Scary Thought: Next Year's Team Will Be Significantly WORSE

[Iceman]

Sometimes during "rebuilding years" like this year, hawk fans can remain upbeat because there are some young studs in the pipeline who have shown great potential and very few seniors graduating. Sadly, this years team leaves virtually no optimism for next year. Recruiting has taken a turn for the worst ever since the new staff came aboard. Thus, given this year's team's performance and the high number of seniors on it, next years is going to be worse. Let's look at what we lose:

RB: Draw. Our three year starter at RB, one of the school's career leaders, is gone. Also, our 3rd down back who has caught more passes than any rb in recent history graduates. Some optimism with Wadley and Canzeri coming back, but neither has proved to be even an average Big 10 RB. If Canzeri can stay healthy, he will be serviceable. Maybe Daniels can come back strong?

QB: Net loss (if CJ leaves). In all likelihood, our QB with the most potential and the biggest arm, CJ, is gone after this season. No one would blame him. The coach has made it clear that no matter how well CJ plays, Jake has been his man since he won the job 2 years ago and Kirk "hasn't given any thought to" changing that decision. So next year we are left with Jake. The guy who makes a living at check downs and gets happy feet at the slightest sign of pressure. He has shown glimpses of potential, but more often than not (including against Wisconsin, when the tv commentators were even asking Kirk to put in the backup), he is a "game manager," who can lead a team to a 7-5 record at best. If CJ is gone, we are the same or worse off at the position next year. We got 3 QB recruits coming in, but none had senior seasons that would lead us to believe they will be Big 10 qbs.

WR: Net loss. We lose one of our all time catch leaders. We also lose our first speedy deep threat in nearly a decade, in Powell. What we have coming back are the 3 white interchangeable WRs (Hillyer, Vandy, and who?), as well as Tavon Smith. Any recruits in the pipeline who have seen action and shown glimpses? None that I can think of, other than Willies, who Kirk ran off by playing favorites and not getting him in the game. If Willies comes back, there is some optimism. If not, we will actually be worse at the position next year than we were this year.

OL: Net loss. We lose our all American left tackle. We replace him with a walkon who will be a soph? We lose our RT and our C. Backing some of these guys up are, none other than, other walkons/2 stars. Any stud 4 star OL recruits in the past few years to reload? Nope.

LB: Net gain. We have one of the worst LB units we have had under Ferentz. We have gone out and recruited no JUCOs or 4 star LB recruits to add depth to the position. Given that two of our starters are walkons/2 stars, don't expect the unit to be much improved next year.

DB: Net gain. We lose one of our best DBs, Loudermilk. Everyone else is back. Hopefully, this means we will be slightly improved at the position.

TE: Draw. We lose our starter, Hamilton, but get Duzy back. We are always stacked at TE, so I foresee us being the same next year.

DL: Net loss. We lose our top to players off the DL, one likely being a first round pick in Davis. The other will likely play on Sundays in Trinca Pasat. We replace them with Bazda and Jaleel Johnson. Neither have really shown enough to be excited about. The DL will be worse next year by quite a bit.

Forgot the most important position of a KF coached team.....the punter

 

[GVhawk10]

8 wins is what i expect just because i think we will be slightly above average and our schedule is blah. the home schedule is going to be a snoozer. People were giving tickets away yesterday and it was the biggest game in Kinnick in the last 4 years. going to be a tough sell for the athletic department.

 

[RocknRollface]

2015 Iowa Hawkeyes Football Schedule
Date		Opponent	Time/TV	Tickets
Saturday Sept. 5		Illinois State RedBirds Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 12		at Iowa State Cyclones Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA	TBA	Buy Tickets
Saturday Sept. 19		Pittsburgh Panthers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Sept. 26		North Texas Mean Green Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 3		at Wisconsin Badgers Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 10		Illinois Fighting Illini Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 17		at Northwestern Wildcats Ryan Field, Evanston, IL	TBA	---
Saturday Oct. 24	---	Open Date	---	---
Saturday Oct. 31		Maryland Terrapins Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 7		at Indiana Hoosiers Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 14		Minnesota Golden Gophers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Saturday Nov. 21		Purdue Boilermakers Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA	TBA	---
Friday Nov. 27		at Nebraska Cornhuskers Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE	TBA

I see 7-8 wins on this schedule. Losses to ISU (make me puke to write that, but chalk up as a loss as long as Ferentz is coach), Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana (or Minny I think Iowa loses to Minny or Indiana but not both), Nebraska (though it all depends with Nebraska and their mental state at the time).

another mediocre 7 win season isn't even worth watching.

