Humble A.J. Epenesa A Perfect Hit for Hawkeye Football
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
EstronHawkKing
Well-Known Member
anyone here think he should have red shirted last season. Kind of felt like he wasted a year with lack of playing time
Seth53
Well-Known Member
Could have used the new redshirt rule last year eh?
No, because he can use that rs in the future if he needs to. Ie: Drew Ott.
If a freshman is talented enough to significantly contribute, why burn a free pass that could be of use later? Unless you are legit 2 deep and going to the national championship every year. In that case you are 3rd and you should probably rs.
Not to mention really good players usually have the chance to leave early. So again if they can significantly contribute right away........
Fryowa
Administrator
You’re wrong. If Epenesa had the new redshirt rule to take advantage of he could have played four full games and not used a year of eligibility. Basically now you’re allowed 52 games instead of 48 in your career. I guarantee you if this rule had been around the coaches would have used it on him.
He’ll be a starter next year, and with this rule they would have had him as a full time starter for 3 years instead of 2. Total no-brainer.
He was 2nd on the team in sacks last year. He led the team in QB hurries. 6th on the team in TFL. I am not sure how many snaps he averaged per game, but I am guessing it was at least 20.
That is not the kind of production you can expect from a replacement-level player, nor something you want to just use 4 times out of a 13 game schedule.
The coaches did something everyone is always clamoring for: they took a talented player who had some holes in his game, and they found a way to deploy him highly effectively in a limited role.
That is not the kind of production you can expect from a replacement-level player, nor something you want to just use 4 times out of a 13 game schedule.
The coaches did something everyone is always clamoring for: they took a talented player who had some holes in his game, and they found a way to deploy him highly effectively in a limited role.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
64 instead of 60. ROLL TIDE.
Who else here thinks there would be a 0% chance that AJ would be around for 5 years anyway? "Find a way to get playmakers time before they're 100% ready" is something that is always talked about on here. They did it. The Kirk of old might have wasted the entire year on him since he still had holes in his game. The Kirk of new slightly underutilized him at the most. Which Kirk is better?
I am excited about the defense this fall. I also can't help but look ahead at next year's defensive lineup and get downright giddy. They will lose 3 important players and leaders to graduation (Hesse, M. Nelson, and Gervase), but they will add 3 talented DTs to their established rotation of Lattimore & Reiff (Lindebaum, Shannon, Nixon); they will have AJE, A. Nelson, Gholston, Simon, Waggoner, etc. at DE; they will return all LBs and most of their backups; and they will return most of the secondary.
Of course, if things go well this year, they could lose some other players off the D to early entry. I would say the most likely losses would be Amani Hooker and A. Nelson. If you squint hard you could imagine Amani Jones, Lattimore, or Ojemudia (sp?) making leaps and being tempted (unlikely, but we would have said the same thing about Josh Jackson at this point last year).
Of course, if things go well this year, they could lose some other players off the D to early entry. I would say the most likely losses would be Amani Hooker and A. Nelson. If you squint hard you could imagine Amani Jones, Lattimore, or Ojemudia (sp?) making leaps and being tempted (unlikely, but we would have said the same thing about Josh Jackson at this point last year).
NikeHawk21
Well-Known Member
I heard they showed a look for third and long situations of AJE and Nelson on the outside and Hesse and Golston on the inside. That could be a very very good pass rushing unit.
We haven't seen much zone blitz for a few years now, but if they wanted to revive that, this 4-man unit would have some athleticism for dropping into coverage.
Future years are concern for another time, I totally agree with you, if a player can contribute, get them on the field.
Exactly.
Yes you could have played him the same way and if he was getting owned after participation in 4 games, rs him, but he wasn't and the pt then becomes invaluable.
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