The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

[itsbigmike]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

Stings a bit for you to thump my hometown Broncos, but that's good news for Iowa. Something to build on for next year.

As always, it's a treat to see this back and alive on the forums again. One of my favorite dynasty layouts.

[RoundingThird]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

Great end to the season, but I'm just happy to see this thing back in action. You've served as an inspiration for much of my presenting style.

[Hellisan]

2018: End of Season Update

Great way to end the season. I truly think Iowa will do better next season

I hope so. Thanks for checking in. :-)

Stings a bit for you to thump my hometown Broncos, but that's good news for Iowa. Something to build on for next year.

As always, it's a treat to see this back and alive on the forums again. One of my favorite dynasty layouts.

thanks IBM, and sorry about taking WMU to the woodshed. I'm happy to be back and making some time for it... 4 a.m. on Saturday night/Sun morning lol

Great end to the season, but I'm just happy to see this thing back in action. You've served as an inspiration for much of my presenting style.

Thanks man, I appreciate that greatly, and glad to have you checking in.



2019/2020: The Hawkeyes faced a highly ranked Texas squad to begin the season and scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. Clark gambled on a run play with 14 seconds left and no timeouts for the win 40-38 victory over the more talented Texas squad.

[Hellisan]

2018: Season Overview






2018/2019: The Hawkeyes got off to a flying start against cupcake UMass, shutting out the Minutemen 38-0, and getting 214 rushing yards and a TD from Nigel Atkinson. Next up were rival Iowa State, who made a series of mistakes that ruined their chances as the Hawks won 28-10. After a bye week, the team traveled to Athens, GA where they surprisingly drubbed #8 Georgia 40-14 as the squad racked up 601 yards, including 403 on the ground. Legendary pundit Iron Dragon predicted a high scoring game against Minnesota and that's exactly what developed, with the Hawks losing in OT, 38-44, after a missed field goal. The Hawkeyes fell to 0-2 in the Big Ten the following wee, 24-44 against Penn State, with two quarterbacks combining to throw four interceptions. Sitting at 3-2, but winless in the conference, it was time to get a win, and the Hawkeyes came up with what would be their best win of the season in hindsight, downing eventual BCS National Champion Wisconsin, 23-16. The return of Michael Tyson keyed the team on defense and the team avoided turnovers, forcing and recovering a pair of fumbles in return. Northwestern were 1-5 coming into the game the following week, but Iowa needed overtime to win, 40-33. Without injured Atkinson for much of the game, Ahmad Horne broke off a 22-yard run in OT that led to the winning run by fellow backup Daniel Norton. After WR James Hubbard was kicked off the team two weeks prior, 12 additional players were suspended for the Illinois game, and six were eventually dismissed. In the meantime, Iowa lost 7-10 to the Fighting Illini, in part due to three interceptions thrown by Masin Barnes. In a game that could have sent the season on an even further downward trajectory, Iowa scored 21 fourth-quarter points to come from behind against Purdue, 38-31. Barnes bounced back from a series of tough games, and Atkinson was back to his old self. A week after winning a game they should have lost, Iowa missed an extra point to lose against Michigan State, 27-28. Senior Day against #12 Michigan found the Hawkeyes playing in a snow flurry with half a foot on the ground. They responded in bad weather conditions by thumping the Wolverines 24-7 with Atkinson going for 162 yards and three touchdowns. The most disappointing loss of the season was Nebraska - the Cornhuskers won 47-42 and hung on late to win it, but the difficult part was watching the Huskers pile up 355 rushing yards, including 181 and two TD by the QB, Chad Mullins. All that was left was facing off against Western Michigan in the Litter Skeezer's Pizza Bowl, and the team drummed out a 38-14 victory for their eighth win of the season against five losses.











Coach Clark's inaugural season at the helm of the Iowa Hawkeyes went well
with eight wins, given the expectations of seven wins that were borne mostly
out of his prior success, and not the success of the Hawkeyes, who averaged
five wins the prior five seasons. Winning a bowl game for the first time since
2010 was also a feather in Coach Clark's hat.

