The biggest factor for any team especially the Hawkeyes is whether or not they can stay healthy. It won't matter what recruits they get or how they develop in the off-season. If they can stay healthy they will be competitive and do well. If guys are hurt and we continually have to sub guys that is where our depth will kill us at most positions. If you look at the injuries we had this year the team would have looked a little different from the get go and maybe had a few more wins. (Snyder, Hooker, the lineman, Jewell the one game, Butler,) Oh and as mentioned Punting needs to be addressed big time!
This is the biggest spot where recruiting the 4-5 star guys helps. Iowa can usually get and develop some really good starters but typically if we do not have experienced back-ups we are not going to have the luxury of an Ohio State or Alabama that can just plug in 4-5 star guys that are more physically ready, generally speaking, than the average 2-3 star recruit.