Recruiting Congestion

HawkleberryFinn

HawkleberryFinn

Well-Known Member
The DE and LB positions look extremely congested between this newly signed '16 class and what we already have in the '17 Class

'16 LB
Barrington Wade (LB per Kirk)
Kristian Welch
Kyle Taylor
Nick Niemann
Amani Jones

'17 LB
Jacob Coons

'16 DE
Golston
Lattimore
Mcknight
Schulte
Simon

'17 DE
Epenesa
Kirkpatrick

Here's how I see the depth chart and position changes playing out with these classes combined:

DE Epenesa...Simon
DT J. Harris...Kirkpatrick
DT Lattimore...Schulte
DE Fant (yes, Fant)...Golston...Mcknight

LB Wade...Welch
LB Taylor...Neimann
LB Jones...Coons

Seems there could be a lot of talent on the bench that could have gone to different positions. And yes, I predict Fant to DE--he looked too good on film. Speed, agility, and a great hitter. Also keep in mind the '17 class is only 1/4 complete.
 
Last edited:
No way do I see Fant moving to defense. All I can do is picture having Fant and Cook in our 2-TE looks. That'd be our own little version of Gronk/Hernandez with a pair of matchup nightmares.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
How bout we recruit some WRs... seems to be a bit of a shortage there.
Click to expand...

They hit WR pretty hard the last few years at the expense of recruiting for the trenches, which left us a little thin on both sides up front. I'm guessing next year's class will have more WR's, but we really needed an infusion of talented depth up front.
 
LB, TE, and DE are easy to turn into other positions, that's why Iowa recruits a lot of them. It's easier to beef them up and move them around than it is to find a 300+ lb DT/OL with the necessary footspeed and agility.
 
In the press conference KF mentioned that 3 guys were projected at LB. There is a lot of position flexibility elsewhere too. DE to DT, TE to OT, LB to FB etc etc.
 
Iowa is also loaded at wr going forward. Ogwo, Smith and Falconer from 2015 Young, Darby and possibly Rugamba from 2016.
 
If IA wants to ( yes, I'm sure they do ) continue winning games AND defeat teams such as Stanford, Alabama and Florida State, then they need to improve their passing game (short and long). Relying on tight ends is not the answer. The offensive line was horrible at pass protection and CJ had to escape and run ( and get pounded ) way too often. The receivers are not getting it done either due to slowness or crappy pass patterns. I tend to think our receivers are very average. IA moved away from fullbacks running the ball and now need to move away from slow tight ends catching the ball. CJ needs to be healthy and stay healthy by not carrying the ball or getting sacked. BTW, all those q.b sneaks he had to run didn't help. Here's hoping IA opens up the offense ( yes, passing early and often ) by throwing the ball to OPEN receivers more than 3 yards beyond the LOS. PRE - conference games should be Iowa blowouts.
 
tm3308 said:
No way do I see Fant moving to defense. All I can do is picture having Fant and Cook in our 2-TE looks. That'd be our own little version of Gronk/Hernandez with a pair of matchup nightmares.
Click to expand...

Don't forget about TJ Hockensen. I think he is going to be a good one.
 
tm3308 said:
No way do I see Fant moving to defense. All I can do is picture having Fant and Cook in our 2-TE looks. That'd be our own little version of Gronk/Hernandez with a pair of matchup nightmares.
Click to expand...

Correct, Seth Wallace said they recruited Fant strictly as a TE and that helped them frankly as others saw him as Maybe a DE
 
Floridahawkeye1 said:
If IA wants to ( yes, I'm sure they do ) continue winning games AND defeat teams such as Stanford, Alabama and Florida State, then they need to improve their passing game (short and long). Relying on tight ends is not the answer. The offensive line was horrible at pass protection and CJ had to escape and run ( and get pounded ) way too often. The receivers are not getting it done either due to slowness or crappy pass patterns. I tend to think our receivers are very average. IA moved away from fullbacks running the ball and now need to move away from slow tight ends catching the ball. CJ needs to be healthy and stay healthy by not carrying the ball or getting sacked. BTW, all those q.b sneaks he had to run didn't help. Here's hoping IA opens up the offense ( yes, passing early and often ) by throwing the ball to OPEN receivers more than 3 yards beyond the LOS. PRE - conference games should be Iowa blowouts.
Click to expand...

1. The TE's we're talking about are far from slow.
2. The guy who absolutely torched Clemson in the NCG was a TE.
3. Iowa had a solid group of TE's this year, but none of them were elite. Fant, Cook and Hockenson all have the potential to be elite.
 
tm3308 said:
They hit WR pretty hard the last few years at the expense of recruiting for the trenches, which left us a little thin on both sides up front. I'm guessing next year's class will have more WR's, but we really needed an infusion of talented depth up front.
Click to expand...


As long as Kirk has warm bodies that can run routes and catch, he's good to go. Speed and explosiveness not required.
 
To say the offensive line was horrible at pass protection is not accurate. Without one or both of the starting tackles they only gave up 2.14 sacks per game. That is fewer than teams such as Pitt, Boise St., Northwestern and Washington. not many teams could do that without their starting tackles. I would like to break that down further, probably with one or both starting it was under 2.0 average. That would put them ahead of Notre Dame and Florida St.
 
Surprised nobody has mentioned Beyer in this discussion. If you look at that dude's tape he is such an impact player. I could see him being an elite TE.
 
I may doubt some things about this program at times but I don't doubt that they know where they need to backfill certain positions when they hit the recruiting trails. Part of Iowa's reputation for development involves successfully moving the pieces the around.

The talent level they've been able to acquire at some of these positions is a more debatable subject in my opinion.
 
smbhawk1 said:
Don't forget about TJ Hockensen. I think he is going to be a good one.
Click to expand...

I agree, the Hawks are loaded at TE! Remember the Penn State "nightmare/night game" a few years ago? Bill O'Brien came out with multiple TE sets and took it to the Hawks... With this group, Iowa could be set up to do the same, especially with Brian Ferentz background working with O'Brien and the TE's in New England. Really like the direction they could go with the offense!
 
I think Beyer could be a star at TE. With TJ, Fant and possibly Cook, I think Beyer goes to the defensive side. Outside linebacker. He is fast and long. Greenway type.
 
ClintonIAfan said:
To say the offensive line was horrible at pass protection is not accurate. Without one or both of the starting tackles they only gave up 2.14 sacks per game. That is fewer than teams such as Pitt, Boise St., Northwestern and Washington. not many teams could do that without their starting tackles. I would like to break that down further, probably with one or both starting it was under 2.0 average. That would put them ahead of Notre Dame and Florida St.
Click to expand...


I think the counter point would be that CJ saved the OL from giving up many sacks. If JR had been back there, the sack avg would have been quite higher. The OL was inconsistent in pass pro, at best. You're right about the injuries, but that brings up lack of depth.
 
thetrza said:
typical ferentz congesting the position groups in the recruiting class
Click to expand...

Yes, and the problem with this class' congestion is that the other "interchangeable positions" are also congested. LB-DE-TE are the three positions most of these guys can fit--with the exception of Lattimore and Schulte to DT.

Schulte, Brant Gressel, and Garret Jansen are the type of recruit I wish we would've passed or brought on as preferred walk-ons. Give that scholly to a less congested position--ideally a skill position (WR/Corner). And go get a D1 athlete!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top