Iowa vs Illinois State Preview

Opening day is Saturday in Iowa City as the Hawkeyes will meet FCS opponent Illinois State. It's finally time to see the team take the field against an opponent and play a game. This could be a very interesting game as Illinois State returned a number of key players on offense and defense. I'm going to start out previewing the Iowa offense vs the Illinois State Defense.

Last season Illinois State had a pretty good defense allowing just 21 points per game, 343 totals yards. The Rushing defense for the Redbirds only allowed 119.7 yards per game and through the air they allowed 223.7 yards per game. Teddy Corwin and David Perkins are both back on defense. Corwin had 7.5 sacks last season with 98 stops, and Perkins had 8 sacks. Pat Meehan is the leading tackler with 115 tackles and Alex Donnaly returns he had 85 tackles. After seeing both the Spring Game and the Kids Day Scrimmage Iowa's offensive line against the two defensive ends will be a key match up. At times Iowa hasn't been able to protect CJ Beathard and Illinois State has some players that can put pressure on him. The Redbirds don't return a lot of there secondary so Iowa should be able to take advantage of that, if the offensive line can give Beathard time to throw. Illinois State only returned a back up Safety Drashane Glass who played a little last season. For the Hawks offensively they need the receivers to make plays down the field. I'm most interested in seeing how Iowa tries to get the ball in Tevaun Smith's hands. He's clearly the best receiver on the field and Iowa has to find away to get him more involved then last season. Iowa is still looking for more receivers to make plays so that will be something to watch too. The other big thing I will be watching Saturday is how much Jay Scheel and Jerminic Smith get on the field.  I also want to see if the Hawks use the middle of the field more, last season Iowa did a lot of horizontal passing. George Kittle at tight end should be able to take advantage against the Redbirds linebacking core, he's faster then a normal tight end and I think he can make a lot of plays down the field.  

Running the football is going to be important for the Hawks as last season the running game had it's moments but not enough of them. Leshun Daniels will be the main ball carrier this season with Jordan Canzeri being a change of pace back. During the Spring game and the kids scrimmage the starters didn't get a lot of carries so its hard to say what the rushing attack will look like. Daniels has dropped a lot of weight and looks like he could have a great season. With Iowa's rushing offense vision is the most important thing. Iowa runs a lot of stretch plays so picking the right hole is the biggest challenge for a Hawkeye running back. The offensive line is better in the interior so I think we will see more straight ahead runs. With Daniels being listed as the number one back I'll be curious to see what the split will be in regards to carries between Daniels, Canzeri, Mitchell and Wadley. Mitchell could be used a lot in 3rd down situations like Damon Bullock was. 

Illinois State's offense returns a couple of key positions on offense but they also lost a lot across there offensive line and at the receiver position. At QB the Redbirds return Tre Roberson who is a former transfer from Indiana that passed for 3,221 yards and 30 Touchdowns while rushing for 1029 yards and 11 TD's. He is a dynamic weapon that Iowa will have to be keyed on. The good news is Iowa's defensive line should be able to control the line of scrimmage. Of all the players returning for Illinois State the offensive line is the least experienced group on offense. The Redbirds also return Marshaun Coprich at running back who ran 2,274 yards and 27 Touchdowns last year. At the receiver position the Redbirds only return two guys with experience, Jon Marc Anderson and Anthony Warrum both who only caught 15 passes. Marshaun only caught 15 balls last season but after the all the trouble the Iowa Linebackers had last season, I would expect Illinois State to try to throw it to him more. The linebacking core has changed a little with Cole Fisher moving into the starting lineup ahead of Bo Bower, the other 2 spots are filled by Ben Niemann and Josey Jewell. Fisher has been pretty good against the pass in the only practices I've seen. Iowa's secondary should make it very difficult on Tre Roberson throwing the football as Iowa has a clear advantage in that area. The tricky thing with Roberson is that he can make as many plays with his legs as he does with his arm. The key for the Iowa defense will be a good pass rush but also controlled to keep Roberson from scrambling. We've all seen scrambling QB's hurt the Hawkeyes in the past so it should be a good challenge for the defense. 

