Iowalaw's Year End Awards

[IowaLawWasRight]

The season has ended on a positive note by blowing out a rival while they're down. We finished 4-5 in Big 10 play, but the coaching staff still received their fat bonuses for achieving mediocrity and qualifying for a pseudo bowl game. We came away beating one team we shouldn't have in dominant fashion, and losing to two teams we shouldn't have. Overall, it was a very Ferentzian year. So here are this year's award recipients:

OFFENSIVE MVP: Akrum Wadley. While Wadley didn't put up the numbers many were hoping for, he still finished 5th in the Big 10 in rushing. That's solid considering he was behind superstars like Saquan Barkley and Jonathan Taylor. He ran for 1021 yards, with 4.4 yards per carry. He also had 329 yards and 3 TDs receiving. Akrum was the catalyst for the offense, and will go down as one of the top backs in Hawkeye history. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and Noah Fant.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Josey Jewel. Jewel led the Big 10 in tackles, with 132 (11.2 per game). Beyond that, he had 4.5 sacks (when was the last time we had a LB with that many sacks?), 13.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Jewel was a vocal leader out there, and will likely be the next Chad Greenway, with a decade long NFL career ahead of him. Honorable Mention: Josh Jackson and Parker Hesse.

FRESHMEN MVP: AJ Epenesa. AJ came in with a lot of hype as a 5 star, US Army All American. He did not disappoint, and is a prime example to support the argument that stars DO matter. As a true frosh, Epenesa tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. I can't remember the last time a Hawkeye freshmen led the team in sacks? Maybe Matt Roth? The guy is going to continue to get bigger and stronger, and should see his role increase as he becomes an every down player. Honorable Mention: Geno Stone and Tristan Wirfs.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Joshua Jackson. Jackson has been on campus for a while, but due to some puzzling personnel decisions by the coaching staff, he came into the season with just 10 tackles and zero interceptions in his career. He responded by being the nation's interception leader (7) and pass breakup leader (18), plus he was 5th on the team in total tackles. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and AJ Epenesa.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Phil Parker. Coach Parker is both the defensive coordinator and secondary coach. While we had very few positions that overachieved this year, the emergence of Josh Jackson after losing a Thorpe award winning CB made the secondary one of them. Parker's defense gave up 20 points per game, and single handedly kept the Hawks in most games, despite being saddled with a bland, predictable offense that churned out an abundance of 3 and outs. Honorable Mention: Ken O'Keefe, QBs coach.

SPIRIT AWARD: Noah Fant. Fant reminds me a lot of Gronkowski, and was a big play waiting to happen. Despite being a TE, he was just 12 yards away from leading the team in receiving, and led the team with 17 yards per reception...which is speedy WR territory. Then there's the record setting 10 touchdowns. It will be fun to see how he develops in the next 2 years. Honorable Mention: Josey Jewell, Josh Jackson.

WORST LUCK OF THE YEAR: Brandon Snyder. Several players from last years squad were expected to have great years this year and didn't. Wadley and Snyder were the guys I had the highest hopes for. Unfortunately, Snyder tore his ACL, then was "miraculously" cleared to play months later in what seemed like record recovery time. Snyder played just one game this year, and had two pass deflections and an 89 yard interception return for a touchdown...before he re-injured his knee. If there was ever a time to question the injury protocol for allowing a guy to play too soon after an injury, this would be a prime example (but of course the sugar coated Iowa media didn't even think to question it). I said it all year last year, and I'll say it again, Snyder is the closest thing we've had to Bob Sanders since Sanders graduated, and hopefully he will be healed and ready to go next year. Honorable Mention: James Butler, Ike Boettger and Boone Meyers.

UNDERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ivory Kelly-Martin. This guy is a stud in the making. He got only 20 carries this season, but averaged 9.2 yards per carry, with 3 touchdowns. The future is bright for Iowa at RB. With that said, I didn't like Kelly-Martin as a KR, where he didn't show much burst or vision back there and averaged just 21 yrds per return as our primary kick returner. Honorable Mention: Aaron Mends, Ryan Gersonde.

OVERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Colton Raestetter. While I tip my hat to the guy for walking on at Iowa and working hard, he was the 14th ranked punter in the Big 10. He averaged just 38 yards per punt, and had less hang time than any punter in Iowa history. For whatever reason, he could shank a punt on one series, fumble a punt on the next, yet the coaches would still sent him out there on each and every subsequent punt. This is known as the Ferentz union card. Honorable Mention: Bo Bower and Manny Rugamba.

OVERHYPED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Smith. Every year, we have a guy who gets a lot of hype coming in, whether based on his performance in the spring game (i.e. Willies, Scheel, Boyle, etc.), his high school stats, or his measurables. This year, we could not read a pre-season story about the Hawks without hearing how Smith was a recruiting steal who would come in and make our WR corp respectable again. While I have a feeling Smith will do just that when all is said and done, this year, he was a nonfactor on an otherwise atrocious WR squad. He finished the 12 game season with 3 catches for 10 yards. By comparison, DE Epenesa finished with more receiving yards, as did long snapper Tyler Kluver and FB Kulik. Honorable Mention: Paulson twins.

 

[thetrza]

I've been waiting all year for this. Thank a lot.

 

[Stanzi]

Solid write up. I will admit I was super high on Brandon Smith coming into the season. Hopefully he will have a breakout sophomore season.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Joshua Jackson. Jackson has been on campus for a while, but due to some puzzling personnel decisions by the coaching staff, he came into the season with just 10 tackles and zero interceptions in his career.

Must practice perfectly...talent and ability are secondary.

 

[iloveyoularrystation]

So i realize this forum is rant central and all. I agree with most of your write up. Your comments on Jackson for newcomer of the year however seem odd. I get it, he was the best corner in college football this year, so its easy to go, he would have been a studd in there last year, the year before, etc. Except if you actually look at a couple things: 1. He was behind two guys, not just one, that are playing on Sundays. 2. If you look at Jackson from the previous years, there were times he made nice plays, but also times he looked completely lost out there.
I think there were some injury issues in there as well. I know hating on our coaching staff is a norm here at hawkeyenation forums, but its not as simple all the time as "See our coaching staff has been holding this kid down!" Is it possible that things clicked for him this year, he took a huge step in bowl prep and in the spring, but in previous years he just wasn't the 2nd best corner on our team. At this time last year nobody here was crying out for Josh Jackson to play everyday, they were calling for ragumba and ojiemudia (i can't spell). Josh Jackson was an after thought. I mean, the same guy you gave credit to for coach of the year, is like.......ummm, his position coach. So maybe, just maybe your coach of the year knows what he's talking about and didn't hold this kid down, maybe the kid stepped up his game and is a phenomenal story. Though I get it, a section of our fan base looks for any opportunity to take a swipe at the coaching staff. There's plenty from this season to take that opportunity, the Jackson was held down mantra just seems out of place.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The season has ended on a positive note by blowing out a rival while they're down. We finished 4-5 in Big 10 play, but the coaching staff still received their fat bonuses for achieving mediocrity and qualifying for a pseudo bowl game. We came away beating one team we shouldn't have in dominant fashion, and losing to two teams we shouldn't have. Overall, it was a very Ferentzian year. So here are this year's award recipients:

OFFENSIVE MVP: Akrum Wadley. While Wadley didn't put up the numbers many were hoping for, he still finished 5th in the Big 10 in rushing. That's solid considering he was behind superstars like Saquan Barkley and Jonathan Taylor. He ran for 1021 yards, with 4.4 yards per carry. He also had 329 yards and 3 TDs receiving. Akrum was the catalyst for the offense, and will go down as one of the top backs in Hawkeye history. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and Noah Fant.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Josey Jewel. Jewel led the Big 10 in tackles, with 132 (11.2 per game). Beyond that, he had 4.5 sacks (when was the last time we had a LB with that many sacks?), 13.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Jewel was a vocal leader out there, and will likely be the next Chad Greenway, with a decade long NFL career ahead of him. Honorable Mention: Josh Jackson and Parker Hesse.

