Wienke vying to be next Hawkeye punter

HawkeyeHypnosis

HawkeyeHypnosis

Well-Known Member
Sioux City Journal - Mobile Touch

From article:

IOWA CITY | It was about a year ago that John Wienke and a few of his Iowa football teammates were messing around at the end of practice one day.

Wienke, a heralded high school quarterback who hasn’t played much in college, found the ball in his hands and instead of throwing it, he kicked it.

“I punted it across the field and over the fence over there,â€￾ he recalled. “I just kind of did it. Coach (Lester) Erb said I could expect to go out the next morning with the specialists.â€￾

“Is he seasoned yet? No,â€￾ Erb said. “But he’s working on it.â€￾

Ferentz just loves the fact that Wienke is willing to set aside dreams of playing a glory position to help the team in a relatively inglorious role.

“He’s got a tremendous attitude,â€￾ Ferentz said. “He has from day one when he got in here, and I think he’s welcomed the challenge of it. He’s really started working in earnest on it last spring, and that’s a position that’s clearly up for grabs right now.â€￾
 
Surprised that this kid stayed at Iowa for his career. Highly rated QB that could have gone to Michigan never sniffs a snap at Iowa. When we have a legacy player that grew up in the shadow of Kinnick stadium..Could have made an impact at any number of positions,takes his ball in leaves.
 
BILLBUCKNER said:
Surprised that this kid stayed at Iowa for his career. Highly rated QB that could have gone to Michigan never sniffs a snap at Iowa. When we have a legacy player that grew up in the shadow of Kinnick stadium..Could have made an impact at any number of positions,takes his ball in leaves.
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Thats the difference between derby and wienke
 
BILLBUCKNER said:
Surprised that this kid stayed at Iowa for his career. Highly rated QB that could have gone to Michigan never sniffs a snap at Iowa. When we have a legacy player that grew up in the shadow of Kinnick stadium..Could have made an impact at any number of positions,takes his ball in leaves.
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I don;t think you can compare the two.

Wienke likely realized he was not better than who was here and perhaps realized he wasn't as good as his bonafides coming out of high school...which is the case more often than not...and decided he liked where he was at.

Derby doesn't think that and still believes he can play quarterback at a high level somewhere and isn't going to give up on his dream.

In both instances, the kids are making the best decisions for themselves.

Were I Derby's dad, and my son flat out believed he could play quarterback somewhere, I would have supported his decision to leave Iowa 100%.
 
trapperjon said:
Agree with Jon's assessment, but how would Jake Christiansen fit in this conversation?
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jake had the starting job and lost it...he tasted that spot and wanted it back and knew he had to go lower to get it. weinke never even did enough to get that shot. all 3 qbs did what was best for themselves (jake, derby, and weinke).
 
Here is Jon's analysis of the punters yesterday:

PUNTER: *If you only ‘listened’ to the punter competition, one players kicks clearly make a different sound coming off the foot and that is freshman Connor Kornbrath. *He is 6-6/215 and had some good punts today. *He had a couple that were not so good, but on a bad snap to his right he brought it in and got it off with a shorter delivery than normal. *That was a heady move for a young player, to know the snap was off and the rush would get there quicker.

But Marc Morehouse has Wienke listed as #1:

SPECIAL TEAM
Punters (in order) – John Wienke, Jonny Mullings, Connor

Was Wienke punting yesterday?
 
JonDMiller said:
I don;t think you can compare the two.

Wienke likely realized he was not better than who was here and perhaps realized he wasn't as good as his bonafides coming out of high school...which is the case more often than not...and decided he liked where he was at.

Derby doesn't think that and still believes he can play quarterback at a high level somewhere and isn't going to give up on his dream.

In both instances, the kids are making the best decisions for themselves.

Were I Derby's dad, and my son flat out believed he could play quarterback somewhere, I would have supported his decision to leave Iowa 100%.
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I agree with you Jon..it's the kids decision, however I think it was the wrong one. He isn't going to play pro ball at QB. If he had true aspirations of playing pro ball,he should have followed KF's advice and made a move to LB.Wienke stuck it out and has found a way to contribute to the Hawkeyes and may have found his ticket to the NFL if he performs well.
 
dear god. wenkie is not an nfl punter. he will struggle to win the job at iowa.

how can a grown man sit here and say i think so and so made the wrong decision? maybe he has no desire to play in the nfl. maybe the only thing hes ever wanted to do is play qb. Its not like hes decided to drop out of school and join the circus to be the guy who nails **** info his face. he transfered to a new school.
 
