First Impressions and Random Thoughts From Iowa's Spring Scrimmage

Just a quick post with random thoughts and impressions, these are in no particular order. I'll have a more in-depth write-up tomorrow. Also, I'll update the News/Message board with stories from the Hawkeye media as they roll out. Anbd oh yeah, I kept the chat transcript up from today's game.

1.) We've been hearing rumors about improvement and hoping for a break-out from Keenan Davis. It looks like the rumors are true. He was the most impressive player on the field today, no doubt the MVP.

2.) The starting Oline went: Reiff/Scherff/Ferentz/Gettis/Zusevics. No worries here mate, they looked solid. They even moved the second team Dline 6 yards off the ball on one run play.

3.) Second team Oline went: Tobin/Bofelli/Clark/Orne/Van Sloten. They've developed depth along the Oline, these guys can step in if there is an injury.

4.) The Hawkeyes lack depth along the Dline. Alvis and C Davis rotated in at tackle with Daniel, Daniels, and Binns on the first team. The second team was a little rough, may be some playing time for a frosh or two (Cooper?).

5.) Castillo rotated into the #1 corner spot opposite of Prater. He had a pass break-up and INT. Lowery isn't far behind, he also had a pick on the day.

6.) I've changed my mind on Derby changing positions. He was far and away better than he was last Fall (at open practice). He looked pretty good today, finding WR's and TE's across the middle and on the out.

7.) Kickers were okay, the conditions weren't the best but comparable to late Fall games in Big Ten territory.

8.) The second line of WR's need some work, no one really stood out amongst Staggs, Shumpert, KMM, Haluksa, etc.

9.) De'Andre Johnson looked improved. The coaches spoke of this during Spring camp, it showed. Marcus Binns had a few carries but will never see the field. Coker wore the red shirt and didn't see the field much, golden egg.

10.) CJ Fiedorowicz is huge. So is Carl Davis.

11.) Mike Hardy had an INT off of a zone blitz. Hardy was also playing DT.

12.) The fullback position is a work in progress, lets all hope Rogers gets a clean bill of health and returns to the field this Fall.

That's it for now, Hawks win! Hawks win! Hawks win!

Iowa Hawkeye Football Spring Scrimmage Live Chat

The weather stinks! Snow in Iowa City? If you can't make it to Kinnick you can still watch the annual Hawkeye Spring scrimmage on the Big Ten Network. You have to pay for the stream, the cheapest deal is the team monthly package. It costs $7.95, or about two hot dogs in Kinnick. I've signed up for the stream and will be chatting about what's going on. Also, I'll load the chat with the superstars of Twitter, those present and tweeting live from the stadium. Hop on in, follow along, let's hope the Hawkeyes win!

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Matt Tobin and Casey Kreiter

Finishing up the Who Is? series, at least for this week, I'm taking a deeper look at a couple of offensive lineman. Well, specifically, one lineman and one long snapper. Matt Tobin's name may not be necessarily new to a lot of Hawkeye fans. This isn't his first time listed on the Hawkeye two-deeps. Last season Matt was listed as second team left tackle and played in almost half of Iowa's games (mostly mop-up duty).

Tobin is entering his junior season as a Hawkeye. The 6'6" 285 pound tackle from Dyersville, Iowa joined the team in 2008 as a walk-on. Tobin played his high school ball at Beckman High School and was named second team all-state.

Last season, THonline, asked Hawkeye line coach Reese Morgan for his thoughts on Tobin, he had this to say "I have great trust and faith in Matt because we can put him at a guard or a tackle position and he'll go out and we know we'll get his best effort each and every time." Morgan also had encouraging words about Tobin when interviewed by the Dyersville Commercial, he told them this "Matt has a great attitude. He works his tail off. He's extremely reliable and a very tough young man. "He's still a work in progress, as are many of our players. The thing that really stands out about Matt is his attitude and his work ethic."

Hard working, lunch pail kinda guy, local grown. What's not to like about Matt Tobin?

Another kid that fits that mold is Casey Kreiter. Kreiter started off his Hawkeye career bouncing around between the offensive and defensive lines. His niche though is long snapping and he will take over the role full time this year. The Hawkeye coaches spotted Kreiter's ability to long snap in high school. He has seen game action as a Hawkeye, he took over the long snapping role last season in the fourth quarter against Minnesota.

Kreiter comes to Iowa as a walk-on from DeWitt, Iowa. Casey is a 6'3" 250 pound sophomore that earned first team all-state honors as a high schooler at Central High. He didn't receive much recruiting interest but his ability to snap earned him the opportunity to walk-on with the Hawks.

Casey will play an important and often over looked position for Iowa this season. The Hawkeye special teams will have new people at punter, long snapper, and the field goal/extra point holder positions. After a 2010 that seemed to be a struggle at times for Hawkeye special teams the development of this group will be something to keep an eye on.

