Morgan vows to play the best Hawkeyes, regardless of their age

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Iowa DL looks for consistent improvement - Iowa Official Athletic Site

From article:

"We have to rise to the occasion. We're looking for certain things and we're going to play the best players, regardless of where they're at in the program," Morgan said. "The key thing is to focus on the important things and those are the fundamentals from stance to alignment, keys coming off the football, and fundamentals -- leverage is going to be critical in both the run and the pass."

An added plus to the growth of the defensive line is that it goes head-to-head every practice against a solid Hawkeye offensive line.

"It's going to be as close to game-like as we can simulate," Morgan said. "If we can produce and go against our guys and work our technique and be successful, then it becomes a positive experience."

 

[dmackindm]

Last season Iowa was seventh in the Big Ten in rushing defense, allowing 156 yards per game, eighth in total defense (378.9 yards a game) and eighth in scoring defense (23.8 points per game).

Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Better.

I believe coach Morgan will show a new toughness.

 

[imported_ankle23]

he must not have consulted with Ferentz prior to making this statement.

 

[Foval21]

morgan played young guys on the offensive line and always seemed to put them in places where they could succeed. i think he will do the same with the dl. he also rotated offensive linemen more than most realize so i think we will see a lot more rotating of the dl this yr too.

 

[dmackindm]

he must not have consulted with Ferentz prior to making this statement.

Truth hurts. I doubt that it came from him. Tighten up Fort Kinnick

 

[clim33]

What about Jaleel and Faith? Anyone think they may play?

 

[DaCoach]

What about Jaleel and Faith? Anyone think they may play?

DiNardo said on the BTN special the other night that neither looked capable of contributing this year.

 

[clim33]

I kinda thought Jaleel might be big enough to go. Oh well let him bulk up and he, faith, Carl, and coop can be a force next year.

 

[MoseSchrute]

What about Jaleel and Faith? Anyone think they may play?

I hope not. It means we are in pretty bad shape if they do.

 

[Foval21]

I kinda thought Jaleel might be big enough to go. Oh well let him bulk up and he, faith, Carl, and coop can be a force next year.

dinardo said they are big enough just not ready...my guess is because of iowa's focus on technique is that they were so much bigger and stronger in hs they dont have very good technique and will need to learn that or get pushed around. i also believe this is why carl davis didnt play early and hopefully if he has the technique down this yr we have a true dt that can clog the inside run.

 

[clim33]

Thanks guys. I think Jaleel came in around 300. Technique is most likely poor though.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

Dinardo saw these guys for an hour in their 5th workout as college players. Let's see where they are at workout number 20. I agree most freshman can't make an impact on the DL, but at 310 pounds, Johnson has a shot if he can make improvement over the next 15 practices.

KF's initial press conference will give us the information on really where they are.

 

[NeilDiamond]

I give any article written by the Iowa Athletic Dept. about the same respect as toilet paper. I think McCarney has written some of them given the amount of spin content.

 

[Tmoney12]

I give any article written by the Iowa Athletic Dept. about the same respect as toilet paper. I think McCarney has written some of them given the amount of spin content.

Dan is writing articles?

 

[Foval21]

Dinardo saw these guys for an hour in their 5th workout as college players. Let's see where they are at workout number 20. I agree most freshman can't make an impact on the DL, but at 310 pounds, Johnson has a shot if he can make improvement over the next 15 practices.KF's initial press conference will give us the information on really where they are.

carl davis was in the 300 lb range when he came in but technique kept him off the field. iowa doesnt run your basic 1 gap system. the dl is expected to do more than just plug their 1 gap. most dl come from hs systems where they are responsible for only 1 gap and therefore have to learn better technique to play in iowa's scheme.

my hope is rotate 6 - 8 to make up for the lack of experience and size. i would love to see spears and/or mcminn play some on the edge as they would probably be our quickest pass rushers (maybe be 3rd and long specialists). i think trinca-pasat and cooper will be very important to be paired and rotated with a guy like davis to keep all 3 fresh on the inside. alvis should give us 1 solid de and hopefully others emerge and can rotate.

 

[WinOneThisCentury]

carl davis was in the 300 lb range when he came in but technique kept him off the field. iowa doesnt run your basic 1 gap system. the dl is expected to do more than just plug their 1 gap. most dl come from hs systems where they are responsible for only 1 gap and therefore have to learn better technique to play in iowa's scheme.

my hope is rotate 6 - 8 to make up for the lack of experience and size. i would love to see spears and/or mcminn play some on the edge as they would probably be our quickest pass rushers (maybe be 3rd and long specialists). i think trinca-pasat and cooper will be very important to be paired and rotated with a guy like davis to keep all 3 fresh on the inside. alvis should give us 1 solid de and hopefully others emerge and can rotate.

Understood...Looking at Jaleel and his body type compared to Davis just leads me to believe he naturally has a lower center of gravity and may have a better chance of making some plays at this level. Davis is 6'5" and his natural tendency is to get high, that will kill you against good o linemen. We will see, but I'm hoping Johnson can make the grade. Would love to have two 300 guys that can move controlling the inside and keeping people off the LB's. Pretty exciting when you think about the next few years on the DL.

Agreed on McMinn and Spears. Did you see the pic of Spears...he has to be more than 255. He looked huge...maybe it was the angle of the pic I saw.

 

[Foval21]

spears is stacked...he might push 260...but remember it is camp and he will play lighter than that. if he can keep the tackles from getting a good shot at him with his lb speed he could really give a great speed rush to pressure from the outside. i would love something like the ny giants do on third and long where they put d-ends in at the dt spots and have 4 speed rushers and dont even worry about the run...allows them to get to the qb without blitzing in those downs.