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

[studbucket]

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

After that opening kickoff return and touchdown to make it 14-0, I thought this was gonna be a route. Great work by Oregon to come back and get a pretty solid lead.


But then, despite some iffy passes (including the bad pass into coverage with 1:33 left), Mack showed up when it counted and led the Hawkeyes to a great win.

[Hellisan]

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

Larry Legend was robbed! Harris had an incredible year to be fair, but not one worthy of the trophy when Lloyd led the charge all season. I remember disliking this game's bias when it came to dual-threat QBs for the Heisman, and it seems like it reared its ugly head again.

Speaking of award winners though, one guy that should have been in the Heisman race is that Maryland TE! To double as a lead RB while playing TE, it's very H-Back of the sim engine and really brings something I've never seen before in all of my years playing NCAA.

Really like the Holloway note and how he's shown the "clutch" gene previously in the national championship games. I'm feeling like this natty against Oregon could get ugly though - there's a talent gap and you've faced better teams in the Big Ten, and with it being Lloyd's last game and his Heisman robbery, I could see an epic final hurrah performance.

I'm thankful that there have been a fairly even number of HB and QB that have been able to win the Heisman in my dynasty, sucks when it's too repetitive. I was bummed to not see him in the Heisman ceremony, I had my recording device on and everything as I advanced. However, I just thought of it as, the media rankings on a weekly basis and the voters are two completely different things. Made me feel slightly less angry. LOL.

Look at "Big Play" Halloway coming up clutch once again! That certainly had the drama that I didn't expect, though I'm sure Lloyd's injury factored heavily into that. The Oregon ground game was unstoppable and really played into the only way that it could have won, IMO - but the Iowa defense was able to make the stops it needed to make late to give the offense a chance.

Joshua Mack had a star-making performance overall, but the poise he showed in the winning drive was that of legends. To come back from three straight incompletions and keep the game alive with a 4th and 10 conversion, then take off from there with a couple big plays as a redshirt freshman is special. It's hard to live up to the career that Eddie Allen had, but Mack could be on the right track.

Yep, Halloway did it again. And obviously, when you put a guy in on offense that's easier to control than when he's playing CB on his own. BUT... He's been in the game a lot more lately and not all that many highlights. It's not easy to get him the ball sometimes, but ironically, when I stopped trying so much, he was making things happen in the BCS game once again. He just happened to be the open man today and it was beautiful. A career for the ages, not just based on stats but on moments.

I was disappointed for Oregon that with about 3:15 to go they clicked into "bleed the clock" mode and became easier to guard. The breakneck pace had me frustrated. It obviously would have been a great story for them to finish us off, and they absolutely could have done it because we couldn't stop the read option. They're better at it than anybody, gashing us to a tune of what, five or more times more rushing yards than we normally give up? Wow. Bummer for them. Late in the year, Mack really started to improve. At the beginning of the year there were times where he just couldn't get rolling. Couldn't hit simple throws. That went away as the season progressed and I wasn't thinking about gimme completions to get him, but just reading the defense. At least to the best I can (lol).

After that opening kickoff return and touchdown to make it 14-0, I thought this was gonna be a route. Great work by Oregon to come back and get a pretty solid lead.


But then, despite some iffy passes (including the bad pass into coverage with 1:33 left), Mack showed up when it counted and led the Hawkeyes to a great win.

I have to admit, so did I as far as thinking this might be an ugly blowout. I rarely will even go near the sideline on KR, it just seems like that's one area where the game is a little broken, but Brown hadn't had a touchdown all year and we got a great block, and I just went for it. Mack did work that was fun to see, even when things were haywire it worked out (Polk was supposed to run to the back corner of the end zone on his final TD pass and for whatever reason did not).

