I was never a fan of Gittleson and welcomed the change. I'm wondering if some of the Carr-RR camps conflict was over the perception that Barwis was much higher thought of by many fans/media than Gittleson.
Wonder if the players expressed a preference in S&C coaches and their respective styles.
the pro-style becomes increasingly contrarian. I suspect that in the next few years, with the B12 and SEC assistants getting more head coaching jobs, we'll see more spread than we've seen and less pro-style.
Scout.com's team rankings had Iowa at #22 for the 2011 recruiting class. So, we're not Iowa's recruiting in the top 25 as ancient history here, and Iowa has never produced highly thought of(top 15) recruiting classes with the exception of the injury riddled 2005 class. The best talent on the Iowa team is in the freshman(2011) and 2010 classes. The 2008 recruiting class was pretty awful and finished last in the Big Ten according to scout.com. Not surprisingly, Iowa has felt the pinch from that class and a nearly as bad class(2009) but rebounded well. So, if you were wondering why Iowa's usually very good-excellent defense wasn't so much this year...it's the 2008-2009 classes that did it in.
The young players are the best athletes on the team but as typical of Iowa(and most other BCS non-traditionally great programs), though they aren't of the ready-made, works great out of the box kind of prep superstars that elite programs often have...they need some time to develop. But, one of the players that should contribute next year is four star redshirt freshmen to be, DT Darian Cooper. He spent this year muscling up and should be ready to start, or at worse, play a lot in relief. Cooper had offers that included offers from UM and MSU, and chose Iowa last year. Another is sophomore to be, safety Nico Law. Law played on special teams this season and played well.
Iowa has a great history of great player development(http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2011/4/30/2143688/the-best-and-worst…). That's especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Some of the lowly or middling regarded recruits that Iowa has turned into highly regarded draft picks(just on defense)a very incomplete list; LB Pat Angerer(Currently #1 in the NFL in tackles),LB Chad Greenway(#3 in the NFL in tackles), S Bob Sanders(former NFL defensive MVP), DE Aaron Kampman, DE Adrian Clayborn, DT Courtney Ballard, DT Kark Klug, DT Mitch King, DE Matt Roth, CB Charles Godfrey, and S/CB Amari Spievey. So, while the 2011 defense had a dearth of talent that was unusually low. Don't expect that a lack of prep "stars" necessarily equates a lack of a talented Iowa defense in the future. They've really NEVER had a defense full of highly regarded recruits and future Iowa defenses will likely have more talented players than this year's variety or that the starred board above might suggest in 2012.
A couple of cases in point are sophomore LB's three star James Morris, Christian Kirksey and two star player junior cornerback, Micah Hyde.. Three star Morris was honorable mention all conference this year as was was the former two star, Hyde. Former two star, Kirksey, played better than either and weighs in at 215 pounds. He's likely to get bigger and stronger in the off-season(as will the undersized Mike LB Morris who weighs 227). Former two-star recruit CB Shaun Prater was first-team All-Big Ten this year. So, the elite recruitment at Iowa may never happen but the elite development of Iowa players continues..and with four star true(2012 verbal with offers from UM and MSU) Jaleel Johnson joining Darien Cooper and the rest of the 2011 class. Don't expect that the Iowa defense in future years will be poorly talented(although next year's DL will likely be very young).
He came to Iowa as a drop-back style QB with better than average athleticism. So, following Erik Campbell around probably would not result in some "hidden gem" WR recruits.
Iowa develops players well. They don't look through a crystal ball with a copy of Phil Steele's mag on their laps.
Pete Carroll had a steadfast role against demeaning criticism by his coaching staff in practices and games. He wanted his teams to bust ass in practices but, have fun,and it helped in recruiting too. His teams were tough, and obviously, very good. Purely anecdotal but, between my junior and senior year in high school we had a head coaching change. We went from a more cerebral, but tough coach to a coach who was right out of "meathead coach casting 101". Very foul mouthed and harshly critical. The team went from 8-1 to 1-8 although the talent wasn't appreciably worse.The coach was gone in two years. I wouldn't argue that it was solely because the coach was a jerk it contributed to it. Players didn't enjoy playing as much as they had. Participation continually dropped. Really, I believe you can be highly successful as a coach either way, but especially today, I think the notion that harsh criticism, let alone national humiliation, is necessary or preferable in making better players. Tougher players, has never been more wrong.
have said don't stretch before workouts. Apparently, that was a special knowledge that only Git knew...like "you ever watch a cat? Cat's don't stretch"...umm, yaaaa.
and static stretching. Dynamic stretching is done pre-workout. You warm the muscle up and lengthen it prior to exercise. Static stretching is done post workout when the muscle has already been warmed up. Static stretching prior to warm up can cause injury.
Gittleson, was argurably the worst long-term head S&C coach in college football. His methods were antiquated. He was consistently one of the late comers in a variety of S&C techniques including plyometrics which he considered too dangerous. This in preparing football players to play one of the most dangeous contact sports there is.
I've covered this ground way too often but, suffice it to say Mike Barwis, while flawed, was a huge improvement over Gittleson. People who have little knowledge of S&C are critical of Barwis because they blame him for making UM too small. Barwis, under the direction of RR, dramatically improved the speed-endurance of UM. He made the players in the image RR wanted them. If he were still S&C head coach and Hoke wanted them muscled up that would be very easy for him to do. Bulking up players is probably the single easiest thing a S&C coach can be asked to do. Barwis, worked with generally less physically talented players than under the Carr and he was asked in three years to take younger, and less talented players and turn them into Big Ten players. The players the new S&C coach is working with have had years under Barwis, have had years getting stronger, and faster. Barwis, will have never had a class with 4-5 years under him at UM. He made some dramatic improvements over a number of players at UM. Former UM players across sports disciplines, pro players, continue to work with Barwis in his new facility in Plymouth. A pale comparison to what they had at UM but, they choose to continue to work under him and they could work under virtually anyone. That alone is a tremendous testimony to his success, and his calibre of S&C coach.