 

[RocknRollface]

Really disagree with most of this post. I'm not going to break it down line by line, but you are not analyzing who is coming back, and who is showing promise for next year. In addition, there is zero analysis of what the other teams lose. Many of them lose a lot.

FAIL

To think this program is going to do better next year when they couldn't put together a decent season with this MAC schedule is fooling you're self.

The talent level isn't there anymore to make up for the awful, play not to lose, schemes and it's going to get worse not better. They've got a bunch of walkons in the two deeps now.

 

[BirdsOfPrey]

It took Scherff most of last season to recover fully from his broken leg. He started playing great the last two games & in the bowl game. This year Scherff got hurt against Ball State and had surgery. It took most of this season to recover. He's just now starting to play great again and he should be dominant by bowl time. Tons of potential make him a first round draft pick. Iowa didn't get NFL skills at tackle from Scherff most of the last two years. Not sure what Carl Davis' issue has been this year. Top draft pick...maybe, but until the Wisconson game he had been mostly invisible this year. Jaleel Johnson, Darrian Cooper, Faith, Bazata, an improved bigger Meier and Ott will anchor a solid D-line. The secondary will be the best group in the Big Ten. With a year learning on the job, the linebackers will be much better. The defense will be solid. Blythe/Welsh/Walsh will anchor the O-line. Ward & Keppy were 4-star recruits and could fill spots. O-line is Ferentz' specialty and has never been a concern. Every year Iowa has a decent O-line, and a young NFL type tackle seems to emerge from the ranks. The QB's will be better, Smith is a potential star at WR, Parker/Wadley/Canzeri beat Wiseman/Bullock and we have great tightends returning in Duzey/Cobble Krieger. Next years team will be better in my opinion. If I were to freak out about one position, it would be punter. Punting was weak every game this year. If Davis retires and we get a new O.C., it should be a fun year.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I wish I could say I see next season being a lot different than this year ... At first glance I see about 7 wins. And sadly, I chalk the ISU game as a loss (despite knowing they won't be a good team) ... and then you factor in road games at Wisky and Nebby. I just really don't see our program exceeding what we are seeing on the field today.

 

[tm3308]

Sometimes during "rebuilding years" like this year, hawk fans can remain upbeat because there are some young studs in the pipeline who have shown great potential and very few seniors graduating. Sadly, this years team leaves virtually no optimism for next year. Recruiting has taken a turn for the worst ever since the new staff came aboard. Thus, given this year's team's performance and the high number of seniors on it, next years is going to be worse. Let's look at what we lose:

RB: Draw. Our three year starter at RB, one of the school's career leaders, is gone. Also, our 3rd down back who has caught more passes than any rb in recent history graduates. Some optimism with Wadley and Canzeri coming back, but neither has proved to be even an average Big 10 RB. If Canzeri can stay healthy, he will be serviceable. Maybe Daniels can come back strong?

QB: Net loss (if CJ leaves). In all likelihood, our QB with the most potential and the biggest arm, CJ, is gone after this season. No one would blame him. The coach has made it clear that no matter how well CJ plays, Jake has been his man since he won the job 2 years ago and Kirk "hasn't given any thought to" changing that decision. So next year we are left with Jake. The guy who makes a living at check downs and gets happy feet at the slightest sign of pressure. He has shown glimpses of potential, but more often than not (including against Wisconsin, when the tv commentators were even asking Kirk to put in the backup), he is a "game manager," who can lead a team to a 7-5 record at best. If CJ is gone, we are the same or worse off at the position next year. We got 3 QB recruits coming in, but none had senior seasons that would lead us to believe they will be Big 10 qbs.

WR: Net loss. We lose one of our all time catch leaders. We also lose our first speedy deep threat in nearly a decade, in Powell. What we have coming back are the 3 white interchangeable WRs (Hillyer, Vandy, and who?), as well as Tavon Smith. Any recruits in the pipeline who have seen action and shown glimpses? None that I can think of, other than Willies, who Kirk ran off by playing favorites and not getting him in the game. If Willies comes back, there is some optimism. If not, we will actually be worse at the position next year than we were this year.

OL: Net loss. We lose our all American left tackle. We replace him with a walkon who will be a soph? We lose our RT and our C. Backing some of these guys up are, none other than, other walkons/2 stars. Any stud 4 star OL recruits in the past few years to reload? Nope.

