Football 02 May 2007 08:08 pm
Iowa HAWKEYE 2007 campaign
A little Mood Music? http://www.scothawk.com/intro.html
Iowa is looking to regain some respect in the Big Ten and the nation this season after the 2 point loss in the Alamo Bowl to the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorns put a sad end to the Hawk’s first losing season since 2000.
On to 2007!
The Northern Illinois game is in Soldier Field in Chicago with a 2pm start.
All other games are TBA
Sep. 1 at Northern Illinois Sep. 8 Syracuse
Sep. 15 at Iowa State Sep. 22 at Wisconsin
Sep. 2 Indiana Oct. 6 at Penn State
Oct. 13 Illinois Oct. 20 at Purdue
Oct. 27 Michigan State Nov. 3 at Northwestern
Nov. 10 Minnesota Nov. 17 Western Michigan
You caught that too? Neither Michigan or Ohio State are on the Schedule for the Hawkeyes this year. (don’t like that much)
New coaches at Iowa State, and Michigan State. We’ll certainly know how good this Iowa team is after the game at Wisky. Iowa returns eight starters on defense and six on offense.
Jake Christensen, the left-hander who completed 23 of 35 passes last season, should take over as the starting QB. It will be his third year in the program. Christensen grew up in a football family; father Jeff had seven years as a backup NFL quarterback after playing at Eastern Illinois. But there are a couple of new guys that will be pressing him.
Who’s gone? The key losses are Drew Tate, tight end Scott Chandler, three starting offensive linemen (Mike Jones, Marshal Yanda, Mike Elgin), linebacker Edmond Miles, safety Marcus Paschal and kicker Kyle Schlicher.
Who’s back? Top-flight running backs Albert Young and Damian Sims, dangerous receiver Dominique Douglas, a standout defensive line (Ken Iwebama, Mitch King, Matt Kroul, Bryan Mattison) and linebackers Mike Klinkenborg and Mike Humpal.
Look for the defensive line to dominate. If they stay healthy, this could be a very good defensive team with strong contributions from some first year freshman safeties.
The Keys to the season IMO will be the development of special teams, the O-line and emergence of new young talent in the defensive backfield.
It’ll be easy for Ferentz to motivate a crew that isn’t used to getting kicked around. The Hawks will need Albert Young at his best to take pressure off the new quarterback. There are rumors floating around that Shonn Greene could be red-shirted.
Iowa’s new defensive line coach is Rick Kaczenski, a former Hawkeyes graduate assistant who played center at Notre Dame under Lou Holtz.
Quarterback: Sophomore-to-be Christensen may be hard to knock off the top of the two-deep, but the spring game offered the first glimpse at freshmen challengers Arvell Nelson and Rick Stanzi, and they both preformed very well. In the 2006 Christensen completed 23-of-35 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, including a start against Northern Illinois. “Jake still enjoys a real advantage,” he said. “I think the intriguing thing is that both freshmen are doing a nice job.
Wide receiver: Last season’s entire cast – minus Herb Grigsby (won’t be missed) – returns for the Hawkeyes in 2007. Projected starters Dominique Douglas and Andy Brodell came up strong at the end of last year, and they should help the Hawkeyes break in Christensen. Behind Douglas and Brodell, the depth chart is full of unproven but promising athletes, including sophomore Trey Stross and a handful of receivers from last year’s recruiting class, including James Cleveland, Anthony Bowman, Paul Chaney, and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos.
Consistency in catching the football – a significant problem last September – could be the difference. “Better. I’m happy to report better,” Ferentz said. “It couldn’t get much worse.”
Offensive line: Dace Richardson, Seth Olsen, and Rafael Eubanks are virtual locks for starting spots, but their exact position and rest of the starting lineup won’t be determined until August. Juniors Rob Bruggeman and Wesley Aeschliman, and sophomore Andy Kuempel are the front-runners. Competition for the second-team isn’t much different.
“I couldn’t tell you who our five starters are at this point,” Ferentz said. “I wouldn’t want to try to predict it. That for sure will go at least midway through camp.”Safety: How open could strong and free safety be next fall? Marcus Wilson – the only returning Hawkeye with starting experience at safety – didn’t start in the Spring scrimmage. The wild card could be Iowa’s recruiting class, which includes three of the country’s best safeties.”I think the competition is real even with the four guys,” Ferentz said. “That one will probably go into August.
Are you ready for the BOOM?
If you’re new to this site, don’t miss my tribute to John Hayden Fry by clicking here.
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