Tim, you're probably going to have to wait a long time before he makes a public announcement about it. Hesaid before his commitment that he'd just inform the coach and not make a public announcement. His family have been shunning the recruiting sites throughout the process so, that's something to consider. His high school coach has confirmed it, and no one is disputing his commitment.
And while I heartedly agree with the poster above that I wouldn't want to play for Ron Zook they have produced some good backs of late...Thomas, Mendenhall, LeShoure. As Iowa being my second favorite team of the"final" three, I'm obviously, rooting for them to get him but, wouldn't be surprised if UM get's back in it.
Re: Illinois why play at a school that has bad head coach who's one the hot seat and doens't have a rich football tradition. In comparison to the RR(he's not a bad coach just a bad fit for him) situation if a player commited here knowing that RR was "on the hot seat" the player was going to be at Michigan regardless. UNC? They're facing possibly severe penalities.
Any sense who the top OL and DL are remaining on our board? I'd think that Jordan Diamond would qualify as a OL they'd take if he wants to commit. DT's? My guess is Pipkins be their highest rated DT that they have a great shot at. Any shot at Eddie Goldman? He has the torso of a young Reggie White.
A minor exception here. Iowa, wasn't on UM's schedule in 2008. Which was obviously to UM's benefit as Iowa went 9-4, with all four loses coming by a combined dozen points. Hard to imagine how many yards Shonn Greene would have put up on that defense or how ugly the offense would have looked against a top 10 scoring defense. Unlikely UM beats Iowa in 2008 even if LC had come back for a triumphant victory lap after the ugly ASU/Oregon year.
Iowa has been consistent in their recruiting mediocrity. UM's implosion really had little to no impact on Iowa's recruit up until this class. Where Iowa is having a strong year for Iowa's traditional lack of recruiting prowess. So, even if Iowa would have split the 2009-2010 games(which is slightly generous to UM even if LC had returned.)it wouldn't have greatly effected Iowa's fortunes. Iowa, also suffered to a degree from UW's emergence. Which largely picked up the UM slack, and whom Iowa is more a recruiting peer.
Further, if Hinton had made that list 5 years ago. It's likely Iowa would have been on it, or very close to it. With two BT championships during that span of time. So, I'wa consistent overachievement really isn't significantly effected by UM's implosion. Although, going forward?
and forcing it to match him in push ups-rep for rep.
After removing it's heart he says a reverent and thankul prayer to the elk for the gift of the heart, he then eats the raw heart whole and washes it down with a tall glass of, of course, chocolate milk.
The team, incircled around their strength coach, rest on knee in full uniform. A low and powerful sound seems to emenate from everywhere and yet has no source, it steadily grows in power till the walls of Ft. Schembechler themselves begin to shake..."The Team, The Team, The Team".
Coach Rodriquez enters the room burning intensity in his eyes but, a wry smile on his face, he says, OK, boys..."The Game" week is here...hard edge...hit the field.
Quality of my likely position coach, and coordinator. If I had something approximating future NFL talent I'd want to go somewhere that would likely heighten my chances of making it to the NFL. Position coaching would be an important consideration.
Quality of the head coach. Stability in the coaching situation. Would I expect if the coaching situation went south(which my mean the coaches left for the pro's not necessarily were canned.) that the likely replacement would be good and/or that I like the academics and culture of the University that I would like to stay ie. if you weren't playing football, at all, would you be happy here?
Comfort with the academic and football culture. Probably wouldn't be as comfortable at Texas Tech than at UM/UW/Texas.
That would be some of them, I'm sure academics(overall quality and likely major.) would be one of the more important considerations.
Region. It would be some consideration, if my parents were alive, that they could see me play and that I could see them regularly. Personally, I prefer living in the west but, it would likely be a lesser consideration than some others listed above.
He's a sure tackler but, doesn't have the same kind of athleticism as Tarpinian. Getting to the perimeter against Denard that's potentially not an insignificant issue.
The prior game in 2009 UM had a net of 28 yards rushing against MSU. Iowa made a tactical gamble that given their front seven's ability to stop the run they wouldn't need much safety support. That was probably a mistake. They overvalued UM's passing attack and undervalued the running attack. Probably worth noting that regardless of their rationale for dropping the safeties. It's very, very unlikely they do the same this year. With Iowa's safeties, Sash and Greenwood, being strong in run support that should be a different level of run support than Iowa had last year. One question mark will be Iowa's MLB. They might lost a very good athlete in Tarpinian(injured)for the UM game. If he can't play that could mean an easier time in getting to the perimeter.
Staniz is currently completing 67% of his passes, he's thrown 10 TD's to 2 int's. He's completed 57%, at the same point last year, and already had a handul of int's. He's the third highest rated QB in the nation and will be facing the 119th best FBS pass defense.
Iowa, last year conceded run yardage in an attempt to stop what was then an explosive passing game with Forcier almost bringing UM back against MSU after comeback wins against Indiana, and ND. So, they kept their safeties back and overplayed the pass all day. They succeeded giving Forcier easily his worst perfromance to that point and the defensive line harrassing Forcier much of the day.
Iowa's defense finished #3 in pass defense efficiency last year. They are third in that category this year, while being #1 in scoring defense and #2 in rushing defense.
Very unlikely that the Iowa safeties will be kept back this year with a great DL and good coverage from the defensive backfield. They'll keep the sure tackling safeties up.
With all due respect does anyone here believe UMass is actually better than UConn? Comparable?
That James Madison(Sagarin #33) based on beating Virginia Tech, 6 days following a emotional and physically draining loss against Boise State is the thirty-third best team in the country? The latest FCS poll has James Madison #3 in the FCS. A signifcant jump from #11 the previous week but, apparently the FCS voters had enough common sense to realize that the James Madison-V.Tech is likely completely indicative of the strength of the team.