LB: Net gain. We have one of the worst LB units we have had under Ferentz. We have gone out and recruited no JUCOs or 4 star LB recruits to add depth to the position. Given that two of our starters are walkons/2 stars, don't expect the unit to be much improved next year.

DB: Net gain. We lose one of our best DBs, Loudermilk. Everyone else is back. Hopefully, this means we will be slightly improved at the position.

TE: Draw. We lose our starter, Hamilton, but get Duzy back. We are always stacked at TE, so I foresee us being the same next year.

DL: Net loss. We lose our top to players off the DL, one likely being a first round pick in Davis. The other will likely play on Sundays in Trinca Pasat. We replace them with Bazda and Jaleel Johnson. Neither have really shown enough to be excited about. The DL will be worse next year by quite a bit.

RB: I can agree with this. I've got optimism for Canzeri/Wadley/Parker/Daniels, but none of them are truly proven.

QB: Net loss? For all the talent CJB seems to have, he's not seen the field much this year. You can't really miss what you never really had. I'd call it a wash even if CJB leaves.

WR: Powell is in a similar boat as CJB. He's not been utilized all that much, so losing him isn't going to be that big of a deal when trying to compare this year's team to next year's. Vandeberg has started showing some serious flashes of being a dependable possession receiver who can go deep every once in a while (not unlike Ed Hinkel in that regard). Smith could be a bonafide star, if he's utilized properly. I honestly believe he's Iowa's most gifted all-round receiver since Mo Brown, maybe even longer than that. If Willies is allowed back into the fold, he could also develop into a game-changer and take the reins from Smith after next season.

TE: Hamilton is the starter and I like what he contributes, but Duzey is this team's featured TE. Besides that, this position is consistently the one we never have to worry about under Ferentz. We've always got at least one good one.

OL: This is the only real question mark on offense.

DL: Losing Davis and LTP sucks, but Johnson and Ekakite have looked good in their PT this year (which they've gotten a fair amount of). We've got Ott and Meier back for another year, and Ott in particular has been very good for us this year. Depth could be a concern if injuries take their toll on this position, but the starters should be more than capable.

LB: Can only hope for improvement here. Jewell and Bower have both shown flashes. Not terribly optimistic that this will become a strong group, but it shouldn't be any worse.

DB: I feel pretty good about this group. We know what we have in King, and Mabin has played very well this year for a first-year starter who gets constantly picked on because teams don't want to challenge King very often. I personally think Brandon Snyder takes over FS and Lomax switches over to SS, where I think he's a better fit. There are several options to replace Lowdermilk, but I think Snyder does it for a couple reasons:

1. He would make for a "good story." A kid who nearly had to have his leg amputated two years ago and has since walked on and been a scout team POW multiple times this year, he's tailor-made for this role (which is one we all know Ferentz loves to have).

2. I think he would be legitimately successful. He's a terrific athlete who excelled in five different sports during his high school career. He picked up golf because he couldn't run track his junior year due to his battle with compartment syndrome, and he placed 7th at state that year. He was one of the better high school point guards I've seen in Iowa, and he was obviously a damn good football player. He hit .370 as a sophomore on the baseball team, didn't get to play his junior year (compartment syndrome, I'm assuming), and was hitting over .600 last summer before leaving to report for offseason workouts. He was also class valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. This is one of those kids who just seems to excel at whatever he sets his mind to. He'll be a "good story," but it will be more like Greenwood/Pagel/Considine than say Tanner Miller (who I always thought got more grief than he deserved, but he wasn't near the level of the three guys I just mentioned).

 

[Clark]

We're starting two freshmen at linebacker. You remember how bad Morris, Hitchens, and Kirksey were as first year starters? Has Iowa had freshmen starters who didn't wind up being good players? (barring serious injuries of course)

I think the defense will be really good next year. They're not terrible this year and return 8 starters and most of the key backups.

The only question I have on offense is the line, which has been pretty inconsistent this year.

 

[Churlish79]

I'm still confused about why Kenny was moved to FB when we need all the LB talent we can get.. and he was brought in as a pretty well rated LB recruit..

Either way, I'm in the same boat as most here. I can see the D being better. The OLine worries a bit.

And additionally, RBs could be bolstered by Higdon and/or Markel Smith.

A lot of people keep saying the talent isn't there.. but Iowa seems to be recruiting at a pretty solid (if unspectacular) clip these last 2-3 classes. Just need some of those kids to step in.

