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

[Hellisan]

2019: End of Season Update

[Hellisan]

2019: Season Overview





2019/2020: Iowa had a bit more press than in most seasons as running back Nigel Atkinson was favored to win the Heisman by pundits. The Hawkeyes would beat both participants in the BCS National Championship game, Michigan and Ohio State. It was the second season in a row they beat the eventual national champion as they went 13-1. The Hawkeyes faced a highly ranked Texas squad to begin the season and scored 16 points in the fourth quarter of a tight game. Clark gambled on a run play with 14 seconds left and no timeouts - Atkinson punched it in for the win 40-38 victory over the more talented Texas squad, starting off what turned out to be a magical season. The annual rivalry game against Iowa State proved to be a doozy as the Hawkeyes needed some big plays from bit players and two momentous missed field goals by ISU kicker Michael Allen to come away with a 35-28 victory. The defense had seven sacks and allowed just 250 yards of offense in drubbing Kansas 41-14. It was not necessarily easy - a 46-yard TD run by Eddie Allen gave Iowa a tenuous 17-14 lead against lowly Kansas at halftime before they ran away in the second half. The Hawkeyes also lost DT Clint Smith for what was anticipated to be the remainder of the season. Smith would made a surprise return in the bowl game. The first sign that the team could be really good was when they physically dominated Minnesota,28-3, winning Floyd of Rosedale. After ambushing Ohio State as the coach of Idaho, coach Clark upped the ante by stunning the Buckeyes 55-35 in a game where everything seemingly went right for Iowa. Atkinson scored three TD, and James Howard's 30 yard INT return for a touchdown infused some late-game momentum just as OSU appeared to be coming back. Another day, another trophy as Wisconsin stood no chance in rainy conditions, 21-3. Jonathan Brooks had three sacks as Iowa dominated on defense, stopping the Badgers on all three fourth-down attempts. To this point in the season, opposing teams were just 2-14 on fourth down attempts, a success rate of just 14%. Iowa's 30-24 victory against Northwestern was the most insane game of the year. It was the second game of the season the Hawkeyes essentially won because the other team missed multiple field goals. This time, they were both in overtime. The defense held Illinois to 9 first downs and 146 yards of total offense in a 24-3 victory. Purdue was drilled 24-6 as Brooks bettered his previous effort with 4 sacks on his way to a school-record tying 18 sacks. Michigan State were just 1-4 on touchdowns in the red zone as they held Atkinson to just 55 yards but the Hawkeyes won 31-23 on the strength of big plays by QB Allen. The combination of famous NFL cousin Emmery Nelson and Allen was too much for Michigan, 34-14. The duo of Allen to Nelson continued to get the job done as Iowa went to 12-0 against Nebraska. With the game tied 14-14 at halftime, Iowa made adjustments to the Huskers' constant blitzing to make big plays in the second half and win 38-22. After everything went right in their first matchup, a rematch with Ohio State, the Hawkeyes once again got most of the breaks but were physically dominated and lost in the Big Ten championship, 17-24. The key play was an audacious sweep to the motioning wide receiver, avoiding a safety with a 100-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Ray Robinson to make it 21-0 in the second quarter. After losing the only game of the season they could not afford to lose, Iowa was placed in the Capital One bowl of all games, and dominated Texas A&M 28-10. Atkinson dominated with 232 rushing yards and 2 TD, showing up Heisman winner Jonathan Brooks of TAMU in the process. In a close-but-no-cigar season, perhaps the best developments were off the field, as the Hawkeyes hauled in a very good recruiting class.











Coach Clark took the step from hot coach on the name of every pundit's
lips to one of the elite coaches in college football with a 13-1 record as
the team finished #2 in the nation.

The season was not nearly as easy as that record would indicate. On at
least a couple of occasions Iowa's fate rested in the capable foot of an
opposing kicker, and the opposing kicker booted the game away. But
at the same time, give Clark and company credit for capitalizing on
those mistakes and rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat.

Clark continues to instill in the players the value of hard work. An
example is a player like Emmery Nelson who was somewhat of a
malcontent early on but has amnaged to thrive under the stewardship
of coach Clark.

After winning Coach of the Year honors, what could be in store next for
Coach Clark? For one, rumors are that a contract extension is being
floated by the athletic director. Look for Clark to take it, and in turn
attempt to take Iowa to new levels on the gridiron.

[Hellisan]

2019 Offseason - Part 1


Coaching Carousel Coverage

Clark signs 4 year extension through 2023 that makes him the 5th highest paid coach in the country.

Oklahoma Bob Stoops contract expired Oklahoma keeps Bob Stoops extending him.

Tennessee Butch Jones C+ was fired Western Kentucky head coach Mark D'Onofrio was hired.

Army Rich ellerson has retired at age 67 Army hires offensive coordinator from Ohio State Lane kiffin.