My keys to an Iowa victory take Marshaun Coprich out of the game making Illinois State a one dimensional offense. Its a must to keep Tre Roberson contained he has the speed to make big plays scrambling especially on 3rd down. Offensively protecting CJ Beathard is the number one key, if he has time to throw he should be able to find open receivers. Attacking the linebackers in the middle of the field, I want to see George Kittle be a big part of the offense, and Tevaun Smith has to be a main target. The last key for me is Iowa needs to be able to run the ball if the Hawkeyes can move the ball on the ground it should open up the playaction pass down the field. I believe that the UNI team we played last season in the opener is better then this Illinois State team. I see the Hawkeyes winning Saturday by the score of 34 to 14. I think this could be a close game for awhile but I don't believe the Redbirds have enough on the outside to beat the Hawks. I guess we will all find out next weekend. I'm excited to get this season underway it was such a long off season and its time to hit the field. Thanks for Reading

Go Hawks

2015 Kids Scrimmage Defense thoughts

Saturday was the last chance Hawk fans would have to see the team before they open up the Season September 5th vs Illinois State. During an earlier post I talked about the offense if you missed that use this link to read it Offense Thoughts This post is going to be about what I thought of the defense during the Kids Scrimmage.

The defense was dominant at times, was this because they are that good or the offense was that bad? We won't officially be able to answer that question until the season starts but I saw a lot of good things. Lets start on the defensive line where Drew Ott looked like a 1st team all Big Ten Player. He was bull rushing and putting a ton of pressure on CJ Beathard all day, he had 6 sacks. On the other side was defensive end Nate Meier who caused pressure also coming up with 2 sacks. The defensive tackles on Saturday were Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata. Both Johnson and Bazata played a little last season but they do have big shoes to fill replacing Louis Trinca Pasat and Carl Davis. Most of the scrimmage both guys were getting a good push, on one particular play Bazata drove Freshman James Daniels back into the backfield. I was impressed with both guys ability to shed blocks and make plays. The second team defensive line will be important too especially with all the spread offenses depth is important. 

At defensive end Matt Nelson who has huge potential at 6 ft 7 once he puts on more muscle he will be a terror to block. He's looked like he put on a lot of weight on so he will likely be one of the first defensive ends in the game. At the other defensive end position was Parker Hesse a converted QB a lot like Nate Meier who transitioned to defensive line from Running back he's still getting bigger but he does have a quick first step. Faith Ekakite who has waited his turn to make an impact was one of the defensive tackles, and Kyle Terlow was the other one. It's important that all these guys continue to get better especially at defensive end because even though the size is there not a lot of plays were being made but to be fair they were getting into the backfield. On the 3rd team defensive line one player stood out to me and that was Terrance Harris he has already put on a lot of weight. He made the biggest hit in the scrimmage tossing Eric Graham to the ground. I don't know if he will play this year but he looks the part to be a speed rusher which is something we've been missing. If the hawks run the Raider formation again I could see Terrance possibly on that formation. Anthony Nelson is another guy who has a lot of size at 6 ft 7 but needs to get bigger before hes ready to play.  Those are just some thoughts on the defensive line.

On to the linebackers where we had some struggles last season but also had some positives too. The starting linebackers on Saturday were Ben Niemann at OLB, Josey Jewell at MLB and Bo Bower at the other OLB spot. All 3 LB's are fast and pretty solid in pass coverage, they all seemed to be making more plays then last season. It was like they weren't thinking and just making plays. Even when the offense tried to sneak a back out into the flat or run a wheel rout the linebackers were right there in coverage. That was great to see because last season we gave up a ton of big plays on passes to the RB out of the backfield. This young trio of linebackers will only get better, we all remember the struggles of Kirksey, Hitchens and Morris early in their careers. These LB's were thrown in there last season and that should help them be more ready when opening week roles around. The second team linebackers were a couple of veterans in Cole Fisher, Travis Perry and Aaron Mends. All 3 were very solid Saturday at least I didn't notice any big mistakes in either the passing or running game. The 3rd team linebackers were the younger guys Brady Ross, Jack Hockaday and Angelo Garbutt with Nick Wilson and Justin Jinning rotating in. Now to get to the strength of the team the secondary.