The career record looks good, his job is safe, but there is a nagging feeling
that the coach really needs to start beating Top 25 teams. Sure, Idaho was
overmatched physically most of the time, but so was Boise State early in
the career of Chris Petersen, and he started racking up wins much earlier in
the process against teams like Oregon.

Coach Clark did pick up a couple of important Top 25 wins this season, and beat
Wisconsin when they were unranked, before the Badgers turned their season
around and went undefeated the rest of the way, winning the Conference title
and the BCS National Championship.

Clark is bringing in a surprisingly good recruiting class. "There's a lot of positive
to sell about Iowa," he is fond of saying. Whether that class can help take
this team to the next level right away is doubtful, and the team loses a lot this
year.

[Hellisan]

2018 Offseason - Part 1


Coaching Carousel Coverage

Team: Florida State ...... Fired: Jimbo Fisher ...... Hired: Mike Cummings, WKU
Team: Florida ...... Fired: Will Muschamp ...... Hired: Bryan Harsin, Boise St.
Team: Georgia ...... Fired: Mark Richt ...... Hired: Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
Team: LSU ...... Fired: Les Miles ...... Hired: Tom Herman, Rice
Team: Colorado ...... Hired: Bob Diaco, DC Notre Dame
Team: Arkansas ...... Fired: Scott Frost ...... Hired: Geoff Collins, Mississippi State
Team: Boise State ...... Hired: Gerald Drew, HC Washington State
Team: Univ. Washington ...... Fired: Steve Sarkisian ...... Hired: Wisconsin DC Dave Aranda
Team: Ole Miss...... Fired: Hugh Freeze ...... Hired: Bret Bielema, Georgia State
Team: Rice ...... Hired: Chris Thurmond, Rice DC
Team: Iowa State...... Fired: Paul Rhoads ...... Hired: Shannon Dawson, HC Troy
Team: Wasington State...... Hired: Sean Kugler, HC UTEP
Team: Oregon State...... Fired: HC Rich Skorsky ...... Hired: Jim Bollman, HC Ball State
Team: Bowling Green...... Fired: HC Todd Berry ...... Hired: Phil Ross, UC UL Lafayette
Team: Western Kentucky...... Hired: Mark D'Onofrio, DC Miami
Team: Ball State...... Hired: Jimbo Fisher, formerly HC FSU
Team: Troy...... Hired: David Elson, HC New Mexico
Team: Nevada...... Hired: Kenny Edenfield, OC Oklahoma State
Team: Indiana...... Fired: HC Kevin Wilson ...... Hired: Will Muschamp, fired Florida
Team: UTEP...... Hired: Mark Richt, fired Georgia
Team: Miami...... Hired: Brent Venables, HC UAB

[Hellisan]

2018 Offseason: Part 2






Antonio Coley Bolts for Ball State


Antonio Coley, a former 3-star recruit from Galesburg, IL has decided to transfer to Ball State.
Coach Clark did everything he could to convince Coley to stay, but he schlepped his talents to the
Hoosier State anyway.

"Talk about holding a grudge," said Clark. "He was angry that he had to redshirt I guess, so he
waited the entire season and now transfers despite hearing that he will see playing time for a Big
Ten team." The team still has two solid starters potentially in Clint Smith and Joseph Weaver at the
DT position, however it would have been nice to formulate some depth behind them and/or have
Coley potentially beat one of them out, since he was faster and more active.

Sources say Coley may have been disenchanted with his experience after having DT Anthony
Johnson (dismissed from team last year), Logan Rowser II, and Mike Burton all in his position group,
as all were noted to be bad character guys.


