Kelton Copeland Working on Rebuilding Hawkeye Receiver Position

RobHowe

RobHowe

Administrator
Not much is expected of the Iowa wide receivers in 2017. New position coach Kelton Copeland likes the challenge of it:

LINK
 
Lets look at this pass-catchers thing.

First up: TEs - a lot of good ones. Fant on occasion can be split out. I noticed the depth chart lists TWO starting TEs. That's smart considering how many good ones Iowa has. They may not be WRs, but they can help the passing game in a major way.

Second: RBs - some good ones. Wadley could be split out on occasion. I keep comparing him to Ronnie Harmon, the guy who was a real threat running or receiving. On a side note DMX never made it to Texas Tech. Even without him I think the RBs can help the passing game.

WRs - Losing J. Smith is a bummer, he had some nice catches but I never got the impression he was a future star. Vandy needs to stay healthy, but probably will go down at some point. Young could have an Ochoa/Holloway/McCarron type of career. Falconer reminds me of J. Smith. Easley sounds promising. 4 true freshmen and I think the answer lies with these guys. Cooper sounds like a future Easley. The other 3 have talent and one of them will be asked to step up and I wouldn't be surprised to see B. Smith become a star.

Summation: I don't think Iowa has an excuse not to have a passing game. The offense has enough skill players to move the ball and score points.
 
Joshbrown said:
Lets look at this pass-catchers thing.

First up: TEs - a lot of good ones. Fant on occasion can be split out. I noticed the depth chart lists TWO starting TEs. That's smart considering how many good ones Iowa has. They may not be WRs, but they can help the passing game in a major way.

Second: RBs - some good ones. Wadley could be split out on occasion. I keep comparing him to Ronnie Harmon, the guy who was a real threat running or receiving. On a side note DMX never made it to Texas Tech. Even without him I think the RBs can help the passing game.

WRs - Losing J. Smith is a bummer, he had some nice catches but I never got the impression he was a future star. Vandy needs to stay healthy, but probably will go down at some point. Young could have an Ochoa/Holloway/McCarron type of career. Falconer reminds me of J. Smith. Easley sounds promising. 4 true freshmen and I think the answer lies with these guys. Cooper sounds like a future Easley. The other 3 have talent and one of them will be asked to step up and I wouldn't be surprised to see B. Smith become a star.

Summation: I don't think Iowa has an excuse not to have a passing game. The offense has enough skill players to move the ball and score points.
Click to expand...

I kind of view the receivers like you do. Vandeberg and Easley will be solid. I think Easley's going to be a very good addition and the proverbial possession receiver who always seems to find the hole or crease. I was never enamored with Jerminic Smith. Wonder if Vandeberg's foot/ankle is going to hold up. Hopefully doesn't turn into a nagging situation. After those two, I think Cooper and Brandon Smith both step up. I think those will be the core 4 along with some two TE sets and Wadley split in the slot on occasion.

They have enough weapons. Coaches just need to use them and put them in a position to succeed. Run hard routes in space instead of having the QB & WR read each other.
 
Is it against the law to say that at Iowa, our goal is to get you to the NFL AND be a responsible citizen? Are those two things mutually exclusive of each other? You come to Iowa to block first. Is that a new way of trying to increase the wide receiver talent at Iowa? Tell everyone WR's block first at Iowa? I mean...the messaging is wrong.
 
Joshbrown said:
Summation: I don't think Iowa has an excuse not to have a passing game. The offense has enough skill players to move the ball and score points.
Click to expand...
Of course, but we need to build up some excuses for the Ferentz family, cuz that's what we Iowa fans do.
 
Ultimately, everything trickles down to KF. He's the man running the program.

The wide receiver recruiting and retention has just been brutal the six years or so. If we go back to the 2012 class, who would be fifth-year seniors last year:

2012
Tevaun Smith
Greg Mabin (position change)
Cameron Wilson (transfer)

2013
Anjeus Jones (transfer)
Damond Powell
Matt VandeBerg
Andre Harris (transfer)
Derrick Mitchell (position change, then transfer)
Jonathan Parker (recruited as RB, move to WR, transferred)
Derrick Williams (transfer)

2014
Jay Scheel (career ending injuries)

2015
Jerminic Smith (transfer)
Adrian Falconer
Emmanual Ogwo (switched to track)

2016
Devonte Young

Can't have that kind of attrition around here. Need to develop these four true freshmen and stabilize this position.
 
Last edited:
RobHowe said:
Ultimately, everything trickles down to KF. He's the man running the program.

The wide receiver recruiting and retention has just been brutal the six years or so. If we go back to the 2012 class, who would be fifth-year seniors last year:

2012
Tevaun Smith
Greg Mabin (position change)
Cameron Wilson (transfer)

2013
Anjeus Jones (transfer)
Damond Powell
Matt VandeBerg
Andre Harris (transfer)
Derrick Mitchell (position change, then transfer)
Jonathan Parker (recruited as RB, move to WR, transferred)

2014
Jay Scheel (career ending injuries)

2015
Jerminic Smith (transfer)
Adrian Falconer
Emmanual Ogwo (switched to track)

2016
Devonte Young

Can't have that kind of attrition around here. Need to develop these four true freshmen and stabilize this position.
Click to expand...
You omitted Willies. That 2013 class was supposed to be the year we loaded up with the kind of guys Davis wanted. In the end, the only one that worked out was Meerkat, the least heralded of the group. That and Scheel's health has been devastating.
 
