Iowa Post-Spring Position Analysis: DL

[RobHowe]

Hawkeye Defense Expected to Be Deep in Trenches

https://www.si.com/college/iowa/football/iowa-post-spring-position-analysis-dl

 

[Fryowa]

I don't know how you could ask for a better 4 man squad than having Black and Graves come in for some relief plays while you get your lungs back.

What a luxury.

That said, I don't think Graves stays in the 2 spot all season.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

I don't know how you could ask for a better 4 man squad than having Black and Graves come in for some relief plays while you get your lungs back.

What a luxury.

That said, I don't think Graves stays in the 2 spot all season.

Agreed! I think Graves has a motor that reminds me of Jared DeVries.

 

[Fryowa]

Agreed! I think Graves has a motor that reminds me of Jared DeVries.

I wish Shannon was 3 inches taller and then he'd almost certainly get a sniff in the league.

It's gotta be a crappy feeling to be limited to a single digit percentage chance because of something you have no control over and can't change.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Agreed! I think Graves has a motor that reminds me of Jared DeVries.

Nice comp I agree DeVries was a stud too. Primarily we had him at DT and so far so has Graves and if he gets a little bigger he'll probably stay there and not be pushed to DE much if at all. He's going to be tough to take off the field. This Dline is like 9 or 10 dudes deep I think. It'll be a full time job for Bell and Phil to decide how to rotate them all. The days of when Clayborn, Bins Ballard and Klug all played like 80% or more of the snaps are long gone.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I don't know how you could ask for a better 4 man squad than having Black and Graves come in for some relief plays while you get your lungs back.

What a luxury.

That said, I don't think Graves stays in the 2 spot all season.

I dunno, being a back-up DL at Iowa pays pretty well these days I hear.

 

[HawkPowerlifter]

What's great about this type of rotation is the constant pressure we can put on an offense. It's not just the idea of a body subbing in but there's a lot of talent there as well. As just noted, LVN benefitted even though he didn't start.

This could very easily be a selling point to a future prospect. Being an underclassman, but knowing you may be part of a rotation that gets plenty of reps even though you're not starting.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

What's great about this type of rotation is the constant pressure we can put on an offense. It's not just the idea of a body subbing in but there's a lot of talent there as well. As just noted, LVN benefitted even though he didn't start.

This could very easily be a selling point to a future prospect. Being an underclassman, but knowing you may be part of a rotation that gets plenty of reps even though you're not starting.

Bingo. We had that one season with Clayborn and Ballard where the starting 4 played almost every snap and they would absolutely get gassed by the 4th. Having an 8 man-rotation allows everyone to get after every snap knowing they might only play 4-5 plays at a time. This group should be very good, if not dominating.