JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Iowa’s spring football sessions are in the books…here are a few questions that may have been answered and some that have come about.
QUARTERBACK: Greg Davis and Kirk Ferentz have both said that Jake Rudock is the #1 guy. But both have said they are going to get CJ Beathard some snaps in each game next year, or a series. Does that make things shape up like Jake Christensen v Ricky Stanzi from 2008?
Christensen entered spring as the clear #1, having started the entire 2007 season…the same as Rudock. But in the spring of 2008, Stanzi, who was younger than Christensen, began to grow and make strides. He showed better touch and when spring was over, whispers began to emerge that he was Ken O’Keefe’s choice. Then came the fall and each quarterback started a game and both looked solid. Then came the Pittsburgh game and Christensen struggled in the first half and was outplayed by Stanzi. Ferentz went with Jake C in the second half, calling it a ‘gut feeling’, as Jake C had led Iowa to a win the previous week against Iowa State. This gut feeling didn’t work out and Iowa lost 21-20. The following week, Ricky Stanzi started the game and never relinquished his hold on the job. Christensen would transfer to Eastern Illinois the following year.
Back to the present…Rudock started an entire season for Iowa and helped lead the Hawkeyes to an 8-5 record and an Outback Bowl bid. Pretty heady stuff for a sophomore. But Beathard…oh the tantalizing arm he possesses…and he runs better than Rudock, too.
Marc Morehouse of The Gazette calls it a ‘Quarterback Something’ and I agree…Who knows if this will be the ‘go with the hot hand’ type of thing, but if they allow Beathard a series early in each game, they are opening up Pandora’s box for a full blown quarterback competition. Beathard is no shrinking violet, either. He’ll go in and he’ll look for the opportunities. That said, he’ll need to not try to hit the home run on every throw. The coaches know he has that in his tool box. Hitting the check down and ‘putting some money in the bank’ as KOK used to say will be just as important for CJB.
Iowa has two capable quarterbacks…two Big Ten capable quarterbacks. Letting CJB know, at this juncture on the calendar, that he is going to play in games next year might also ensure that Iowa has two Big Ten capable quarterbacks on the roster in September, too.
WIDE RECEIVER: I wrote during the offseason that receiver could turn out to be a strength for Iowa this year and that there might be as much talent at this position on the roster than we have seen in the Ferentz era…unproven talent, but talent just the same.
Derrick Willies was the breakout star of the spring and had big days at both public practices. He looks the part, he has the speed and now must work on consistency, which can be the bane of most young players.
With Willies, KMM, Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer, Iowa has an impressive looking core that looks more like a Michigan lineup than an Iowa lineup. Add in the upside of Demond Powell and the fact that the coaches love Matt VandeBerg and you’re talking about a number of quality targets…not to mention the capable hands Iowa has in its tight end ranks.
All in all, there may be more quality targets for Iowa quarterbacks to throw to since…since…well, a long time.
LINEBACKER: Iowa has enormous shoes to fill here, but Quinton Alston is going to be a very good player. Reggie Spearman and Travis Perry have more ‘proving’ to do on the field, but we all remember Spearman from last year when he was used in pass rush situations. Josey Jewell has been making plays, according to Phil Parker:
Jewell has really showed up out there, just as a football player. We look at it and say, ‘who is the guy going out and making plays?’ You just watch the film and you just watch the guys running around on tape and you see him tracking guys down. Somewhere, he’s going to have to fit in our system because when you give that much effort and you attack the football the way he does and make plays the way he’s done, he’s going to probably show up.’
West Branch walk on Bo Bower is also getting his nose in there and is getting a chance to work his way into the mix.
This position, along with the secondary, is pretty open right now and will likely work itself out in August and September.
QUARTERBACK: Greg Davis and Kirk Ferentz have both said that Jake Rudock is the #1 guy. But both have said they are going to get CJ Beathard some snaps in each game next year, or a series. Does that make things shape up like Jake Christensen v Ricky Stanzi from 2008?
Christensen entered spring as the clear #1, having started the entire 2007 season…the same as Rudock. But in the spring of 2008, Stanzi, who was younger than Christensen, began to grow and make strides. He showed better touch and when spring was over, whispers began to emerge that he was Ken O’Keefe’s choice. Then came the fall and each quarterback started a game and both looked solid. Then came the Pittsburgh game and Christensen struggled in the first half and was outplayed by Stanzi. Ferentz went with Jake C in the second half, calling it a ‘gut feeling’, as Jake C had led Iowa to a win the previous week against Iowa State. This gut feeling didn’t work out and Iowa lost 21-20. The following week, Ricky Stanzi started the game and never relinquished his hold on the job. Christensen would transfer to Eastern Illinois the following year.
Back to the present…Rudock started an entire season for Iowa and helped lead the Hawkeyes to an 8-5 record and an Outback Bowl bid. Pretty heady stuff for a sophomore. But Beathard…oh the tantalizing arm he possesses…and he runs better than Rudock, too.
Marc Morehouse of The Gazette calls it a ‘Quarterback Something’ and I agree…Who knows if this will be the ‘go with the hot hand’ type of thing, but if they allow Beathard a series early in each game, they are opening up Pandora’s box for a full blown quarterback competition. Beathard is no shrinking violet, either. He’ll go in and he’ll look for the opportunities. That said, he’ll need to not try to hit the home run on every throw. The coaches know he has that in his tool box. Hitting the check down and ‘putting some money in the bank’ as KOK used to say will be just as important for CJB.
Iowa has two capable quarterbacks…two Big Ten capable quarterbacks. Letting CJB know, at this juncture on the calendar, that he is going to play in games next year might also ensure that Iowa has two Big Ten capable quarterbacks on the roster in September, too.
WIDE RECEIVER: I wrote during the offseason that receiver could turn out to be a strength for Iowa this year and that there might be as much talent at this position on the roster than we have seen in the Ferentz era…unproven talent, but talent just the same.
Derrick Willies was the breakout star of the spring and had big days at both public practices. He looks the part, he has the speed and now must work on consistency, which can be the bane of most young players.
With Willies, KMM, Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer, Iowa has an impressive looking core that looks more like a Michigan lineup than an Iowa lineup. Add in the upside of Demond Powell and the fact that the coaches love Matt VandeBerg and you’re talking about a number of quality targets…not to mention the capable hands Iowa has in its tight end ranks.
All in all, there may be more quality targets for Iowa quarterbacks to throw to since…since…well, a long time.
LINEBACKER: Iowa has enormous shoes to fill here, but Quinton Alston is going to be a very good player. Reggie Spearman and Travis Perry have more ‘proving’ to do on the field, but we all remember Spearman from last year when he was used in pass rush situations. Josey Jewell has been making plays, according to Phil Parker:
Jewell has really showed up out there, just as a football player. We look at it and say, ‘who is the guy going out and making plays?’ You just watch the film and you just watch the guys running around on tape and you see him tracking guys down. Somewhere, he’s going to have to fit in our system because when you give that much effort and you attack the football the way he does and make plays the way he’s done, he’s going to probably show up.’
West Branch walk on Bo Bower is also getting his nose in there and is getting a chance to work his way into the mix.
This position, along with the secondary, is pretty open right now and will likely work itself out in August and September.
Last edited:
