Wagner Leaves To Play Football

[Northside Hawk]

Trying to follow the J Graham, A Gates and T. Gonzalez path to the NFL. A long shot but why not give it a try?

And everyone of those guys, and Julius Peppers another example, have had long NFL careers.

 

[Northside Hawk]

I’ll bet everyone on the board a hundred large he’s going to an FCS school close to home.

One doesn’t just hop on an even mediocre B1G football team after not playing the game for almost 5 years. That’s 1980s teen movie level stupid to think it’s possible.

It isn’t strictly athleticism either. Even if the guy was a freak talent he’d waste an entire year learning the scheme, playbook, and trying to get up to the speed of major football.

Look how hard Easley and Butler said it was and they had been playing football with no interruption.

I remember every last single one of those 1980's teen movies. I couldn't ignore them if I tried.

 

[DBQHAWK85]

Frederick got Williams scholarship. He was originally committed as a walk on but Fran promised him that once a scholly was available it was his.

Two scholarships after today’s departures. Some speculation that one would go to Connor but we are flexible.

Don't think Connor will get the scholly... remember that if he goes on scholarship for BB or baseball the other team has to count that scholarship too. Much more than basic considerations to think about.

I think Connor is walking for both sides until he pulls the trigger and makes a call to a specific sport. Then he can go full ride.

AND remember Connor is asking for a medical RS because of the way his season played out. If he were to get it that means he still has 5 to play 4.... no Problem to wait it out for Connor if other Grad transfers come in.

 

[DBQHAWK85]

Why is everyone pushing Ahmad to TE... he played WR in high school. He was a state track CHAMPION in the 4x100 relay in the top class in Ohio. He ran the anchor leg for his team. He is gonna be one of the faster tier WR's we have and he has freakishly above average height and above average leaping ability as advantages.

He would be an undersized but very athletic TE....

MAN THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR...

Didn't he just leave that very scenario...

 

[Xerxes]

I hope he’s at spring practice tomorrow

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Why is everyone pushing Ahmad to TE... he played WR in high school. He was a state track CHAMPION in the 4x100 relay in the top class in Ohio. He ran the anchor leg for his team. He is gonna be one of the faster tier WR's we have and he has freakishly above average height and above average leaping ability as advantages.

He would be an undersized but very athletic TE....

MAN THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR...

Didn't he just leave that very scenario...

Undersized TE!??? Wuuut!!? Cripes, they don't get much taller. CJ Fed I believe was 6' 7" and he was one of Iowa's tallest TE's ever. You don't see many WR over 6' 4" or 6' 5". Not getting your point there. I'd be fine throwing him at TE at 235 lb if he would be able to handle the blocks but not sure would be at the BIG level. Prob needs to be in the 255 to 260 range.

Because he is already at 235 and presuming will put more wt on. He'd be a mismatch nightmare at TE plus be big enough to be an effective blocker. He may not be quick enough or fast enough for a Div 1 wide receiver, but, I'm not a scout so not for sure. Plus, I think he only played one year of HS football so is pretty inexperienced at this point, in the realm of everything.

His frame fits a Div 1 TE.

 

[DBQHAWK85]

Undersized TE!??? Wuuut!!? Cripes, they don't get much taller. CJ Fed I believe was 6' 7" and he was one of Iowa's tallest TE's ever. You don't see many WR over 6' 4" or 6' 5". Not getting your point there. I'd be fine throwing him at TE at 235 lb if he would be able to handle the blocks but not sure would be at the BIG level. Prob needs to be in the 255 to 260 range.

Because he is already at 235 and presuming will put more wt on. He'd be a mismatch nightmare at TE plus be big enough to be an effective blocker. He may not be quick enough or fast enough for a Div 1 wide receiver, but, I'm not a scout so not for sure. Plus, I think he only played one year of HS football so is pretty inexperienced at this point, in the realm of everything.

His frame fits a Div 1 TE.

FROM LAND OF 10 Directly from Ahmad Wagner about playing football....

“It’s the only thing I do know how to do,” Wagner said. “So if I was playing football, I’d be a wide receiver, yeah.”

 

[Healzya]

I really think he would be great as a combo TE/WR similar to how Jimmy Graham plays. Graham never blocks but he lines up on the end of the line a lot.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

FROM LAND OF 10 Directly from Ahmad Wagner about playing football....

“It’s the only thing I do know how to do,” Wagner said. “So if I was playing football, I’d be a wide receiver, yeah.”

We'll see.

 

[DBQHAWK85]

Undersized TE!??? Wuuut!!? Cripes, they don't get much taller. CJ Fed I believe was 6' 7" and he was one of Iowa's tallest TE's ever. You don't see many WR over 6' 4" or 6' 5". Not getting your point there. I'd be fine throwing him at TE at 235 lb if he would be able to handle the blocks but not sure would be at the BIG level. Prob needs to be in the 255 to 260 range.

Because he is already at 235 and presuming will put more wt on. He'd be a mismatch nightmare at TE plus be big enough to be an effective blocker. He may not be quick enough or fast enough for a Div 1 wide receiver, but, I'm not a scout so not for sure. Plus, I think he only played one year of HS football so is pretty inexperienced at this point, in the realm of everything.

His frame fits a Div 1 TE.

You do remember he is not a 17 or 18 year old fresh out of high school.

He is a 21 YO Junior who has been in a D1 SC program for over 3 years. he started at around 210 3 years ago and has grown to 235.

line him up against a 6 foot 6 280 lbs DE and remind me how he isn't undersized... we'll see!!!

 

[smhawk]

It's a tough decision, probably will consider option of playing closer to home on FCS squad. But he could also try to show case his talent in the BigTen, if it doesn't workout, he can get starting job at any FCS school the following year likely.