This could be on of the best secondary's of the Ferentz era and that is saying something because Iowa has had a lot of good secondary's. Starting at corner Desmond King he's definitely an NFL player the break he gets in the ball is so quick. He was defending Tevaun Smith for most of the practice and was all over him. I think King could have a very good year intercepting passes even on passes like quick curls that were on time he was breaking on the ball and knocking it away. The other corner is Greg Maybin who had a good day too even coming up with a sack on a corner blitz.  Miles Taylor started at Strong Safety and was making hits all over the field plus he never got beat deep which was a problem last year. At Free Safety was Brandon Snyder filling in for Jordan Lomax, Snyder did get beat once but Beathard over threw Tevaun Smith. Also good news the Hawks played a lot of nickel the corner coming in on that was Reese Flemming. The second team secondary at the corner spots Reese Flemming and Sean Draper, Draper made the biggest play picking off Tyler Wiegers which would have been a touchdown. At strong Safety Anthony Gair who has played a little and is a big hitter, at free safety Jake Gervase who was filling in for Brandon Snyder. Also rotating in with the second unit was Michael Ojemudia, he made a great one handed interception of Drew Cook. I'm really excited about this secondary with Lomax and Taylor at the safety spots both fast and big hitters. On the outside 2 shutdown corners in King and Maybin. This secondary will be the strength of the team. 

In closing the defense was dominant Saturday and showed a lot of good things. I feel they have improved a lot from the unit that gave up so many big plays last season. The secondary is the best part of the defense with the defensive line right behind then. How good this defense is come's down to the linebackers and creating depth on the defensive line. If Iowa can do that this could be a very good defense, I guess we will find out opening week vs Illinois State.

Thanks for Reading

Go Hawks 

2015 Kids Day Scrimmage Offense Thoughts

   
Saturday afternoon was the last chance Hawk Fans had to see the Iowa Football team before they open the season at home vs Illinois State. There were some things to be concerned about and a lot of positives also. The first thing I noticed was people were excited, there were a lot of fans in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

 Offensively I wasn't sure what to expect, after the Spring game they didn't look very good. The offense did some good things on Saturday, but they also had some struggles against the number 1 defense. Lets start on the inside and work our way to the skilled positions. The offensive line is the key to whether this offense can take a step forward this season. The interior of the offensive line is experienced with a number of guys who have played. The key to this line is the center Austin Blythe he is the leader of this group then Jordan Walsh is one of the guards with a lot of experience. At the other guard spot there is a lot of competition Eric Simmons and Sean Welsh rotated in with the number ones. Another surprising addition to the competition was 4 Star True Freshman James Daniels who was rotating in a little. James looked like he belonged out there and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him this season. Moving to the tackle position we have two inexperienced players in Boone Myers at Left Tackle and Ike Boettger at Right Tackle. On Saturday those 2 tackles struggled, Drew Ott and Nate Meier were able to get a very good pass rush especially early on in the scrimmage. Ott beat Myers to the outside a number of times putting a ton of pressure on CJ Beathard. I don't think the problem is physical its more mental and technique work. They allowed 8 sacks which was concerning but as the practice went on the line play was better. The run blocking was getting a push which helped both Derrick Mitchell and Akrum Wadley get through the line a lot.

Looking at the receiver position the top 3 are Tevaun Smith, Matt Vandeberg, and Jake Hillyer. Hillyer is still probably the best run blocking receiver on the team but still needs to make some plays to really step up this year. Vandeberg was able to get open and make some plays. Tevaun Smith is clearly the top target on the team he ran some very good crossing patterns. The second team wide outs were Riley Mccarron, Andre Harris, Johnathon Parker and Jay Scheel with Freshman Jerminic Smith rotating in. Scheel also rotated in with the number one unit. Here are some of the stats from the scrimmage. Jacob Hillyer had 1 catch for 3 yards, Tevaun Smith caught 2 passes for 17 yards, George Kittle had 3 catches for 69 yards, Matt Vandeberg 2 catches for 33 yards, Derrick Mitchell 3 catches for 17 yards, Jay Scheel 2 Catches for 15 yards, Riley Mccaron 2 catches for 23 yards, Jameer Outsey 1 Catch for 14 yards, Drake Kulick 2 fro 54 yards and a TD, Jerminic Smith 4 for 25 yards,