Sagarin's #'s are "objective" in that he doesn't manipulate them week to week. He has a formula and puts the numbers of the games into the computer model based on that formula.
Especially early, but I think 'in-the-main" generally this is an extremely rough outline of the strength of teams. I suspect if James Madison and V.Tech played 10 times on consecutive Saturdays V.tech would win at least 8 of them. He has little information to go on. UConn on most computer models were 6-7 point winners against UM. One program had UConn winning 95% of the time in their model of the game. The odds makers were off but, more on top of things having UM as a 2.5-3 point favorite. Please take these models/projections, especially early, with a cow lick sized grain of salt.
So, that may account for a skewing up of the State of Indiana's recruiting numbers.
As a couple of people have mentioned it'd probably best to wait till the classes were finished to do this kind of analysis. But, appreciate the effort.
My favorite one so far is where Tate aligns himself on the sidelines, then Denard runs 87 yards for the longest run in the history of Notre Dame stadium and when Denard goes to the sidelines Tate is there to congratulate him.
A couple of things. DE Broderick Binns, a very productive starter last season will be the starter this year opposite Clayborn. He was suspended for the first game so Ed Daniels may get the start against EIU. But, no matter, Binns is the starter at the position come Game 2.
"Aside from the defensive front, this unit could be looking at a step back after finishing first in conference play a year ago".
Not so sure. Tyler Sash, is a serious All-American candidate at safety, and his sidekick Brett Greenwood made second team all-conference at the end of last season. Shaun Prater, returns at the cornerback spot opposite Spievey after a strong first year. Jordan Bernstein(who was the projected starer opposite Spievey last year before a season ending injury) is back but he's been beaten out by a suprising sophomore Micah Hyde. Bernstein, is fast and projects as the Hawkeyes nickle back. The LB's have a lot of experience if two didn't see the field a lot(it's the Iowa way..."next man in"... it's a developmental not a recruiting program.)so, don't expect much fall off at LB. Iowa's defense is going to be real handful again.
BTW-on offense remember the name, Jewel Hampton. A RB who's name you should know well by UM-Iowa kickoff time.
Well, if you believe the computer analysis of Football Outsiders and Jeff Sagarin who had Iowa finishing the 2008, according to their "predictor"(this is heavily influenced by margin of victory and it is the ranking Sagarin believes is his most accurate.)model that Iowa was the 19th and 17th team, respectively.. College Football Resource's SRS(Simple Ratings System. Simple-minded?), very similar to the methodology of the forementioned ratings above they used in ranking the historic most overrated MNC's winner's and had UM's 1997 MNC winning team as the 2nd most overrated ever (BYU #1...which you really don't need even a solar calculator to believe). It had UM as the 5th best team that year. Don't worry though, Nebraska wasn't ranked #1, they had them at #2 behind FSU at #1.
I give you the courage of your convictions if you believe Iowa 'lucky' last year(I assume you believe they were "unlucky" in 2008 since they went 9-4 with the four losses by a combined 12 points and all played on the road. So, does that balance out to 4 losses this year??? Seems like the crude "luck" relationship would cancel each other out and this third year would start a new "luck" cycle. Iowa played a lot of close games, two against opponets they should have whipped up on. They also played one of the top 10 hardest schedules in the country. They played four teams who won 10 games or more, and they beat three of them. Two on the road the third at neutral site. The loss coming to OSU in overtime without their starting QB. But, hey that and returning 14 starters(16 since both starting kickers return, one an All-American)including argurably the best player in the conference(Clayborn).and the bulk of their tough games in Kinnick.
Something germaine to the prediction might be injuries. Iowa, had a unusual number of injuries that kept some games closer than they should have been and yet they still went 11-2 playing a very tough schedule. When they were at their healthiest(and so was the opposing team)they beat a top 10 team, Georgia Tech, 24-14, and out gained them 403 to 155 yards. A whipping in fact, if not score...do the computers factor those kinds of things? Injuries? Strategy? Tactics? Game situations?
Then there's some of the guys who were out all last year are back. Including their most talented RB, Jewel Hampton, who BTN's Howard Griffith says he fully expects to be among the top few in contention for the conference rushing title. A projected starter, Jordan Bernstein, cornerback, who's been overtaken by surprising sophomore Micah Hyde. He'll be their nickle back. Paul Cheney, their top kick returner in 2008 is back.
So, 16 starters not including those three, and their biggest games in one of the toughest places to play in the conference(the last decade Iowa has a .785 winning record their second only to OSU's home record.)if not the country.
Iowa, argurably, might fall to 10-14 but, 20? C'mon.
I was being sarcastic. I'm not tht upset about Melanie's lack of journalistic rigor, though. She made a dumb mistake and we're all on edge given Troy's injury and the past two horrific years...so, it compounded the reaction.
Swing low, Iowa. I've been thinking this for a while and now I'll dare mention it because a couple other outlets have broached the same thing: isn't Iowa due for a recession after their debt-fueled 2009? The lasting image of Iowa's Orange Bowl-winning season isn't Adrian Clayborn turning something into a damp red smear* but an Indiana pass pinging off four separate players before landing Charmin-soft in the hands of Tyler Sash.
Now it can be told on a list of teams most likely to regress this year:
1. Iowa
The Hawkeyes had a great record last year, but they weren't dominant. They beat Northern Iowa and Arkansas State by a combined four points. They nearly lost to Michigan and Michigan State. In 2010, they get every tough team in the Big Ten while missing Illinois and Purdue. Iowa State usually plays them tough regardless, and they go to Arizona. It's not going to be an explosive team, and the schedule is tough.
That's Team Speed Kills and it's admittedly hazy, but the point about NIU, Arkansas State, Michigan (guh), Michigan State, and that omitted Indiana game is well-taken: Iowa was 89th in total offense last year. That is not often the recipe for a top-ten team, especially when the top-ten defense lost about half its starters and is still deploying a walk-on at safety.
