Will Hawks Defense be one of the best in the country?

[WinOneThisCentury]

Great summary! Find little to argue about, for sure. What about depth in the D Line? It seems late in the year we kind of wore down, which I recognize is typical of D lines in general. Faith E. will be a good sub. Anyone else you see emerging?

Yep...the DL is the only area I think we are still pretty thin. Nathan B. will be around, but there will have to be young players step up this year in back up roles. Slater is one guy that has been mentioned and he's 280 already. Man it would be great to get a grad transfer at DT next year with some experience. That being said, I think there are a few guys that can play the position in the wings and they have a year to develop. I'm interested to see how big Lattimore is in a year. My guess is that he's in the 285 range at 6'6", since he's coming in this year at 265. Can you imagine a 3rd down rush package with Epenesa, Van Ginkle, Golston, and Slater? I know a few things need to happen there (Van Ginkle signs, Golston and Slater prove out to be as advertised). Things are pointing up in my black and gold colored view.

 

[NCHawker]

Iowa's defensive line received some kudos recently as one of the best, if not the best in the Big 10...but overall, considering the returnees at linebacker and in the secondary, is this defense one of the best in the nation?

Johnson is the only really good player on the line. Don't know how we or anyone can expect this group to be above average.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

CJ is special as all get out. He won us a bunch of games on guts. Some on his athleticism and some on his decision making making on the fly. To think Iowa won't have a drop off after he graduates when so far what very little we've seen of Weigers and Cook hasn't exactly wowed anyone is pretty darn optimistic. You can't hide your QB in college football. They drive the bus. I've mentioned this a few times on these boards already but don't be surprised if Stanley after redshirting this year makes a push. I know it's a long shot for him to upseat two upperclassmen but he seems to have all the tools and attributes one looks for coming in. If he can grasp the offense quickly and his physical tools stand out I wonder how the coaches would play it KF has now seen and shown that he's willing to pull the trigger on making a move at QB that isn't exactly just in line with who's been in program longer. I don't have any inside info on him other then hype I've read but Stanley has me really intreagued.

 

[trj]

I agree with whomever stated CJ was a difference maker and the primary difference between 8-4 and 12-0. Just watch the highlights of the ISU game last year on the tube. He made 10 or so plays in that game that Rudock could have never made. I'm not even talking about the obvious ones (TDs)...he made some plays to buy time that were crazy...as our OL was terrible in pass pro...especially in the first half. CJ is the man and it will be a sad day to watch him graduate.

I also disagree with the fact that changes weren't made schematically, especially on offense. Iowa was so much more diverse in their line calls last year. It was no longer inside zone, outside zone...we were trapping and pulling linemen more than I've ever seen. It was a huge difference maker as teams couldn't read movement and know where the play would end up. I expect that trend to get better now that these guys have been practicing it for two years. Kudos to KF, as this was the most important change in our offense that largely goes unnoticed.

As far as the thread title, I think we have a great chance to be a top 10 -12 defense.
1) You won't run the ball on us and when you can stop the run, now you have a chance to be a great defense.
2) Can you play press coverage? Yes, two experienced corners and one experienced safety.
3) Can you generate a pass rush? This is the only question mark in my mind on defense. I will answer by saying, Iowa's move to the rush packages will help answer this question. I think we have more options than ever in this package including a few freshmen from Michigan (Bower, Mends, Nelson, Slater, Golston, Hockaday). Jaleel will also be a force and if we keep him rested...well. look out.

Lastly, Iowa is just flat out a deeper team than they have ever been and it's only getting better. Think about the OL recruits in the mix that will have three years to get ready to play.. We are deeper at LB, we have shored up the DE position with the current classes (and we start two underclassmen)...and finally we are now getting skill position players that could be difference makers. We aren't scrambling for replacement recruits, we are getting the guys we want earlier in the process.

That's a really good point about the run game. Iowa no longer being solely dependent on the zone blocking scheme is huge. It has been frustrating to watch guys like weisman/coker try and figure out footwork, how to plant , how to cut. I do not know if it is beneficial for someone like LD or not, but for AW just tell him you see a seam, hit it. Don't worry about guys over pursuing see a hole, hit it, just go.

 

[Ickehawk]

Especially if they're in 4 down situations. Historically, Kirk's defenses rarely get off the field when opponents are in 4 down situations.

Can you provide same statistics to support this 'theory'.......

 

[Ickehawk]

Great summary! Find little to argue about, for sure. What about depth in the D Line? It seems late in the year we kind of wore down, which I recognize is typical of D lines in general. Faith E. will be a good sub. Anyone else you see emerging?