Thanks boys

[Hellisan]

2023/2024 Around the Nation - Bowl Wrapup and Final Standings

[Hellisan]

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




2023/2024: The 2023 season begins on page 149. Coming into the season, Coach Clark named Joshua Mack his starting QB as the redshirt freshman beat out a couple notable names but really had no true competition, based on the way he and his competition played in practice; Mack had improved significantly during his redshirt year. With Larry Lloyd presumably healthy, a great offensive line led by Ambrogino Pollino - aka Gino - The offense had question marks but plenty of promise. The defense had very few, if any areas of question. Led by linebackers Brandon Butler and David Bryant with stalwarts such as Khayman Chia on the defensive line and cornerback DJ Hallloway, free safety Jay Cook and Lionel Robinson, Clark was confident. He was also impressed with his freshman phenom linebacker Dez Dillon III, a 5-star recruit out of a one-stoplight town in Oklahoma. Lloyd exploded during his senior year, remaining healthy and putting up over 2,000 yards rushing. That allowed the team to put up nearly as many points as the 2021-22 Hawkeyes, who also went 14-0, but allow 79 fewer points, making them Clark's most dominant team to date as they swept their way to Clark's third BCS Championship trophy. Lloyd was named the Offensive player of the year, David Bryant was named the Defensive player of the year, and DJ Halloway was named Team MVP. The season started with a warm-up game at home against CSU.Dillon III announced his presence with a sack and an interception in limited time with Butler and Bryant always on the field, and Iowa ran away with the game. Week 2 saw TE Jordan Kennedy - Mackey award winner AND 1,000 rusher, and his Maryland squad travel to Kinnick for a conference game. Butler returned a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown in the opening frame, Lloyd had 210 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns, and Iowa won handily. Next up: Iowa State. Dillon III and Bryant each returned fumbles for touchdowns and Larry once again did Larry things in a 48-14 rivalry win. Following Iowa's first bye week of the season, it was off to Lubbock and Texas Tech in Week 5. The Hawkeyes showed they were fresh with a season-high 594 yards of total offense, fueled by 371 yards on the ground. The Red Raiders took the lead with a 63-yard touchdown pass before the Hawkeyes scored 45 straight points in response. Rivals Minnesota once again made the trip to Iowa City, in week 6, where the Floyd of Rosedale heralded the toughest five-game stretch of the regular season. The Hawkeyes dispatched Minnesota 38-21, but Mack threw 3 interceptions and Iowa had four turnovers as a team. David Bryant made a season-high 13 tackles including three for loss and a sack, Brandon Butler and Keegan Slack forced fumbles, and Jay Cook and Dez Dillon III intercepted passes as the defense won the day against the Gophers. Happy Valley provided the scene for the best single defensive performance of the year in week 7, which just so happened to be wrapped up in a single quarter. Laterion Thomas Jr. made not a single tackle, but intercepted Penn State QB Titus Burke three times in the fourth quarter to stave off the jaws of defeat as the Hawkeyes escaped with the smallest points margin they would muster in the regular season. It's no surprise that the Lions were one of few teams to keep Lloyd under wraps, holding him to 3.2 ypc. Week 8 found Iowa yet again hosting a rival; this time they were waiting On Wisconsin. Once again Larry Legend found it hard at times, but offensive coordinator Steve Addazio kept feeding him the rock to the tune of 36 carries, which resulted in 162 yards and two touchdowns. The game was tied at 10-10 midway through the second quarter, so it was helpful that punter Tilor Deangelo had maybe his best game of the season, pinning the Badgers deep and hitting a tough punt that led to a fumble recovery as Iowa advanced, still unbeaten. Week 9 was slated for Evanston, IL and Ryan Field; Northwestern is always a tough away game for the Hawkeyes. Following an 84-yard TD pass and a 66-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Wildcats almost led at halftime, but Lloyd (27 carries, 259 yds, 4 TD) busted an 80-yard touchdown run as time expired in the second half, allowing Iowa to control the rest of the game. Week 10 at Illinois was a fairly easy game, but Iowa struggled in the fourth quarter, throwing interceptions and allowing a pair of touchdowns and the final score made the game appear closer than it was. In the final game of the 5-week "dog days" of the 2023/24 season, the Hawks traveled to Indiana and hated Purdue where they were held under 400 yards of total offense and lost a pair of fumbles, but still dominated the Boilermakers with Lloyd scoring on short touchdown runs in the second, third, and fourth quarters, where Iowa allowed nary a point. In Week 12, the Hawkeyes welcomed Michigan State to Kinnick where they were lying in wait, and shut Sparty out 34-0, paying back the green-garbed ones for a loss in the conference championship game the prior year. Iowa threw just 11 passes , rolling up 253 yards rushing, 181 of which went to Larry Lloyd, who shattered Shonn Green's single season rushing record with what would prove to be three games remaining. Following their second bye, another record was broken in Week 14 against Nebraska, as Khayman Chia took the Iowa career sack record for his own in a blowout win. Larry Lloyd had to miss some of the game with an injury, but was back weeks later as the Hawkeyes squared off against Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. Coach Clark improved to 6-1 against the titan of college football coaching as Iowa posted their second highest total offense figure of the entire year, with 525 yards. Jonathan Hunter threw four interceptions as the Heisman candidate faltered spectacularly; Jay Cook and Dez Dillon III caught an interception apiece, while Lionel Robinson intercepted two. Larry Lloyd went for 36, 171, and 4 touchdowns as he had seemingly made it to the end of the season healthy. The BCS Championship Game against Oregon was held in New Orleans, and the Ducks, led by standout quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Isaac Harris, were game. Following a Maurice Brown kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening play of the game, Oregon established a foothold via a dominant running game, putting up 326 rushing yards on the ground. Which could have been more. Iowa scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one on a 2-minute drill after the Ducks took their foot off the gas and tried to bleed the clock with just over three minutes remaining, rather than running their normal offense. That devastating error was more than Clark and company needed to lift their third national championship trophy in four years.











