Hot off the press...pre-camp two deeps...

Maybe I've been out of football mode for so long I'm having a brain fart, but Collin Sleeper??? Doesn't ring a bell at all , read he's a former walk-on is this KF throwing him a bone like he usually does with walk ons in early 2 deeps. Or is he really the the leading canditate at strong safety and I'm just not remembering him at all.
 


He seems legit. We have been hearing about him since Bowl prep. But you never really know. I think a lot depends on Miller's situation.
 




WhitUp said:
Maybe I've been out of football mode for so long I'm having a brain fart, but Collin Sleeper??? Doesn't ring a bell at all , read he's a former walk-on is this KF throwing him a bone like he usually does with walk ons in early 2 deeps. Or is he really the the leading canditate at strong safety and I'm just not remembering him at all.
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Walk-ons at safety? ... at Iowa? ... never would happen!

Ooops .... how about Pagel, Considine, and Greenwood?
 


HawkinGoferLand said:
Sleeper is fast IIRC
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Yep ... he's supposed to be pretty darn quick and fast. Furthermore, he's gotten a lot of reps over the past 2 spring camps. As Ferentz has mentioned ... he's been caught behind some multi-year starters ... and that is part of the reason why we hadn't heard much about him before.
 


I really like the depth on both the OL and DL. Back when the Cowboys were winning SuperBowls in Dallas under Jimmy J they used extensive rotation on the DL specifically and feel like we will be in a good position to do so with this roster.
 


Take it for what it's worth but I heard that Sleeper is one of the most athletic/quickest guys on the team and holds at least one of the agility records for the program.
 




I've heard Bernstine is switching to safety and will challenge for a starting job. No offense to Colin Sleeper, but I would feel much better with a guy like Bernstine at safety.
 


Why, because Bernstine has been so impressive in his Hawk career?

Seriously guys, isn't it time to get over the high school recruiting rankings from half a decade ago?

Seriously, there is a reason KF runs the program, not Lemming.
 


Not really concerned with Castillo, this is the complete opposite of last year when Hyde came in and was pretty raw. Castillo has played and this is his 3rd year in the program. Teams are going to go after him, but as Jon pointed out with Iowa's two deep coverage with help over the top, at most Castillo will be on a island by himself 3 or maybe 4 times a game.


As for Berstine seems like a jack of all trades, master of none which creates good depth. The way Berstine is put together physically teases you a little bit you would assume he could step out on the field and dominate, but that is just not the case.
 


CAARHawk said:
The defensive line situation is light years from 2005.

Binns is an experienced starter. Daniels was at least a part time starter last year. Daniel has a bunch of quality game reps, and Alvis was recording stats until he got injured last year and it is his third Summer camp.

Seriously, it's not even close to 2005.
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The difference between '05 and '11 is quite obviously HUGE. Dominic Alvis, a SO, has garnered much more legit buzz than ANY of the guys who ended up regular starters in '05. Furthermore, Alvis is just as experienced and potentially more experienced than any of the top guys on the DL in '05.

Now the fun part .... Binns, Daniels, Daniel, and Bigach are all more experienced than Alvis. Furthermore, Binns and Daniels have generated a lot more legit buzz through their careers too. Of course, that should be the case because they're upperclassmen.

The '05 DL not only had to get up to game-speed on the field and get used to being every-down starters ... but they also had to continue to gain familiarity with our system and get better at executing the fundamentals. In stark contrast, the '11 DL is littered with guys who know our scheme very well, know their fundamentals really well, and a few who are already up to game speed and know what is required to be every-down starters.

The only "veteran" on the '05 DL was Follet ... and he was backup SR who never had received many prior reps on the DL. On the '11 DL we have A TON of SRs ... we have Binns, Daniels, Daniel, Forgy, and Nardo. I had never really heard much of any buzz coming out about Follet. In contrast, Binns, Daniels, Daniel, and Forgy have all generated at least some buzz. Thus, we're not just talking about a bunch of SRs who are just warm bodies ... we're talking about guys who are capable of playing at a high enough level to garner some real praise. Of course, one could argue about why the guys didn't see more reps if they were, in fact, so good ... however, the answer there centers around the fact that they were playing behind some really impressive guys.
 
