Positions with talent stocked/questionable

[MisterWinky]

Football season can't get here fast enough, right?

I was reading the ESPN/Blue Ribbon preview of the Hawks and it got me thinking about which positions Iowa has real depth of talent and where it may be questionable or clearly lacking. It was thinking about CB that inspired this post. I do not think the Hawks have ever had this much athletic talent waiting in the Soph/Frosh classes. Here are my preliminary thoughts:

OL: Very deep and talented
WR: Talented and inexperienced
RB: Talented and inexperienced
QB: Questionable (Who knows how Weinke, Derby would really do if thrown in a game? Ruddock has the press, but so did Christensen)
TE: Deep and talented
DL: questionable. There may be some good incoming RS Frosh, but it looks questionable between Seniors and them
LB: Looks to be young but talented
CB: Young and talented -more athletic talent than Iowa has typically had at this position.
S: Nice incoming recruits, looks like we need more depth ehre.

 

[olddude]

Football season can't get here fast enough, right?

I was reading the ESPN/Blue Ribbon preview of the Hawks and it got me thinking about which positions Iowa has real depth of talent and where it may be questionable or clearly lacking. It was thinking about CB that inspired this post. I do not think the Hawks have ever had this much athletic talent waiting in the Soph/Frosh classes. Here are my preliminary thoughts:

OL: Very deep and talented
WR: Talented and inexperienced
RB: Talented and inexperienced
QB: Questionable (Who knows how Weinke, Derby would really do if thrown in a game? Ruddock has the press, but so did Christensen)
TE: Deep and talented
DL: questionable. There may be some good incoming RS Frosh, but it looks questionable between Seniors and them
LB: Looks to be young but talented
CB: Young and talented -more athletic talent than Iowa has typically had at this position.
S: Nice incoming recruits, looks like we need more depth ehre.

Alright, I'll go, you dont think I'll go? Just watch me go.
OL, stacked
WR, experience,talent and talented without experience
RB, talent, experience and talent without experience
QB, all depends on Vandy, but you dont follow Stanzi and Vandy (if he is good) and not learn what it takes to command at Iowa.
TE, stacked
DL, the right mix of experience and young blood, to perform well and get it done all the way thru. Depth meh, could be better, but our lines are almost always pretty well off.
LB, experience and talent, some more than others, but sitting pretty darn good.
CB, stacked
S, If I was younger I would try to be a walk on (thats what I used to play). We need for something to happen here. If we are going to move CB's to S, you can say it's because we are stacked at CB or the other side to the argument is because we are in need of S's. Thats the biggest concern for me with this years D. I know Norm will do well, always does. I know we have the right "stuff" up front, I just wish I felt better about the big play killers.

 

[tm3308]

I never saw any high school highlights for Christensen, so maybe he looked every bit as impressive, but Rudock blew me away in his highlight videos. It wasn't simply a case of having wide-open receivers on every play. He threaded the needle quite a bit, too. Excellent decision-making skills, more than adequate arm strength (though not elite), pin-point accuracy, very mobile, and VERY smart (pre-med). Also comes off as pretty humble (something that Christensen didn't have going for him).

 

[olddude]

I never saw any high school highlights for Christensen, so maybe he looked every bit as impressive, but Rudock blew me away in his highlight videos. It wasn't simply a case of having wide-open receivers on every play. He threaded the needle quite a bit, too. Excellent decision-making skills, more than adequate arm strength (though not elite), pin-point accuracy, very mobile, and VERY smart (pre-med). Also comes off as pretty humble (something that Christensen didn't have going for him).

I to am feeling that we will be sending QB's to the pros for a few years now.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I like the topic, but I don't really agree with some of the breakdowns ... not that there's a problem with that. You cannot just look at the number of guys we have, but also how deep we can go with quality guys at most spots. For instance, Iowa really likes to use formations utilizing 2+ TEs. As a result, Iowa will play 3 guys at TE quite a bit if they can ... and that means that ideally we should have AT LEAST 4 guys who could play at a high level and 3 guys who could start.

Anyhow, here's my take for the O ....

QB: Deep and talented but lacking in experience [3-deep with talent and contrast - Vandenberg, Derby/Wienke, Rudock]

RB: Thin and talented AND pretty inexperienced [2-, maybe 3-deep with talent - Coker, White/Johnson/McCall]

FB: Thin and inexperienced [1- or 2-deep - Gimm, Covert/Reisen]

TE: Adequate depth ... possibly on the thin side, good talent, but lacking in experience [ 2-deep MAYBE - spot 1: Herman, Derby spot 2: Fiedorowicz, Hamilton]

WR: Adequate depth, really talented, lacking in overall experience ... remark: only adequate depth because we use everything from a 1-WR set to 4-WR sets [3-deep MAYBE - spot 1: McNutt, Staggs, Shumpert spot 2: Davis, Martin-Manley, Grant/Hillyer]

OL: Deep, talented, and experienced ... versatility of players helps to improve our depth [almost 3-deep - LT: Reiff, MacMillan, Tobin RT: Zusevics, Van Sloten, Scherff/Orne LG: Gettis, Scherff/Boffeli, Orne RG: MacMillan, Scherff, Boffeli/Orne C: Ferentz, Boffeli, Blythe]

I'll expound on the D at a later time.

 

[MisterWinky]

What got me thinking on this post is how OSU and other lite programs can "reload". Knowing what a high level Kirk and co have developed us to, I am gauging my analysis against the best, asking, "is this position at a "reload" type of level, solid 1st team and hope for health or thin?". We know the temptation is to see things through black & gold colored glasses. I am trying to be as objective as I can. That's why, with po's such as QB, I have to say it is questionable. I believe Vandenberg will be better than Stanzi - but what if he gets knocked out via injury? That's why I can not say we have great depth there. There really is no way of knowing beyond hope, since Iowa does not play their backup QB's.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

What got me thinking on this post is how OSU and other lite programs can "reload". Knowing what a high level Kirk and co have developed us to, I am gauging my analysis against the best, asking, "is this position at a "reload" type of level, solid 1st team and hope for health or thin?". We know the temptation is to see things through black & gold colored glasses. I am trying to be as objective as I can. That's why, with po's such as QB, I have to say it is questionable. I believe Vandenberg will be better than Stanzi - but what if he gets knocked out via injury? That's why I can not say we have great depth there. There really is no way of knowing beyond hope, since Iowa does not play their backup QB's.

QB is one position where NEARLY ANY program would take a huge hit if their starter went down ... and programs like USC, Oklahoma, and tOSU are not immune either.

Thus, it's not reasonable for ANY program to assume that there wouldn't at least be some drop-off. To that end, you have to judge whether the backups are capable of developing into decent "every-down" starters.