Iowa, in 2008 went 9-4 their four losses were by a combined score of 12 points. They lost by one point at Pittsburgh, five points in Evanston, Three points in East Lansing(through a quirk in scheduling they played MSU in consecutive years in Spartan Stadium. ), and three points in Champaign(a weird loss, and the single and LAST loss Ferentz has to Zook. Ferentz even beat Zook when he was coaching Florida.).
Every game Iowa lost that year but for one play could have been a win. Iowa outplayed most of the opponets in those losses. Their wins in 2008 included drubbings of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa State, and South Carolina with a narrow win over then undefeated #3 PSU in Kinnick.
I would say 2009 was simply Karma paying back the Hawkeyes for the 2008 debt. Additionally, take a look at those close wins in 2009 and you'll see Iowa had a number of missing starters. Most of the year the Big Ten lineaman of the year, Bryan Bulaga, was either out with a thyroid illness or still feeling the ill-effects(see his perfromance against Arkansas State's DE and the following week against monster DE Brandon Graham.)of it. Remember that Shonn Greene, he of over 1,800 yards rushing as a redshirt junior left early to be a hero for the Jets. That left his back up the talented Jewel Hampton to be the heir apparent only to lose him for the season before game one. Hence the insertion of jouneyman, Paki "Bomb" O'Meara, as the starter then when reality struck two-star from freshman Adam Robinson started(and turned out to be pretty good). That's how you get N.Iowa...Arkansas State etc. Injuries, sickness, new players, players still figuring out how to play the position. Now, Iowa has 8 returning starters on one of the top 10 defenses in the country. BTW-Greenwood, that walk-on safety, is a preseason All-Big Ten player. They have all their backs returning(Wegher? *fingers crossed* but, w/Hampton and Robinson back, two incoming frosh RB's should only see the field in blowouts.) including Jewel Hampton, who's probably the most talented of them. They have the best WR group Ferentz has ever had, and they have the typically good Iowa special teams.
This year Iowa get's that tough schedule almost completely in Kinnick. Argurably one of the tougher places to play in the country.
Stanzi, is a wild-card but, a fifth year senior QB who has a 18-4 career record is usually going to be a good thing and I strongly suspect less comeback wins will be necessary as a better group of backs and a deep corp of receivers(not to mention that defense)aren't going to allow many teams to get ahead of them.
I noticed last year in a pre-season interview when talking about the B-10 championship contenders you left out Iowa(but, you did say Illinois was a team to watch in the future???). I suspect you've short changed the Hawkeyes again BTW...Most of all these two returnees for the Hawkeyes shouldn't be underestimated..Kirk Ferentz and DC Norm Parker. Coaching counts.
17 returning starters off a 5-7 team including the two sophomores that shared the QB position as freshmen(freshman starting QB being an anethema to coaches sleeping well.), significantly better depth on defense, another recruiting class where the players actually, FIT THE SYSTEM and another year for the veteran players toknow the system and weed out the dead weight and he predicts...5 wins. Beautiful. Perfect. Get Vegas on the phone.
Tressel and Ferentz at #11 and #12 w/coaches like Pattersen, Petersen, Kelly, Whittingham who've won less games and have done that not playing in major conferences. Apparently, if you want to be ranked as a top 10 coach you'd better win multiple MNC's or coach at programs that play weak schedules. This may be the first and last time I defend Jim Tressel but, Chris Petersen has coached 4 years. Given that Boise State was a successful program before Petersen took over and they consistently play a weaker schedule than OSU's how can you choose a four year coach over a guy who's won as many BT championships(and a MNC) as Tressel has?
He's not Moeaki as an pro prospect. But, he's very comparable to some above average TE's that Ferentz has produced. He's had a number of starts(especially as a junior)and he's muscled up in the off-season.FWIW-- TE's in their fifth year's tend to really play well at Iowa.The "X" factor at TE might be CJ Fiedorowitz one of the top TE's in the country. A 6'7" 250 TE with a reported(fake) 4.5 40. He was Lemming's nationally top TE and I believe rivals.com's #2 TE. He's not 4.5 fast but, surprisingly fast and agile for his size. He has great hands. So, while he's probably not going to start he's capable of coming in and playing early. Brett Meyer's their expected second string TE is another guy they're pretty high on. Given I
Soph. was a "four-star" recruit(not loads of them in Iowa City.)WR Keenan Davis-had a lot of quality offers and Erik Campbell has described him as a freshman as "the best WR at the same stage he'd ever coached"....than includes, ummm, some good players. They have quite a bit of depth at WR.
So, overall, this might be the best group of receivers that Ferentz as coached.
If you could magically take all of them fit them on one roster and somehow develop ALL two star players yes, they would be equal to or more valuable than the small group of five star players.
The fact is you have 85 guys on a roster and you have to take the players most likely to develop into being good-great players. You don't do that filling the roster with two-star kids. If you want the hgihest likelyhood of success you take the players with the highest ranking because they have best chance of being successful. Now, there are exceptions to that rule and there's "fit" with different systems and so on but as a general rule...
No offense intended--It's probability, stupid.
Brett Greenwood. He was a significant liability on defense his first year as a starter. He became a decent starter his second year(limited athletically, and suspect in pass coverage but a hard-nosed tough hitter. Ring a bell?). Last year he received Big Ten honorable mention and a solid player all-around player. This year he probably makes some All-Big Ten second teams. that on one of the top 5-10 defenses in the country.
Th good thing about this 3-3-5 change and moving Kovacs to a DB position closer to the LOS maximizes his strengths(run support) and minimizes his weaknesses. Iowa wasn't going to change their defense for one player. This defense should highlight not only Kovac's strengths but, given the heavy-leaning DB class. It should work effectively in getting young hybrid LB/S talents like Marvin Robinson, and Josh Furman on the field.
It'll be interesting to see these young players develop. Hopefully, they'll be 'coached up' like Iowa's done. Both programs have very good-excellent S&C programs so, physically they should develop nicely ala. Iowa.
