Wes Bunting of NFFP has Reiff #6

There is no reason for him to come back unless he wants to lead the Hawks to a big bowl. If I were him I'd go NFL in a second. Good luck to him.
 
I would not hesitate if I were him. He isn't going to be the difference between a championship run next year or not. The Dline needs to improve and there are a lot of quesiton marks. Why spend another year at Iowa if you're a top 10 pick.

I would love to think this would help us in recruiting, though we know it really hasn't too much. I hope Iowa keeps cranking out Juniors that go pro.
 
If I was Bulaga I would be a little ticked off. His final Iowa season was head and shoulders above what Reiff just put together, and he barely cracked the first round. Reiff did not look dominant at all for large stretches in a lot of games.
 
brett108 said:
If I was Bulaga I would be a little ticked off. His final Iowa season was head and shoulders above what Reiff just put together, and he barely cracked the first round. Reiff did not look dominant at all for large stretches in a lot of games.
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They played on very different teams. Also Bulaga missed 3 or 4 games that year and health was a concern for him. Also I doubt he's too ticked off. he does have a super bowl ring already and on his way to #2 (I hope). Won't get that if you're drafted early.
 
brett108 said:
If I was Bulaga I would be a little ticked off.
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Yeah I would be real ticked.....instant millionaire on draft night, started on Super Bowl winning team as a rookie, starting on team that has real good shot of being first 19-0 team ever, playing in the NFL for team that is just a short drive from where he grew up, smokin hot fiance. :rolleyes:
 
Not like it hasn't been expected for nearly 2 seasons but I still hate the thought of the o-line next year without Rieff. (Hope he goes Gallery -- riiiigghht.) Not to mention naturally losing your next 2 best (Gettis and Zues).

I've heard some think the o-l will be "solid" next year but I just see it being a huge developmental / "take your lumps" season with only returning Ferentz and a warm body at RG. MacMillan is still a crap shoot to return to former form, if able to return at all, and you have next to zero experience at the key spots - the tackles. You think Vandy was skittish at times this year ...

Finally, your best skill player is gone, you still have no reliable back-up rb to offset the power style of Coker and the TE's are still struggling to perform with any consistency.

Yowsa! You can try to argue "improvement" but be honest, we haven't seen noticeable, consistent improvement in 2 seasons. While the up-n-comers might have potential, you don't go from zero to good -- especially in such a deliberate, predictable offensive scheme (which will be even more so next year due to the lack of / under utilization of weapons).

Any way to "up" #77's scholarship to stick around for his final year?
 
brett108 said:
If I was Bulaga I would be a little ticked off. His final Iowa season was head and shoulders above what Reiff just put together, and he barely cracked the first round. Reiff did not look dominant at all for large stretches in a lot of games.
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whar osemele?
 
Bulaga made a huge leap forward in the playoffs last year and has been GB's second best lineman ever since and that's to a probowl level guy in Sitton. I seriously doubt he cares about Reiff's draft stock.


Also hawkfanintexas said that Reiff isn't going pro this year so we have nothing to worry about. He'll be back in 2012.
 
SBuster: Been saying this for awhile.

The team next year will struggle. Replacing 3/5 of an Oline and the entire DLine is NOT a good thing when you run Iowa's schemes.

Plus, we have no idea if MacMillan will be back. There are some really young horses with NO experience. But those guys usually take some time to get things together.

Add to the fact that it will be only year two in the KF 3 year down-cycle and things are ripe for capping out at 6 wins.

Now, the whole assistant coaching rumor thing might throw things off their normal course. But we will have to wait and see on that one.
 
STILLBUSTER said:
Not like it hasn't been expected for nearly 2 seasons but I still hate the thought of the o-line next year without Rieff. (Hope he goes Gallery -- riiiigghht.) Not to mention naturally losing your next 2 best (Gettis and Zues).

I've heard some think the o-l will be "solid" next year but I just see it being a huge developmental / "take your lumps" season with only returning Ferentz and a warm body at RG. MacMillan is still a crap shoot to return to former form, if able to return at all, and you have next to zero experience at the key spots - the tackles. You think Vandy was skittish at times this year ...

Finally, your best skill player is gone, you still have no reliable back-up rb to offset the power style of Coker and the TE's are still struggling to perform with any consistency.

Yowsa! You can try to argue "improvement" but be honest, we haven't seen noticeable, consistent improvement in 2 seasons. While the up-n-comers might have potential, you don't go from zero to good -- especially in such a deliberate, predictable offensive scheme (which will be even more so next year due to the lack of / under utilization of weapons).

Any way to "up" #77's scholarship to stick around for his final year?
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He can take out insurance against injury if he chose to return.

I am in the camp that thinks the o-line will be ok to very good. There is a lot of talent and the players would seem to be fairly flexible- Scherff could play tackle or either guard. Tobin could play RT or either guard, MacMillan is a natural left tackle if he can get (and stay) healthy, Donnal, Van Sloten, Boffelli, Walsh and Blythe- that is a lot of names for a unit that really only has to replace 2-3 spots (6 players recieved a lot of PT this season, so you could consider Sherff and Tobin starters). Chances are pretty good that two or three of those guys are ready to step in.

