CJSHawk
Well-Known Member
QB- No surprise Rudock gets the nod here. He had a solid season last year as first time starter. He'll need to cut down on the picks this year and I think he will. While I still believe CJB has the higher ceiling and more arm talent, it's hard to argue with Rudock as our starter.RB- I hope our coaches finally take advantage of our RB's skillsets. Weisman needs to be our short-yardage north/south RB. Bullock should be utilized as a third down option. And Canzeri is the home run threat. They were used that way in the NW game last year and it was fun to watch, but we got away from it in the bowl game. Remember the toss sweep to Weisman? Having said all that, this is a position of strength for the Hawks.TE- Given the TE history at Iowa this position should always be stocked with good players and I think we are. I loved watching how our TE's were used in the OSU game last year. I'd love to see more of that this year.WR- Here's hoping we finally.....finally have some big-play potential at this position! KMM is a singles hitter, but it appears guys like Willies, Powell, and Smith could really stretch the field for us this year. This position has been really bad recently. It's time to see results from the hire of Coach Kennedy.OL- Our starting five appears strong, but our lack of depth at this position is frustrating given our reputation on the OL. We simply can't afford any injuries on the OL, especially at tackle.DL/DE- Looking forward to seeing these guys play this year. A lot of experience across the board. Hopefully Darian Cooper can get healthy soon.LB- Iowa doesn't recruit at a level to lose three players like Kirksey, Morris, and Hitchens and not feel it. Hopefully a strong DL can help, but this won't be a position of strength this year.DB- Desmond King is our only proven commodity at this position. Lowdermilk is ok, and Lomax has been injured most of his time at Iowa and is switching positions. Greg Mabin is listed as the other starter and no one knows much about him. I think Iowa fans need to prepare for the fact that we're going to have issues in our back seven this year. We just are!Coaching Staff- Let's hope this is the year Kirk Ferentz and Greg Davis finally come to an understanding as to what our offensive identity is going to be. I'm still skeptical this Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator combination is going to work out, but if it is this is the year it needs to happen. 2012 was an absolute joke. While the offense was improved in 2013 Iowa was hardly an offensive juggernaut. The pieces seem to be in place for a highly productive offense in 2014, but if we're not Davis needs to go.
