Tracking 2012 Class Offers

Kozan has Iowa on top per a Hawkeye Report tweet. Sounds like he's taking some more visits before he commits. Really like our chances with him. He's had Iowa on top or among his co-leaders for a long time now. His visit sounds like it went well, and given the coaches slow playing Fuller that seems like a tell that they feel very good about their chances with Kozan.

Add Kozan projected as a OT(but, could be moved)along with OT Ward, and the two four star guards from last year's class, Walsh and Blythe and the OL is being set up to be very good into the forseeable future(no, I'm not disregarding the chances of Keppy and others emerging...this is the best OL developmental program in the country after all).

Now to get those speed backs and WR's....
 
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Montanahawk said:
Kozan has Iowa on top per a Hawkeye Report tweet. Sounds like he's taking some more visits before he commits. Really like our chances with him. He's had Iowa on top or among his co-leaders for a long time now. His visit sounds like it went well, and given the coaches slow playing Fuller that seems like a tell that they feel very good about their chances with Kozan.

Add Kozan projected as a OT(but, could be moved)along with OT Ward, and the two four star guards from last year's class, Walsh and Blythe and the OL is being set up to be very good into the forseeable future(no, I'm not disregarding the chances of Kreppy and others emerging...this is the best OL developmental program in the country after all).

Now to get those speed backs and WR's....
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Iowa is going to land a great OL class this year ... no doubt.

A more interesting question is who are we going to land at RB. I think that we'll land a really good one ... I'm just not sure "who" yet.
 
Montanahawk said:
(no, I'm not disregarding the chances of Kreppy and others emerging...this is the best OL developmental program in the country after all).
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I believe his name is KEPPY. Not trying to nitpick you, but that might not be the best way to mis-spell that name!
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
BTW ... given Iowa's WR production ... I anticipate that that will only help us in our WR recruiting this year (for obvious reasons).

I also think that our lack of depth at LB and RB could get some attention of folks too. I think that that fact will likely help us in recruiting those areas.

Lastly, I believe that the Hawks will legitimately be able to advertise early playing time on the DL (assuming that a guy is ready and able to take advantage of such an opportunity). To that end, I think that Iowa will land some really good guys to complement J. Johnson and Ott! I expect a strong DL recruiting class this year!
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Don't you think we should try to land a JC transfer for the DLine? We sorely need someone of size to step in next year.
 
This class should be a pretty good one. Not 2010 or 2011, but a class full of good "Football" players so to speak. We will see a lot of late blooming seniors come on the radar in the next two months that we have never heard of. I am not being negative, but I really only see us landing 2...hopefully 3 of the top website rated talent out there. I do not feel like that is a bad thing at all tho.
My Predictions:
Garmon- Illinois
Faith- Northwestern
Diamond- Wisky
Kozan- Iowa
Darboh- Michigan....please come to Iowa
Lambert- Iowa

This is what I predict for our finish
RB-David Smith
OL-Kozan and Schoff
LB- Late bloomer, Lambert
CB- Morgan, Late bloomer
DL- Lohn, and Late bloomer
WR-Late Bloomer

Pretty BA 2012 class
 
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tgraham907 said:
This class should be a pretty good one. Not 2010 or 2011, but a class full of good "Football" players so to speak. We will see a lot of late blooming seniors come on the radar in the next two months that we have never heard of. I am not being negative, but I really only see us landing 2...hopefully 3 of the top website rated talent out there. I do not feel like that is a bad thing at all tho.
My Predictions:
Garmon- Illinois
Faith- Northwestern
Diamond- Wisky
Kozan- Iowa
Darboh- Michigan....please come to Iowa
Lambert- Iowa

This is what I predict for our finish
RB-David Smith
OL-Kozan and Schoff
LB- Late bloomer, Lambert
CB- Morgan, Late bloomer
DL- Lohn, and Late bloomer
WR-Late Bloomer

Pretty BA 2012 class
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If we got the guys that you listed ... that would be an absolutely terrific class!
 
kmurp said:
Don't you think we should try to land a JC transfer for the DLine? We sorely need someone of size to step in next year.
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No ... we don't need a JUCO of size to step in next year ... if we were to need a JUCO guy ... it would be a DE who has the chops to start right away.

