Impressions on who might finish off the '11 recruiting class

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
As a reminder, the current list of verbal commits are:

- Grant (WR)
- Vincent (WR)
- Shepherd (WR) [soft]
- Krieger-Coble (TE)
- Hamilton (TE)
- Blythe (OG)
- Rudock (QB)
- Raymon (DE)

Guys who I think Iowa has a great shot to land are:

- Hounshell (DL/OL)
- Fisher (LB)
- Allen (OG/C)
- 2 out of Coe/Gordon/Hayes/Miller

Guys who I think Iowa has a good chance to land are:

- 1 out of Campbell/Kirby
- French
- Zettel (upgrade to a great shot if Michigan tanks)
- 1 out of Walsh/Martin (but neither if we land Zettel)
- 1 WR/DB type ATH (a guy like Jennings/Shuler)
- 1 TE/LB/DE type ATH (a guy like Duzey/Orloff)
- more surprises

Past those guys, I'm a little at a loss. I expect for us to nab more guys on the DL, however, it's not at all clear to me who we'll get there. If we land Zettel, he's definitely a guy who could land on the DL just as easily as on the OL. Obviously French is a guy who could be ultra dangerous on O if his hands improve ... however, until then, he's an absolutely exciting prospect at LB or DE.

I kinda anticipate that we could potentially try to land 4 guys on the OL. So far, I really only have us pegged to land 3 guys on the OL though.
 
Homer in my estimation its harder this year to see where they may go with recruits because we are stockpiling very good players and the weaknesses aren't easy to see.
I do believe we would like to pick up more high level kids in the the Defensive backfield because we always seem to have to teach our Dbs to be good vs. great players we just have to tweak to play at a high level.
I really hope we can win big some this year so we can get a volume of players some reps and give them the taste of success to stay and help Iowa become a perennial beast in College Football.
The RB position is one that concerns me alot because of the talent we have there.
 
I think we'd love to see more D-backs as well, but Sanders, Considine, Godfrey, Sash and Amari haven't been chopped liver. The great thing about the Hawks is it isn't a single position coach or 5 stars that have pushed people to their potential.

We are known for our o-line, but the D-line is where we currently excel. We've had a few recent linebackers in the league, our tight ends seem to always be NFL bound, and that kid who won the Doak Walker thing is doing all right too.

It always amazes me that more recruits don't see what is happening with player development in Iowa City and jump on the bus.

I expect we'll see a couple or three signees that no one knows about that the staff is working on, but like last year the class is filling fairly early on for Hawkeye standards and to me that always bodes well. If the coaches are getting who they offer early in the process I think we're in great shape.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
Homer in my estimation its harder this year to see where they may go with recruits because we are stockpiling very good players and the weaknesses aren't easy to see.
I do believe we would like to pick up more high level kids in the the Defensive backfield because we always seem to have to teach our Dbs to be good vs. great players we just have to tweak to play at a high level.
I really hope we can win big some this year so we can get a volume of players some reps and give them the taste of success to stay and help Iowa become a perennial beast in College Football.
The RB position is one that concerns me alot because of the talent we have there.
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BALDIES -

I agree that we need to land some more quality guys for the secondary. However, a tough thing about the secondary is that it's hard to evaluate guys there ... particularly at CB. If you look at the Illini ... their stud CB, Hawthorne, was considered by most to be a highly touted WR prospect. It turns out that he has the chops to be a mighty fine CB too.

If you look at Iowa's Spievey ... he was primarily a star on O in high school. It turns out that Iowa saw the raw materials that he brought to the table and felt that they could help mold him into a good CB. It turns out that Spievey was able to develop himself into the best Ferentz-era CB we've had.

Anyhow, I anticipate that Iowa will likely nab at least 1 CB recruit and then go after a few safety recruits too. The very fact that Shumpert is getting a look at WR first tells me that the coaches are comfortable with what they have at safety ... however, it also tells me that they intend to get more safeties in the '11 recruiting class.
 
Homer- Just your thoughts on who is most likely to come to Iowa of the 4 RBs. Do you think Coe is a good shot or not so much? And what about DeAnthony Arnett, do we have a shot. I like the way the kid handles himself in interviews and could be great at Iowa. Also for CB, Showers has us listed, but do we have a shot, and what about Kirby? Also is that the position that Torrey Campbell would be slotted for? Thanks
 
hawkfarmer said:
Homer- Just your thoughts on who is most likely to come to Iowa of the 4 RBs. Do you think Coe is a good shot or not so much? And what about DeAnthony Arnett, do we have a shot. I like the way the kid handles himself in interviews and could be great at Iowa. Also for CB, Showers has us listed, but do we have a shot, and what about Kirby? Also is that the position that Torrey Campbell would be slotted for? Thanks
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hawkfarmer -

I probably like our chances the least with Hayes ... and that is largely because I anticipate that it will be tough to pry him out of state. However, if Hayes does land out of state, I would say that Iowa would possibly be a favorite (he has family ties to the Hawks, after all).

