Big 10 Preview: Iowa Hawkeyes
August 20th, 2008 by Louis Papa
5 years ago I would not have imagined saying this, but Kirk Ferentz needs to win this year. The good news is they should. They have 14 returning starters and their defense up the middle looks solid with DT Mitch King, all Big Ten in 2007) and Matt Kroul. Additionally, the Hawkeyes return all 5 late-season OL starters. Make no mistake about it though, these Hawkeyes need to win and win big. The Iowa City faithful are getting restless and with top RB’s Albert Young and Damian Sims gone to graduation and sophomore, Jevon Pugh, leaving school during the spring means that there is not a RB in the program who carried the ball in 2007. That spells doom in the Big 10.
The offense will again be lead by spunky QB Jake Christensan, provided he doesn’t get beat out by an unheralded QB recruit. Jake had an unspectacular yet efficient 2007 campaign. He completed 198 of 370 attempts for 2,269 yards for 17 TDs while being intercepted only 6 times.
Presently, I am not offering you much to choose from at RB so focus on some late round WR selections if you are a Hawkeye fan.
On that note, Darrell Johnson-Koulianos was the leading receiver last year as a freshman. Look for him to improve on 38 catches, 482 yards and 2 TDs. Not worth a fantasy selection unless he can get off to a fast start. Now if you are looking for upside potential, Trey Stross could be a big play WR. Stross lead the Hawkeyes with a gaudy 17 yards per catch last year. While only catching a total of 16 balls, he accumulated 272 yards and 4 scores, so he is a homerun threat anytime he is involved. 25% of his catches went for touchdowns.
With the special teams, wasn’t there a time where it seemed like Iowa always had a great kicker? Must be me, because its been awhile now….Iowa actually had two kickers last year (Daniel Murray and Austin Signor), who combined to miss 4 extra points in only 28 tries and converted a measely 10/16 field goals.
My pre-season call is for the Iowa Hawkeyes to get back to a Bowl game in 2008 with a winning record. This team will not compete for either a Big Ten title or even a spot on the Fantasy College Blitz’s Top 25 fantasy teams. Ferentz should keep his job for at least another year.
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