FRESHMEN MVP: AJ Epenesa. AJ came in with a lot of hype as a 5 star, US Army All American. He did not disappoint, and is a prime example to support the argument that stars DO matter. As a true frosh, Epenesa tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. I can't remember the last time a Hawkeye freshmen led the team in sacks? Maybe Matt Roth? The guy is going to continue to get bigger and stronger, and should see his role increase as he becomes an every down player. Honorable Mention: Geno Stone and Tristan Wirfs.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Joshua Jackson. Jackson has been on campus for a while, but due to some puzzling personnel decisions by the coaching staff, he came into the season with just 10 tackles and zero interceptions in his career. He responded by being the nation's interception leader (7) and pass breakup leader (18), plus he was 5th on the team in total tackles. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and AJ Epenesa.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Phil Parker. Coach Parker is both the defensive coordinator and secondary coach. While we had very few positions that overachieved this year, the emergence of Josh Jackson after losing a Thorpe award winning CB made the secondary one of them. Parker's defense gave up 20 points per game, and single handedly kept the Hawks in most games, despite being saddled with a bland, predictable offense that churned out an abundance of 3 and outs. Honorable Mention: Ken O'Keefe, QBs coach.

SPIRIT AWARD: Noah Fant. Fant reminds me a lot of Gronkowski, and was a big play waiting to happen. Despite being a TE, he was just 12 yards away from leading the team in receiving, and led the team with 17 yards per reception...which is speedy WR territory. Then there's the record setting 10 touchdowns. It will be fun to see how he develops in the next 2 years. Honorable Mention: Josey Jewell, Josh Jackson.

WORST LUCK OF THE YEAR: Brandon Snyder. Several players from last years squad were expected to have great years this year and didn't. Wadley and Snyder were the guys I had the highest hopes for. Unfortunately, Snyder tore his ACL, then was "miraculously" cleared to play months later in what seemed like record recovery time. Snyder played just one game this year, and had two pass deflections and an 89 yard interception return for a touchdown...before he re-injured his knee. If there was ever a time to question the injury protocol for allowing a guy to play too soon after an injury, this would be a prime example (but of course the sugar coated Iowa media didn't even think to question it). I said it all year last year, and I'll say it again, Snyder is the closest thing we've had to Bob Sanders since Sanders graduated, and hopefully he will be healed and ready to go next year. Honorable Mention: James Butler, Ike Boettger and Boone Meyers.

UNDERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ivory Kelly-Martin. This guy is a stud in the making. He got only 20 carries this season, but averaged 9.2 yards per carry, with 3 touchdowns. The future is bright for Iowa at RB. With that said, I didn't like Kelly-Martin as a KR, where he didn't show much burst or vision back there and averaged just 21 yrds per return as our primary kick returner. Honorable Mention: Aaron Mends, Ryan Gersonde.

OVERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Colton Raestetter. While I tip my hat to the guy for walking on at Iowa and working hard, he was the 14th ranked punter in the Big 10. He averaged just 38 yards per punt, and had less hang time than any punter in Iowa history. For whatever reason, he could shank a punt on one series, fumble a punt on the next, yet the coaches would still sent him out there on each and every subsequent punt. This is known as the Ferentz union card. Honorable Mention: Bo Bower and Manny Rugamba.

OVERHYPED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Smith. Every year, we have a guy who gets a lot of hype coming in, whether based on his performance in the spring game (i.e. Willies, Scheel, Boyle, etc.), his high school stats, or his measurables. This year, we could not read a pre-season story about the Hawks without hearing how Smith was a recruiting steal who would come in and make our WR corp respectable again. While I have a feeling Smith will do just that when all is said and done, this year, he was a nonfactor on an otherwise atrocious WR squad. He finished the 12 game season with 3 catches for 10 yards. By comparison, DE Epenesa finished with more receiving yards, as did long snapper Tyler Kluver and FB Kulik. Honorable Mention: Paulson twins.

Solid!