North Carolina fires Larry Fedora. UCF offensive coordinator Richard Owens hired.

Virginia Tech Pete kwiatkowski was fired the Hokies hire Kenny edenfield Nevada head coach.

Maryland Randy Edsall fired the Terps hire James Franklin head coach of Tulane.

Illinois Tim Beckman fired the Illini hire Kent State head coach Derek Mason.

Virginia head coach David bailiff fired. Cavaliers hire Troy head coach David Elson.

Arizona Rich Rodriguez fired. UAB head coach Jeff brohm hired.

Purdue head coach Pat narduzzi fired. The Boilermakers contacted the offensive and defensive coordinators from Iowa and hired Brent Guy defensive coordinator.

Nevada to fill the role of Kenny edenfield who left for another job they hire Todd Graham head coach Utah State.

FIU Lincoln Riley fired South Carolina offensive coordinator Eddie Gran hired.

Kansas Josh Conklin head coach fired. Jayhawks hire John Reagan head coach ul-monroe

Syracuse Philip Montgomery fired new head coach Bill Legg offensive coordinator USC.

Tulane James Franklin leaves the job to take Maryland job. Cal offensive coordinator Dave Schram hired.

Utah State Todd Graham left to take the head coach job at Nevada. Utah State hires Army defensive coordinator Payam Saadat.

Kansas state fires John papuchis. KSU hires New Mexico head coach Steve sarkisian.

Western Kentucky to fill head coach vacancy hire New Mexico state head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Ulm hires Texas offensive coordinator Travis Bush to fill head coach vacancy.

Troy promotes defensive coordinator Chris ash from within.

UAB hires Al Borges offense of coordinator Michigan to replace departing Jeff brohm.

Kent State hires Tim Beckman head coach fired at Illinois to replace Derek Mason.

Ohio state hires Lincoln Riley to replace Lane kiffin offensive coordinator.

New Mexico tires Larry Fedora to fill Steve sarkisian head coach vacancy

East Carolina hires Pete kwiatkowski as head coach

Iowa hires Defensive coordinator Randy Edsall to replace departing Brent Guy

[Deegeezy]

Re: 2019 Offseason - Part 1

Great way to end the year, even in the bowl game I know you probably weren't really feeling. Going to miss our boy Atkinson. You and I are alike in that we really like to feed our seniors playing in their last game; I have a similar situation coming up and I definitely plan to give my guy the ball a solid 30+ times.

Anyway, this should provide some good momentum heading into next crucial off-season. What are the areas you most want to improve, not just personnel wise, but also just in terms of game strategy/statistically? I'm having a tough time finding many flaws with your squad.

[Bigsheen]

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

Army hiring Lane Kiffin

But in all honestly, this has been a fun team to follow this year. Atkinson was hands down one of the best running backs I've seen on the boards recently. Shame you guys weren't able to play the natty.

[Hellisan]

2019 Offseason Part 2

Emmery Nelson, Nigel Atkinson, and Jonathan Brooks are three players who made things happen in 2019

[Hellisan]

2019 Offseason Part 3














2019 commitments! DOH!

[Hellisan]

Re: 2019 Offseason - Part 1

Army hiring Lane Kiffin

But in all honestly, this has been a fun team to follow this year. Atkinson was hands down one of the best running backs I've seen on the boards recently. Shame you guys weren't able to play the natty.

Thanks man! I totally agree, it is a shame. LOL. But what a crazy season. To win TWICE because opposing kickers missed two or more field goals, catching breaks in several of the games, including the first Ohio State win.. It was a season unlike any I've played, and that's kind of the point of all of this I think.

Great way to end the year, even in the bowl game I know you probably weren't really feeling. Going to miss our boy Atkinson. You and I are alike in that we really like to feed our seniors playing in their last game; I have a similar situation coming up and I definitely plan to give my guy the ball a solid 30+ times.

Anyway, this should provide some good momentum heading into next crucial off-season. What are the areas you most want to improve, not just personnel wise, but also just in terms of game strategy/statistically? I'm having a tough time finding many flaws with your squad.

You're right, I wasn't feeling the bowl game at all. Didn't do a preview, no nothing, just was like wham bam let's get done.

Our squad is going to be flawed, especially when you look at some of the teams we compete against. The Big Ten is benefitting from the success of the league as a whole, and all of the squads are recruiting well except for a couple (Michigan surprisingly had a really off year). It's our year to struggle next year I think (I peeped the recruiting class last night, and I've decided to go for an all or literally almost nothing approach. I'll either sign 15 players that will fill my needs or probably about 10 that just like us and I have to settle for.

Thank you for the thoughtful question - I'm going to save that one for a Coach Clark interview coming up - But to partially answer...