Coach Clark extended his career record to 6-1 against Urban Meyer,
and that wasn't even the highlight of the season as the Hawkeyes won
their third championship in four years under the leadership of Coach
Clark. The team will bring in another strong recruiting class and will
likely have an even more experienced Joshua Mack back under
center in 2024. The defense is going to lose a boat load of talent, so it
will be interesting to see how Coach Clark and the Hawkeyes respond
without one-to-one fits at so many positions on the defense next year.


Throwback - columnist Kevin Tracee gets wind of Clark leaving Idaho

"In Clark's five years at the helm of the Vandals, he's 2-2 in bowl games. Not exactly
a stunning record. He's 2-10 versus the Top 25, and 2-5 versus rivals. The 44-22
record overall is surely impressive, but with the best quarterback in the conference
last season as well as the best offense and defense statistically, he still couldn't pull
out a conference championship. What does that tell you? Is this a man primed for
greatness?

Urban Meyer coached in the Mountain West for two seasons. He won the Fiesta
Bowl and won the conference twice. Brian Kelly won a conference title at Central
Michigan and at Cincinnati - with an Orange Bowl win - before moving on to Notre
Dame. I could go on, but my general point is that if you're going to get promoted to
one of the big programs, it should go along with something tangible for the fans of
the old school to hold onto.

But it doesn't. The one that gains is Coach Clark, and the ones that lose are all the
fans that showed up and sold this place out for the past two plus seasons in a row
to watch what was admittedly a great ride.

In my personal dealings with the coach, I can tell you I appreciate and respect him.
He's not the most social guy around and not the easiest to get to know. He keeps
people that aren't friends and family at a distance. When it comes to interviews and
schedules he does what he says he will, when he says he'll do it. He's someone I
respect.

I can't respect this rumored move. Not yet.

[Hellisan]

Offseason Part 1 - Coaching Carousel

Coaching Carousel Coverage

Not real exciting here. Coach Clark wasn't considering a move or an extension.

[studbucket]

Re: Offseason Part 1 - Coaching Carousel

But you did sign Georgetown's legendary basketball coach John Thompson as your defensive coordinator. Bold move!

Interesting to see Jimbo Fisher hopping around lower tier schools and for Pat Fitzgerald not to get a new job.

[Hellisan]

Offseason Part 2 - Players Leaving



TE Hernandez transferring to Illinois

Freshman tight end Sal Hernandez made it very clear last year during recruiting that playing time was important to him. Coach Clark's response was patient but ultimately, he felt Hernandez needed a year of development. That development, if realized, will benefit the Fighting Illini now, as Hernandez has decided to transfer for playing time purposes. The 6'7" Hernandez was exciting mostly due to that towering height, but the Hawkeyes will now have to follow him from afar. Which won't be too hard since he's so tall.