 

[CP87]

The season has ended on a positive note by blowing out a rival while they're down. We finished 4-5 in Big 10 play, but the coaching staff still received their fat bonuses for achieving mediocrity and qualifying for a pseudo bowl game. We came away beating one team we shouldn't have in dominant fashion, and losing to two teams we shouldn't have. Overall, it was a very Ferentzian year. So here are this year's award recipients:

OFFENSIVE MVP: Akrum Wadley. While Wadley didn't put up the numbers many were hoping for, he still finished 5th in the Big 10 in rushing. That's solid considering he was behind superstars like Saquan Barkley and Jonathan Taylor. He ran for 1021 yards, with 4.4 yards per carry. He also had 329 yards and 3 TDs receiving. Akrum was the catalyst for the offense, and will go down as one of the top backs in Hawkeye history. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and Noah Fant.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Josey Jewel. Jewel led the Big 10 in tackles, with 132 (11.2 per game). Beyond that, he had 4.5 sacks (when was the last time we had a LB with that many sacks?), 13.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Jewel was a vocal leader out there, and will likely be the next Chad Greenway, with a decade long NFL career ahead of him. Honorable Mention: Josh Jackson and Parker Hesse.

FRESHMEN MVP: AJ Epenesa. AJ came in with a lot of hype as a 5 star, US Army All American. He did not disappoint, and is a prime example to support the argument that stars DO matter. As a true frosh, Epenesa tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. I can't remember the last time a Hawkeye freshmen led the team in sacks? Maybe Matt Roth? The guy is going to continue to get bigger and stronger, and should see his role increase as he becomes an every down player. Honorable Mention: Geno Stone and Tristan Wirfs.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Joshua Jackson. Jackson has been on campus for a while, but due to some puzzling personnel decisions by the coaching staff, he came into the season with just 10 tackles and zero interceptions in his career. He responded by being the nation's interception leader (7) and pass breakup leader (18), plus he was 5th on the team in total tackles. Honorable Mention: Nathan Stanley and AJ Epenesa.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Phil Parker. Coach Parker is both the defensive coordinator and secondary coach. While we had very few positions that overachieved this year, the emergence of Josh Jackson after losing a Thorpe award winning CB made the secondary one of them. Parker's defense gave up 20 points per game, and single handedly kept the Hawks in most games, despite being saddled with a bland, predictable offense that churned out an abundance of 3 and outs. Honorable Mention: Ken O'Keefe, QBs coach.

SPIRIT AWARD: Noah Fant. Fant reminds me a lot of Gronkowski, and was a big play waiting to happen. Despite being a TE, he was just 12 yards away from leading the team in receiving, and led the team with 17 yards per reception...which is speedy WR territory. Then there's the record setting 10 touchdowns. It will be fun to see how he develops in the next 2 years. Honorable Mention: Josey Jewell, Josh Jackson.

WORST LUCK OF THE YEAR: Brandon Snyder. Several players from last years squad were expected to have great years this year and didn't. Wadley and Snyder were the guys I had the highest hopes for. Unfortunately, Snyder tore his ACL, then was "miraculously" cleared to play months later in what seemed like record recovery time. Snyder played just one game this year, and had two pass deflections and an 89 yard interception return for a touchdown...before he re-injured his knee. If there was ever a time to question the injury protocol for allowing a guy to play too soon after an injury, this would be a prime example (but of course the sugar coated Iowa media didn't even think to question it). I said it all year last year, and I'll say it again, Snyder is the closest thing we've had to Bob Sanders since Sanders graduated, and hopefully he will be healed and ready to go next year. Honorable Mention: James Butler, Ike Boettger and Boone Meyers.

UNDERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ivory Kelly-Martin. This guy is a stud in the making. He got only 20 carries this season, but averaged 9.2 yards per carry, with 3 touchdowns. The future is bright for Iowa at RB. With that said, I didn't like Kelly-Martin as a KR, where he didn't show much burst or vision back there and averaged just 21 yrds per return as our primary kick returner. Honorable Mention: Aaron Mends, Ryan Gersonde.

OVERUTILIZED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Colton Raestetter. While I tip my hat to the guy for walking on at Iowa and working hard, he was the 14th ranked punter in the Big 10. He averaged just 38 yards per punt, and had less hang time than any punter in Iowa history. For whatever reason, he could shank a punt on one series, fumble a punt on the next, yet the coaches would still sent him out there on each and every subsequent punt. This is known as the Ferentz union card. Honorable Mention: Bo Bower and Manny Rugamba.

