Is Iowa's Football program that will contend for B10 championships every year?

scottsdalehawk

Active Member
Watching Iowa Since the first days of Hayden Fry. It appears that Iowa would have big ten caliber teams for two years then take a few years to rebuild.

recently... 2002 - 2004 two championships

05 - 07 struggles

08 .... woulda coulda 5-3 finish
09 .... oh that bootleg play in the endzone and then what ?
10 .... hmmm lots of injuries but should have enough to have a showdown with Ohio st for a share of big ten championship.... (yes I am counting minny as a win)
11....... O ffense looks to be in good shape... new QB but a familiar face...Defense the ? Will this team finish first of second in the west? i think so
12...... Senior QB starting his second year (likely) and then too many options to even consider... ?

Now lots can happen with departures and injuries but does this program seem like it is ready to reload next season for a west championship? Recruiting well enough to see a contender in 2012?

I don't remember clubs having the depth of talent that this one has.... Take morris , rogers , and keenan davis as examples... I feel really good about the future of this program ... your thoughts???
 
All I ask is three beers apiece for each of my co-workers...I think a man workin' outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion.
 
I think we will be in the conversation most years with our current coaching staff and the quality of recruits we are getting. Although everybody has a down year here and there (look at Texas, PSU, USC, and Florida this year, and Nebby of a few years ago).

Just enjoy the ride
 
I do think Vandenburg has some gowing to do yet before I can get too excited about the next two years. I do think he will progress quite a bit from this year to next (and haven't had much of a chance to see him yet this year). So I am optimistic. If he can live up to his potential the next two years could be very exciting - just beat nebby next year and I will be happy! (mostly kidding)
 
I do think Vandenburg has some gowing to do yet before I can get too excited about the next two years. I do think he will progress quite a bit from this year to next (and haven't had much of a chance to see him yet this year). So I am optimistic. If he can live up to his potential the next two years could be very exciting - just beat nebby next year and I will be happy! (mostly kidding)

JVB has had a chance to learn from one of the greatest leaders I have ever seen play Iowa football, in Rick Stanzi. JVB probably has more raw ability as a QB than Stanzi did as a JR but Stanzi has really improved this year, and JVB will see how he did it.
 
I think JVB processes info more quickly than Stanzi and has a better arm. I am not sure how much touch he has yet, we hopefully won't find out until next season, but from limited reps this year he looks better than last. He looks very confident when he is out there.
Lot to replace on D next year Three Dline in rotation, Will, and FS. Need D-line to step up. Daniel needs a monster off season and Bigach looks ready. I like the rotation and would like to see more bodies emerge there.
 
Jon,

I gotta agree. All the Iowa QBs got to learn from one of the best when it comes to leadership and work-ethic.

However, what is also very cool is that the level of competition at QB will still be exceptionally high. Thus, given the quality of our guys at QB (Vandenberg, Wienke, Derby, Rudock, and even the walk-ons), I believe that the guys are really going to do a great job of keeping eachother sharp.

Furthermore, unlike Stanzi, I really anticipate that the QBs following Stanzi will be able to enjoy the luxury of having a more powerful and efficient running game having their respective backs. In fact, I believe that it was the lack of running game in '09 that played a big role in making Stanzi throw so many picks. The flip side of that is that all of the adversity that Stanzi faced also really forced him to make significant improvements. Whenever your warts are THAT exposed, you then know what they are and you then have a better idea of how to treat them.
 
Jon,

I gotta agree. All the Iowa QBs got to learn from one of the best when it comes to leadership and work-ethic.

However, what is also very cool is that the level of competition at QB will still be exceptionally high. Thus, given the quality of our guys at QB (Vandenberg, Wienke, Derby, Rudock, and even the walk-ons), I believe that the guys are really going to do a great job of keeping eachother sharp.

Furthermore, unlike Stanzi, I really anticipate that the QBs following Stanzi will be able to enjoy the luxury of having a more powerful and efficient running game having their respective backs. In fact, I believe that it was the lack of running game in '09 that played a big role in making Stanzi throw so many picks. The flip side of that is that all of the adversity that Stanzi faced also really forced him to make significant improvements. Whenever your warts are THAT exposed, you then know what they are and you then have a better idea of how to treat them.

If I could retweet that I would.
 
I agree JLoss, CJ will be a big part of the offense. I thing JVB has a great chance to be one of the best QB's in IA history!! He has mad skills!!
 