Center Gino Pollino is entering the NFL Draft

Junior center Ambrogino Pollino has decided to the enter the NFL Draft. Coach Clark, for his part, has been supportive of the decision, saying he's ready for the league and any improvement he could make before the end of next season would be fairly minimal. Pollino won the Outland Trophy and the Rimington Award this year as one of the best offensive linemen in the nation, and also named to the All American first team as well as The All Big Ten first team.

Tackle Khorey Younger to stay for his senior season

Junior tackle Khorey Younger was considering a step to go pro. However, after talking with representatives and Coach Clark, he has decided to stay with the team for another season.

"It's not clear where he'll go, so it was my advice to stay with the team. He's definitely going to be drafted, but he has the opportunity to get a lot better before turning professional, and may make a lot more money that way." Clark also told Younger that he won't regret sticking around to get his degree.

[studbucket]

Re: Offseason Part 2 - Players Leaving

Heck of a departing class, and love the notes on each. It'll be tough to play without Larry Lloyd. End of an era.

[Hellisan]

2023 Offseason Part 3: Signing Day






Here are some other recruits that we added late or were walk-ons (not recruited by us)

#1141, #93 - OLB James Fagan - 63 OVR - Le Mars, IA - 3-Star
Pretty talented for this range of player (which as the bottom of the 3-star range should all be 2-stars)

#1147, #95 OLB Ryan Tompkins - 70 OVR - Fitchburg, WI
Better than Fagan, has good speed and great acceleration. Questionable Agility and probably AWR

#962, #164 WR WR Jovan Gibson - 67 OVR - Neenah, WI - 3-Star
Speedster. One of the fastest players in the nation.

#1685, #74 ATH Chris Grant - JUCO - 70 OVR - Appleton, WI
At 6'4" with great speed and decent zone coverage skills, he could find himself in the mix at free safety

#863, #54 CB Jeremy Allen - 68 OVR - Blue Springs, MO - 3-Star

# 1049, #33 FS Marc Rogers - 68 OVR - Milwaukee, WI - 3-Star

#129, #29 WR Evan Winston - 68 OVR - Cincinnati, OH - 4-Star
Not scouted at all. Probably the highest rated walk-on we've ever had.

#713, #68 HB Cornelius Wilson - 65 OVR - Kearns, UT - 3-Star

#723, #44 CB Ben Ford - 63 OVR - Wade Hampton, SC - 3-Star

#858, #24 SS Gavin Greene - 69 OVR - Broken Bow, NE - 3-Star

##1402, #128 DE DE TJ Love - 63 OVR - Miami Beach, FL - 3-Star
Not scouted at all. If we don't find a spot for this guy we won't have FL as a pipeline. But that was never really in the plan to begin with so he'll see the axe.


Position Changes
I needed to shake things up this year as it's been awhile and there's been some stagnation. Somehow I've recruited myself about three times as many defensive tackles as I needed, being in and out over the last couple of years and I guess not really paying much attention!

This System randomizes a number between -30% of their current AWR, and +20% of their awareness which I edit after advancing later. It's preposterous to think a player ALWAYS takes an AWR hit at a new position.

Joe Scruggs - Speedy DT low on the depth chart was moved to DE. AWR 53 ---> 40

Keegan Slack - Good DT with high AWR will be good anywhere. AWR 72 ---> 60
This one didn't take - I probably forgot. He threw a fuss and will stick at DT

JD Maxey - Jr MLB needs a chance to compete at OLB. AWR 51 ---> 54

Dawit Cunningham - FS to SS due to roster needs. AWR 57 ---> 43

Marc Rogers (Walk on) - FS to SS due to roster needs. AWR 72 ---> 62

Josh Hart - RG to C - AWR 68 ---> 63


ATH Recruit Positions

Zade Mitchell - 5'10" 177, Andalusia Alabama
Can play anywhere on offense or in the secondary. Best positions are QB and RB
Position: Running Back

Lucas Devlaminck - 6'4" 316, Marysville, Michigan
Best suited to defensive tackle (think we've got that covered lol) or OL. We have one gaping hole.
Position: Right Tackle

Chris Grant - JR JUCO - 6'4" 212, Appleton, WI
Can't get off blocks at all. FS was the only position that makes any sense.
Position: Free Safety

[Hellisan]

Re: Offseason Part 2 - Players Leaving

But you did sign Georgetown's legendary basketball coach John Thompson as your defensive coordinator. Bold move!