Looking at the stats the biggest thing that stood out was Jerminic Smith who looks like he has a very good chance to play this season. Jay Scheel was one of the receivers I was excited to see, he did run a nice inside curl on 3rd and 3 made the safety miss and picked up 10 yards. He showed glimpses of a guy who could become a big play maker. The tight ends also will be a big part of the offense George Kittle had a good day especially in the middle of the field which was nice to see. Kreiger Coble also ran some good routes and made a nice catch down the field. The offense wasn't as perimeter oriented on Saturday, they were utilizing the middle of the field off play action passes. The 3rd team unit showed all the young WR for the Hawks including Adrian Falconer, Joshua Jackson and Emmanual Ogwo. All of these WR's did some good things although the 3rd team unit struggled completing passes. Ogwo is probably the fastest of the bunch he ran a straight go route running right by Michael Ojemudia but Cook under threw him and the pass was intercepted. They all showed very good quickness whether they play or not will come down to how quickly they can get the playbook down.

At Running back on Saturday the top 2 backs Leshun Daniels and Jordan Canzeri were held out of the contact portion of the practice. That didn't stop me from being impressed with the running backs who were getting carries. Derrick Mitchell Jr. ran the ball 13 times for 51 yards with 9 of those carries coming with the first team. Akrum Wadley carried the ball 13 times for 34 yards and a TD. Both Wadley and Mitchell showed a very good burst and moves to make the defenders miss. Wadley played a little last season but had a problem with fumbles on Saturday he didn't put the ball on the ground once. Mitchell Jr. a converted WR reminded me a lot of Damon Bullock but faster. He caught some balls out of the back field and looked good running the football. The last 2 running backs were Marcel Jolly and Eric Graham. Jolly had 4 carries for 12 yards and Graham had 4 carries for 10 yards. For Freshman both backs definitely look physically ready although neither one should be needed this season they both look like they could play if needed.

Finally we get to the quarterback position which of course is now controlled by CJ Beathard. CJ had a tough day on Saturday mostly because he didn't have a lot of time to throw the ball. When he did get time he made great throws, CJ has the ability to throw a receiver open, he can fit the ball into tight windows. The defensive backs were all over the receivers and CJ was still fitting the ball in on crossing patterns. He overshot Tevaun Smith which would have been a touchdown and he also through a great ball to the sideline hitting Matt Vandeberg for a big gain. I'm really excited to see what he can do, if the line can protect him Beathard will make plays with his arm and legs. He didn't run a lot on Saturday but he definitely has that in his game. The second Quarterback was Tyler Wiegers who looked much improved from the Spring. Wiegers was 13 for 22 for 184 yards a TD and an Interception. I wouldn't say he is ready to play right now so keeping Beathard healthy is a must for success this season. Tyler has made a lot of strides since the spring and he showed some that ability on Saturday. The next Quarterbacks to come in were the 2 Freshman Ryan Boyle and Drew Cook. Both guys looked a little nervous Ryan fumbled the first snap then turned the wrong way on the second play. Drew Cook threw a couple of interceptions in the game one where he underthrew his receiver and the other where he pumped and threw the ball late which would have been a pick 6. Both of these guys are definitely not ready to play and will likely red shirt this season.

In Closing on the the offense the positives are we have guys who can make some plays on the outside. We definitely have a quarterback who can make plays the question will be can the offensive line protect him? The running game looks to have a number of guys who can play and play well. The biggest thing I saw was the use of the middle of the field which we rarely threw to last season. I'm very interested to see what the offense looks like vs Illinois State. I'll have my thoughts on the defense in another Blog which I hope to have out in the next day or so.

Thanks for Reading
Go Hawks