Wagner

H

Hawkfnntn

Well-Known Member
Figured I'd throw this info in here but sounds like Wagner is taking an official visit to KY this weekend. Louisville, Akron and Cincinnati are also recruiting him. All those schools are closer to where he grew up so I wonder if that's a bit of a priority of his.

I sure hope our coaches throw a 'full court press' after him. I would think having 2 yrs to play and not having to sit out a year should only work in our favor. Not to mention the fact we'd use the heck out of him due to our depth chart. There isn't a higher profile school he could go to that would use him as much as us. Our fan base already loves him. It just sounds like he's looking to go closer to home and get out of the spotlight I'm afraid....
 
Maybe it's just me, but if his goal really is the NFL, I don't see him limiting himself to just one season on the field by transferring. He's only gonna get two years of eligibility at Iowa or an FCS school.
 
BVHawk95 said:
Maybe it's just me, but if his goal really is the NFL, I don't see him limiting himself to just one season on the field by transferring. He's only gonna get two years of eligibility at Iowa or an FCS school.
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okay, help me out, BV. Wagner played 3 hoops seasons and did not redshirt. are you saying that if he stays at iowa to play football, he can play this season and it will still count as his JR season, even though, it will be a new academic year; i.e. his 4th fall semester at Iowa? then, he would get another (his SR) season in '19? that's always been a bit confusing to me.
 
The chances of him showing up in August camp and earning playing time at Iowa are slim. He hasn’t played the game in three years. Regardless of his athletic ability, he’s going to need a year of seasoning at most P5s. That’s why I don’t think Iowa has any advantage here.
 
ArvadaHawk said:
okay, help me out, BV. Wagner played 3 hoops seasons and did not redshirt. are you saying that if he stays at iowa to play football, he can play this season and it will still count as his JR season, even though, it will be a new academic year; i.e. his 4th fall semester at Iowa? then, he would get another (his SR) season in '19? that's always been a bit confusing to me.
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That's how I understand it, though I'll admit, all I'm working off of is what I've heard.
RobHowe said:
The chances of him showing up in August camp and earning playing time at Iowa are slim. He hasn’t played the game in three years. Regardless of his athletic ability, he’s going to need a year of seasoning at most P5s. That’s why I don’t think Iowa has any advantage here.
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Will he be able to redshirt somewhere else though? Like I told ArvadaHawk, my understanding is since he will be transferring to another FBS school, he would be required to sit for at least one season, putting '19 as his last in the 5 year window.
 
Yes. He could not play in games at another FBS school this coming season. It would be a redshirt year. But that’s what he would basically be doing here as I just don’t see him earning playing time this fall. He’s going to need a practice year at the P5 level, IMO.
 
RobHowe said:
Yes. He could not play in games at another FBS school this coming season. It would be a redshirt year. But that’s what he would basically be doing here as I just don’t see him earning playing time this fall. He’s going to need a practice year at the P5 level, IMO.
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staying at Iowa makes the most sense, then. thx rob.
 
BVHawk95 said:
That's how I understand it, though I'll admit, all I'm working off of is what I've heard.

Will he be able to redshirt somewhere else though? Like I told ArvadaHawk, my understanding is since he will be transferring to another FBS school, he would be required to sit for at least one season, putting '19 as his last in the 5 year window.
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thank you bv.
 
RobHowe said:
Yes. He could not play in games at another FBS school this coming season. It would be a redshirt year. But that’s what he would basically be doing here as I just don’t see him earning playing time this fall. He’s going to need a practice year at the P5 level, IMO.
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What I hope he realizes is that chances are if he leaves without stepping down a level he is going to have to redshirt and therefore will most likely be on the scout team wherever he goes. If he stays at Iowa, he may not play or play much this fall, but he could possibly take some meaningful reps in practice which would give him a boost for the next season.
 
It feels like he is looking to both go closer to home and find a more pass happy offense. Which is too bad. Even if this year he didn't play much with us he'd still get great coaching playing at a school that'd support the heck out of him. And I don't care what some folks think of the opinion of him not playing this year at Iowa. I think they'd find a role for him. It's not too tough to use a guy of his size. Be it a couple plays in the redzone or anywhere else on the field surely he can handle a package of 10 plays or so by kickoff next yr and expand it from there. Folks try to over complicate it and act like he's gotta know the playbook cover to cover before he can put the pads on.. That's ridiculous and would be a waste of talent. But if I'm right about him wanting to go closer to home then there's just not much to be done about that.
 