Interesting to see Jimbo Fisher hopping around lower tier schools and for Pat Fitzgerald not to get a new job.

Wee need a coach editor so we can put a towel on the shoulder! It seems like there are a few problems with all the coaches (that have skill trees) retiring. I'm going to be adjusting my manual progression system a bit, as players don't seem to be improving as much, as a whole, as they used to. Certain positions are still stacked, but early in this dynasty, ANY 78-82 OVR guy who was redshirted for a half decent team was gonna be mid 90's or above. With my system creating a bit of a "stars and scrubs" scenario for my team - mostly due to what I think is one lucky improvement session last year - I expect to have the highest rated player at more than one position.

Heck of a departing class, and love the notes on each. It'll be tough to play without Larry Lloyd. End of an era.

This is probably my favorite class, between both schools, which is saying a lot hehe.

[moose141]

Re: 2023 Offseason Part 3: Signing Day

What an incredible finish to the season! Looked like it would be a cakewalk early, but the Ducks gave you all you could handle and then some. The adversity never stops for you with Larry's normal season ending injury saving itself for the least opportune time, so a tough way for him to go out. But what a flip of the script to rely on some big plays in the passing game rather than just running it down the opposition's throat to get the win. To quote a common Pop Country trope, DJ Halloway was just "doing what he do", making plays all over the field and coming up clutch on the biggest stage yet again. Huge game, and maybe now this means Mack is the guy moving forward to lead the offense in a more pass forward attack.

Also, looking at that departing class, what an insane list of names for you. Halloway, Larry, Chia, Gino Pollino, and others, talk about an incredible group of seniors. Gonna be tough to replace some players like that!

PS: Some game notes, watching the highlights I'm impressed you're able to pass the ball at all with that camera angle, ahah. Different folks for different strokes, it's funny how the game can look so different for others with the camera settings changed. Also, that Hail Mary by Oregon was hilarious, not even in the same zip code as all the other players. At least give your guys a chance man!

[Hellisan]

Re: 2023 Offseason Part 3: Signing Day

What an incredible finish to the season! Looked like it would be a cakewalk early, but the Ducks gave you all you could handle and then some. The adversity never stops for you with Larry's normal season ending injury saving itself for the least opportune time, so a tough way for him to go out. But what a flip of the script to rely on some big plays in the passing game rather than just running it down the opposition's throat to get the win. To quote a common Pop Country trope, DJ Halloway was just "doing what he do", making plays all over the field and coming up clutch on the biggest stage yet again. Huge game, and maybe now this means Mack is the guy moving forward to lead the offense in a more pass forward attack.

Also, looking at that departing class, what an insane list of names for you. Halloway, Larry, Chia, Gino Pollino, and others, talk about an incredible group of seniors. Gonna be tough to replace some players like that!

PS: Some game notes, watching the highlights I'm impressed you're able to pass the ball at all with that camera angle, ahah. Different folks for different strokes, it's funny how the game can look so different for others with the camera settings changed. Also, that Hail Mary by Oregon was hilarious, not even in the same zip code as all the other players. At least give your guys a chance man!

Yeah, Halloway was up for it once again. Loved that. It was disappointing but not surprising that Larry would literally be a stand in for Mack's injury. What a guy. Mack's the one that gets popped, Mack's the one shown getting medical attention and then Larry goes out. I've never seen that, but if it were to happen to any polygonal entity it would be Larry. :-p

We'll see if Mack is the guy. He'll definitely get the starting nod, but he didn't improve at all, and blast from the past Nathan Malone did. Mack still has the big athleticism advantage. It'll be interesting to see if EITHER of them can hold off Willis Delaney after a redshirt year.

