I know that they are trying their hardest, and hate losing. I don't blame them for being put into situations where they aren't likely to be able to succeed.
Coaches do not stop knowing how to coach. Schemes do not suddenly become ineffective. These things do not change. What changes are the players.
When KF says we were not good enough to win, he's right. Problem is that is on him.
Let's go through the positions on this team and see where they would rank in the B1G in terms of effectiveness.
OL: The Hallmark of KF.
There are 60 starting OL in the B1G. I think that we have 2 OL that rank in the top 30. Of those 2, we are anchored by someone whose head is already in the NFL or clearly is not good enough to play in the NFL.
QB:
There are 12 starting QB's in the B1G. I would draft ours 8th or 9th. Statistics can lie a lot of times. Stanzi didn't have a great statistical year in 09, and did in 10. Records would not have indicated that. Our QB play has been mediocre.
RB:
Of the 16 or so RB's that get significant time, I would rank our starting RB 3rd or 4th. Top 25%, not bad at all.
WR:
This is where it gets tricky. Of the 24 starting WR, one would rank in the top 6, and the other would rank in the top 15. Average out to top 50% as a starting unit.
However, there IS NOT another WR on this team who is a legitimate B1G player RIGHT NOW. The drop off from 2-3 is astronomical.
TE: Another KF Hallmark
We do not have a TE on our roster that is a B1G caliber TE right now. One of them may very well turn into that, but right now we don't.
So we have a grossly overrated OL, with an ineffective QB who only really has two receiving targets and a RB that while bordering on elite doesn't give you the game breaking ability you might need with the rest of the offense as a unit.
Onto the D:
DL: NFL be gone.
The argument that we are young would be great if we weren't starting 4 SR's. Of the 48 starting DL in the B1G, we have 1 who would rank in the top 20. Another that ranks in the top 30. Of those two, they both haven't gotten better than they were two years ago. Two of them are not B1G caliber players.
LB: Of the 36 starting LB's in the B1G, I would say that we don't have 1 that is a top 18 LB. Again, they might turn into that one day, but it isn't right now.
DB: Of the 48 starting DB's in the B1G, we have 3 that would rank in the top 24 players. Two might even be in the top 18. However, when the rest of the defense looks as it does above, how are the DB's supposed to be effective.
Bottom line, the cupboard is approaching the time where we need to go to the grocery store. KF likes to go shopping for off brands that he thinks will end up tasting great when thrown into the pot. But, his track record while incredible for taking MAC level talent and putting them into the NFL, shows that most of the time, they stay MAC level talent.
We need to recruit better, end of story. Having a recruiting philosophy where you take players who are happy just to get a B1G offer is an amazing story when they end up in the NFL. Most of the time though, that does not happen.
Whatever has happened to our recruiting, it isn't good. Our scouting hasn't been good. Our development hasn't been good. And our retention has been abhorrent.
I agree with part of your assessment. The two classes that really hurt us are the 2008 class should (combined with leadership) has left some gaping holes. While team recruiting rankings are imperfect it does give you a rough gauge in which to judge the available talent(TALENT can be developed, but you can't make someone untalented, talented). So, while Iowa has done a great job of developing talent there are limits to the ability of the staff(or any staff) to develop classes with really weak talent.
From the scout.com Big Ten conference rankings:
2009 recruiting class: Last in the Big Ten and 77th in the country. Best players/biggest contributors so far from the class...Micah Hyde- a solid starter at cornerback, starter. Keenan Davis, the highest rated recruit in the class. A good but not all-conference starter at WR, looking forward to his development as a senior(he should get lot's of opportunities), FB Brad Rogers(out much of the last year, and only now getting into the groove) looks to be a good fullback, OL Nolan McMillian-injury problems after showing some flashes as a redshirt frosh. That's it, so far out of 18 players. Conor Boffeli looks like he may be a solid starter after J. Ferentz leaves at center. But, this class has been here three years and we're not getting a whole lot out of it. So far, the recruiting class ranking looks pretty close to accurate. A lot these guys are either not with the team or not getting PT and are buried on the depth chart.
The 2008 class(7th best in the conference) has some better players than 2009 but a high level of attrition:
I count 15 players in this class(most on defense) that are either no longer on the team or are but haven't broken the two-deep.
The two most recent classes(given their physical immaturity and lack of experience you don't expect a whole lot of them would be on the two deep/serious contributors)have been strong finishing (45th in the country)6th in the Big Ten in 2010 and 2nd in the conference in 2011(22nd in the country).
On the field the 2010 class has six starters on it(Morris, Schreff, Kirksey, Miller, Fiedorowitz, and Coker). That's not including promising seconds-stringers like KMM, Carl Davis, BJ Lowery, and Anthony Hitchins. Nor any of the other players in the class who are simply being developed and need more time in the weight room/practice field but WILL play in seasons to come.
So, Kirk and friends have already upgraded the team's talent the last two classes and in the 2010-2011. I count six defensive lineman in the last two classes that we haven't seen on the field yet. Maybe, they'll never develop but Iowa is a developmental program and players(players with stories as Kirk likes to say)tend to emerge out of seemingly nowhere.
This is a team, then, with some talent but it's in the classes that are least likely to have the biggest impacts on the team(freshman and sophomores) this year.
Hopefully we'll keep the guys who've verbally committed and nab some good ones with the available scholarships for 2012 class, but we have some good young talent sadly we can't snap our fingers and make them (physically and mentally) juniors and seniors.
That takes time, experience, and maturity.