This isn't a place where guys come into the program at WR and make immediate impacts, by and large. Wagner is farther removed from the game than true freshmen coming in here. He's physically more mature but he hasn't played the game in three years and he only played it one year in high school.
 
RobHowe said:
This isn't a place where guys come into the program at WR and make immediate impacts, by and large. Wagner is farther removed from the game than true freshmen coming in here. He's physically more mature but he hasn't played the game in three years and he only played it one year in high school.
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Your right it never has been. But why can't that sort of thing change? I really wish he'd have made his decision just a few weeks sooner and gotten his feet wet this spring with the team. Physically he's good to go. He can run, jump and get rebounds. He doesn't have to be a great blocker to be able to play right away. Sure getting hit by D1 college kids will be different than HS kids 3 or 4 yrs ago woulda been. But as far as using his physical abilities to go catch the ball I think he could do that. Use him on the outside where he's just one on one. You don't have to run him on any timing routes over the middle where he's gotta be totally in synch with the QB so much. Or read coverages pre and post snap and run routes accordingly. Again a guy like him can easily still play some with a small package of plays to start with and then feed him more as you go.
 
RobHowe said:
This isn't a place where guys come into the program at WR and make immediate impacts, by and large. Wagner is farther removed from the game than true freshmen coming in here. He's physically more mature but he hasn't played the game in three years and he only played it one year in high school.
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The sad thing is a creative coach would give Ahmad a small piece of the playbook most likely red zone stuff this year and use him on the field to our advantage. It’s not going to take him time to remember how to be bigger and jump higher than a DB and catch the ball. At the very least I think he would be a decoy, and with another matchup nightmare like Fant on the field Iowa could put defenses in a tough spot.

You’re right though that’s unlikely to happen at Iowa though.

If I were advising the kid I would tell him to go to the most pass happy FCS school he can find. Accumulate as much tape and start preparing his body for the combine. He can be a mid round pick in the NFL just based on potential alone.
 
First, putting him in for "set" plays/package is as much a sore thumb as putting Jonathan Parker in the slot was (i.e., "Jet sweep coming in 3...2...1...). Second, there are already guys on the roster that can be used in red zone, jump balls, etc. I think his talent/skill level is being overestimated.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
First, putting him in for "set" plays/package is as much a sore thumb as putting Jonathan Parker in the slot was (i.e., "Jet sweep coming in 3...2...1...). Second, there are already guys on the roster that can be used in red zone, jump balls, etc. I think his talent/skill level is being overestimated.
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While I would be excited to see what Ahmad can do on the field based just on athleticism, you make a fair point. D1 coaches are watching HUNDREDS of hours of film from each game from the last few seasons. Once they had just a little on Wagner, they'd realize that at the moment he's a one-trick pony, and adjust.
 
I don't know...in my mind, having someone like Wagner (if he can handle the physicality and still catch it) is much different than Parker in the slot. In red zone offense, you can scheme a formation to get one on one with a wide out. Wagner in a one on one match, if he is good, would create issue for any corner. If a defense has to adjust to that by cheating a safety over, doesn't that open up another area of of the red zone for Fant or a back? The real question to me is whether Smith is going to be that guy at 6'5"...and he's been practicing now for 12 months in Iowa City...and has no break in his football career.

I still think Wagner presents an intriguing set of skills. I would love to see him attempt to do it at Iowa.
 
BVHawk95 said:
While I would be excited to see what Ahmad can do on the field based just on athleticism, you make a fair point. D1 coaches are watching HUNDREDS of hours of film from each game from the last few seasons. Once they had just a little on Wagner, they'd realize that at the moment he's a one-trick pony, and adjust.
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If by adjust you mean put a 2nd guy on him then that'll only help free up Fant, Hockenson, Smith whomever else is on the field with him. There's not a ton of strategy against throwing a jump ball/back shoulder type of throw to a dude that big outside. Mostly it depends on the throw and how good it is. If it's on the money than it is what it's described as 50/50 ball.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
First, putting him in for "set" plays/package is as much a sore thumb as putting Jonathan Parker in the slot was (i.e., "Jet sweep coming in 3...2...1...). Second, there are already guys on the roster that can be used in red zone, jump balls, etc. I think his talent/skill level is being overestimated.
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I think when a kid plays football for four months and Urban Meyer says to him if he focuses on football he can play at Ohio State he likely has a ton of talent.
 
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