I agree, with a class like that going away, I don't just see us reloading this year. I'm not giving up on another big year at all. I think we'll be good but I see holes.

The camera angle thing was difficult. I got tired of not being able to use the short area on the sidelines, little hitches and t hings like that, the CPU is SO good at playing off but coming up quickly and I feel like for me, I need to be able to see that from the snap to even try and use it. What helps is I have a large TV in a little office, or at least very close to my desk.

I know, for Isaac Harris, who did admittedly tear us up on the ground, the run to set up the hail mary was perfect. But that execution like you said, left something to be desired. It was really handed to us when they flipped into bleed the clock mode. It was like, what's going on here? Then they throw a conventional pass to the flat and our guy makes the tackle. Game over.

Thanks man, we're headed out to the desert for a couple of soccer games this weekend and I hope to find some time to binge watch the Moose.

[frappuccino]

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

Great reading. So much storylines and written stuff it.

Some of you guys doing NCAA chises (you, moose to remember a few) made me have to really put some good journal writing in my chises.

Really enjoyed the highlights of the Ohio State/Iowa game. BCS champ game too (never played CFB).

[Hellisan]

2023 Offseason - Continued

It's the annual time where I shill for the usage of some type of progression / potential regression system because I feel it is a lot of fun and leads to a much more realistic looking and feeling roster. I see that there are some cool options that people are doing for College Football Revamped that could just be worked right into it if you're working on PC. That looks super promising and hope to try it out one day. But using an existing dynasty that I don't want to chance screwing with, that is for the future, for me.

I have a thread detailing how I do mine somewhere in the NCAA forum if you're interested in seeing how it works.

We had another reallly good training session overall, I think it is the second luckiest one yet. Last year, which was the best year for this training system so far and the best year for our offseason training, the sum of the expected training for the players was 180, and we got 209 points of improvement. All players had an average training of 3.9, and the players that had at least one point of improvement (rather than regression) averaged 4.27.

This year the sum of the expected training for the players was 159, and we got 177 points of improvement. All players had an average training of 3.54, and the players that had at least one point of improvement (rather than regression) averaged 4.97 which is absolutely insane - Especially because I decreased the expected improvement for each range of improvement level in my system by 0.5 points per player. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. In addition, the improvement was spread a little more evenly between the offense and defense.

In addition to decreasing the actual improvement amount by a half a point (on average) per category of work ethic rating, I have implemented a system where if a player bounces up against 99 (let's say that with a 95-99 ETH (work ethic) they roll a max rating jump of 11 and they're currently an 88 OVR). I will take the mid point between one point of improvement (89) and the max OVR rating possible (99) and randomly a select a number in that range. Just to limit the number of 99 players on my team to either zero, or very rare. So a player rolling that 11 would be anywhere between a 94 and 99.

In an unfortunate turn of events, championship winning QB Joshua Mack had his OVR improve by just one point, whereas Nathan Malone, a senior this year, improved 7 OVR points to narrow the gap. Running back Shakur Becton has waited a long time for a big chance behind Larry Lloyd and will only help his chances after improving from 90 to 97 OVR for his upcoming senior season.All of the fulbacks improved really well. Nick Vessel somehow improved reasonably well again despite having a pretty horrible work ethic rating. Some of the receivers we were hoping to improve like NeShawn Talley, Andre Kpaka, and especially TE Hayden Polk regressed or did not improve. The offensive line saw hearty improvement, with FOUR players improving at least 8 points, and massive right tackle Chad Anderson giving himself a shot to fend off one of our recruits for the starting job.

