Well it's finally that time of the year, Saturday Morning Iowa will open the season vs Wyoming. Its an 11 am kickoff on the Big Ten Network. In this post I'm going to go through some of the stuff I'm going to be watching for Saturday.
First off on the offensive side of the ball the question on everyone's mind is what will the offense under Brian Ferentz look like? I liked what I saw in the Kid's day Scrimmage but that doesn't mean we won't see some similar things to last year. The interesting thing on the 1st 2 deeps released on Monday, Iowa listed two starting tight ends Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson. Both guys can bring a lot to the passing game. Nathan Stanley won the starting quarterback job how comfortable will he look in his first career start as a True Sophomore?
On the subject of the passing game the biggest mystery is the wide receivers. The only guy with a catch back is Matt Vandeberg but you wonder if he could be rusty with all the injuries he's gone through. Nick Easley I've never seen him in any practice so I really don't know what to expect from him. He did good things at Iowa Western so their is a reason he took over the starting receiver job.
Do Adrian Falconer and Devonte Young start to make an impact as receivers? There was a lot of buzz about Falconer playing pretty well in camp and Young really looked good in the one practice I saw. After that theirs graduate transfer from New Mexico Matt Quarells who we really don't know much about but he has moved up the depth chart quickly. The other question is what Freshman will play Brandon Smith was listed 2nd behind Vandeberg. Ihmir Smith Marsette and Max Cooper also could see time.
When it comes to the running game what will the split be with Akrum Wadley and James Butler? Also how much will Wadley move around will he play a lot of slot receiver? His ability to run routes as a receiver could really help the offense. Will any of the younger players see the field Ivory Kelly-Martin is listed as one of the Kick Returners will he play some out of the slot? Does Toren Young get on the field he showed some good things in the practice I saw. The offensive line is going to be a veteran unit and should lead to a huge season from Wadley and James Butler.
Defensively the biggest thing to watch Saturday is the Secondary. The Hawkeyes will have new starters with Josh Jackson, Michael Ojemudia and Jake Gervase making starts. With the suspension of Manny Rugamba it will be interesting to see how much that hurts vs a talented quarterback like Josh Allen. With Brandon Snyder injured how does Jake Gervase fill in, he's been a playmaker in the back end in a lot of the practices. Which young players will see playing time on Saturday? Matt Hankins is listed as one of the backup corners. Cedrick Boswell also could see the field.
Up front on the defensive line how good can this unit be? They have to replace Jaleel Johnson and Faith. Anthony Nelson and Parker Hesse are the defensive ends with tackles being Nathan Bazata and Cedrick Lattimore. This will be Lattimore's first time playing quality minutes. How many lineman will rotate in Matt Nelson has moved from end to tackle? Brady Reiff and Sam Brincks will also be in line for playing time. The other question on everyone's mind is how many snaps a game will Freshman AJ Epenesa get? The biggest thing with the line will be if they can put pressure on Josh Allen with their front 4. Will we see a raider package with a lot of pass rushers on 3rd down situations?
Special teams is the other question that needs to be answered. Miguel Recinos is listed as the starting kicker after beating out Keith Duncan. Iowa has a new punter Colton Rastetter and Ryan Gersonde. The return game looks like it could be a factor, at Kick Return Akrum Wadley and Ivory Kelly-Martin are both speedsters. Of Course we know about Wadley but Martin can fly. Matt Vandeberg and Josh Jackson are listed as the punt returners. They have big shoes to fill for Desmond King.
Wyoming has a talented QB in Josh Allen who is being talked about as a high draft pick in the NFL draft. The Cowboy's defense allowed over 600 yards a game last year. They also lost their starting running back and top 3 receivers from last season. Even though Allen is a dangerous QB I feel Iowa should be able to run the ball very effectively. The biggest question is how will the passing do?
That will wrap up this blog post. I'll have a review of the game that I'll release probably sometime on Sunday. Saturday is going to be awesome can't way to kick of the 2017 College Football season. As Always thanks for reading and GO HAWKS.
No comments:
Post a Comment