 

[InGoodCo]

I’d love to see quotes of that. Anyone who follows Iowa closely knew this was his last year, Fran basically inferred it before the year.

Also since I’m here. You still haven’t answered the question as to how replacing two guys at the very bottom of our rotation with new guys would fix our issue of playing too many guys / having too long of a rotation?

More scholorships to offer is never a bad thing coming off a 4-14 conference season.

If you dont think so, why not just use 9 and call it good?

College basketball is a constant turnover any more.

More openings allow for more risk taking and more ability to correct and recover from mistakes. These departures immediately open opportunity where yesterday they looked like wasted roll players who couldn’t contribute or get on the court for a team that was already one of the worst in the conference with those players.

For instance, at one point Fran had to choose between Peter Jok and Jeremy Morgan, because he had Pat Ingram and Kyle Meyer taking up roster spots. See where that might help?

I don’t know that Fran can or will do anything immediately, but his hands were tied without guys moving on either by their own accord or through some real talk. I’ve also been told that Fran and co wouldn’t do anything to make changes to the roster for next season because he’s not a good enough coach who’s just cashing checks and playing his kid. I see this as the first step to making Iowa a better team immediately and a step that had to happen first before he could even try to make his next move. Only time will tell if he can improve the roster spot, but I was told he wouldn’t even try because of nepotism.

 

[CP87]

He may not be quick enough or fast enough for a Div 1 wide receiver, but, I'm not a scout so not for sure. Plus, I think he only played one year of HS football so is pretty inexperienced at this point, in the realm of everything.

His frame fits a Div 1 TE.

For what it is worth, his 100m times in HS were similar to Matt Vandenburg's.

 

[PCHawk]

For what it is worth, his 100m times in HS were similar to Matt Vandenburg's.

Yea but he was "sneaky fast".

 

[SteveGarvey1]

I'll call it now, if Wagner stays to play football, he'll start and look better than Lazard playing receiver. Bigger, faster, stronger, smarter. Just imagine for a moment even Josh Jackson or Desmond King trying to fight of a block from Ahmad. Or trying to knock away a jump ball.

Uh-no.

Hope he makes it but this isn't going to happen ^.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

It is a great move for Wagner. There's going to be at least one new professional football league coming out in the next couple of years. He had one year left to play basketball on a major stage but with football, who knows.

 

[NikeHawk21]

More scholorships to offer is never a bad thing coming off a 4-14 conference season.

If you dont think so, why not just use 9 and call it good?

College basketball is a constant turnover any more.

More openings allow for more risk taking and more ability to correct and recover from mistakes. These departures immediately open opportunity where yesterday they looked like wasted roll players who couldn’t contribute or get on the court for a team that was already one of the worst in the conference with those players.

For instance, at one point Fran had to choose between Peter Jok and Jeremy Morgan, because he had Pat Ingram and Kyle Meyer taking up roster spots. See where that might help?

I don’t know that Fran can or will do anything immediately, but his hands were tied without guys moving on either by their own accord or through some real talk. I’ve also been told that Fran and co wouldn’t do anything to make changes to the roster for next season because he’s not a good enough coach who’s just cashing checks and playing his kid. I see this as the first step to making Iowa a better team immediately and a step that had to happen first before he could even try to make his next move. Only time will tell if he can improve the roster spot, but I was told he wouldn’t even try because of nepotism.

More scholarships to offer is never a bad thing? What if Cook, Bohannon, and Nunge were the departures? That’d be a bad thing.

I mean do you think there was even a remote chance we weren’t going to have an open scholarship to play with this year after our season? My point with that being I still feel this team is right there talent wise if Cook returns, an additional guard would help but for you to believe that we are going to bring in multiple impact guys that crack the rotation is very wishful thinking. Fran has brought in what 2/3 transfers in his time here and only one has been successful? So you think he’s going to not only land a couple but they are both going to be good enough to crack the rotation next year is an extreme stretch to me. You're an extreme optimist and I admire that, but sometimes your optimism borders to Clinton level.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

For what it is worth, his 100m times in HS were similar to Matt Vandenburg's.

Sprinting straight ahead without any football gear on is one thing. I'm talking about acceleration and/or route running, especially with all the gear on. I don't know, maybe he is just as fast, but, it is different.

You can have WR be successful that aren't blazingly fast too. They may run sharper routes or accelerate really well and hard to cover. Point is there are many factors than just measuring straight speed in the 100 meters.

We can use Vandenburg as an example. He was a good receiver, but he wasn't dominant for being that fast if just measure pure speed. Of course, one has to put the QB in perspective as well. Two pieces to that puzzle.

 

[NikeHawk21]

Undersized TE!??? Wuuut!!? Cripes, they don't get much taller. CJ Fed I believe was 6' 7" and he was one of Iowa's tallest TE's ever. You don't see many WR over 6' 4" or 6' 5". Not getting your point there. I'd be fine throwing him at TE at 235 lb if he would be able to handle the blocks but not sure would be at the BIG level. Prob needs to be in the 255 to 260 range.

Because he is already at 235 and presuming will put more wt on. He'd be a mismatch nightmare at TE plus be big enough to be an effective blocker. He may not be quick enough or fast enough for a Div 1 wide receiver, but, I'm not a scout so not for sure. Plus, I think he only played one year of HS football so is pretty inexperienced at this point, in the realm of everything.

His frame fits a Div 1 TE.

My guess is whatever football program you see Wagner in next season he will be listed at 6’5 or 6’6 which is closer to his actual height. He ain’t 6’7.

 

[BGOLD]

Football should have been the original plan. Wagner either made a bad decision or took bad advice. Best of luck to him, but it's very possible the decision not to focus on football cost him a lot of money.