I think JVB processes info more quickly than Stanzi and has a better arm. I am not sure how much touch he has yet, we hopefully won't find out until next season, but from limited reps this year he looks better than last. He looks very confident when he is out there.
Lot to replace on D next year Three Dline in rotation, Will, and FS. Need D-line to step up. Daniel needs a monster off season and Bigach looks ready. I like the rotation and would like to see more bodies emerge there.

spud -

What's funny is that my biggest concern going into the 2011 season used to be our LB situation. I was (and still am) VERY confident in what Binns and Daniels bring to the table and I like some of the flashes I've seen from Daniel. On top of that, I think that Alvis and Bigach are capable of playing at a pretty darn high level. Lastly, I think that we have some high-quality young guys who have the potential to contribute ... however, they'll still have to prove that they're ready though.

Anyhow, provided that Nielsen heals up without any problems by the summer (fingers crossed), I think that Nielsen, Morris, DiBona, and Kirksey provide us with VERY solid foundations at LB. Nielsen and Morris will be returning starters ... and DiBona and Kirsey are tough and athletic young guys who will already be adjusted to the speed of the game. Can you ask for anything more than that? (LOL ... maybe for a bit more experience depth) Of course, the above considerations don't even account for the return of Bruce Davis from injury. He may not end up winning a starting spot ... but he does help out our depth at the MIKE spot.

If anything, the more I've thought about the '11 D, the more I've come to be concerned about the departure of Greenwood. Of course, the good news there is that it's not like we'll be hurting for talent when it comes to reloading at the spot. The bigger loss is all the knowledge and understanding of the game that Greenwood brings to the table. I just hope that Bernstine or Miller is able to step up and lock down that spot after Greenwood graduates. At least whoever the new guy is ... he'll have a veteran like Sash back there with him to help out.

In fact, when I really broke down the roster when looking at the 2011 season ... I really wasn't quite so worried about the D. I was actually more worried about the 2012 D. However, bizarrely enough, I think that while our injuries on D have hurt us in 2010 ... they likely will have helped us bring along depth at other key spots. Of course, given that so many guys graduate from the DL after the 2011 season (Daniels, Daniel, Binns, and Nardo) ... I still have some concerns about the DL. However, given the talented young guys we currently have on the DL ... my worries are probably all for not.
 
They are close but I don't think so yet. For example, next year may be too many changes to overcome as far as starters go. But, they should be able to compete 1-4 every year. There is a very fine line with college football. $$$ & top recruits seem to be the formula for those teams that can compete every year.
 
@Homer I am excited about Getz at Leo. I really think he has the length and athleticism to be the next Edds or Neilsen. I am not too worried about safety as their are so many guys who can compete for the spot- Nick Neilsen, Miller, Swanson, Bernstine and I think Jason White projects nicely to safety also. I also think some of the incoming freshman will have a chance at Linebacker depth and special teams.

I am not as worried about the D-line because the staff has done a nice job of recruiting athletic guys and had commits from every class. There are a lot of guys competing for time on that depth chart. I loved what I saw from Covert in the spring and just feel like one of the DTs will emerge Klug like before all is said and done.
 
@Homer I am excited about Getz at Leo. I really think he has the length and athleticism to be the next Edds or Neilsen. I am not too worried about safety as their are so many guys who can compete for the spot- Nick Neilsen, Miller, Swanson, Bernstine and I think Jason White projects nicely to safety also. I also think some of the incoming freshman will have a chance at Linebacker depth and special teams.

I like the idea of Getz at Leo, however, I haven't heard much yet about how he's "taking" to the position. I agree that the LEO spot tends to get better filled by guys who have nice "length" and athleticism. And, for that matter, that's also a reason why I am still holding out hope that we land Jack Tabb ... he'd be a great fit at our LEO spot too!
 
I am anxious to see how JVB performs when the starting job is his full time. The QB position is one area I am not concerned about next year. I would expect he will make some mistakes, but overall I think his skill set is very impressive.
The O'line should be 10 to 20lbs heavier and with the returning experiance they should be solid. Iowa's defense usually ranges from good to very good. So I expect that they will be at least better than the average Big Ten D.

Overall I think Iowa should be in the upper half of the Big Ten next year. I am not sure they will contend for the title, but at the very least they will be in a spoiler role. If they are contenders, then thats a sign that the next two or three years should be very fun.
 
Something that I think will make Vandenberg look "better" in 2011 is the fact that he'll have the benefit of working with the WRs all summer. That will help a lot when it comes to timing and chemistry.
 

Latest posts

Top