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A fun personnel contrast for the kids at home ....

2005 DL:
Follet - SR, DE
Willcox - SO, DT (injured through much of the season)
Mattison - SO, DE
Iwebema - SO, DE
Spratt - SO or RS FR (can't remember), DE
Kroul - RS FR, DT
King - RS FR, DT
Bentler - RS FR, DE
Narinskiy - RS FR, DE
Bain - TR FR, DT
Kanellis - TR FR, DE
Jackson - TR FR, DT
Blum - TR FR, DE (injured)

2011 DL:
Binns - SR, DE
Daniels - SR, DT
Daniel - SR, DE
Forgy - SR, DE
Nardo - SR, DT
Bigach - JR, DT
Gaglione - JR, DE
Alvis - SO, DE/DT
Hardy - RS FR, DE
Davis - RS FR, DT
Trinca-Pasat - RS FR, DT
Heissel - RS FR, DE/DT
Cooper - TR FR, DT
Tsopanides - TR FR, DE/DT
Raymon - TR FR, DE
McMinn - TR FR, DE
 
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homerHAWKeye777 said:
A fun personnel contrast for the kids at home ....

2005 DL:
Follet - SR, DE
Willcox - SO, DT (injured through much of the season)
Mattison - SO, DE
Iwebema - SO, DE
Spratt - SO or RS FR (can't remember), DE
Kroul - RS FR, DT
King - RS FR, DT
Bentler - RS FR, DE
Narinskiy - RS FR, DE
Bain - TR FR, DT
Kanellis - TR FR, DE
Jackson - TR FR, DT
Blum - TR FR, DE (injured)

2011 DL:
Binns - SR, DE
Daniels - SR, DT
Daniel - SR, DE
Forgy - SR, DE
Nardo - SR, DT
Bigach - JR, DT
Gaglione - JR, DE
Alvis - SO, DE/DT
Hardy - RS FR, DE
Davis - RS FR, DT
Trinca-Pasat - RS FR, DT
Heissel - RS FR, DE/DT
Cooper - TR FR, DT
Tsopanides - TR FR, DE/DT
Raymon - TR FR, DE
McMinn - TR FR, DE
Click to expand...

Solid work per usual Homer, very telling. As much for the snap shot it shows of the overall class break down and the seemingly good health of our program. Starkly better than 2005, at least on paper.

Chad
 


cmhawks99 said:
Solid work per usual Homer, very telling. As much for the snap shot it shows of the overall class break down and the seemingly good health of our program. Starkly better than 2005, at least on paper.

Chad
Click to expand...

Frankly I was a little more worried about our 2012 DL being more like our 2005 DL ... at least, experience-wise.

A lot of Iowa fans seem to believe that Iowa always tries to lean just on 4 or 5 guys on the DL. However, I think that really happens when we have an obvious 4 or 5 to lean on.

If folks look back to the '05 season, Iowa gave Willcox, King, Kroul, Mattison, Iwebema, Follet, Bain, and Kanellis all a good number of quality reps. We legitimately went 8-deep that year because we really didn't have any brand-name guys.

Heck, in '08, even though we had stalwart 4th year starters in King and Kroul ... we still gave Geary, Binns, Klug, and Daniels a good many quality reps. Thus, we legitimately went 8-deep that year as well!

To jump a little bit more through the years, here's the breakdown as I recall it:

'02: 6 deep [starters + Roth, Derreck Robinson]
'03: 7 deep [original starters + Neubauer, Robinson, Luebke]
'04: 4 deep [starters]
'05: 8 deep [original starters + King, Bain, Follet, Kanellis]
'06: 7 deep [starters + Bain, Kanellis, Ewen]
'07: 7 deep [starters + Geary, Clayborn, Ballard]
'08: 8 deep [starters + Geary, Binns, Klug, Daniels]
'09: 5 deep [starters + Daniels]
'10: 5-6 deep [starters + Binns, Daniel]

As is readily apparent, over the past 2 years, Iowa has leaned MORE on FEWER guys. However, as history seems to indicate, it's equally clear that Iowa has gone 7 or 8 deep with some frequency as well. Of course, we often have gone deeper into our depth due to injuries ... however, given the typical quality of Iowa's D ... we don't often missed too much of a beat.
 




homerHAWKeye777 said:
Frankly I was a little more worried about our 2012 DL being more like our 2005 DL ... at least, experience-wise.

