Technically 09 was Stanzis first year starting (full year) remember he didnt get the job in 08 till mid season. So i guess your argument still stands.
good catch, technically you are right.
You could definitely make an arguement the difference in your state of mind entering the season as the clear favorite for the starting spot, versus "winning" a position battle mid-year with the fear of losing it again. I think that once stanzi became the starter almost everyone never looked back, because one could argue he already had that mentality entering the Outback Bowl.
I think that stanzi did a tremendous job preparing for the year, but it did not translate into W's as much as the average fan was anticipating. Kinda like a student who studies his *** off, and more times than not would ace that test, the one time he doesn't -it then negatively affects his test preparation the rest of the semester.
You could easily see how Stanzi "regressed" as the year progressed. this could have happened from the cumulative effect of the pressure both to perform in his senior season for himself, but also wanting to succeed for his team.
It could be argued that some of our current players may never again have the pre-season hype that this season brought.
any way you slice it, I have always felt underclassmen "forced" into action perform at a higher level for our program.
We as hawkeye fans have always cherrished the hard-working "Special Teams" & "Next-man-In" players. My arguement is won with the new found love for James Morris, while still being a lil' wet behind the ears in experience.
Let's hope that i am spot on with our "new" starting safeties, and Vandy.