Lastly I expect Reiff to go, and to go higher than Bulaga did. Reiff is longer and a better athlete. In '09 he was the better pass blocker of the two, and has developed into an outstanding run blocker. There are a lot of teams that need offensive line help.
 
Spud: That is just not how it usually works. Expecting guys who have had no playing time to just step in with a line of other inexperienced players is not a recipe for success.

True, it is good that both Tobin and BS had experience this year, but neither were world beaters. And even with both guys holding down spots, you still need two more guys to step in and nobody is really set in a position, with the exception of undersized (but effective) JF.

Really, you can have hopes that the line will not drop off dramatically, but to think they will be very good is like the people who this year were talking about 10 wins, just not very realistic.

That being said, 2013 and 2014 have a chance to be really, really good.

And as far as your list is concerned, how can you have Boffeli there? The guy is a back-up to JF. He will probably make a really nice transition for one year after JF leaves, but he won't be on the field before that.
 
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I think the OLine can be solid later in the year, not great but solid. I think it will take a good few games for them to gel, and I assume we will see some big bumps in the road during that process.

We can't say how any of the young guys will do since we haven't seen any of them play. We have recruiting hype on some (Donnal, Walsh, Blythe), and have heard great things about others (Van Sloten and Scherff).

To me the key is McMillan. The guy was very good when he played. Can he get back to that level? If so I think he is your left guard. I think Tobin moves to RG, Ferentz stays at center, and either Van Sloten or Donnal or Scherff take RT. The LG is one of those. I am not sure if Blythe or Walsh or even Donnal are ready for starting positions but I think we will see. Also I think Blythe is the Center in waiting, so we'll see if he gets any reps at guard to get experience for next year or not.

The potential is there, but experience is lacking a lot.
 
brett108 said:
If I was Bulaga I would be a little ticked off. His final Iowa season was head and shoulders above what Reiff just put together, and he barely cracked the first round. Reiff did not look dominant at all for large stretches in a lot of games.
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Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but I thought there was a consensus among scouts that Bulaga would ultimately be a right tackle. Right tackles are not as valuable as left tackles in the draft. Is Reiff projected to stay as a left tackle?
 
CAARHawk said:
Spud: That is just not how it usually works. Expecting guys who have had no playing time to just step in with a line of other inexperienced players is not a recipe for success.

True, it is good that both Tobin and BS had experience this year, but neither were world beaters. And even with both guys holding down spots, you still need two more guys to step in and nobody is really set in a position, with the exception of undersized (but effective) JF.

Really, you can have hopes that the line will not drop off dramatically, but to think they will be very good is like the people who this year were talking about 10 wins, just not very realistic.

That being said, 2013 and 2014 have a chance to be really, really good.

And as far as your list is concerned, how can you have Boffeli there? The guy is a back-up to JF. He will probably make a really nice transition for one year after JF leaves, but he won't be on the field before that.
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There are 3 reasons I am confident the line will be solid to very good next season.

1. Schedule- open with 5 games against lesser competition- (de facto home game versus NIU, and 4 straight at Kinnick followed by a bye) and face potentially only 3 solid defenses next season. Only Michigan State has a d-line to be feared on next season's schedule. Every team we face except for Michigan State loses key players on d-line.

2. Boffeli has taken reps at guard, has good size and will be entering his fourth season on campus. He will certainly be in the mix at guard next season. Iowa's best offensive lines have generally had at least 6 quality players, and this unit will have three to four players with solid returning experience. Competition usually brings out the best in the offensive line.

3. Returning skill talent. It is likely that Iowa will have a more effective running game next season, even with the losses on the line. JVB did a nice job this season in changing plays at the LOS into effective run plays. Iowa returns Davis, KMM, CJFed, and Z. Derby along with Brad Rogers at fullback and should be able to integrate at least one back up tailback into the mix next season given the early schedule.

Every team we face in the Big 10 loses significant players on the d-line and only Michigan State seemed to have a reliable rotation of players. Every team Iowa plays next season except for MSU, Nebraska and Purdue suffer significant attrition due to graduation on the defensive lines. MSU could lose Worthy to the draft and Purdue could lose Short as well. Next season's schedule is actually easier than this years and this was a soft, soft schedule.
 
I see no reason for him to return next season if he can go within the first couple of rounds. Go get paid Riley. If he is top 10 it's a no brainer.
 
FCAS said:
Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but I thought there was a consensus among scouts that Bulaga would ultimately be a right tackle. Right tackles are not as valuable as left tackles in the draft. Is Reiff projected to stay as a left tackle?
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RT's never go high in the first round unless the plan is that they make the move to LT, typically. It's a less valuable position, not unimportant, but not like LT.
 
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