As for Coe, if proximity to family ends up being a trumping factor (and it often is), then I would anticipate that that would help Iowa big-time. It's important to note that Coe has listed favorites twice ... and Iowa has been the only constant on each list. Thus, I really think that Iowa has a great chance of landing him.

As for Miller, I don't know why I like Iowa's chances so much ... however, it may have something to do with the fact that Iowa was one of the first programs to offer him ... and Iowa is also now one of the programs putting on the hardest full-court presses on him.

Lastly, there is Gordon. Iowa has pretty much always sat in a really good position to land Gordon ... however, from everything I have gathered, Wisky has really been putting on the full-court press on the kid. Whether we like it or not, Brett can be one hell of a recruiter and Wisky can offer a lot to an RB ... thus, I unfortunately see Wisky having a decent shot of pulling Gordon away from us. They've even gone so far as to offer his buddy (and fellow high school teammate), Waynes, at safety. Thus, it would appear that Wisky is trying to get a package deal with those guys. We'll have to see if Iowa can ward off those advances or not.

Sorry that I'm unable to be definitive about anything there ... however, I am excited about our chances of landing 2 of them. It's also intriguing to not that while there are still plenty of talented RBs out there ... Iowa hasn't given out any new RB offers (or, at least, no new ones that anybody has heard of). Thus, that speaks to me that the coaches are pretty confident and comfortable with their chances of landing some pretty darn high-quality RBs in this recruiting class. Thus, that's why I'm so confident too. My problem is that I have no clue which ones we'll actually land!

As for Arnett ... I have no clue about the kid. Like everybody else, I'd love it if we could land the young man. However, I cannot say that I'm particularly convinced that we have that great of shot to land him. We'll see though ....
 
What I find particularly intriguing is Iowa's LB recruiting for the 2011 recruiting class. Despite our tremendous success in developing LB talent ... the coaches do not appear to be recruiting from a position of power or confidence there. Even though I like our chance to land Fisher ... I imagine that the coaches are still of the opinion that Fisher is one Husker offer away from being off the table.

I suppose that also explains why the Hawks seem to have more recent offers going out to Duzey and Orloff. Heck, since around the time of the summer camps, Iowa has given out quite a number of LB (or similar) offers ... like to Fredrick, Davis, Duzey, and Orloff (and Daniel got an offer not too long before then either, if memory serves).

And yet, I can't say that I'm under the impression that Iowa is the leader for any of the aforementioned recruits, other than Fisher. Kinda bizarre ....
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
What I find particularly intriguing is Iowa's LB recruiting for the 2011 recruiting class. Despite our tremendous success in developing LB talent ... the coaches do not appear to be recruiting from a position of power or confidence there. Even though I like our chance to land Fisher ... I imagine that the coaches are still of the opinion that Fisher is one Husker offer away from being off the table.

I suppose that also explains why the Hawks seem to have more recent offers going out to Duzey and Orloff. Heck, since around the time of the summer camps, Iowa has given out quite a number of LB (or similar) offers ... like to Fredrick, Davis, Duzey, and Orloff (and Daniel got an offer not too long before then either, if memory serves).

And yet, I can't say that I'm under the impression that Iowa is the leader for any of the aforementioned recruits, other than Fisher. Kinda bizarre ....
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They are seeing who's in front of them. Coe would be wise to chose Iowa because it leaves him a strong fall back option if he grows too big to play RB.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
They are seeing who's in front of them. Coe would be wise to chose Iowa because it leaves him a strong fall back option if he grows too big to play RB.
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It appears to me that the coaches are maybe trying to target more LEO-type LBs in the 2011 class. While I'm stoked about Iowa's 2010 LB haul ... my honest impression is that it appears that we recruited 2 guys who project really well at the WILL spot (Morris and Kirksey) and 2 guys who project really well at the MIKE spot (Gray and Poggi). Poggi is pretty much the only guy who I see as potentially projecting pretty well at the LEO spot ... however, even then, the LEO spot seems to be filled best by a guy who is "long." I think that is a big reason why the coaches were going after Ishmael Thomas last year. Similarly, if you look at who we've gone after in the 2011 LB class ... a ton of them are 6-3 or taller and most of them have pretty darn nice speed.

As for the bolded comment, who is in front of them? At this juncture, from my vantage, the Iowa LB group is still exceptionally top heavy. We're going to lose 4 high quality SRs after the 2010 season (Hunter, Tarp, Johnson, and Tillison) and we're going to lose 2 more high quality guys after the 2011 season (Davis and Nielsen).
 