OVERHYPED PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Smith. Every year, we have a guy who gets a lot of hype coming in, whether based on his performance in the spring game (i.e. Willies, Scheel, Boyle, etc.), his high school stats, or his measurables. This year, we could not read a pre-season story about the Hawks without hearing how Smith was a recruiting steal who would come in and make our WR corp respectable again. While I have a feeling Smith will do just that when all is said and done, this year, he was a nonfactor on an otherwise atrocious WR squad. He finished the 12 game season with 3 catches for 10 yards. By comparison, DE Epenesa finished with more receiving yards, as did long snapper Tyler Kluver and FB Kulik. Honorable Mention: Paulson twins.

I don't understand the Bower hate. He had a very solid season, and was an important cog for a good defense. He will probably not play on Sundays, but that does not mean he wasn't a good B1G LB. I am not sure what evidence you have that Mends would have been a superior option, he has generally struggled when given snaps. Hopefully Mends will put it together next year, ala Cole Fisher.

I also find it amusing that Rugumba was over-utilized this year, yet last year you think Jackson was under-utilized. Last year Jackson was making the mistakes that Rugumba was making this year. Your argument seems to have some consistency problems.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

How is Jackson a newcomer? He played as the nickel corner quite a bit and had been picked on last yr and even a little the year before. He wasn't totally green out there day one or anything he'd been seeing playing time prior to this year. Your statement about puzzling personel decisions what did you mean? Did you think he should have been starting over King/Mabin? Mabin is cashing checks in the NFL now too he wasn't exactly a bum out there. I think Parker your coach of the year deserves the benefit of the doubt with his depth chart decisions when it comes to the position he specializes in...

If I had to pick a newcomer of the year I'd probably lean towards Easley. He had some big plays early in the year and was pretty much Stanleys security blanket when Vandeberg was hurt and obviously wasn't himself out there. Think of where the receiving corp would have been without him and some of the key 3rd downs he converted. I'm glad we get him for another year.

I only take Easley over Stanley in this category due to how obvious taking Stanley would be. Stanley put up some pretty damn good numbers for a first year starting QB as a true soph. I'd love to see Daniels come back so the Oline should be solid with the receiving corp take a step up. The sky is the limit for what Stanley can be. Having a year under BFs belt as a playcaller should only help his development too.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Rugumba is by far the most overhyped. Lots of folks thought he was going to be the #1 corner this year based off his game against Michigan last yr pretty much. Well dude's going to have a tough time earning a starting gig next yr even with Jackson going pro. Good chance we have two new corners next yr..

 

[IowaLawWasRight]

Really??? The low level cognition of some Hawks fans makes all Iowa fans look bad.

When in the history of Big 10 football has a LB started and played every down for over 3 seasons and not been even an honorable mention All-Big 10 selection (12 LBs are on the all-Big 10 team every year). Come on. You can't commend a guy simply because he played. Especially when his position was a weak spot on the team for 3 years.

The fact is, no one knows what backup LBs could have been the "superior option" because Ferentz wouldn't let them see the field...not even in blow outs like the bowl game loss to Florida. Not only does that seem shady, but it doesn't sit well with the backups who practice hard every day and know that a union card is impossible to surpass. You're really going to bag on Mends for "struggling?" What game, exactly, did you see him struggle in?

As for your inability to comprehend how Rugamba was over-utilized...let me spell it out to you. He came into the season the team's #1 cb (on paper). He proceeded to start and get burned over and over again until at the end of the season he fell to #4 on the cb depth chart. It says a lot when a starter gets demoted on this team.

Last year Jackson was getting burned and making mistakes? What games, exactly? He only played in a few, and had just 10 tackles all year. How do you compare that with Rugamba, who played 25 minutes per game this year.

I don't understand the Bower hate. He had a very solid season, and was an important cog for a good defense. He will probably not play on Sundays, but that does not mean he wasn't a good B1G LB. I am not sure what evidence you have that Mends would have been a superior option, he has generally struggled when given snaps. Hopefully Mends will put it together next year, ala Cole Fisher.

I also find it amusing that Rugumba was over-utilized this year, yet last year you think Jackson was under-utilized. Last year Jackson was making the mistakes that Rugumba was making this year. Your argument seems to have some consistency problems.