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Terrance Pryor and Cole Heissel

I'll continue the Who Is? series with a look at new names on the defensive side of the ball. Behind James Morris at the middle linebacker spot is Terrance Pryor. It's possible that Pryor may just holding a spot for senior Bruce Davis as he recovers from the knee injury that ended his 2010 season. For now the spot is his and he will get a lot of reps this Saturday at Iowa's annual spring scrimmage.

Pryor joined the Hawkeyes as a walk-on in 2008. Hawkeyesports.com lists Pryor as a 6'1" 215 pound linebacker from South Holland, Illinois. He has yet to play in agame as a Hawkeye.

Pryor played high school ball for the Thornwood Thunderbirds. A 2007 scouting report listed Pryor as a defensive end and the toughest player on the team. That same scouting report quoted Thunderbird coach Will Milhouse as saying Pryor was the "soul of the team." Pryor went on to record 45 tackles and 13 sacks earning him a spot on the Illinois all-area team.

Right behind Mike Daniels on the depth chart is Cole Heissel. Heissel, like Pryor, may just be holding a spot. Steve Bigach and Thomas Nardo are or have been working back from injury. Nardo may still be recovering from rhabdo.

Heissel is a big kid, 6'6" 270. The defensive tackle came to Iowa as a walk-on from LeMars, Iowa. Per Rivals Heissel had interest from Northern Iowa, Iowa State, and an offer from South Dakota. While he didn't receive recruiting stars from Rivals, Scout.com gave Heissel two stars as a recruit. In 2009 ESPN recruiting posted this video of Heissel playing defensive end. Tom Lemming had this to say about Cole, "On Film–He's big, strong, athletic and determined two-way player who could wind up playing DE, OT or OG in college."

Ferentz had some good things to say about Cole at the spring press conference. When asked about players making position changes he said:

Jonathan Gimm moved back to fullback in December. I think the only one is Cole Heissel, who you'll probably say, Who the hell is Cole Heissel? But Cole is an interesting guy. Freshman last year. We're going to fool around, look at him on defense. Probably the thing that got us thinking about it is, as simple as it may sound, No. 57 from Missouri last year, he had 15 or 14 sacks, I can't remember, played over our left tackle, their right end. They had moved him. We were fooling around down at the bowl practice. I told him, Cole, jump over there and rush the passer a little bit. We'll see what he can do. Stay tuned. That's probably two years down the road. We'll see what happens. Great young guy. Great story.

We'll certainly stay tuned. Heissel appears to be on the fast track towards playing time. It's not often you see a walk-on in the spring two-deeps following his first season on campus, especially in the trenches. The Hawkeye program has historically produced high caliber Big Ten players from its walk-on program. Perhaps these two will continue that tradition.

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Wide Receiver Steven Staggs

As I mentioned earlier, there are some new names on the latest Hawkeye two-deeps. Steven Staggs is listed in the number one WR position ahead of Don Shumpert. Staggs is keeping that spot warm for Marvin McNutt who will return once he is fully healed from off-season shoulder surgery. So, who is Steven Staggs?

Staggs is listed as a junior on Hawkeyesports.com. He is a 6'3" 195 pound wide receiver that joined the Hawkeyes in 2008 as a walk-on. Staggs is from Oskaloosa, Iowa, home of former Hawkeye Tyler Sash.

Staggs chose to walk-on at Iowa despite having an offer from Army. Scout.com listed Staggs as a three star recruit and said he "is silky smooth and is a superior route runner." Scout also mentioned that Staggs suffered a broken leg his junior season in high school but played on it for two games. In a premium article, Scout recruiting reporter Brian Finley called Staggs one of the states "best kept secrets." He did post a 4.43 40 yard dash time and a verticle jump of 33 inches in a Scout.com combine in 2007.

Rivals.com recruiting listed Staggs as a two star athlete. Rivals mentioned Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and Purdue as schools interested in Steven. His Rivals profile also credited Staggs with a 3.9 gpa. Athletic and smart is a good combination.

Staggs was recently profiled on Hawkeyesports.com. His wide receiving coach Erik Campbell said "Steve is stepping up and playing well and making plays and working hard in practice to make something happen." Coach Campbell also added "Our guys are getting better every day. They keep working and Steve is working hard right now. I've been impressed with his ability to get open. He's running good routes."

He sounds like an athletic kid and we know how the last guy from Oskaloosa worked out for Iowa. His 6'3" size combined with reported 4.5ish speed will make for another weapon this fall. Vandenberg will have big targets in McNutt, Davis, Shumpert and now Staggs all over 6'3". Incoming freshman Jacob Hillyer is also 6'4", coach Campbell's influence?