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homerHAWKeye777 said:
It appears to me that the coaches are maybe trying to target more LEO-type LBs in the 2011 class. While I'm stoked about Iowa's 2010 LB haul ... my honest impression is that it appears that we recruited 2 guys who project really well at the WILL spot (Morris and Kirksey) and 2 guys who project really well at the MIKE spot (Gray and Poggi). Poggi is pretty much the only guy who I see as potentially projecting pretty well at the LEO spot ... however, even then, the LEO spot seems to be filled best by a guy who is "long." I think that is a big reason why the coaches were going after Ishmael Thomas last year. Similarly, if you look at who we've gone after in the 2011 LB class ... a ton of them are 6-3 or taller and most of them have pretty darn nice speed.

As for the bolded comment, who is in front of them? At this juncture, from my vantage, the Iowa LB group is still exceptionally top heavy. We're going to lose 4 high quality SRs after the 2010 season (Hunter, Tarp, Johnson, and Tillison) and we're going to lose 2 more high quality guys after the 2011 season (Davis and Nielsen).
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If Iowa lands French he'd project to a weakside LB, or a rush end.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
It appears to me that the coaches are maybe trying to target more LEO-type LBs in the 2011 class. While I'm stoked about Iowa's 2010 LB haul ... my honest impression is that it appears that we recruited 2 guys who project really well at the WILL spot (Morris and Kirksey) and 2 guys who project really well at the MIKE spot (Gray and Poggi). Poggi is pretty much the only guy who I see as potentially projecting pretty well at the LEO spot ... however, even then, the LEO spot seems to be filled best by a guy who is "long." I think that is a big reason why the coaches were going after Ishmael Thomas last year. Similarly, if you look at who we've gone after in the 2011 LB class ... a ton of them are 6-3 or taller and most of them have pretty darn nice speed.

As for the bolded comment, who is in front of them? At this juncture, from my vantage, the Iowa LB group is still exceptionally top heavy. We're going to lose 4 high quality SRs after the 2010 season (Hunter, Tarp, Johnson, and Tillison) and we're going to lose 2 more high quality guys after the 2011 season (Davis and Nielsen).
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IMO most kids want to play and with 4 good recruits all having not played yet because we are top heavy would indicate there will alot of competition for LB positions in 2011.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
IMO most kids want to play and with 4 good recruits all having not played yet because we are top heavy would indicate there will alot of competition for LB positions in 2011.
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Those 4 kids haven't played yet because they're not on campus yet, but I agree with you that they see we have taken 4 LBs last year so not so willing to hop on board and be 1 year starters their senior years. MAYBE. I would think that next year's LB recruiting class would probably be a little better, or there would be more interest anyway.

One question is how do the OU, USC, ND, OSU's of the world do that every year then, if they bring in so many talented recruits at each posiition every year?
 
hawkfarmer said:
Those 4 kids haven't played yet because they're not on campus yet, but I agree with you that they see we have taken 4 LBs last year so not so willing to hop on board and be 1 year starters their senior years. MAYBE. I would think that next year's LB recruiting class would probably be a little better, or there would be more interest anyway.

One question is how do the OU, USC, ND, OSU's of the world do that every year then, if they bring in so many talented recruits at each posiition every year?
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Kids come to Iowa to play football. Many of the recruits that go to the elite programs go there because they can say they went there or the possibility of playing some.
 
BALDIES7980 said:
Kids come to Iowa to play football. Many of the recruits that go to the elite programs go there because they can say they went there or the possibility of playing some.
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LOL, what in the world are you talking about? Kids go to "elite programs" for more national exposure, better facilities, chances for national titles, etc. Thinking Iowa recruits a different type of athlete is ridiculous, just look at all the kids that Iowa offers that end up at "elite programs".....
 
BALDIES7980 said:
IMO most kids want to play and with 4 good recruits all having not played yet because we are top heavy would indicate there will alot of competition for LB positions in 2011.
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One issue to remember is that we'll likely see 2 LB-types seeing early playing time as TR FR in 2010. Those same guys would then likely be favorites for starting spots ... however, it would also mean that 2011 LBs would have more than just 1 year to start, at least if they redshirt.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
- 1 out of Campbell/Kirby
- French
- Zettel (upgrade to a great shot if Michigan tanks)
- 1 out of Walsh/Martin (but neither if we land Zettel)
- 1 WR/DB type ATH (a guy like Jennings/Shuler)
- 1 TE/LB/DE type ATH (a guy like Duzey/Orloff)
- more surprises

Past those guys, I'm a little at a loss. I expect for us to nab more guys on the DL, however, it's not at all clear to me who we'll get there. If we land Zettel, he's definitely a guy who could land on the DL just as easily as on the OL. Obviously French is a guy who could be ultra dangerous on O if his hands improve ... however, until then, he's an absolutely exciting prospect at LB or DE.
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LOL ... I had a good feeling about Duzey and Orloff ... I just didn't believe that we'd land BOTH of them. VERY cool!

As for our DE recruiting ... McMinn was certainly a pleasant surprise. We'll probably land another too ... who that will be, I have no idea!
 
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