The problem is that projecting JUCOs is an inexact science. Even if you like a guy ... it still doesn't mean that the guy has the chops to start. And, if the guy isn't good enough to start right away ... then we would likely be just as well off finding an exceptional high-school SR who is capable of getting quality reps as a TR FR.

Frankly, as I've mentioned before, I see Iowa getting some high quality guys on the DL in this class. I think that either Lohn or Ekakatie have the chops to get quality reps at DE as a TR FR. Such a TR FR wouldn't even be needed to start ... just a guy who could provide the D with a spark and play about 10 to 20 quality snaps per game.

In my eyes, at this juncture, DE is a bigger unknown for us than DT.

Mind you ... I'm not saying that the DL play will be all-world in 2012. The group will definitely be green ... particularly at the start of the season. However, I think that the group will be loaded with potential and have the chops to develop into an excellent unit. Considering that the back 7 ought to be very good ... and given that the O should be awesome ... the 2012 season has a chance to be a special one for us.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
If we got the guys that you listed ... that would be an absolutely terrific class!
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Ya, I feel we don't have the same momentum as the last few years with landing most of our 1A/1B guys on our board, but this class could still be special. I think Lambert will come..no inside info. I think his connection with Alston is VERY strong and that will be a big factor in his final decision. One guy I think we have a shot at but I just don't get a great feel where he will end up is Faith. He seems to be pretty serious about Iowa, but many think he is a Northwestern lean. So I guess my question for you Sir Homer is who do you think Iowa will finish this class with?
 
tgraham907 said:
Ya, I feel we don't have the same momentum as the last few years with landing most of our 1A/1B guys on our board, but this class could still be special. I think Lambert will come..no inside info. I think his connection with Alston is VERY strong and that will be a big factor in his final decision. One guy I think we have a shot at but I just don't get a great feel where he will end up is Faith. He seems to be pretty serious about Iowa, but many think he is a Northwestern lean. So I guess my question for you Sir Homer is who do you think Iowa will finish this class with?
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Like you, I want Iowa to land Ekakatie ... I just can't help but believe that he ends up landing at Northwestern.

As for who we land, I don't have an exact bead on particular guys, however, here's my "vibe":

[land 2] - Kozan, Diamond, and Fuller on OL
[land 1] - Smith and Garmon at RB
[land 2] - Lohn, Ekakatie, Curry, Clark, or unknown/late bloomer on DL
[land 2] - Darboh, Chesson, Franklin, Aikens, or unknown/late bloomer at WR
[land 1] - Morgan, Combs, or unknown/late bloomer at DB
[land 1] - Lambert, Rippy, Lyons, or unknown/late bloomer at LB

Given that we're losing Herman to graduation and that we lost Vier due to back issues, I really hope that we land Will Johnson ... however, at this juncture, I doubt that we get him.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
Like you, I want Iowa to land Ekakatie ... I just can't help but believe that he ends up landing at Northwestern.

As for who we land, I don't have an exact bead on particular guys, however, here's my "vibe":

[land 2] - Kozan, Diamond, and Fuller on OL
[land 1] - Smith and Garmon at RB
[land 2] - Lohn, Ekakatie, Curry, Clark, or unknown/late bloomer on DL
[land 2] - Darboh, Chesson, Franklin, Aikens, or unknown/late bloomer at WR
[land 1] - Morgan, Combs, or unknown/late bloomer at DB
[land 1] - Lambert, Rippy, Lyons, or unknown/late bloomer at LB

