HUUGE in many ways. He was a hell of an offensive line coach, but also a hell of a recruiter.
It does seem you can trace a lot of it to the offensive line. Otherwise you have to believe that Cade has and always will suck. That out of the host of runningbacks we've seen can't average more than 2.8 yards per carry. That the TEs really aren't that good. And that we don't have a receiver that can run a little and catch a little every now and then.
But then we have to level the bulk of it at the o-line.
Just thinking about this season and last year....
To get there, you have to assume that somehow, virtually all of the 4-5 athletes over the last 3-4 years who were actually recruited by (regardless of who's doing the recruiting) and committed to Iowa, or somehow walked on earning a spot, or outright selected Iowa via the portal...to play on the offensive line.....
That 95% of them are 'duds'? I'm not buying it. I can buy 50%. Maybe even 60% some years, leaving some weaknesses somewhere on the line. Sure. But 95% of them? I just find this to be unpossible. There's something systemic going on and can be seen in the data or simply the sniff test.
I get that there's an o-line coach who's been at that helm for these ~3 years. But, I mean, in a given year, do you even need to actively recruit more than 40-50% of the offensive line? I mean, outside of a few that might need some convincing to not go to Iowa State?
This all suggests a systemic problem that goes beyond "talent/ability" or recruiting. It has to be coaching.
Barnett, Jr, or Papa. Or a horrible combination of all 3.