 

[tm3308]

I'm still confused about why Kenny was moved to FB when we need all the LB talent we can get.. and he was brought in as a pretty well rated LB recruit..

Either way, I'm in the same boat as most here. I can see the D being better. The OLine worries a bit.

And additionally, RBs could be bolstered by Higdon and/or Markel Smith.

A lot of people keep saying the talent isn't there.. but Iowa seems to be recruiting at a pretty solid (if unspectacular) clip these last 2-3 classes. Just need some of those kids to step in.

Kenny moved to FB at a point in the season when we had zero healthy fullbacks.

 

[Churlish79]

Kenny moved to FB at a point in the season when we had zero healthy fullbacks.

...Will he move back??

 

[Sparky]

QB – Push. Rudock is Rudock. I’m convinced after that second half with Wisconsin that the problem isn’t Rudock. His first half wasn’t that bad either.

RB – Iowa is going to be fine if not better. Wadley is going to be a great RB for Iowa if he can hold onto the ball. He has speed and he can move laterally. Canzeri can’t stay healthy so he’ll probably be out most of the season anyway. Weisman has done great things at Iowa and I’m going to miss him playing. It’s time though an actual RB with some finesse takes his place, especially when we can run inside and outside with the same guy.

WR – Martin-Manley leaving does suck, we have a lot of talent in Hillyer and Vandeberg. After that there’s concern even though Iowa has a lot of talent on the bench and history has shown that there is talent hiding somewhere behind the starters. We could get lucky and have Smith breakout.

TE – Duzey returning is great for Iowa and I never worry about this position anyway, we’re always stacked.

O-Line – We’re in trouble. We’re losing two of our tackles…the hardest position to replace. Boettger could be good, but there’s going to be a hell of a learning curve for him.

As for defense…LB is going to be a huge issue. Other than that I think the rest of the defense side will be better.

If Iowa doesn’t at the least 9-3 with the cupcake schedule they have then the whole program needs burnt to the ground and the stadium moved to Ames. With that, Iowa goes 7-5. With loses to ISU, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebby.

 

[taffaej]

It seems I'm always negative on this board but I don't do it for shock value, its right from the gut. With this post I am going to disagree. Next season I see ending up much like this years assuming there is no coaching changes. We will win the games we are supposed to, loose one game we shouldn't have and as in most season's loose one that we get out coached in. I still see 7-8 wins.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

Iowa will return 3 of 5 starters on the Oline. Wont have the star power of Scherff, but theyll be an adequate group. Receivers will be good, QB will be solid. RB remains to be seen, but you get Daniels back, Wadley, Canzeri.

Defensively, you lose Trinca Passat and Davis. You also get Darian Cooper back. Ott, Cooper, Johnson, Ekakitie, Bazata, Meier should be a good group up front. LBs will be better. On the back end you lose Lowdermilk. Gair and Lomax are your safetys with King and Mabin as your corners.

Iowa should be solid. The key word is SHOULD. We'll see what happens

 

[HawkeyeWalker]

QB – Push. Rudock is Rudock. I’m convinced after that second half with Wisconsin that the problem isn’t Rudock. His first half wasn’t that bad either.

RB – Iowa is going to be fine if not better. Wadley is going to be a great RB for Iowa if he can hold onto the ball. He has speed and he can move laterally. Canzeri can’t stay healthy so he’ll probably be out most of the season anyway. Weisman has done great things at Iowa and I’m going to miss him playing. It’s time though an actual RB with some finesse takes his place, especially when we can run inside and outside with the same guy.

WR – Martin-Manley leaving does suck, we have a lot of talent in Hillyer and Vandeberg. After that there’s concern even though Iowa has a lot of talent on the bench and history has shown that there is talent hiding somewhere behind the starters. We could get lucky and have Smith breakout.

TE – Duzey returning is great for Iowa and I never worry about this position anyway, we’re always stacked.

O-Line – We’re in trouble. We’re losing two of our tackles…the hardest position to replace. Boettger could be good, but there’s going to be a hell of a learning curve for him.

As for defense…LB is going to be a huge issue. Other than that I think the rest of the defense side will be better.

If Iowa doesn’t at the least 9-3 with the cupcake schedule they have then the whole program needs burnt to the ground and the stadium moved to Ames. With that, Iowa goes 7-5. With loses to ISU, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebby.

I'm with Sparky on this. Good take. I think we get 9 wins, another abnirmal year where I believe 8 should be the floor of what is acceptable . Ceiling is unknown.

