Next yrs. o-line

D

DowsHawk

Well-Known Member
As much as we'll miss our d-line graduates, I think our next years offensive line could be close to being as dominant.

Reiff, Gettis, Ferentz, MacMillan, and Zusevics will likely be the starters and have a year of starting experience. We lose Vandervelde, Koeppel, and Hagaman but key back ups include Van Slotten, Boffeli, and 4 star "new comers" in Donnel, Walsh, and Blythe. I know it's all about staying healthy, RR deciding to stay, and the off season work; but with the way the line has played so far this year I think the upside is great. Normal expectations for our offensive line guys is to see the field as juniors. We're still going to be very young and I like where we could be by next year.

Walsh and Blythe are coming in with Big Ten size and that's not something we normally see. It wouldn't surprise me to see them work their way into the two deeps before the year ends.
 
DowsHawk said:
As much as we'll miss our d-line graduates, I think our next years offensive line could be close to being as dominant.

Reiff, Gettis, Ferentz, MacMillan, and Zusevics will likely be the starters and have a year of starting experience. We lose Vandervelde, Koeppel, and Hagaman but key back ups include Van Slotten, Boffeli, and 4 star "new comers" in Donnel, Walsh, and Blythe. I know it's all about staying healthy, RR deciding to stay, and the off season work; but with the way the line has played so far this year I think the upside is great. Normal expectations for our offensive line guys is to see the field as juniors. We're still going to be very young and I like where we could be by next year.

Walsh and Blythe are coming in with Big Ten size and that's not something we normally see. It wouldn't surprise me to see them work their way into the two deeps before the year ends.
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Don't let the recruiting "stars" dazzle you too much. While I too am very excited about the future development of Donnal, Blythe, and Walsh ... let's not place any undue expectations on them just due to the "stars" by their names. They're going to have to EARN anything action they receive on our OL.

In fact, in addition to Van Sloten and Boffeli ... both of whom will be at least a little battle-tested by the 2011 season ... I wouldn't forget about Orne as a legit contributer. Furthermore, my "sleeper" OL pick for 2011 is Scherff! Given Scherff's uncommon combo of athleticism and strength ... and the fact that entered the Hawks as a veritable "blank slate" ... my gut feeling is that he's going to break onto the scene early and eventually develop into a dominant "tweener" OG/OT for us.
 
From what little I've read Walsh looks like he's got nice size and he is coming in pretty highly touted. We've recently seen some freshman forced into action that performed pretty well for the Hawks on the o-line including Reiff, Buluga, Dace, Jones etc.

I'll admit to drinking the kool aid a little on this one, but if these "new comers" come in and perform I could see them on the two deeps by mid year. I don't know how Donnell has looked and admit there hasn't been much of a buzz on him. Good call on Orne and Schereff.

I just think there's a lot of quality in our depth and by the time the Big Ten rolls around next year I think we'll have an outstanding line. If Vandy has all day to throw and the running backs are healthy I think we score a bunch of points.
 
I really think our offense is going to be pretty good again next year. With the line we have coming back they should open holes for whoever we have in the back field whether it's JH, ARob, Coker or lord knows. Plus they should give JVB plenty of time to get acclimated under center. Ever since the Ball State game Stanzi has had tons of time in the backfield and I don't see that changing that much next year for JVB. This will also help as we will take a small step down at receiver and JVB might need some more time to find the open guy.
 
FYI ... I forgot to mention the walk-on Tobin. He's a kid who has been playing pretty well as a back-up too. He's another guy who will be squarely in the conversation when we're talking about future contributers.
 
I watched the first 3 quarters again last night, and I was really surprised at the play of the OL, in particular how I would rank them, 1-5. W/o going into detail, and not to sound negative or cynical, but I think next year will be an "addition by subtraction" situation, if you follow. I never pay very close attention to OL play during the game, but if I get the chance to watch it again I focus a lot more on trench play. And w/o going into detail, the lone senior really struggled at times Saturday and ended up flopping around quite a bit, including absolutely whiffing on some blacks. I know on Hawkeyeinsider there's a guy named Gamefilm that evaluates the play, and I noticed he posted here last wk. I think if he grades this game it'll be interesting to see how the OL grades out.

Anyhow, on paper the OL should be absolutely dominant next year, and I think Gettis, MacMillan and Boffelli will all be better and an upgrade compared to the current guard situation. My pick right now to really make a splash is Boffelli. I've loved what I've seen of him in his little PT this year, and if he takes the next step, he'll be pancaking people left and right next season. The future at this position group is absolutely unlimited, w/ more young talent in place than I can ever recall, and theoretically more young talent on the way (fingers crossed and knocking on wood hoping recruiting stars are correct).
 
SeattleHawkeye said:
I watched the first 3 quarters again last night, and I was really surprised at the play of the OL, in particular how I would rank them, 1-5. W/o going into detail, and not to sound negative or cynical, but I think next year will be an "addition by subtraction" situation, if you follow. I never pay very close attention to OL play during the game, but if I get the chance to watch it again I focus a lot more on trench play. And w/o going into detail, the lone senior really struggled at times Saturday and ended up flopping around quite a bit, including absolutely whiffing on some blacks. I know on Hawkeyeinsider there's a guy named Gamefilm that evaluates the play, and I noticed he posted here last wk. I think if he grades this game it'll be interesting to see how the OL grades out.