He's argurably the best part of this program.
Denard look's a lot more muscular. So, those 25#'s of muscle looks completely legit, and he's obviously maintained his speed.
This year we're going to see more of the S&C changes really pay off. Third year of Barwis a lot of "new" young guys like Lewan, Campbell, Emilien who're going to show that on the field.
If I were RR I'd have Barwis giving as much expouser to the public as possible that doesn't interfer with his coaching.
Radio, TV, internet, smoke signals..whatever. Get him out there as the face of the program because he never fails to excite and impress and th program sure as hell could use some positive pub.
He tweaked a hamstring his second 40 run at the combine. Warren, says he'll run again at Graham's individual workout day.
Which, apparently won't be then, individual.
Graham will also run the 40 w/Warren on his back against and beat the Freep's Rosenburg just because he can.
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Also, Juggernaut is the nickname teammates of John Rigginish Iowa running back/fullback, Mark Weisman, have given him.
Not sure how that affects your rankings, but he's technically a 2014 class kid.
He's now rated a four star by scout.com(already was by rivals.com).
to Barwis transition.
I was never a fan of Gittleson and welcomed the change. I'm wondering if some of the Carr-RR camps conflict was over the perception that Barwis was much higher thought of by many fans/media than Gittleson.
Wonder if the players expressed a preference in S&C coaches and their respective styles.
the pro-style becomes increasingly contrarian. I suspect that in the next few years, with the B12 and SEC assistants getting more head coaching jobs, we'll see more spread than we've seen and less pro-style.
That probably helps UM.
The man's a very good coach who struggles with one of the worst places to recruit from in automatic BCS conference land.
Surely anyone who watched the Iowa-UM should understand that the man can coach.
He's too conservative but one of the best coaches in the country at player development/teaching.
As a UM and Iowa fan...a few thoughts on Iowa.
Scout.com's team rankings had Iowa at #22 for the 2011 recruiting class. So, we're not Iowa's recruiting in the top 25 as ancient history here, and Iowa has never produced highly thought of(top 15) recruiting classes with the exception of the injury riddled 2005 class. The best talent on the Iowa team is in the freshman(2011) and 2010 classes. The 2008 recruiting class was pretty awful and finished last in the Big Ten according to scout.com. Not surprisingly, Iowa has felt the pinch from that class and a nearly as bad class(2009) but rebounded well. So, if you were wondering why Iowa's usually very good-excellent defense wasn't so much this year...it's the 2008-2009 classes that did it in.
The young players are the best athletes on the team but as typical of Iowa(and most other BCS non-traditionally great programs), though they aren't of the ready-made, works great out of the box kind of prep superstars that elite programs often have...they need some time to develop. But, one of the players that should contribute next year is four star redshirt freshmen to be, DT Darian Cooper. He spent this year muscling up and should be ready to start, or at worse, play a lot in relief. Cooper had offers that included offers from UM and MSU, and chose Iowa last year. Another is sophomore to be, safety Nico Law. Law played on special teams this season and played well.
Iowa has a great history of great player development(http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2011/4/30/2143688/the-best-and-worst…). That's especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Some of the lowly or middling regarded recruits that Iowa has turned into highly regarded draft picks(just on defense)a very incomplete list; LB Pat Angerer(Currently #1 in the NFL in tackles),LB Chad Greenway(#3 in the NFL in tackles), S Bob Sanders(former NFL defensive MVP), DE Aaron Kampman, DE Adrian Clayborn, DT Courtney Ballard, DT Kark Klug, DT Mitch King, DE Matt Roth, CB Charles Godfrey, and S/CB Amari Spievey. So, while the 2011 defense had a dearth of talent that was unusually low. Don't expect that a lack of prep "stars" necessarily equates a lack of a talented Iowa defense in the future. They've really NEVER had a defense full of highly regarded recruits and future Iowa defenses will likely have more talented players than this year's variety or that the starred board above might suggest in 2012.
A couple of cases in point are sophomore LB's three star James Morris, Christian Kirksey and two star player junior cornerback, Micah Hyde.. Three star Morris was honorable mention all conference this year as was was the former two star, Hyde. Former two star, Kirksey, played better than either and weighs in at 215 pounds. He's likely to get bigger and stronger in the off-season(as will the undersized Mike LB Morris who weighs 227). Former two-star recruit CB Shaun Prater was first-team All-Big Ten this year. So, the elite recruitment at Iowa may never happen but the elite development of Iowa players continues..and with four star true(2012 verbal with offers from UM and MSU) Jaleel Johnson joining Darien Cooper and the rest of the 2011 class. Don't expect that the Iowa defense in future years will be poorly talented(although next year's DL will likely be very young).
They lose because they couldn't pass. They ran pretty effectively.
He came to Iowa as a drop-back style QB with better than average athleticism. So, following Erik Campbell around probably would not result in some "hidden gem" WR recruits.
Iowa develops players well. They don't look through a crystal ball with a copy of Phil Steele's mag on their laps.
Amen, and ummm, Amen.
Pete Carroll had a steadfast role against demeaning criticism by his coaching staff in practices and games. He wanted his teams to bust ass in practices but, have fun,and it helped in recruiting too. His teams were tough, and obviously, very good. Purely anecdotal but, between my junior and senior year in high school we had a head coaching change. We went from a more cerebral, but tough coach to a coach who was right out of "meathead coach casting 101". Very foul mouthed and harshly critical. The team went from 8-1 to 1-8 although the talent wasn't appreciably worse.The coach was gone in two years. I wouldn't argue that it was solely because the coach was a jerk it contributed to it. Players didn't enjoy playing as much as they had. Participation continually dropped. Really, I believe you can be highly successful as a coach either way, but especially today, I think the notion that harsh criticism, let alone national humiliation, is necessary or preferable in making better players. Tougher players, has never been more wrong.