Let's start by beating nebby....

 

[longtimer]

I think we will have similar talent to this year. I know most are not thrilled with Ruddock but its always a plus to have an experienced QB. And unlike the generator of this thread I really like the kid from Dowling. Looks like a dual threat and is a winner. Of course we lose a couple of good offensive linemen and I think that will be the biggest question mark. But I think the real key is if Davis comes back. I still think a lot of our failure to block well in the run game came from the scheme and the play calling. We could actually be better there with less talent.

Defense I think Johnson really came on and we have a couple of other options although we are losing a couple of good ones. How can linebacker be worse? Neiman showed promise and Bower improved and maybe we can bring in a JC or freshman who can contribute early. As far as the secondary goes we have potentially one of the better we have had in a while. Punting cannot be worse!

We need to have someone emerge as a difference maker as we really didnt have one this year. Parker? Hopefully someone because you have to have difference makers to get beyond that 7 win mediocrity. Look what a difference a guy like Gordon makes

 

[wundergrape]

QB – Push. Rudock is Rudock. I’m convinced after that second half with Wisconsin that the problem isn’t Rudock. His first half wasn’t that bad either.

RB – Iowa is going to be fine if not better. Wadley is going to be a great RB for Iowa if he can hold onto the ball. He has speed and he can move laterally. Canzeri can’t stay healthy so he’ll probably be out most of the season anyway. Weisman has done great things at Iowa and I’m going to miss him playing. It’s time though an actual RB with some finesse takes his place, especially when we can run inside and outside with the same guy.

WR – Martin-Manley leaving does suck, we have a lot of talent in Hillyer and Vandeberg. After that there’s concern even though Iowa has a lot of talent on the bench and history has shown that there is talent hiding somewhere behind the starters. We could get lucky and have Smith breakout.

TE – Duzey returning is great for Iowa and I never worry about this position anyway, we’re always stacked.

O-Line – We’re in trouble. We’re losing two of our tackles…the hardest position to replace. Boettger could be good, but there’s going to be a hell of a learning curve for him.

As for defense…LB is going to be a huge issue. Other than that I think the rest of the defense side will be better.

If Iowa doesn’t at the least 9-3 with the cupcake schedule they have then the whole program needs burnt to the ground and the stadium moved to Ames. With that, Iowa goes 7-5. With loses to ISU, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebby.

Tevaun Smith already (pretty much) broke out. He's the top receiver on this team.

 

[HawkPrdatr40]

I actually see Weismann leaving as a huge loss, he's not the prototypical great back, but his ability to pick up 3 and 2's is priceless, especially since ioway offense has been on 3rd down most of the year.

Amazing stuff.. You can't really be serious, but I'm never surprised but some of the things I read. Nothing but respect for Wiseman but this is good for this program, KF has leaned on him for WAY to long..

 

[Easton]

In reading the OP post my first thought is someone should tell Hillyer ' s parents that he is white. They might be surprised to hear that.

 

[sodakhawkeye]

.

DB: I feel pretty good about this group. We know what we have in King, and Mabin has played very well this year for a first-year starter who gets constantly picked on because teams don't want to challenge King very often. I personally think Brandon Snyder takes over FS and Lomax switches over to SS, where I think he's a better fit. There are several options to replace Lowdermilk, but I think Snyder does it for a couple reasons:

1. He would make for a "good story." A kid who nearly had to have his leg amputated two years ago and has since walked on and been a scout team POW multiple times this year, he's tailor-made for this role (which is one we all know Ferentz loves to have).

2. I think he would be legitimately successful. He's a terrific athlete who excelled in five different sports during his high school career. He picked up golf because he couldn't run track his junior year due to his battle with compartment syndrome, and he placed 7th at state that year. He was one of the better high school point guards I've seen in Iowa, and he was obviously a damn good football player. He hit .370 as a sophomore on the baseball team, didn't get to play his junior year (compartment syndrome, I'm assuming), and was hitting over .600 last summer before leaving to report for offseason workouts. He was also class valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. This is one of those kids who just seems to excel at whatever he sets his mind to. He'll be a "good story," but it will be more like Greenwood/Pagel/Considine than say Tanner Miller (who I always thought got more grief than he deserved, but he wasn't near the level of the three guys I just mentioned).[/QUOTE]

He left the baseball team this summer when he hurt his elbow and could no longer play. At that point he decided to head to Iowa City.