Anyhow, on paper the OL should be absolutely dominant next year, and I think Gettis, MacMillan and Boffelli will all be better and an upgrade compared to the current guard situation. My pick right now to really make a splash is Boffelli. I've loved what I've seen of him in his little PT this year, and if he takes the next step, he'll be pancaking people left and right next season. The future at this position group is absolutely unlimited, w/ more young talent in place than I can ever recall, and theoretically more young talent on the way (fingers crossed and knocking on wood hoping recruiting stars are correct).
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I really like the athleticism that Boffeli brings to the table. I do believe that he could make a big splash in 2011. However, that said ... it won't be easy to beat out Gettis or MacMillan. Also, Ferentz has really gotten better as the season has progressed. While Boffeli could conceivably push Ferentz at C (and I'm sure that he'll receiving plenty of reps there) ... my guess is that Boffeli will likely earn his stripes at OG or as a OG/OT tweener.
 
It's way too early for this to mean anything, but I'm already hearing buzz about Reiff, some are saying he's already the best LT in the country, could make some AA teams THIS YEAR. If that happens and the kid is only a soph w/ this being his first full year of experience, all I can say is WOW!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
I really like the athleticism that Boffeli brings to the table. I do believe that he could make a big splash in 2011. However, that said ... it won't be easy to beat out Gettis or MacMillan. Also, Ferentz has really gotten better as the season has progressed. While Boffeli could conceivably push Ferentz at C (and I'm sure that he'll receiving plenty of reps there) ... my guess is that Boffeli will likely earn his stripes at OG or as a OG/OT tweener.
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I agree, but I'm thinking we see some 3-man rotations at guard, and maybe tackle. I'm thinking at guard it's at least Boffelli, Gettis, and MacMillan, but also maybe McMillan (Casey) and/or Orne. At tackle it's Big Zus, Reiff (a.k.a. the South Dakota Stripper), Orne, and I think MacMillan (Nolan, the current guard) slides out and starts getting reps out there to prep for taking over when Big Zus leaves, while he also gets reps at guard. And as you said, Boffelli could be the #2 center. The question I have, or maybe what I find even more intriguing, is what's the story on Clark, Van Sloten, Scherff and Donnall? And what are the ages of all these guys? It's honestly a little hard to fathom all the possibilities and potential this unit possesses, in particular w/ the majority of them having at least 2 more years of eligibility.
 
I don't see why any of the true freshmen offensive lineman would need to play next year with what we have back. I think they are definitely best served getting a redshirt year.
 
SeattleHawkeye said:
And as you said, Boffelli could be the #2 center. The question I have, or maybe what I find even more intriguing, is what's the story on Clark, Van Sloten, Scherff and Donnall? And what are the ages of all these guys? It's honestly a little hard to fathom all the possibilities and potential this unit possesses, in particular w/ the majority of them having at least 2 more years of eligibility.
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In 2011:

Boffeli = RS SO
Van Sloten = RS SO
MacMillan = RS SO
Clark = RS SO
Scherff = RS FR
Donnal = RS FR

Yeah ... a nice slew of underclassman talent. The Hawks definitely seem to have some nice foundations set for the future of the OL.
 
imported_ankle23 said:
Orne played v. MSU. I think he plays next year.
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I'll be VERY curious about who ends up being the "next man in" on the OL in 2011. I'm pretty pleased with the progress of MacMillan and Gettis at OG ... so I anticipate that they'll be able to hold down the starting OG spots. However, I really think that we have some quality guys behind our starters who are capable of stepping up and playing at a VERY high level too.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
FYI ... I forgot to mention the walk-on Tobin. He's a kid who has been playing pretty well as a back-up too. He's another guy who will be squarely in the conversation when we're talking about future contributers.
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Agreed, Tobin should be in the mix also. Right now the "next three in" is MacMillan, followed by Koeppel, followed by Boffeli. I have not seen Orne and Hagamann in that group yet.

I believe there will be a fierce competition next year between MacMillan and Zus at RT. Mac was brought in as a tackle, he has the size and arm length. I think MacMillan wins the battle because of his time on the field this year. That being said I think there will be a battle for the two OG positions. Gettis is a great player and I don't see him losing his spot but Boffeli has an opportunity to win the open OG spot. He came in as a TE and has gained good weight since last year, and is on the verge next year of being close to 300lbs+. If he keeps his agility he will be hard to keep off the field. I am not sure where this leaves Zus. Nobody will beat out Ferentz. He is ferocious out on the field, a mad man, tivo the game and watch this kid, it is great. Hopefully he can gain 5 to 10lbs before next season. Tobin's challenge is weight, he needs to get bigger, and has struggled putting on the extra pounds.

A lot can happen over the next 6 months, it should be interesting to follow!
 
leroy3d said:
A lot can happen over the next 6 months, it should be interesting to follow!
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Yeah, I'm definitely excited about the Iowa OL.

I will say that I find it hard to believe that MacMillan will beat out Zus at OT. I agree that MacMillan will end up eventually sliding over to OT ... however, the coaches will also field the best 5. The level of play on the OL will be awfully impressive in the coming years.

I frankly expect that MacMillan will jump over to LT after Reiff departs. However, just as you said ... enough can happen over 6 months .... let alone a year or so!
 
Add 20 lbs to each of the guys we have next year and it could be a very good season. Adam Robinson running, Vandenburg throwing, Coker takes a bigger roll. mmmm Goin to be a good Hawkeye year.
 
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