Who becomes the O-Line Starters next year

[nickhawk]

I would guess that Rieff becomes the left tackle and Vandervelde will be at Left Guard.

That leaves 3 spots open - My initial guess at who takes over:

C: Koeppel - I think James Ferentz will push him for playing time, but I think Koeppel will open the year as the starter

RG: Gettis - Got a good amount of playing time this year.

RT: This position will be key - I have heard a lot of good things about the redshirt freshman McMillan kid and I am hoping that Donnal could be good enough to warrant some playing time as well.

The O-Line will be the major area of concern for next year's squad.

We lose a ton of talent at LB but Hunter is back and I think the Hawks will be fine at LB with the combo of Tarpinian, Troy Johnson, Nielsen and maybe even James Morris or Poggi seeing some reps.

The loss of Spievey will hurt, but Bernstine will be back and I liked what I saw from Hyde. Castillo and Lowe also picked up valuable experience and we have 2 all conference Safety candidates to help cover the load.

Our D-Line and Offensive skill positions have to be seen as one of the top 2 or 3 in the Big 10 if not the nation, so I think there should be plenty of reason for some big time hype for the 2010 season.

 

[jameskalina]

I wouldn't go that far to say the offensive skill positions could be the top 2 or 3 in the nation. However, among the best in the Big Ten, yes.

I think it's safe to say Iowa's offensive skill positions collectively should be among top 15 in the country.

I agree the offensive line is a point of concern. It needs to come around by early October for Iowa to win a Big Ten title and be in serious contention for the national title.

 

[homerHAWKeye777]

I firmly believe that Vandervelde, Reiff, and Ferentz will serve as the foundations of the group in 2010. That's no knock on Koeppel for the C spot ... he could potentially enter the picture ... however, I still think it would be a bit of an upset.

The interesting question is who ends up filling the finally 2 spots ... and who ends up tearing things up and serves as a tremendous "next man in" ... because, as this year proved ... our success is still deeply dependent on the talent and had work of our "next men in."

My bet is that we'll be seeing Gettis, Zusevics, Orne, MacMillan, and Van Sloten in an absolute dogfight to earn playing time. The success of the team depends on all of the aforementioned guys doing their best to play tough, mean, and disciplined Iowa football. Best of luck to all of those young men .....