And we had at least one guy leave because of harsh criticism in practices...imagine having a national TV audience witness your de-maning.
have said don't stretch before workouts. Apparently, that was a special knowledge that only Git knew...like "you ever watch a cat? Cat's don't stretch"...umm, yaaaa.
and static stretching. Dynamic stretching is done pre-workout. You warm the muscle up and lengthen it prior to exercise. Static stretching is done post workout when the muscle has already been warmed up. Static stretching prior to warm up can cause injury.
Gittleson, was argurably the worst long-term head S&C coach in college football. His methods were antiquated. He was consistently one of the late comers in a variety of S&C techniques including plyometrics which he considered too dangerous. This in preparing football players to play one of the most dangeous contact sports there is.
I've covered this ground way too often but, suffice it to say Mike Barwis, while flawed, was a huge improvement over Gittleson. People who have little knowledge of S&C are critical of Barwis because they blame him for making UM too small. Barwis, under the direction of RR, dramatically improved the speed-endurance of UM. He made the players in the image RR wanted them. If he were still S&C head coach and Hoke wanted them muscled up that would be very easy for him to do. Bulking up players is probably the single easiest thing a S&C coach can be asked to do. Barwis, worked with generally less physically talented players than under the Carr and he was asked in three years to take younger, and less talented players and turn them into Big Ten players. The players the new S&C coach is working with have had years under Barwis, have had years getting stronger, and faster. Barwis, will have never had a class with 4-5 years under him at UM. He made some dramatic improvements over a number of players at UM. Former UM players across sports disciplines, pro players, continue to work with Barwis in his new facility in Plymouth. A pale comparison to what they had at UM but, they choose to continue to work under him and they could work under virtually anyone. That alone is a tremendous testimony to his success, and his calibre of S&C coach.
You have to pay crazy murderous people not to wear the scarlet and grey...it's so their natural colors.
Tim, you're probably going to have to wait a long time before he makes a public announcement about it. Hesaid before his commitment that he'd just inform the coach and not make a public announcement. His family have been shunning the recruiting sites throughout the process so, that's something to consider. His high school coach has confirmed it, and no one is disputing his commitment.
And while I heartedly agree with the poster above that I wouldn't want to play for Ron Zook they have produced some good backs of late...Thomas, Mendenhall, LeShoure. As Iowa being my second favorite team of the"final" three, I'm obviously, rooting for them to get him but, wouldn't be surprised if UM get's back in it.
Re: Illinois why play at a school that has bad head coach who's one the hot seat and doens't have a rich football tradition. In comparison to the RR(he's not a bad coach just a bad fit for him) situation if a player commited here knowing that RR was "on the hot seat" the player was going to be at Michigan regardless. UNC? They're facing possibly severe penalities.
Any sense who the top OL and DL are remaining on our board? I'd think that Jordan Diamond would qualify as a OL they'd take if he wants to commit. DT's? My guess is Pipkins be their highest rated DT that they have a great shot at. Any shot at Eddie Goldman? He has the torso of a young Reggie White.
He was the embodiment of the 'team player" at UM, and gave them their second best year in LC era. Sad, unimaginable, really.
A minor exception here. Iowa, wasn't on UM's schedule in 2008. Which was obviously to UM's benefit as Iowa went 9-4, with all four loses coming by a combined dozen points. Hard to imagine how many yards Shonn Greene would have put up on that defense or how ugly the offense would have looked against a top 10 scoring defense. Unlikely UM beats Iowa in 2008 even if LC had come back for a triumphant victory lap after the ugly ASU/Oregon year.
Iowa has been consistent in their recruiting mediocrity. UM's implosion really had little to no impact on Iowa's recruit up until this class. Where Iowa is having a strong year for Iowa's traditional lack of recruiting prowess. So, even if Iowa would have split the 2009-2010 games(which is slightly generous to UM even if LC had returned.)it wouldn't have greatly effected Iowa's fortunes. Iowa, also suffered to a degree from UW's emergence. Which largely picked up the UM slack, and whom Iowa is more a recruiting peer.
Further, if Hinton had made that list 5 years ago. It's likely Iowa would have been on it, or very close to it. With two BT championships during that span of time. So, I'wa consistent overachievement really isn't significantly effected by UM's implosion. Although, going forward?
Any news on other DT recruits?
He's 23 so that probably factored into his decision. He's a pretty good prospect, but probably needed another year of development.
Nice job with this post. I have a clearer understanding of what's going on with a number of recruits.
Bob Sanders.
and forcing it to match him in push ups-rep for rep.
After removing it's heart he says a reverent and thankul prayer to the elk for the gift of the heart, he then eats the raw heart whole and washes it down with a tall glass of, of course, chocolate milk.
The team, incircled around their strength coach, rest on knee in full uniform. A low and powerful sound seems to emenate from everywhere and yet has no source, it steadily grows in power till the walls of Ft. Schembechler themselves begin to shake..."The Team, The Team, The Team".
Coach Rodriquez enters the room burning intensity in his eyes but, a wry smile on his face, he says, OK, boys..."The Game" week is here...hard edge...hit the field.
BEAT the Buckeyes!
Comfort with the coaching style.
Quality of my likely position coach, and coordinator. If I had something approximating future NFL talent I'd want to go somewhere that would likely heighten my chances of making it to the NFL. Position coaching would be an important consideration.
Quality of the head coach. Stability in the coaching situation. Would I expect if the coaching situation went south(which my mean the coaches left for the pro's not necessarily were canned.) that the likely replacement would be good and/or that I like the academics and culture of the University that I would like to stay ie. if you weren't playing football, at all, would you be happy here?
Comfort with the academic and football culture. Probably wouldn't be as comfortable at Texas Tech than at UM/UW/Texas.
That would be some of them, I'm sure academics(overall quality and likely major.) would be one of the more important considerations.
Region. It would be some consideration, if my parents were alive, that they could see me play and that I could see them regularly. Personally, I prefer living in the west but, it would likely be a lesser consideration than some others listed above.
to this defensive backfield is those aformentioned three freshman QB's, and Mike Martin getting back to 100%.