Other Players Leaving - Graduates
PLAYER ------------POS - OVR - REASON--------------------------------------------
Michael Tyson -----OLB -- 90 -- Pro Draft (Projected Round 5)
John Pino --------- LT ---- 90 -- Pro Draft (Projected Round 6)
Chad Crum ------- WR --- 91 -- Pro Draft (Projected Round 7)
Pedro Patrick ----- WR --- 91 -- Pro Draft (Projected Round 7)
Greg Brown -------WR ----83 -- Graduation
Ethan Kowalski --- RG --- 83 -- Graduation
William Gore ------ LG --- 82 -- Graduation
Darius Woods ----- RT --- 87 -- Graduation
Jason Ballinger --- DT --- 85 -- Graduation
Josh Rooney ------ OLB --- 82 - Graduation
Jonathan Johnson- OLB --- 74 - Graduation
Aaron Stewart ----- C ----- 60 - Graduation


At least ten of these players could be considered key cogs or starters. All of their stats during the
Clark era are included within the previous posts. Michael Tyson did some special things on the field
due to his speed and strength but surprisingly was not the best linebacker on the team this year,
and it wasn't all that close. Brian McFadden will return for his junior year next year, with that role.
John Pino was the best player on a pretty solid, senior laden line that would have been really good if
Dimonti Gates (below) hadn't been kicked off the team. He played solid football all season long.
Wide receivers Chad Crum and Pedro Patrick were able to get open with great route running, and Crum
had the natural ability to break tackles and take it all the way on a couple of occasions. Ballinger led
the team in sacks.

Other Players Leaving
PLAYER ------------POS - OVR - REASON--------------------------------------------
Spencer Cooper -- SS ---- 85 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Senior)
Dimonti Gates ---- C ----- 88 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Senior)
Leonard Harper --- QB --- 72 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Freshman)
E.J. Washington -- G ----- 71 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Freshman)
Terry Anderson --- DE ---- 73 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Freshman)
Anthony Johnson - DT ---- 68 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Freshman)
James Hubbard - WR ---- 85 -- Dismissed During Season - Now official (Junior)

Gates may have been the most effective lineman on the team before getting kicked off the team. And
unfortunately, four freshman had to be kicked off the team, some of whom had really good talent.

[Hellisan]

2018 Offseason: Part 3






Iowa Lands #14 Class, 19 Strong

A deep recruiting class will help make up for the many graduations and
dismissals that occurred during Coach Clark's first year on the job. Clark
promised that there would be significant turnover as certain players would
not buy in, but even he could not have foreseen seven dismissals - Or could
he?

The biggest win came right at the end, when the Hawkeyes won their bowl
game and convinced Bryan Suydam to commit. The team was in a tight
battle for most of the year and was beginning to fall behind, but was able to
get into the offseason still in the race and make a big move. Suydam was
impressive on tape not only because of his size and strength but due to his
speed and quickness for a man his size.

The most talented player Coach Clark says he has ever recruited in his time as
an NCAA head coach is Jay Cook, a free safety from Carbondale, IL. Cook has
speed to burn, the strength and hitting ability of a linebacker, and good but not
spectacular coverage skills.

The team coveted JUCO transfer Mike Martinez as an offensive lineman with an
extra year of eligibility as a sophomore, and was happy to land him in the
offseason.

TE Jason Elliott appeared to be the most surprising find. As a 2-star recruit, he scouted
up to a +8 OVR (68) which puts him in position to redshirt and compete for a
starting job next year. The biggest disappointment was 4-star C Anthony Leak
who was deemed a bust by the scouting staff after further evaluation.

With all that said, the most productive player in this class may end up being
linebacker David Bryant. The 6'3, 243 lb. specimen has solid top-end speed
with very good agility and acceleration. He has a motor and plays to the
whistle every play, with the ability to get off blocks and track down the ball
carrier.

[RaiderAid89]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

What a great find for Coach Clark in David Bryant. Has the measurables to be a stud. Hopefully he had a good work ethic when he gets on campus and can see the field this year with 3 linebackers leaving this offseason.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: 2018: End of Season Update

I'm happy to be back and making some time for it... 4 a.m. on Saturday night/Sun morning lol

Haha I'm having the same problem. I played a game at about 10:30 p.m. Friday night.. if I woke up early enough like I used to I absolutely would play at 4 am. Alas..