I looked at some of the squads too and the difference in OVR ratings in some games is going to be huge. Minnesota in particular looks BEASTLY. A manual progression system keeps my team much lower OVR wise which is good if you're not using "beat my own face in" sliders which I'm not. The positive is that my players are more unique and some of the duds coming in can turn into studs later, but overall, we'll be up against it a lot.

I like that my sliders and combination of those and calling plays that are sometimes not that great are keeping my numbers to an acceptable range. My average yards per carry for instance would fit neatly into NCAA stats from recent years, even if I do think the 3rd and short conversions are a bit too easy. Defensively, we were first in the NCAA in fewest points allowed last season with 250. I think there were 10-15 teams last year that had similar or better numbers in the real NCAA, including Alabama at like 167 points allowed. Their rest breaks late in the season certainly don't hurt and half the SEC is a shambles but whatareyougonnado.

In terms of yards allowed, we were like mid 20's, but we were very good on 3rd downs and legendary on 4th downs... So I'm thinking of doing some chance (25%?) to watch red zone possessions by the CPU. Something like that. In terms of sacks we led the nation. We've h ad years where we couldn't break 30, interspersed with 50+ about half and half. Nothing in between. I think next year it could swing low like my balls. lol

I'm having trouble recruiting the OL, so I want to continue making that as much of a priority as possible. I haven't managed to pick up a decent TE in I don't know how many years of recruiting. They are rare in real life too so I'll keep trying. I don't know... I'm having fun overall. I haven't won any title in any NCAA game since I was winning more than my fair share against 12-team online leagues so I know I've becomem less "league style" in my play and that lends well to a dynasty. Thank you Geezy means a lot to have the dean of the dynasty section weigh in.

[Hellisan]

Hawk Blog Spring Notes and Training/Improvement

Spring Has Sprung. How do the Hawkeyes Look? And who is the Hawkeyes' "Weapon X?"

It's the time of the year for optimism, and Coach J.D. Clark seems to have more than usual. He can be seen running spring practice with an obvious spring in his step and yapping to coaches and players alike one morning on the practice field.

Clark is happy with how his team has progressed from year to year and says certain players are making great strides in spring ball.

"Every year it's fun to see which guys are stepping their game up. Believe it or not, from the time they leave to the time they come back for spring, some of them have improved. They've either physically matured, or they were working out, and sometimes the time off has given them more perspective on the mental side of the game. Some of them watch film. It's different than when I was a player, that's for sure," said Clark.

We were able to sit down with Coach Clark for a short interview and get in a few questions.

What are the areas you most want to improve, not just personnel wise, but also just in terms of game strategy/statistically?

"That's an easy one for me. I want us to create more interceptions. The biggest part of that is going to be improving personnel. We've had players that really know their role and they made us a very good defense last year. If we want to create turnovers, it's another step forward. We have to be able to be aggressive without getting beat too often, and we have to be able to catch the ball when it comes to us. Easier said than done."

Who are the most improved players in camp so far?

"It has surprised me somewhat, but two of our best players have taken another huge step forward this year. Our team captain is DaShawn Olden. Even though he's an offensive lineman and not just the QB, he's the guy people are listening to in practice because he likes to stay involved. In the games, Eddie Allen is the leader and calling the plays, but DaShawn is always there as a leader as well. He has once again stepped up his game in a big way. I think he can contend for a position on the All American squad, I really do.

The other one is Kory Walker Kory had a great year last year, he was one of our three most valuable players on defense and had a year anybody would have a tough time beating. Yet I see even more out of him on the field this year, more intensity and more command of the game. It's just really impressive.

There are plenty of honorable mentions. We had numerous players improve even more than I thought they were capable of. They took a real step forward mentally in terms of their preparation and work ethic. Sophomore left tackle Brian Suydam came in and beat all of his PR's in the weight room the first week. It was really impressive.

Walk-on center Scott Rollins, junior guard Mike Martinez, and last year's first team all freshman defensive tackle Tyris Wyckoff were in the same boat, just giving it their all and making themselves far better players.

What is this we hear of a new nickname you've given to a freshman? We were told to ask you about this Weapon X"

Well we were lucky enough to have D.J. Halloway in for the spring. He was one of the two most highly recruited players we landed. He's a natural player, and makes everyhing he does look so easy. He's already our best cover guy and picking off at least a couple of passes every practice. So I asked one of the coaches if he returned punts in high school. He did, so I asked him, did you like returning punts in high school?

He says yes. Three touchdowns on punt returns as a senior alone. So I put him back there. He's a natural. He was also known as a two-way player in high school, playing wide receiver. So I lined him up there. Again, he's just a natural. We have a depth issue at wide receiver this year and we're going to make sure we get D.J. in there. So I'm watching this kid do all these things, cross-training all practice, and usually standing out in the crowd as he's wearing all these hats, and I just start thinking... Weapon X. That's what this guy is. So I started joking around a little saying are you my weapon X? The other kids loved the nickname. That was a popular nickname or phrase when I was younger but the other players thought that was pretty cool.