I guess the good news is all they can do is get better...right? right?
He's a sure tackler but, doesn't have the same kind of athleticism as Tarpinian. Getting to the perimeter against Denard that's potentially not an insignificant issue.
The prior game in 2009 UM had a net of 28 yards rushing against MSU. Iowa made a tactical gamble that given their front seven's ability to stop the run they wouldn't need much safety support. That was probably a mistake. They overvalued UM's passing attack and undervalued the running attack. Probably worth noting that regardless of their rationale for dropping the safeties. It's very, very unlikely they do the same this year. With Iowa's safeties, Sash and Greenwood, being strong in run support that should be a different level of run support than Iowa had last year. One question mark will be Iowa's MLB. They might lost a very good athlete in Tarpinian(injured)for the UM game. If he can't play that could mean an easier time in getting to the perimeter.
Staniz is currently completing 67% of his passes, he's thrown 10 TD's to 2 int's. He's completed 57%, at the same point last year, and already had a handul of int's. He's the third highest rated QB in the nation and will be facing the 119th best FBS pass defense.
Iowa, last year conceded run yardage in an attempt to stop what was then an explosive passing game with Forcier almost bringing UM back against MSU after comeback wins against Indiana, and ND. So, they kept their safeties back and overplayed the pass all day. They succeeded giving Forcier easily his worst perfromance to that point and the defensive line harrassing Forcier much of the day.
Iowa's defense finished #3 in pass defense efficiency last year. They are third in that category this year, while being #1 in scoring defense and #2 in rushing defense.
Very unlikely that the Iowa safeties will be kept back this year with a great DL and good coverage from the defensive backfield. They'll keep the sure tackling safeties up.
Bad news for the offense.
With all due respect does anyone here believe UMass is actually better than UConn? Comparable?
That James Madison(Sagarin #33) based on beating Virginia Tech, 6 days following a emotional and physically draining loss against Boise State is the thirty-third best team in the country? The latest FCS poll has James Madison #3 in the FCS. A signifcant jump from #11 the previous week but, apparently the FCS voters had enough common sense to realize that the James Madison-V.Tech is likely completely indicative of the strength of the team.
Sagarin's #'s are "objective" in that he doesn't manipulate them week to week. He has a formula and puts the numbers of the games into the computer model based on that formula.
Especially early, but I think 'in-the-main" generally this is an extremely rough outline of the strength of teams. I suspect if James Madison and V.Tech played 10 times on consecutive Saturdays V.tech would win at least 8 of them. He has little information to go on. UConn on most computer models were 6-7 point winners against UM. One program had UConn winning 95% of the time in their model of the game. The odds makers were off but, more on top of things having UM as a 2.5-3 point favorite. Please take these models/projections, especially early, with a cow lick sized grain of salt.
So, that may account for a skewing up of the State of Indiana's recruiting numbers.
As a couple of people have mentioned it'd probably best to wait till the classes were finished to do this kind of analysis. But, appreciate the effort.
My favorite one so far is where Tate aligns himself on the sidelines, then Denard runs 87 yards for the longest run in the history of Notre Dame stadium and when Denard goes to the sidelines Tate is there to congratulate him.
A couple of things. DE Broderick Binns, a very productive starter last season will be the starter this year opposite Clayborn. He was suspended for the first game so Ed Daniels may get the start against EIU. But, no matter, Binns is the starter at the position come Game 2.
"Aside from the defensive front, this unit could be looking at a step back after finishing first in conference play a year ago".
Not so sure. Tyler Sash, is a serious All-American candidate at safety, and his sidekick Brett Greenwood made second team all-conference at the end of last season. Shaun Prater, returns at the cornerback spot opposite Spievey after a strong first year. Jordan Bernstein(who was the projected starer opposite Spievey last year before a season ending injury) is back but he's been beaten out by a suprising sophomore Micah Hyde. Bernstein, is fast and projects as the Hawkeyes nickle back. The LB's have a lot of experience if two didn't see the field a lot(it's the Iowa way..."next man in"... it's a developmental not a recruiting program.)so, don't expect much fall off at LB. Iowa's defense is going to be real handful again.
BTW-on offense remember the name, Jewel Hampton. A RB who's name you should know well by UM-Iowa kickoff time.
Well, if you believe the computer analysis of Football Outsiders and Jeff Sagarin who had Iowa finishing the 2008, according to their "predictor"(this is heavily influenced by margin of victory and it is the ranking Sagarin believes is his most accurate.)model that Iowa was the 19th and 17th team, respectively.. College Football Resource's SRS(Simple Ratings System. Simple-minded?), very similar to the methodology of the forementioned ratings above they used in ranking the historic most overrated MNC's winner's and had UM's 1997 MNC winning team as the 2nd most overrated ever (BYU #1...which you really don't need even a solar calculator to believe). It had UM as the 5th best team that year. Don't worry though, Nebraska wasn't ranked #1, they had them at #2 behind FSU at #1.
I give you the courage of your convictions if you believe Iowa 'lucky' last year(I assume you believe they were "unlucky" in 2008 since they went 9-4 with the four losses by a combined 12 points and all played on the road. So, does that balance out to 4 losses this year??? Seems like the crude "luck" relationship would cancel each other out and this third year would start a new "luck" cycle. Iowa played a lot of close games, two against opponets they should have whipped up on. They also played one of the top 10 hardest schedules in the country. They played four teams who won 10 games or more, and they beat three of them. Two on the road the third at neutral site. The loss coming to OSU in overtime without their starting QB. But, hey that and returning 14 starters(16 since both starting kickers return, one an All-American)including argurably the best player in the conference(Clayborn).and the bulk of their tough games in Kinnick.