BILLBUCKNER said:
I agree with you Jon..it's the kids decision, however I think it was the wrong one. He isn't going to play pro ball at QB. If he had true aspirations of playing pro ball,he should have followed KF's advice and made a move to LB.Wienke stuck it out and has found a way to contribute to the Hawkeyes and may have found his ticket to the NFL if he performs well.
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Not sure if serious...? (insert random jpg/gif of your choice here)
 
How about on Kick-offs? The occasional touchback would be fine by me. But hey, it's special teams, it would be ridiculous to expect improvement.
 
Wienke is the more consistent of the two punters, but only kicks it 35 yards or so. He was kicking into the wind, and he gets some decent height on his kicks.
 
trapperjon said:
Agree with Jon's assessment, but how would Jake Christiansen fit in this conversation?
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jake was "probably" promised a great chance to take over for tate. no one else was all that promising. jake had the look and feel of talent - but bouncing every short pass, and over throwing every long pass made him look bad - and i guess that is why Cleveland left - lol
 
DuffMan said:
dear god. wenkie is not an nfl punter. he will struggle to win the job at iowa.

how can a grown man sit here and say i think so and so made the wrong decision? maybe he has no desire to play in the nfl. maybe the only thing hes ever wanted to do is play qb. Its not like hes decided to drop out of school and join the circus to be the guy who nails **** info his face. he transfered to a new school.
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Duff,you seriously over react to about every post on here. Take a chill pill man. I'd wager Wienke has a better chance at punter in the NFL than Derby at QB. I appreciate that someone stuck it out thru thick and thin to be a Hawkeye even though he may never have played a down.
And you conveniently overlooked this portion of my post... "MAY" have found his ticket to the NFL "IF" he performs well.
 
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BILLBUCKNER said:
DuffMan said:
dear god. wenkie is not an nfl punter. he will struggle to win the job at iowa. how can a grown man sit here and say i think so and so made the wrong decision? maybe he has no desire to play in the nfl. maybe the only thing hes ever wanted to do is play qb. Its not like hes decided to drop out of school and join the circus to be the guy who nails **** info his face. he transfered to a new school.
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Duff,you seriously over react to about every post on here. Take a chill pill man. I'd wager Wienke has a better chance at punter in the NFL than Derby at QB. I appreciate that someone stuck it out thru thick and thin to be a Hawkeye even though he may never have played a down.And you conveniently overlooked this portion of my post... "MAY" have found his ticket to the NFL "IF" he performs well.
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i started kicking a football amd letting my dog fetch it. i also may have found my ticket to the nfl.
 
Wow duff, not much confidence in the coaching staff switching him? He's there for more than just not playing QB. The guy hasn't punted since high school, obviously the guys not ready for the NFL right now. With our coaches and his commitment to the position, it's highly possible he could be the starting punter here and make it to the NFL. And I'm happy he decided to stay here and try to make a role for himself.
 
HawkeyeHypnosis said:
Wow duff, not much confidence in the coaching staff switching him? He's there for more than just not playing QB. The guy hasn't punted since high school, obviously the guys not ready for the NFL right now. With our coaches and his commitment to the position, it's highly possible he could be the starting punter here and make it to the NFL. And I'm happy he decided to stay here and try to make a role for himself.
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#thenextreggieroby
 
JonDMiller said:
I don;t think you can compare the two.

Wienke likely realized he was not better than who was here and perhaps realized he wasn't as good as his bonafides coming out of high school...which is the case more often than not...and decided he liked where he was at.

Derby doesn't think that and still believes he can play quarterback at a high level somewhere and isn't going to give up on his dream.

In both instances, the kids are making the best decisions for themselves.

Were I Derby's dad, and my son flat out believed he could play quarterback somewhere, I would have supported his decision to leave Iowa 100%.
Click to expand...

Derby couldn't beat out Vandy and was worried about not being able to beat out Rudock. He had options to play right away at a different position for Iowa. Instead, he left for community college to play QB and hope someone gives him a chance. I don't see that being much different than Wienke, except John stayed at Iowa and switched positions.

I have a high amount of respect for Wienke and how he's handled himself as a Hawkeye. Zero ego, ultimate team player.
 
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