Anyways, not sure if you've been asked this (apologies if so), but how do you come up with names for your recruits? Of course Tyris Wyckoff would never be computer-generated.. do you use a random name generator online or do you personally have aha moments and come up with the unusual names yourself?

[Hellisan]

Re: 2018: End of Season Update

What a great find for Coach Clark in David Bryant. Has the measurables to be a stud. Hopefully he had a good work ethic when he gets on campus and can see the field this year with 3 linebackers leaving this offseason.

I'm so tempted to move him to MLB because as far as his athleticism goes, he's perfect there. He's a little tall there though. I'm sure there are MLB that are 6'3" but kind of rare. I think I'm going to be able to redshirt him, which is what I think has the chance to take him from a good to very good/great player. But it remains to be seen what his work ethic rating will be like, etc.

Haha I'm having the same problem. I played a game at about 10:30 p.m. Friday night.. if I woke up early enough like I used to I absolutely would play at 4 am. Alas..

Anyways, not sure if you've been asked this (apologies if so), but how do you come up with names for your recruits? Of course Tyris Wyckoff would never be computer-generated.. do you use a random name generator online or do you personally have aha moments and come up with the unusual names yourself?

Haha... I feel your pain. It's funny I just brought this up in another thread and I'll paste it here:

We've all got ways (if we rename players) for doing so, and as I've mentioned somewhere, maybe here, I like to go to the actual high school of the player and dig through the names and either randomly (or not) find a first and last name, and those names for me have worked together to be a realistic yet unique name. For instance, a lot of places in the midwest (IA, WI, MO) they have a lot of Germanic names and so you can look for a Germanic first and last name on a roster if you want. Just an example of coming up with something that might be better than a random name generator type deal because it's location specific. And I like that it pays a tiny homage to the actual football team and players where the player came from.

All this to say that I had a recruit from the prep football team in Washington, IA and well... apparently, the last name Chalupa is on the table for any of you looking for some comedy.

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/washington-demons-(washington,ia)/football/roster.htm

---

I got the name Jaivonn Bender from the link above.

So yeah I just go to google and type in the city and state and "high school football roster" or similar, and get the real roster from their high school and usually pick a first and last name from two separate players that fits, as randomly as possible (random number generator for jersey number or just eyeball it if there are names I like).

[Deegeezy]

Re: 2018: End of Season Update

Fantastic finish to the season with a bowl win. Incredible performance by Nigel Atkinson. I don't know if i have ever given a RB that many carries in a game.

I had forgotten all about the suspensions. That certainly played a role in your season results, and almost assuredly resulted in your team grade being overstated all this time.

Not an overly spectacular recruiting class, but certainly some decent building blocks.

Love the guard Mike Martinez. Guard is such an underrated position, both on this game and in real life. The great ones really bring a running game to the next level.

Frankie Vang has an interesting name haha. That's pretty cool, what you do with the high school names and apply it on here. I've never thought about doing something like that. Very creative.

Old friend, it is great to see you back in full force posting both on the dynasty board and on the NCAA topic board. Us MaddenMania bretheren just can't let this habit go.

[Hellisan]

2018/2019 Offseason Improvement - Part 1 - Offense






Tried something different this year instead of significant, brutal AWR reduction for any position change, I'm using a system that randomly adjusts the AWR (which has to be edited in the preseason) to anywhere from -30% to +15% of what it was before the switch. In other words, it could be even worse than the original EA way of changing it, or change very little, or even improve a bit. I think this is more realistic than the lazy EA way. Which is the basis for my offseason improvement efforts as well. Laziness not tolerated.

The rules are that I have to keep them there for that season, but if I want to I can move them back to the old position at their original AWR rating the next season. Obviously, this significantly stunts improvement overall, when the AWR rating can go up so much in the reg. season and offseason if I'm not readjusting it back. Easily the best odds for improvement are still to leave a guy at his position his entire career, but at least it's possible to be pleasantly surprised and give a guy shot at legit improvement in moving to a new position, like we have seen with players such as TJ Watt. As always, if you switch a DE to LE/RE or a guard to the other side, etc. there is no AWR change so I won't list them here.


