SOMEWHAT BIASED FAN RUN DOWN:
Iowa seems to have a lot of question marks at a few key positions (RB, CB, QB,OL). Last year was obviously a rough year with all the injuries, suspensions, and ultimately inexperience on offense.
RB: Our top two RBs are gone due to graduation, our #1 going into the spring game went home and we were left with walk-on Paki O'Meara and incoming JUCO transfer Nate Guillroy (small, lot of speed/power). Shonn Greeene (a beast IMO, great size, good speed, HUGE power) is returning after taking a year off to his grades together, but will he physically be ready after a year off? Also, we have two promising RBs in Brinson and Hampton coming in the new freshman class. We'll probably see a tandem effort, if not three being rotated until we find someone who can learn the offensive schemes the quickest. So far, it seems that Paki O'Meara has the nod...for now.
QB: Let's be honest, JC got rolled up and smoked last year. He was sacked more times than any other QB in the nation. Throughout the year he seemed a little shell-shocked in the pocket and and couldn't quite get into a rythm. However, he seems to be a smart player in the fact that he knows not to force a pass and give up the fooball. I just wish he would throw it away every now and then...but part of his inconsistency wasn't his fault; dropped passes and an inexperienced OL played into that as well...
OL:...however, the entire OL is returning and now has another year of experience under their belts. We saw a lot of starters go down early in the season last year, so they were thin and being shuffled aroung a bit. But, one would expect to see much-improved OL play this year. This is where we might start to see what this offense is really made of. If the line can actually protect the passer and open up some lanes for the RB's, we could have a hell of an offense, BUT AGAIN, that all depends on how the OL gels.
WR/TE: We're stacked, watch out! Tony Moaeki (#1 TE) and Andy Brodell (#1 WR) are coming back after both went down with season ending injuries during the Wisconsin game (1st B10 season game). The emergence of Brandon Meyers and DJK was a breath of fresh air, but still a little green. Trey Stross has a lot of talent and Paul Chaney JR and Colin Sandeman have a lot to put into the offense as well. Put that group together with Erik Campbell (Michigan's former WR coach) and you have a bunch of WR's and TE's that will move the chains. BUT, that all depends on weather or not Jake Christensen can actually settle down and get a pass off.
DL: The DL will be our anchor this year as we return both Mitch King and Matt Kroul at DT. Both of these guys are work horses and should build a pretty impressive NFL resume by the end of their senior seasons. The loss of Brian Mattison and Kenny Iwebema to graduation hurts, but Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard are both up and coming DE's that have showed that they can create some havoc in the backfield.
LBs: The losses of Mike Klinkenborg and Mike Humpal to graduation, like I'e said earlier, hurts, but AJ Edds looks to be next man in line and he is a tackling machine. Also, Jacody Coleman got to see some PT last year as a freshman and had quite a few shining moments as well as Jeremiah Hunter and Pat Angerer. Everyone should be pretty solid @ LB.
S: Brett Greenwood got the nod last year at free safety as a TF. He got burned a few times, but what TF hasn't, but he showed that he can defend the pass and bring the lumber when needed. Harold Dalton will probably get the start at strong safety, good speed and has a little more experience as a junior. Jayme Murphy didn't see too much PT @ his respective position as a freshman, but did very well on special teams as a true freshman (that's how B. Snaders, C. Greenway. A. Hodge, and S. Considine got noticed).
CB: We lost both senior starters Charles Godfrey (drafted) and Adam Shada (sucked) to graduation. It hurts to lose experience, but I tend to be a little optimistic about Amari Spivey returning to the hawks. He took a year off from Iowa to get his grades together as well and had a hell of a season at his community college. I hope he hasn't lost a step. Bradley Fletcher looks to be the starter on the other side of the field. he saw a lot of action near the second half of the season and had two 10+ tackle games in a row. Again, both players are young, but have shown that they are able to compete. They just need a little more experience to achieve their potential.
Overall, the defense looks pretty solid, even more so than last year IMO. I think that if the offense can keep the defense off of the field long enough though, we should be able to win the close games. With a favorable schedule early on, it should give the Hawks a chance to gel before going to Pitt. The Pitt game should really let everyone know where the Hawks truly are. Then, it's B10 season. No Ohio St, No Mich.
NW - W
@ Mich St. - L
@ Indiana - W
Wisconsin - W (close one, but I'll call it a win)
@ Illinois - L
Penn St. - W (close one, but I'll call it a win)
Purdue - W
@ Minnesota - W
As long as we can pull off the win @ Pitt and protect the home field, this should be a pretty solid season. I see us going anywhere between 8-5 to 11-2 (including bowl game).