Given that we're losing Herman to graduation and that we lost Vier due to back issues, I really hope that we land Will Johnson ... however, at this juncture, I doubt that we get him.
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Faith E. is an interesting situation. As it stands Northwestern is #1, but we will see how things stand after his official visits. My hope is that he visits Iowa City during the night game against the Wildcats. The crowd will be rocking and I have a feeling we get over the hump this year. Great education and Northwestern football or Good Education and Iowa Football? Easy for me, but like you I am a "Homer" as well.
 
tgraham907 said:
Faith E. is an interesting situation. As it stands Northwestern is #1, but we will see how things stand after his official visits. My hope is that he visits Iowa City during the night game against the Wildcats. The crowd will be rocking and I have a feeling we get over the hump this year. Great education and Northwestern football or Good Education and Iowa Football? Easy for me, but like you I am a "Homer" as well.
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Hopefully the two visits are like night and day.. I certainly wouldn't be impressed by the NU "Home Game Atmosphere"
 
tgraham907 said:
Faith E. is an interesting situation. As it stands Northwestern is #1, but we will see how things stand after his official visits. My hope is that he visits Iowa City during the night game against the Wildcats. The crowd will be rocking and I have a feeling we get over the hump this year. Great education and Northwestern football or Good Education and Iowa Football? Easy for me, but like you I am a "Homer" as well.
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The Iowa coaching staff encourages the Iowa players with regard to their academics every bit as much as Northwestern does. While Iowa provides a pretty direct path to the NFL ... they don't do it at the expense of a student's education. The very fact that guys like MacMillan and Coker are math and physics majors, respectively, is testament to that fact.

The bigger advantages that Northwestern probably has over Iowa is "academic prestige" and the fact that it's a big city environment. Faith is on record stating that he strongly prefers being in a city environment.

The thing that particularly intrigues me about Faith is that while he's been outspoken about prefers a big-city environment ... he has also explicitly stated that he couldn't see himself living in Madison. That really shocks me considering that Madison is a great campus town ... and it's bigger than the Iowa City area too. What that suggests to me is that Iowa's NFL connection is awfully alluring to the young man.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
The Iowa coaching staff encourages the Iowa players with regard to their academics every bit as much as Northwestern does. While Iowa provides a pretty direct path to the NFL ... they don't do it at the expense of a student's education. The very fact that guys like MacMillan and Coker are math and physics majors, respectively, is testament to that fact.

The bigger advantages that Northwestern probably has over Iowa is "academic prestige" and the fact that it's a big city environment. Faith is on record stating that he strongly prefers being in a city environment.

The thing that particularly intrigues me about Faith is that while he's been outspoken about prefers a big-city environment ... he has also explicitly stated that he couldn't see himself living in Madison. That really shocks me considering that Madison is a great campus town ... and it's bigger than the Iowa City area too. What that suggests to me is that Iowa's NFL connection is awfully alluring to the young man.
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Correct, I am aware of where he stands I just didn't really know what kind of info I was able to put on the board without breaking a premium code. His quote about the NFL being his #1 goal might be a huge thing for us. Lets hope we can pull out the red carpet and let him see that life in Iowa City isn't so bad. All in all If we can land he and Lohn this may be one of the best D-line classes on paper we have had in a long while.
 
tgraham907 said:
This class should be a pretty good one. Not 2010 or 2011, but a class full of good "Football" players so to speak. We will see a lot of late blooming seniors come on the radar in the next two months that we have never heard of. I am not being negative, but I really only see us landing 2...hopefully 3 of the top website rated talent out there. I do not feel like that is a bad thing at all tho.
My Predictions:
Garmon- Illinois
Faith- Northwestern
Diamond- Wisky
Kozan- Iowa
Darboh- Michigan....please come to Iowa
Lambert- Iowa

This is what I predict for our finish
RB-David Smith
OL-Kozan and Schoff
LB- Late bloomer, Lambert
CB- Morgan, Late bloomer
DL- Lohn, and Late bloomer
WR-Late Bloomer