They will have a great 3 man rotation beween Johnson , Bazata, and Faith on the inside....and I think they will actually be better with Hesse, Matt Nelson (6'8, 282) at DE with Maj. Nelson (Anthony Nelson, if any of you are old enough to remember 'I dream of Jeannie') rotating in...Maj. Nelson impressed me more than anyone else (except maybe Jonathan Lubanza) in the spring game. 'Flying' around at 6'7, 250 lbs......he should be 255-265 by fall!!!!!

 

[Ickehawk]

Johnson is the only really good player on the line. Don't know how we or anyone can expect this group to be above average.

LOL!!! You're hilarious...........Get back to us later in the year when you sober up, lol....

 

[Ickehawk]

Johnson is the only really good player on the line. Don't know how we or anyone can expect this group to be above average.

What does N C stand for? Nasty Cu...???? I'll bet you a million dollars you were one of the dipwads that thought Iowa should fired KF and they would suck last year.........Tell us more, Mr. Wizard, LOL...........

 

[Ickehawk]

That's a really good point about the run game. Iowa no longer being solely dependent on the zone blocking scheme is huge. It has been frustrating to watch guys like weisman/coker try and figure out footwork, how to plant , how to cut. I do not know if it is beneficial for someone like LD or not, but for AW just tell him you see a seam, hit it. Don't worry about guys over pursuing see a hole, hit it, just go.

CJ wasn't the difference between 8-4 and 12-0. What a ridiculous notion. And their not going to run their zone blocking next year??? That's all they've ever run under KF, so why would it change next year? I told everyone on another site that they went to some other camps before last year and put in some of Green Bay's 'gap scheme' to keep defenses honest and it worked really well, but there offense still is the 'ZONE SCHEME' and it's not changing so I have no idea what you folks are talking about.......and neither do you.............

 

[HawkeyeDenis]

I think that Iowa will be a good defense. But not a great defense like what we saw in the 2000's with Bob Sanders.

 

[PCHawk]

CJ wasn't the difference between 8-4 and 12-0. What a ridiculous notion. And their not going to run their zone blocking next year??? That's all they've ever run under KF, so why would it change next year? I told everyone on another site that they went to some other camps before last year and put in some of Green Bay's 'gap scheme' to keep defenses honest and it worked really well, but there offense still is the 'ZONE SCHEME' and it's not changing so I have no idea what you folks are talking about.......and neither do you.............

You must not know what "solely" means.

 

[GrandpaHawk]

Agree with PC,we've had very good teams in the past that never lived up to expectations.That's on the coaches playing to close to the vest.We usually don't change a game plan on the fly if it's not working.

 

[DP5555]

CJ is special as all get out. He won us a bunch of games on guts. Some on his athleticism and some on his decision making making on the fly. To think Iowa won't have a drop off after he graduates when so far what very little we've seen of Weigers and Cook hasn't exactly wowed anyone is pretty darn optimistic. You can't hide your QB in college football. They drive the bus. I've mentioned this a few times on these boards already but don't be surprised if Stanley after redshirting this year makes a push. I know it's a long shot for him to upseat two upperclassmen but he seems to have all the tools and attributes one looks for coming in. If he can grasp the offense quickly and his physical tools stand out I wonder how the coaches would play it KF has now seen and shown that he's willing to pull the trigger on making a move at QB that isn't exactly just in line with who's been in program longer. I don't have any inside info on him other then hype I've read but Stanley has me really intreagued.

I agree with you about Stanley. Once CJ is gone Weigers will have a shot to be the guy. I hope he runs with it. If he doesn't I hope the leash isn't too long because I believe Stanley is a real talent and if it ends up looking like a rebuilding year anyways I'd rather Stanley get some experience playing QB at this level than waste a year with a mediocre senior leading the way.

I do believe Weigers has the potential to be an above average QB though. I'm not throwing him under the bus. He has the tools to do it. For a guy at this point in his career though he has had very little experience. That's not his fault, but it's the truth. I hope his familiarity with the offense and the length of time he's been around the program would give him the confidence he needs adjust on the field relatively quickly.

As for Cook... I'm not sold on him at all. I'm not a fan of the way he throws the ball. Doesn't seem like there's much velocity on it. It kind of has that lob feel to it. I still believe he'll end up changing positions at some point.

 

[David79]

The key will be the ends, Mends and Snyder. If they perform well then yes Iowa will have one of the best defenses in the country but even if those positions are slightly above average they will have a really good defense. The floor for the defense is pretty high.