SamBrownlee48 said:
You omitted Willies. That 2013 class was supposed to be the year we loaded up with the kind of guys Davis wanted. In the end, the only one that worked out was Meerkat, the least heralded of the group. That and Scheel's health has been devastating.
Click to expand...

If you plug DW into the 2013 class, that would be 5 of 7 WRs (yes I know they weren't all recruited as WRs) transferred.

JMO I think the reason meerkat became the "chosen one" was because he was a "good fit" for Iowa's program. It will be interesting to see what DW can do with Nic Shimonek. If he faceplants, then no loss. If he shines, then "what ifs" become the talking point.

I'm also going to be interested to see how these 4 new kids progress at Iowa. If they stick around and develop obviously Iowa's offense improves. It will also motivate threads asking if previous OCs received the amount of support as the current OC??

But I'm putting the horse before the cart, right now BF has some proven weapons, but he also has some untested and unproven weapons. We won't know until late in the season how much talent he really has to work with. Obviously I'm optimistic regarding what we have, which has a lot to do with me loving this . . .
2333943088_8b3d3a221f_o.gif


and wearing these . . .

dreamy-rose-glasses-effect.jpeg
 
SamBrownlee48 said:
You omitted Willies. That 2013 class was supposed to be the year we loaded up with the kind of guys Davis wanted. In the end, the only one that worked out was Meerkat, the least heralded of the group. That and Scheel's health has been devastating.
Click to expand...

Yes I did. I added him in. That recruiting class was a disaster at WR despite getting VandeBerg, who was almost an afterthought and was initially supposed to red shirt.
 
What really stood out to me on the list was one guy in 2014. I can't remember that far back but why only one guy? Were we at the limit of schollys? Especially when you look at the classes before with position changes etc. Needed more than one player for back fill
 
kameltoez102 said:
What really stood out to me on the list was one guy in 2014. I can't remember that far back but why only one guy? Were we at the limit of schollys? Especially when you look at the classes before with position changes etc. Needed more than one player for back fill
Click to expand...

When we took so many in '13, it shouldn't have been a priority in '14. Those scholarships should have been allocated to other positions that didn't get as much attention in '13. That was the idea, anyway.
 
I know it's only 3 weeks to the start of the season, so my blue sky is boundless right now and I reject, categorically, any negative viewpoints. However, Coach Copeland is another good hire by Ferentz for the program as whole, and not just as a WR coach. The future is bright for Iowa football with guys like him on the staff.
 
I know we're talking about the 2013 class, but . . .

mo fleming

ruben lile

greg garmon

sean draper

kevin buford

drew ott

faith ekakitie

daumantas venckus

reid sealby

nate meier

connor kornbrath

eric simmons

jaleel johnson

laron taylor

ryan ward

mitchell keppy

cjb

cody sokol

barkley hill

anthony gair

greg mabin

cameron wilson

tevaun smith

That 2012 class gives new meaning to the phrase "the right fit".
 
ArvadaHawk said:
Is it against the law to say that at Iowa, our goal is to get you to the NFL AND be a responsible citizen? Are those two things mutually exclusive of each other? You come to Iowa to block first. Is that a new way of trying to increase the wide receiver talent at Iowa? Tell everyone WR's block first at Iowa? I mean...the messaging is wrong.
Click to expand...
I read the article and Copeland said exactly that. Iowa's pro-style can get receivers ready for Sunday.

Sunday receivers have to block.

Is it really a surprise Iowa's receivers have blocking drills?

I don't see anywhere stated that Iowa tells WRs that there primary duty is to block.
 
tksirius said:
Of course, but we need to build up some excuse
s for the Ferentz family, cuz that's what we Iowa fans do.
Click to expand...

The only proven talent at WR is MVB and he's a possession WR. Quarells (if he actually makes it onto campus)
DDThompson said:
I read the article and Copeland said exactly that. Iowa's pro-style can get receivers ready for Sunday.

Sunday receivers have to block.

Is it really a surprise Iowa's receivers have blocking drills?

I don't see anywhere stated that Iowa tells WRs that there primary duty is to block.
Click to expand...


DDThompson said:
I read the article and Copeland said exactly that. Iowa's pro-style can get receivers ready for Sunday.

Sunday receivers have to block.

Is it really a surprise Iowa's receivers have blocking drills?

I don't see anywhere stated that Iowa tells WRs that there primary duty is to block.
Click to expand...


Copeland said their eyes were wide the first day in pads as they worked on blocking. It’s importance hasn’t changed since he and new offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz took over.
“They knew when they signed up they were going to block. It’s fun to catch passes but here at Iowa as a receiver you’re going to block and you’re going to be physical,” he said.

“No matter what, whether you go to the NFL or you don’t, every day somebody has to hang up their cleats. After that, you have to be a productive human being somewhere in life. My No. 1 job as a coach is to teach them how to be a productive human. Be a great man and handle your business,” he said.

Those comments are directly related to my post. How many WR's in this Pro-Style offense have made a career in the NFL, under kirk?
 
ArvadaHawk said:
The only proven talent at WR is MVB and he's a possession WR. Quarells (if he actually makes it onto campus)
Click to expand...

This seems just too "glass half empty".

In 04 Iowa won a title with no running game, and Iowa is a running game offense. By my count there are 4 skill positions on offense:
QB
TE
RB
WR
KF has recruited well in 3 of the 4 categories. And I'm not convinced we are devoid of talent at the WR position. But even if we are, as Meatloafroth says . . . 3 outa 4 ain't bad.
 
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