Somebody told me there's already a Weapon X, Dawkins the Hall of Famer for the Eagles. I knew of at least two of his nicknames but I didn't know he was also Weapon X.. You can't hog all the nicknames, plus this guy is just a college kid I don't think he's going to encroach upon Brian Dawkins. Or maybe he will someday. Who knows. It's a lot of pressure to put on the kid, but I just have a feeling that he can live up to the hype. He said bring it on. So that's what I'm doing.

Thanks Coach

You got it.


Based on our discussions with the coaching staff and watching practice, we've put together a Projected 2020 Starting Lineup... Enjoy.











The manual progression system has an explanation thread in the main NCAA Forum ,and if you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. I added something this offseason that just allows for the players to improve their ETH (work ethic) rating through how well they trained. I still don't believe that for me I will be doing anything related to how well they played because then I'll stat pad. Period. However, when a player improves at the very top of their individual range they will get a +5 in ETH so they move up to the next segment of improvement possibilities. On the other hand, if they "improve" at the low end of the range (often a minus improvement) they will then move down -5, into the lower tier, for the next season. On the right you can see the players that gained or lost work ethic points and what their 2020 work ethic will be.

User notes

What an incredibly fun season that was for me. It definitely doesn't have some of the charm of the old Idaho chise anymore, but I like where it is headed. I won't say it's jumped the shark, at least not for me. I love playing at Kinnick. I love the team especially. Some of the new players, especially some of the players coming off their redshirt seasons like Jay Cook (Sean Taylor clone) are going to be incredible to see as they play for 2-4 years. Can't wait.

I am busy at work, and it's ramping up as it always does before I try and take a little vacation so i'll be working around the clock making sure I can go without too much stress. I'm heading out to spring training in Peoria, AZ starting next Wednesday 3/21 through the weekend, I'll be working solid until then and probably afterward for at least a week, so I antipate putting the roster preview and preseason preview up sometime maybe within 3 weeks to a month. See you guys around. Any extra time I have I'll be reading and responding and definitely take my little break from NCAA to get amped up about another season. keep chising!

Hawk Blog: A Few Pictures from the most recent practice

Eddie Allen looks as fast as ever. Here he makes "Weapon X" look like swiss cheese. If Halloway has any weakness it will be holding up his side of the field defending the run


Performance-wise, who knows. But when it comes to his physical talent, stature, and the number he chose to wear on his back, Jay Cook reminds a lot of onlookers of Sean Taylor. RIP.


Left tackle Brian Suydam is still working on the mental aspects of the game, but physically,
he's dominating.


Halloway put in good work at wide receiver and will probably be utilized as the fourth wide receiver. The Hawkeyes run less than 5% of their plays out of the four-wides, but Coach Clark plans to put him in a couple of 3-wide sets as well. Here, Halloway makes a highlight reel catch against James Howard and his defensive practice team clone :-)

[djp73]

Re: Hawk Blog Spring Notes and Training/Improvement

always fun to get those guys like Halloway, enjoy!

[Deuce2223]

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

Enjoy all that baseball..

[Hellisan]

2020 Season Preview

[Deuce2223]

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

Really liking your format/layout.

Goodman doesn't look like he has the size to be a everydown back but looks like he could be a solid 3rd down back and change or pace kind of guy vs Horne and Norton.

I would hate to see what would happen to your offense if you were to lose Allen for a extended period of time as it seems like your backups are complete opposites in terms of ability and talent. I know for me I tend to recruit dual threats so that way if someone is hurt, I am not all of a sudden stuck with a QB who can't run.

[Hellisan]

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

Really liking your format/layout.

Goodman doesn't look like he has the size to be a everydown back but looks like he could be a solid 3rd down back and change or pace kind of guy vs Horne and Norton.

I would hate to see what would happen to your offense if you were to lose Allen for a extended period of time as it seems like your backups are complete opposites in terms of ability and talent. I know for me I tend to recruit dual threats so that way if someone is hurt, I am not all of a sudden stuck with a QB who can't run.

Such a great point about the QB. The only guy that could do anything is Doug Durbin, and he's redshirting. He's a WR, but was an ATH/QB/WR and has a pretty good arm. I guess if hte running game with the QB becomes the main thing he becomes an option and I could always move him back to QB the next year.

When it comes to the running backs, I feel like there are so many examples of workhorse little guys in the NCAA (Sproles, Pumphrey, many others) to where they can do that in the college game but definitely not the pros. The NFL is just such a meat grinder. Even with that said, I think the skills aren't there for him to be a full-time back, he's not a good receiver. None of these guys are full-time backs at all, that's a big problem.

Thanks for checking in and for the kind comments.

[Hellisan]

NCAA Season Preview 2020


Preseason 2020