With a massive influx of defensive tackles over the past couple of years (we could field two full defensive lines with just defensive tackles in 2024) it was great to see DT turned DE Joe Scruggs improve substantially. He's the likely starter at left end. But without a doubt, Laterion "Big Man" Thomas had the most impressive offseason of the defensive players. After a season fighting for playing time with an incredibly deep CB room, he will be an unquestioned week in, week-out starter. Finally, Dez Dillon III, linebacker out of the great state of Oklahoma where Coach Clark grew up, increased 8 points, becoming significantly stronger and faster in the process. A scary thought for opponents who have to deal with the 6'6", 245 lb. monster outside linebacker.
------------------------


Cuts

Walk-on Cuts

HB Cornelius Wilson - Utah
WR Evan Winston - OH
DE T.J. Love - DE - FL - Wanted to keep him for the name, but Love will find some other way. It's a bit much to have FL and TX as pipelines
CB Jeremy Allen - MO
CB Ben Ford - SC

Team Cuts

FR(rs) QB Aidan Hamm - 72 OVR - Wisconsin - 49 Citizenship Rating
FR(rs) LT Trevor Salary - 82 OVR - Indiana - 47 Citizenship Rating
SR(rs) HB Maurice Brown - 85 OVR - Kansas - 50 Citizenship Rating - Brown carried the ball 24 times over the last three years for 173 yards, or a 7.2 ypc average. He also returned punts and kickoffs for the team, scoring a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the national championship game last season. From the standpoint of talent, he was easily our fastest returning running back which would have been nice to have.
Due to behavioral issues with all three of these players, they have been kicked off the team

JR(rs) OLB Ryan Williams - 64 OVR - Minnesota - Talent

[Hellisan]

Hawk Blog

Making Sense of the Recruiting Class - Who will Play?

The Iowa Hawkeyes have signed the #1 recruiting class in the nation. And hardly any of them are going to play this year.

If you ask me, Clark and company could have used their resources more wisely and found players that could help them this year. Instead, we get to put on our patience caps and wait until next year to see some of these guys. Here are some of the categories these guys fit into, from the way I see it:

Playing Right Away - Cornerback Tyson "Ty" Veney, out of Waterloo, is probably going to be an immediate starter, if you consider the nickel corner to be a starter, which anyone does now. The team has two great corners slated for the outside in Lionel Robinson and Laterion Thomas and the coaching staff like Veney's combination of tackling ability, coverage, and the ability to fight off blocks better than the other options. So the team will throw him into the fire and see if he likes it hot.

Competing for Playing Time - Tackle Lucas Devlaminck is the only 5-star recruit signed by the team this year and it's well known that he wants to play right away. But, he's got a battle on his hands against former 3-star recruit Chad Anderson, a 6'7" 326 lb. behemoth who has waited his turn and worked his butt off while doing so. The team impressed with Anderson's mind for the game and he's a little more of a road grader. Devlaninck's path to playing time would be if Anderson struggles greatly in pass protection. The team won't redshirt Devlaminck, so it's up to Coach Clark to find playing time for the kid, or risk losing him.

JUCO transfer Chris Grant is an explosive athlete that will play free safety for the Hawkeyes. Looking at the squad, he's probably the best option at backup free safety. The team has no plans to redshirt him.

Redshirt guys - This is a long list. Almost all of them. I'll highlight two categories that could have been pressing for playing time at other schools:

Offensive Studs: - QB Willis Delaney, HB Zade Mitchell - The Hawkeyes recruited all-everything athlete Zade MItchell out of Alabama and promptly made him a running back. Mitchell was impossible to beat as a high school QB with a combination of speed, quickness, and arm talent that would make most teams line him up behind center despite his 5'10" height, but Mitchell should make a very solid running back.

Defensive tackles: Adi Omara, Broady Hightower, Jase McAndrews - Iowa have really gone hard after defensive tackles, and now they have eight of them. That's too many. I can't see all of these guys sticking around. The fact that none of these guys got a look at the starting roles is a little baffling.

The Rest: HB Isaac Neilands, WR Jovan Gibson, G David Beck, T Steve Wilson & Steve Washington, OLB Ryan Tompkins and James Fagan, CB Bret Harris, and safeties Rodney Cook, Roosevelt Lindsey, Gavin Greene, and Marc Rogers.

Swing and a Miss - So, the Hawkeyes stacked up players at positions that were already filled. Meanwhile, they have all of two tight ends, and could still use a true #1 wide receiver. They should have went balls to the wall recruiting those two positions, and they should have added at least one high quality defensive end. Instead, they'll queue up a bunch of talent at non positions of need this year and wait for it to mature. It's the long game, and we'll have to abide by it for now.