A lot of Iowa fans seem to believe that Iowa always tries to lean just on 4 or 5 guys on the DL. However, I think that really happens when we have an obvious 4 or 5 to lean on.

If folks look back to the '05 season, Iowa gave Willcox, King, Kroul, Mattison, Iwebema, Follet, Bain, and Kanellis all a good number of quality reps. We legitimately went 8-deep that year because we really didn't have any brand-name guys.

Heck, in '08, even though we had stalwart 4th year starters in King and Kroul ... we still gave Geary, Binns, Klug, and Daniels a good many quality reps. Thus, we legitimately went 8-deep that year as well!

To jump a little bit more through the years, here's the breakdown as I recall it:

'02: 6 deep [starters + Roth, Derreck Robinson]
'03: 7 deep [original starters + Neubauer, Robinson, Luebke]
'04: 4 deep [starters]
'05: 8 deep [original starters + King, Bain, Follet, Kanellis]
'06: 7 deep [starters + Bain, Kanellis, Ewen]
'07: 7 deep [starters + Geary, Clayborn, Ballard]
'08: 8 deep [starters + Geary, Binns, Klug, Daniels]
'09: 5 deep [starters + Daniels]
'10: 5-6 deep [starters + Binns, Daniel]

As is readily apparent, over the past 2 years, Iowa has leaned MORE on FEWER guys. However, as history seems to indicate, it's equally clear that Iowa has gone 7 or 8 deep with some frequency as well. Of course, we often have gone deeper into our depth due to injuries ... however, given the typical quality of Iowa's D ... we don't often missed too much of a beat.
Click to expand...


Yes I too have "looked ahead" and been concerned, but I see several youngsters getting quality reps this coming year and we will likely have at least one returning starter which is still more than none (2005), which if you flash back it really is remarkable how much preseason pub we got losing ALL 4-starters! And honestly 2 very upsetting breakdowns aside (UM & NW) that was a very good team and this team (2011) has way more quality talent, depth and experience than that team did. I am more and more convinced if the attitude and chemistry come around and a little consistent momentum, this is a special year coming towards us.

On a corollary note, I have seen it suggested, as have you Homer, if Bigach could have ever stayed healthy he may already be a star. They have been very fond of his upside for some time as they have of Alvis,. Furthermore here comes Joe Gaglione, a 2 star kid who had about 20 sacks his senior year. He has been hurt a lot, yet here he now is as a rs Jr on the deeps. There will be several success stories this year I am just sure of it.

I think it is also quite interesting that Alvis is currently listed first team, inside at Tackle. That tells me that what we have heard about him is true, very disruptive and they have to get him on the field. It also tells me, Lebron is more than just serviceable at DE.

Keep your ears to the ground guys, this team has some talent and as homer likes to say....buZZZZZ, going on.

Chad

PS.........KF & Norm just love those wiry rangy guys inside at D-tackle, and seeing how well it has worked for us. Color me excited.
 
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cmhawks99 said:
On a corollary note, I have seen it suggested, as have you Homer, if Bigach could have ever stayed healthy he may already be a star. They have been very fond of his upside for some time as they have of Alvis,. Furthermore here comes Joe Gaglione, a 2 star kid who had about 20 sacks his senior year. He has been hurt a lot, yet here he now is as a rs Jr on the deeps. There will be several success stories this year I am just sure of it.

I think it is also quite interesting that Alvis is currently listed first team, inside at Tackle. That tells me that what we have heard about him is true, very disruptive and they have to get him on the field. It also tells me, Lebron is more than just serviceable at DE.
Click to expand...

A few words about Gaglione ...

