JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
With the AJ Derby to linebacker move becoming 'official' yesterday, now is a good time to discuss a deeper message:
Jake Rudock is the future quarterback of this football team.
While Derby said all the right things about him being a quarterback at Iowa and his wanting to play that position, I never believed he'd wind up as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. I felt linebacker or tight end would better serve him at this level, because I believed he could be a big time performer at those positions.
Quarterback? I didn't see it.
My opinion on this matter was only reinforced after seeing Jake Rudock on tape and in person this summer. We saw snippets from HawkeyeSports.com, snippets from the Big Ten Network as well as several throws at Iowa's August open practice.
I am not going to claim to be a quarterback expert. In fact, my record on predicting 'quarterback stardom' stands at a solid 0-1 right now, having vastly overestimated Jake Christensen's college production. However, I am not afraid to wade back into this end of the pool and the way I see it, one of my Jake predictions has to come true.
In those summer exposures, I saw a freshman quarterback who looked like he'd spent most of his life in quarterback camps. His footwork on his drops was solid, how he instantly got the ball back by his ear hole on his drops was text book and his release point was consistent.
His 'mechanics' looked to be second best on the team, and he appeared to be a mini version of James Vandenberg. That led me to hypothesize that Derby would see all these things and more every day in practice and after Rudock asserted himself this coming spring, Derby would make the move to linebacker. It just happened sooner than I thought it would.
When I shared my 'analysis' and thoughts with Ed Podolak on 'Soundoff' last night, he agreed with me. He said Rudock's mechanics at this stage of the game are very advanced and after having witnessed many practices this summer, he had come to the conclusion that Derby (or anyone) would have a hard time holding off Rudock for the backup spot next year.
If you are AJ Derby and you believe you are not going to be the backup your third year in the program and instead will be behind someone who is a year younger than you? It's time to make the move.
Podolak said Rudock has 'a live arm' and the ball just explodes on his release. He said Rudock needs to get stronger (as did James Vandenberg when he arrived at Iowa) but that it's clear to see the talent he possesses. I got the feeling that Podolak was holding back a bit on his praise, not wanting to place too high of expectations on the youngster.
However, it's likely that Rudock is the most advanced and polished quarterback prospect that Iowa has landed during the Kirk Ferentz era. That doesn't guarantee an All Big Ten future, and I am not going to go down that road again. Yet, you can tell the kid has talent and if he stays healthy, he'll have every chance to be a three-year starter at Iowa after Vandenberg's career is done in 2012.
While Kirk Ferentz probably won't come out and say it right now, the skills and promise Rudock has shown made it easier to ask Derby to move to linebacker.
Yes, Iowa has a need at linebacker due to injuries and attrition. However it's highly unlikely that Derby is going to play any sort of significant role on the defensive side of the ball this year. He is an emergency linebacker, in my opinion, but his development at that position can begin now, continue through bowl preparations, off-season conditioning and then he can hit the field this spring with the chance to accelerate his growth much quicker than if he had just begun the process in January.
He'll have a shot to slide into Tyler Nielsen's role & position next season, and a far more realistic shot at it given that this move comes right now.
It should also be noted that Rudock has made both of Iowa's road trips this year, to Iowa State and Penn State. Iowa typically takes most of the freshman on at least one road trip, but Rudock has made them both. You don't normally bring four scholarship quarterbacks on the road with you for a Big Ten football game, due to travel roster limits.
You don't want to see Rudock play this year, and if something should happen to Vandenberg these next few weeks, you could easily move Derby back to quarterback or go with John Wienke. If anything happens to Vandenberg this year, Iowa's chances of winning, given the rest of its schedule, are remote. So Rudock will keep his redshirt, giving him four years to play at Iowa starting next year.
Iowa has not offered any quarterbacks in this class so far, but has its eyes on several 'later bloomers' if you will. The Hawks will take one quarterback this year and it's always difficult to land a big name signal caller the year after you sign one.
AJ Derby made the move to linebacker because his coach felt it was in the best interests of the team. It's probably in the best interest of AJ Derby, too as the die appears cast as it relates to the quarterback of the future in Iowa City.