Kory Walker FS ----> SS - (AWR 67 --> 64)

Alex Abrams SS ----> FS - (AWR 48 --> 47)

Ernest O'Neal SS ----> FS - (AWR 70 --> 81)
Showed a real feel for the position in practice.

Bryan Suydam LG ----> LT - (AWR 50 --> 37)
The true freshman has a lot to learn at left tackle - can he grow into it or will he move back to guard next year?

Kevin Harris OLB ----> MLB - (AWR 52 --> 51)
Made the transition without a huge dropoff





Summary of Offseason Training - Offense



Quarterback

Eddie Allen made some gains, learning the game and getting smarter and stronger. Unfortunately, Masin Barnes appeared to have lost some interest after being overtaken by Allen late last season and regressed a bit. This cements the fact that Allen will go into the season as the starter. Lefty Darrell White impressed the staff by showing the most improvement of the bunch, especially with his arm gaining strength as he has added weight. He has pushed his way into the backup role for now, and Barnes will be third on the depth chart. However, Barnes offers more on the field in certain situations, so if push came to shove due to injury, White and Barnes would likely both see time.


Running Back

Nigel Atkinson cemented his role as heartbeat of the offense with another offseason of improvement - he even got a little faster. The revelation off the offseason had to be Kenard Goodman. The five-star recruit who stuck around after Coach Clark joined at the helm was considered a bust, but after a 9-point increase in the offseason he's looking like he could be a future player, as a redshirt freshman. Another impressive offseason was had by Daniel Norton, who improved the most of the bunch with +10. Norton continues to become more physical. These two will compete with last year's primary backup, Ahmad Horne to back up Atkinson.


Fullback

Horozewski Switalski had a somewhat unimpressive offseason, meanwhile former 1-star Mike Johnson went +9 with a much better understanding of the game and all around improvement and may actually get the starting nod. Switalski is stronger and has better IBL, but Johnson at this point is better in almost every other aspect, and he's a lot bigger at an astonishing but svelte-looking 6'2", 274. Freshman Ryan "Putty" Fulbright shows promise with good skills and size, but will redshirt this season.


Wide Receiver

With so many players having graduated or kicked off the team, this quickly went from a huge strength to a real question mark. Emmery Nelson, cousin of Jordy, survived last season's debacle that resulted in six being kicked off the team, and he is easily the most talented receiver of the group after a good offseason in which he went +7 with improvement at his best ratings, so he will start. Shawn Ball also had a nice offseason, becoming a more relevant candidate to start, but may be more suited for the slot. The biggest disappointment was senior Nick Wright, who was counted on to be the leader but traipsed into the clubhouse clearly lacking conditioning and made no offseason progress. Freshman Lukas Halligan (73 OVR, 6'4", 179) may push for the second starting position due to his physical skills and size. Freshman Armand Holmes will redshirt unless injuries force him into the action. He needs to improve his hands.


Tight End

Starter Dominique Mosley has been a solid contributor in the passing game but made some improvements to his blocking this offseason. He cements his role as starter. The position mostly falls in line with last season, as senior Nicholas Baltodano will back him up and Soph. Jimmy Jean will likely be third string. Two freshmen will redshirt in Jason Elliott and Powers Garrett.


Offensive Line

"Offensive" might actually describe this line this year, at least in comparison to last season's senior-laden line that at times dominated the action. Guard Bryan Suydam, a freshman, was recruited to transition to tackle. He made the switch, but lost a lot of AWR. Nevertheless, he is talented and looks the part, and will probably start at left tackle. How well will he hold up? The rest of the positions will be occupied by returning players and a JUCO commit.

DaShawn Olden becomes the new focus of the offensive line. The talented youngster has impressed Coach Clark with his tenacity and work ethic, and was the most improved player on the entire team this offseason with a +12. "He improved every aspect of his game significantly," said a happy Coach Clark.