Something germaine to the prediction might be injuries. Iowa, had a unusual number of injuries that kept some games closer than they should have been and yet they still went 11-2 playing a very tough schedule. When they were at their healthiest(and so was the opposing team)they beat a top 10 team, Georgia Tech, 24-14, and out gained them 403 to 155 yards. A whipping in fact, if not score...do the computers factor those kinds of things? Injuries? Strategy? Tactics? Game situations?
Then there's some of the guys who were out all last year are back. Including their most talented RB, Jewel Hampton, who BTN's Howard Griffith says he fully expects to be among the top few in contention for the conference rushing title. A projected starter, Jordan Bernstein, cornerback, who's been overtaken by surprising sophomore Micah Hyde. He'll be their nickle back. Paul Cheney, their top kick returner in 2008 is back.
So, 16 starters not including those three, and their biggest games in one of the toughest places to play in the conference(the last decade Iowa has a .785 winning record their second only to OSU's home record.)if not the country.
Iowa, argurably, might fall to 10-14 but, 20? C'mon.
I was being sarcastic. I'm not tht upset about Melanie's lack of journalistic rigor, though. She made a dumb mistake and we're all on edge given Troy's injury and the past two horrific years...so, it compounded the reaction.
Well then I stand corrected.
She's just a young woman(really hot) trying to make it in a rough-and-tumble, dog eat dog world.
She's also really hot.
All I wanted for Christmas was 8 wins.
Iowa, in 2008 went 9-4 their four losses were by a combined score of 12 points. They lost by one point at Pittsburgh, five points in Evanston, Three points in East Lansing(through a quirk in scheduling they played MSU in consecutive years in Spartan Stadium. ), and three points in Champaign(a weird loss, and the single and LAST loss Ferentz has to Zook. Ferentz even beat Zook when he was coaching Florida.).
Every game Iowa lost that year but for one play could have been a win. Iowa outplayed most of the opponets in those losses. Their wins in 2008 included drubbings of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa State, and South Carolina with a narrow win over then undefeated #3 PSU in Kinnick.
I would say 2009 was simply Karma paying back the Hawkeyes for the 2008 debt. Additionally, take a look at those close wins in 2009 and you'll see Iowa had a number of missing starters. Most of the year the Big Ten lineaman of the year, Bryan Bulaga, was either out with a thyroid illness or still feeling the ill-effects(see his perfromance against Arkansas State's DE and the following week against monster DE Brandon Graham.)of it. Remember that Shonn Greene, he of over 1,800 yards rushing as a redshirt junior left early to be a hero for the Jets. That left his back up the talented Jewel Hampton to be the heir apparent only to lose him for the season before game one. Hence the insertion of jouneyman, Paki "Bomb" O'Meara, as the starter then when reality struck two-star from freshman Adam Robinson started(and turned out to be pretty good). That's how you get N.Iowa...Arkansas State etc. Injuries, sickness, new players, players still figuring out how to play the position. Now, Iowa has 8 returning starters on one of the top 10 defenses in the country. BTW-Greenwood, that walk-on safety, is a preseason All-Big Ten player. They have all their backs returning(Wegher? *fingers crossed* but, w/Hampton and Robinson back, two incoming frosh RB's should only see the field in blowouts.) including Jewel Hampton, who's probably the most talented of them. They have the best WR group Ferentz has ever had, and they have the typically good Iowa special teams.
This year Iowa get's that tough schedule almost completely in Kinnick. Argurably one of the tougher places to play in the country.
Stanzi, is a wild-card but, a fifth year senior QB who has a 18-4 career record is usually going to be a good thing and I strongly suspect less comeback wins will be necessary as a better group of backs and a deep corp of receivers(not to mention that defense)aren't going to allow many teams to get ahead of them.
I noticed last year in a pre-season interview when talking about the B-10 championship contenders you left out Iowa(but, you did say Illinois was a team to watch in the future???). I suspect you've short changed the Hawkeyes again BTW...Most of all these two returnees for the Hawkeyes shouldn't be underestimated..Kirk Ferentz and DC Norm Parker. Coaching counts.
Ware, is the perfect reverse barometer.
17 returning starters off a 5-7 team including the two sophomores that shared the QB position as freshmen(freshman starting QB being an anethema to coaches sleeping well.), significantly better depth on defense, another recruiting class where the players actually, FIT THE SYSTEM and another year for the veteran players toknow the system and weed out the dead weight and he predicts...5 wins. Beautiful. Perfect. Get Vegas on the phone.
He's scared muscle and height onto players.
Enough of that losing sh*t!
Tressel and Ferentz at #11 and #12 w/coaches like Pattersen, Petersen, Kelly, Whittingham who've won less games and have done that not playing in major conferences. Apparently, if you want to be ranked as a top 10 coach you'd better win multiple MNC's or coach at programs that play weak schedules. This may be the first and last time I defend Jim Tressel but, Chris Petersen has coached 4 years. Given that Boise State was a successful program before Petersen took over and they consistently play a weaker schedule than OSU's how can you choose a four year coach over a guy who's won as many BT championships(and a MNC) as Tressel has?
He's not Moeaki as an pro prospect. But, he's very comparable to some above average TE's that Ferentz has produced. He's had a number of starts(especially as a junior)and he's muscled up in the off-season.FWIW-- TE's in their fifth year's tend to really play well at Iowa.The "X" factor at TE might be CJ Fiedorowitz one of the top TE's in the country. A 6'7" 250 TE with a reported(fake) 4.5 40. He was Lemming's nationally top TE and I believe rivals.com's #2 TE. He's not 4.5 fast but, surprisingly fast and agile for his size. He has great hands. So, while he's probably not going to start he's capable of coming in and playing early. Brett Meyer's their expected second string TE is another guy they're pretty high on. Given I
Soph. was a "four-star" recruit(not loads of them in Iowa City.)WR Keenan Davis-had a lot of quality offers and Erik Campbell has described him as a freshman as "the best WR at the same stage he'd ever coached"....than includes, ummm, some good players. They have quite a bit of depth at WR.
So, overall, this might be the best group of receivers that Ferentz as coached.