Jake Rudock is the future quarterback of this football team.
While Derby said all the right things about him being a quarterback at Iowa and his wanting to play that position, I never believed he'd wind up as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. I felt linebacker or tight end would better serve him at this level, because I believed he could be a big time performer at those positions.
Quarterback? I didn't see it.
My opinion on this matter was only reinforced after seeing Jake Rudock on tape and in person this summer. We saw snippets from HawkeyeSports.com, snippets from the Big Ten Network as well as several throws at Iowa's August open practice.
I am not going to claim to be a quarterback expert. In fact, my record on predicting 'quarterback stardom' stands at a solid 0-1 right now, having vastly overestimated Jake Christensen's college production. However, I am not afraid to wade back into this end of the pool and the way I see it, one of my Jake predictions has to come true.
In those summer exposures, I saw a freshman quarterback who looked like he'd spent most of his life in quarterback camps. His footwork on his drops was solid, how he instantly got the ball back by his ear hole on his drops was text book and his release point was consistent.
His 'mechanics' looked to be second best on the team, and he appeared to be a mini version of James Vandenberg. That led me to hypothesize that Derby would see all these things and more every day in practice and after Rudock asserted himself this coming spring, Derby would make the move to linebacker. It just happened sooner than I thought it would.
When I shared my 'analysis' and thoughts with Ed Podolak on 'Soundoff' last night, he agreed with me. He said Rudock's mechanics at this stage of the game are very advanced and after having witnessed many practices this summer, he had come to the conclusion that Derby (or anyone) would have a hard time holding off Rudock for the backup spot next year.
If you are AJ Derby and you believe you are not going to be the backup your third year in the program and instead will be behind someone who is a year younger than you? It's time to make the move.
Podolak said Rudock has 'a live arm' and the ball just explodes on his release. He said Rudock needs to get stronger (as did James Vandenberg when he arrived at Iowa) but that it's clear to see the talent he possesses. I got the feeling that Podolak was holding back a bit on his praise, not wanting to place too high of expectations on the youngster.
However, it's likely that Rudock is the most advanced and polished quarterback prospect that Iowa has landed during the Kirk Ferentz era. That doesn't guarantee an All Big Ten future, and I am not going to go down that road again. Yet, you can tell the kid has talent and if he stays healthy, he'll have every chance to be a three-year starter at Iowa after Vandenberg's career is done in 2012.
While Kirk Ferentz probably won't come out and say it right now, the skills and promise Rudock has shown made it easier to ask Derby to move to linebacker.
Yes, Iowa has a need at linebacker due to injuries and attrition. However it's highly unlikely that Derby is going to play any sort of significant role on the defensive side of the ball this year. He is an emergency linebacker, in my opinion, but his development at that position can begin now, continue through bowl preparations, off-season conditioning and then he can hit the field this spring with the chance to accelerate his growth much quicker than if he had just begun the process in January.
He'll have a shot to slide into Tyler Nielsen's role & position next season, and a far more realistic shot at it given that this move comes right now.
It should also be noted that Rudock has made both of Iowa's road trips this year, to Iowa State and Penn State. Iowa typically takes most of the freshman on at least one road trip, but Rudock has made them both. You don't normally bring four scholarship quarterbacks on the road with you for a Big Ten football game, due to travel roster limits.
You don't want to see Rudock play this year, and if something should happen to Vandenberg these next few weeks, you could easily move Derby back to quarterback or go with John Wienke. If anything happens to Vandenberg this year, Iowa's chances of winning, given the rest of its schedule, are remote. So Rudock will keep his redshirt, giving him four years to play at Iowa starting next year.
Iowa has not offered any quarterbacks in this class so far, but has its eyes on several 'later bloomers' if you will. The Hawks will take one quarterback this year and it's always difficult to land a big name signal caller the year after you sign one.
AJ Derby made the move to linebacker because his coach felt it was in the best interests of the team. It's probably in the best interest of AJ Derby, too as the die appears cast as it relates to the quarterback of the future in Iowa City.