Pretty BA 2012 class
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That is odd that there is so many recruits named Late Bloomer. Must have been a popular name that year. Would be kind of confusing if we landed all of them.
 
tgraham907 said:
Correct, I am aware of where he stands I just didn't really know what kind of info I was able to put on the board without breaking a premium code. His quote about the NFL being his #1 goal might be a huge thing for us. Lets hope we can pull out the red carpet and let him see that life in Iowa City isn't so bad. All in all If we can land he and Lohn this may be one of the best D-line classes on paper we have had in a long while.
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On this board, just as long as you paraphrase premium info, it's all good. You just can't go around cutting and pasting premium info from other sites.

Anyhow, I was under the impression that the NFL was important to him. It's good to see that that impression is accurate. Landing into the NFL is also important to Fleming ... being a big reason why we landed him too. I'm willing to bet that Fleming is doing plenty of talking about Iowa and the NFL pipeline to Ekakatie.

What's more ... if you look at Iowa's experienced depth on the DL ... or rather, the striking lack thereof ... my bet is that Iowa offers a very attractive opportunity to Ekakatie as well.
 
David79 said:
That is odd that there is so many recruits named Late Bloomer. Must have been a popular name that year. Would be kind of confusing if we landed all of them.
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Late bloomer has the heart of a champion. Late was coached under Eric Taylor the head coach of the Dillon Panthers in Texas.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
On this board, just as long as you paraphrase premium info, it's all good. You just can't go around cutting and pasting premium info from other sites.

Anyhow, I was under the impression that the NFL was important to him. It's good to see that that impression is accurate. Landing into the NFL is also important to Fleming ... being a big reason why we landed him too. I'm willing to bet that Fleming is doing plenty of talking about Iowa and the NFL pipeline to Ekakatie.

What's more ... if you look at Iowa's experienced depth on the DL ... or rather, the striking lack thereof ... my bet is that Iowa offers a very attractive opportunity to Ekakatie as well.
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Gotcha with the premium info thing. I hope the quality/quantity of NFL players and lack of depth really gets to Faith. But, even tho we have a lack of depth it seems to be just with experience. We seem to have the shelf stocked with young potential.

Jr. Alvis
So. Davis, Hardy, Pasat
rFR. Cooper, Raymon, McMinn, Spears, Tsopanides
Potential tFr. Johnson, Ott

Here is hoping we can bring in Faith and Lohn.
 
tgraham907 said:
Jr. Alvis
So. Davis, Hardy, Pasat
rFR. Cooper, Raymon, McMinn, Spears, Tsopanides
Potential tFr. Johnson, Ott

Here is hoping we can bring in Faith and Lohn.
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I'm still a little struck by the fact that Heissel, who had earned praise from Ferentz, left the program just recently. Some of what I've heard suggested that part of why he left is due to the quality of the young guys we have on the DL. In the coming years, we'll see if that is accurate info or not.

Anyhow, a poster on HawkeyeReport is claiming that he's heard that Hardy is soft. And while I don't doubt that ... I'm not sure if I'd read too much into it. After all, Zusevics was considered a bit on the soft side too ... that is, until the possibility of getting playing time struck him ... and then all of a sudden his development then subsequently took off!

Similarly, I had heard folks out of Ohio say that Gaglione had really be struggling early on to pick up playing on the DL (he played LB in high school). On top of all that, he battled with injuries through much of his career. Now, if you watch Gaglione pretty closely when he's on the field ... he's actually not too bad. Right now he's a guy who has earned enough trust to participate on our goal-line D ... and he was also pretty solid when receiving back-up reps. I could definitely see Gaglione capable of emerging next year, not unlike how Nardo emerged this year.

Two guys who really pique my interest are Spears and Tsopanides. I wonder how well Spears is taking to the DL. Similarly, Tsopanides had a background playing on the DL and on the OL ... and he's always been an undersized guy who has appreciated the importance of technique. I'm really curious as to whether Tsopanides will end up at DE or DT.
 
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