The starting and backup center each improved quite a bit, and the position looks pretty solid in comparison to the bulk of last season. Tyler Johnson will be the starter after improving +6 to an 82, improving on the weak aspects of his game quite a bit. Justin Harper also impressed the coaches in the offseason and has made himself into a viable backup. "We hate to move guards to center and vice versa, so with Harper improving he gives us a legitimate backup option and we don't have to move anything around unless they both get hurt," stated Clark.

Returning guard Roger Nixon had a solid if unspectacular offseason and will back up JUCO transfer Mike Martinez at right guard.

The second most improved player on the O-line is massive sophomore Anthony Ingraham (6'6", 318). He showed improvement across the board but his run blocking went from just o.k. to very good with intensive work with former NFL players.


For anyone who hasn't seen the custom progression system that was a necessary response to throwing in the towel the way EA did when designing the default improvement system, you can read about it here.

https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-football/759134-manual-random-number-based-offseason-improvement.html

It's a lot of work, but at the same time it gets you to know your team a lot better. Labor of love.

[itsbigmike]

Re: The Career of J.D. Clark (NCAA 14)

My favorite part of your dynasties (and something I've incorporated into my own dynasties, too). Love this stuff.

[R1zzo23]

Re: Introduction and Table of Contents

Just caught up and really love the edits you make on your guys based on awareness and work ethic. Very well may add this into my own dynasty.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Hellisan]

2018/2019 Offseason Improvement: Part 2 - Defense






Summary of Offseason Training - Defense



Defensive Line

It was assumed by most that Logan Rowser II would be the returning starter at left end after he played fairly well last season as a sophomore, however he was outshined by redshirt freshman Ryan Jenkins who improved significantly. Jenkins may start alongside Doug Butler, who had a great offseason and will probably be the starter at right end, or slide over and play the other side in certain situations.

The undisputed anchor of the line will be Clint Smith, who began to dominate toward the end of last year as he had 8 sacks, bunched together mostly in the last 3-4 games. Smith kept the momnetum going and had the best offseason of any player on defense. He now looks like a possible second day pick in the draft if he has a good senior season. Joseph Weaver will likely get the starting nod alongside Smith, but had an awful offseason and will need to work his way back into shape.


Linebacker

Brian McFadden is the undisputed leader on the second level of the defense, and he returns for his junior season after a solid offseason that saw him improve at the weak aspects of his game. Senior Kademon Hendrix will probably start at ROLB, but has the coaching staff frustrated. They redshirted him last season partially due to a minor injury and partially because he cannot shed blocks to save his life, but Hendrix did not work on the problem in the offseason. He has athleticism, hits like a ton of bricks and pursues from the other side, but gets manhandled one on one. The third starter will be the rangy Clayton Kemp at LOLB after he had an excellent offseason improving on his already strong tackling/hitting and block shedding abilities. OLB Kevin Harris made the switch to MLB and will capably back up McFadden after a great offseason of his own. He really clicks at the position.


Defensive Back

The secondary is going to be a problem spot for the Hawkeyes this season. The team does not appear to have a lot of hard workers in the secondary and it looks like there will be upheaval at a couple of positions. Senior Shawn McKenzie remains the most reliable starter with a combination of experience and ability at cornerback. Behind him are significantly more questionable players, and McKenzie is certainly not a shut-down corner. He could get torched as bad as anyone.

Fresman All American Robert Gandy will probably start once again as a sophomore, but look for Jay Cook to push him for the starting role after a season spent watching. Kory Walker used a strong offseason to challenge Anthony Reyes for the starting SS role. The team plays a 4-2-5 look on about 15-20% of their plays, so Reyes will still see the field even if Walker takes the job. Walker Made big gains with the mental side of the game and learning "the why's" of some of the team's coverages.

"It's one thing to know what we're doing, and another to know exactly why we're doing it and why we're not doing something else on that play," said Coach Clark. "Those are tough concepts and he is picking some of that stuff up."