this year. Just who those players will be will depend on spring and fall camp.
NEXT UP: A look at the resumes of the teams that Iowa will be ‘competing’ with in the polls for the early part of 2010 and the holes in their resume…everyone, or nearly everyone, has a few holes.
One of my favorite days in the college football calendar is when Phil Steele’s preseason magazine hits the newsstands. Phil mails some complimentary copies to me at the radio station, so I could wait a few days and get one for free. But the second I find out his magazines have hit the shelves, I am in the car and I go plunk down the $8.00 or so bucks so that I can get one right away. Sure, that is instant gratification, but it’s SOOOOO gratifying.
Steele has his own style and flair and while a decent portion of his magazine is him telling you what he thought your team would do last year the year before, the year before that and the year before that, it’s a resource I turn to all season long.
Steele also offers up a few fun nuggets or opinions on his website prior to the start of the season, and he did that this week when he took his shot at predicting what the preseason Associated Press Top 10 would look like when it comes out in August. CLICK HERE FOR LINK
Steele believes, as do I, that Iowa will be ranked in the preseason Top 10; he has them pegged for #7. Here is his list:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. TCU
7. Iowa
8. Florida
9. Nebraska
10. Virginia Tech
Steele goes on to say that the thinks the next five might look something like this:
11. Georgia Tech
12. Wicsonsin
13. Oklahoma
14. Miami
15. LSU
The last time the Hawkeyes were invited to ‘this dance’ was before the start of the 2005 season. The Hawks checked in at #11 in the AP preseason poll and #10 in the coaches poll. They moved up to 8th in both polls before losing 23-3 at Iowa State. The Hawks would go on to finish 7-5 that year, losing close games late against Northwestern and Michigan. It was a disappointing season based on preseason expectations.
But should we have seen a few things coming that year? Should we see a few things coming this year? I will talk about this topic over the course of a few stories…first, let’s go back to that 2005 season and remind ourselves of what happened.
In 2005, the Hawkeyes had to replace Matt Roth, Jonathon Babineaux, Derrick Robinson and Tyler Luebke on the defensive line. Babineaux was the leader in tackles for loss amongst BCS programs and #2 in the nation overall. We all remember the force Roth was on the outside, and D-Rob and Luebke did a great job, too. I recall Kirk Ferentz being asked the following question at media day: Would you rather replace a defensive line or linebackers? Iowa returned Abdul Hodge and Chad Greenway at the linebackers. Ferentz said something along the lines of ‘Well, since I have the linebackers still here, I guess I should say them.â€
Iowa started freshmen Mitch King and Matt Kroul at tackles along with Bryan Mattison and Ken Iwebema at ends. Iowa wound up allowing 126 rushing yards per game that year, roughly the same territory as the 2009 Iowa defense. They allowed 380-ish total yards and 20 points per game. Those are not bad figures, they just aren’t the ‘norm’ under Norm Parker. This most glaring weakness of that defense was its inability to get opponents off the field; teams converted 45% of their third down attempts against Iowa. Iowa’s offense averaged 30 points per game that year and 432 yards per game, one of the better offensive groups as far as production goes. Iowa also only turned the ball over 17 times all season, but that defense forced just 16 turnovers.
Iowa did not routinely win the battle up front, they didn’t create a lot of turnovers and they were not really remarkable in any of the primary defensive categories.
It all starts up front…that’s an age old cliche, and and Ferentz says, things are cliches because they are true.
This year for Iowa, as it heads into a season full of hope and promise coming off the highest end of season ranking since the late 1950’s and their biggest bowl win since the same decade, things are going to start and end up front on the offensive line. The defense? No worries, man. No worries.
Iowa loses four multiyear starters along the offensive line in Dace Richardson, Bryan Bulaga, Rafael Eubanks and Kyle Calloway. That is a lot for any school, and it’s a lot for Iowa. The Hawkeyes are also going to be a bit ‘undersized’ relative to where they have been in recent years, probably averaging around 285 pounds on the hoof for 2010. Emphasis on technique will be as strong as it ever has been.
The last time Iowa was this young entering a season was back in 2007. That team averaged just 126 rushing yards per game, in the same territory as the 2009 Hawkeyes. The defense allowed just 18.8 points per game, but the offense scored just 18.5 per game. Jake Christensen was sacked more times than any quarterback in the FBS that year, as Iowa allowed a total of 46. For those of you new to the game, that’s very, very bad. Some of that was on Jake, but most of it was on a very young offensive line. Jake was also a first year starter that year, where Iowa will have a third year starter in Rick Stanzi heading into this season he has a career mark of 18-4 as the #1 under center.
Iowa also has a much deeper and more experienced collection of receivers this year than they did in 2007, and the 2010 Iowa defense should be fearsome. The Hawkeyes return both kicking specialists this year, too. But the 2007 team converted just 32% of its third downs, again due to a young line and a young quarterback.
Here was the pre-camp two deep heading into August of 2007:
LT 78 Dace Richardson 6-6 305 Jr./60 Kyle Calloway 6-7 305 So.
LG 68 Andy Kuempel 6-7 295 So./74 Dan Doering 6-7 300 So.
C 52 Rafael Eubanks 6-3 285 So./58 Rob Bruggeman 6-3 287 Jr.
RG 75 Wesley Aeschliman 6-8 318 Jr./61 Travis Meade 6-2 285 So. or 63 Jul. Vandervelde 6-3 295 #Fr.
RT 71 Seth Olsen 6-5 305 Jr./ 72 * Tyler Blum 6-6 285 So. or 76 Alex Kanellis 6-4 295 Jr.
Neither Kuempel or Doering emerged at guard. Richardson would get injured, Bruggeman had a knee injury in the spring and never played, Meade saw duty as did Vandervelde, Seth Olseon was the best of the bunch, Kanellis never saw the field again due to concussions and Blum’s back injury ended a promising career before it ever got going.
None of those players at that time was as good as Riley Reiff is right now; Reiff will be an anchor at left tackle. Vandervelde has as much experience going into his senior season as any of those players listed above, and Adam Gettis has started a few games. Unless injuries decimate this year’s bunch, I would expect for them to be better than the 2007 group, but health is going to be so critical for this year’s offensive line I shudder to think about what a few injuries could mean to the 2010 Iowa season.
There will be names that have yet to make their mark in the psyches of Iowa fans who will step up and take the reigns this year. Just who those players will be will depend on spring and fall camp.
NEXT UP: A look at the resumes of the teams that Iowa will be ‘competing’ with in the polls for the early part of 2010 and the holes in their resume…everyone, or nearly everyone, has a few holes.