- After Gaglione's first year at Iowa there was an interesting MIXED REVIEW that I had heard about him. He seemed to have great success when it came to physical development ... a lot of folks where talking about his impressive frame and how he put on a lot of really good weight. However, from an older "source" I had from OH ... the word was that his positional development had been rather slow. The issue seemed to be that he was a LB in high school and a lot of his penetration was through gaping open holes and he was also pretty used to lining up further away from the ball. Thus, it was really tough for him to get used to battling with D1-level o-linemen ... getting used to the speed of play on the line ... you just don't have the luxury of "time" to react. You have to know your reads, trust your fundamentals, and just play fast. It's not easy for every guy to get down ... and consequently the transition from LB to DL was a pretty tough one for Gaglione.

- In addition to what I heard above, there's also the issue that Gaglione has battled some health issues. It's hard for player to improve their skills when they're not healthy enough to participate in position drills. It's hard for a player to improve when they're not able to put their performance on film ... so they can then grade themselves out and learn from what they do right and wrong.

- Just this past spring, my ears really perked up when Binns or Daniels were asking which guys seemed to be looking pretty good. Among the names listed ... Gaglione was one of them.

- And now, with Alvis, Heissel, Hardy, and Forgy each showing enough to get their name up on the depth chart since the start of spring ... it's now Gaglione whose name is listed on the depth chart at DE. Interesting and intriguing indeed!
 


cmhawks99 said:
On a corollary note, I have seen it suggested, as have you Homer, if Bigach could have ever stayed healthy he may already be a star. They have been very fond of his upside for some time as they have of Alvis.
Click to expand...

As for Bigach, he started off as a LB and then subsequently put on a lot of weight ... and what garnered some pretty impressive buzz was that it was all GOOD WEIGHT and that we was "quick, quick, quick." He apparently was pretty explosive off of the LOS and had above-average quickness. Of course, on the flip side, the guy has also been injured a lot through the past year or two.

While I would say that Bigach has garnered some legit buzz, I'd also say that he's never earned praise to the same degree that King, Klug, and now Alvis had/have. Thus, while I think that Bigach will be able to be a contributer if he remains healthy ... I'm going to measure my expectations until I hear more legit buzz.

I'd love for Bigach to earn the sort of buzz/praise that Angerer did during the spring of '08. Angerer pretty much came out of nowhere and knocked the coaches off their socks. Angerer basically went from being a guy who wasn't even in the discussion for a spot on the depth chart to being a guy who was the leading contender for a STARTING spot! Man, it would be awesome if we got a few of those types of stories emerging from 2-a-days.
 


cmhawks99 said:
Yes I too have "looked ahead" and been concerned, but I see several youngsters getting quality reps this coming year and we will likely have at least one returning starter which is still more than none (2005), which if you flash back it really is remarkable how much preseason pub we got losing ALL 4-starters!
Click to expand...

By breaking down the depth of our D, going off of the performance of the young guys who played in '10, going off of who is earning legit buzz, and going off of the quality and position-distribution of our recruits ... it really appears that our D could end up being freaky-good in '13.

The biggest question for the '12 D, as I see it, is how well we're going to be able to be able to replace 5 SRs on the DL ... all of whom are on the depth chart (Binns, Daniels, Daniel, Forgy, Nardo). Ferentz has pretty much voiced the same concerns recently as well.

It would appear that we'll be able to definitely consider Alvis as "starting material" as we enter the '12 season. Furthermore, provided that they remain healthy, I'm willing to bet that Bigach and Carl Davis will both earn quality reps during the course of the season.

However, the above scenario then still begs the question ... who will we have to man the DE spots? Prior to seeing Alvis at DT, I would have had previously had him pegged as a starting DE in 2012. Obviously, that still may end up being the case. However, it still suggests that we might have to rely upon relative "unknowns" to emerge for us at DE.

The above consideration makes me all the more curious about Gaglione and his development. One thing that I'm less skeptical about is that I'm willing to bet that Hardy ends up being a top contender for a starting DE spot in '12. The question is ... how much experience will Hardy be bringing to the table in '12? That, I don't know!

The crazy thing is that we should really be SET when it comes to our back 7 in 2012 ... and that's even accounting for the graduation of Nielsen and Prater. Furthermore, provided that Reiff sticks around for year 5 ... much like Carimi did for Wisky and Gallery did for us a while back ... the Iowa O should really be in BEAST MODE!

The future is so frackin' bright ... I just can't contain my excitement and optimism sometimes. LOL ... go figure, me being optimistic!
 


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