I found some YouTube's of Staggs in action but the 'embed' ability was disabled. So, click the link:

Ford to Staggs1
Ford to Staggs2
Ford to Staggs3

Hawkeye Football | A Look at the New Spring Two-Deeps

These will change again in the fall, and after that change again. It seems as though the coaches have used this as a motivational tool (think DJK) and as a reward for hard work. Yesterday Iowa released an updated two-deeps and here they are:

 

Offense:

 

WR Steven Staggs, Don Shumpert
LT Reilly Reiff, Matt Tobin
LG Brandon Scherff, Drew Clark
C James Ferentz, Connor Bofelli
RG Adam Gettis, Woody Orne
RT Markus Zusevics, Brett Van Sloten
TE Brad Herman, CJ Fiedorowicz
QB James Vandenberg, John Wienke
WR Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley
RB Marcus Coker, James White
FB Jonathan Gimm, Jacob Reisen

 

Defense:

 

DE Lebron Daniel, Dominic Alvis
DT Mike Daniels, Cole Heissel
DT Carl Davis, Mike Hardy
DE Broderick Binns, Joe Forgy
OLB Tyler Nielsen, Dakota Getz
MLB James Morris, Terrance Pryor
WLB Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens
LCB Shaun Prater, Jordan Bernstine
SS Collin Sleeper, Tom Donatell
FS Micah Hyde, Jack Swanson
RCB Greg Castillo, BJ Lowery

 

Special Teams:

 

P Eric Guthrie, Jonny Mullings
PK Mike Meyer, Trent Mossbrucker
LS  Cody Kreiter

 

The first glaring omission is Marvin McNutt, who when healthy will take the number one receiver spot in front of Staggs. Tanner Miller is also missing and may move back into the number one free safety spot when he returns.

 

Here are some notes from yesterday's presser:

• The Hawks are preparing Hyde at FS in case Tanner Miller can't go (aka it's still experimental)
• Norm Parker calls Lowery, Hitchens and Kirksey "wow" guys
• Norm also says Fiedorowicz and Shumpert have been impressive playmakers
• Norm likes BJ Lowery, he has a lot of INT's this spring
• O'Keefe says Derby and Weinke are receiving the same amount of reps
• O'Keefe says Kevonte Martin-Manley still has a long ways to go
• O'Keefe says Keenan Davis has made a dramatic jump this spring
• DeAndre Johnson has been a better player but did miss this week with hamstring problems

 

 I've tried to profile some of the new names and by the looks of this two-deep still have a few more to go (Staggs, Pryor, Heissel). Here is a list of who has already been apart of the Who Is? series:

• Don Shumpert
• Kevonte Martin-Manley
• Brandon Sherff
• BJ Lowery
• Eric Guthrie and Jonny Mullings
• Gimm and Reisen
• Collin Sleeper
• Jason White
• Woody Orne
• Tom Donatell

My friends over at the Hawkeye State have covered:

• Lebron Daniel
• Brad Herman
• Tanner Miller
• Kirksey or Hitchens
• Keenan Davis

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Wide Receiver Don Shumpert

Yesterday in the Who Is? series I wrote a little about Kevonte Martin-Manley, a redshirt freshman wide receiver also in the Spring two-deeps. Battling KMM this season for receptions will be sophomore Don Shumpert. Shumpert saw action last season as a true freshman, mostly on special teams. He arrived to Iowa categorized as an athlete (that's code for a player with multiple position possibilities) and tested the waters at safety before moving to the offensive side of the ball.

Shumpert was a member of the 2010 recruiting class. He played high school ball at Hazelwood East in St. Louis, Missouri with Hawkeye teammate Christian Kirksey. Shumpert, a 6'3 185 pound athlete received three stars from Rivals and picked the Hawks over offers from Minnesota and Illinois. Scout.com gave Shumpert two stars as a recruit and said he "has amazing body control and can adjust to the pass and make an impressive catch."

Shumpert will be the third receiver on the current two-deep that is 6'3 or taller. Shumpert is listed as the back-up to McNutt and with Marvin out this Spring he should be the number one guy at the open scrimmage. McNutt is also from the St. Louis area, they both played basketball there. McNutt, if you recall, had offers to play college basketball, Southern Illinois is the one I remember.

Can Shumpert become the next McNutt? On paper he has the height and from reports the athletic ability. Iowa will rotate receivers and we'll certainly see what he can bring to the table this year. He'll have a season to learn from the senior McNutt and potentially take that starting role in '12 and '13.

Shumpert has hoops skills

Hawkeye Football | Iowa Offensive Lineman Dan Heiar Lucky to Be Alive

Some more information emerged on a Rivals message board today about the one car accident that involved new Hawkeye Dan Heiar. Heiar was hospitalized Sunday morning after losing control of his vehicle. A family friend of the Heiars passed some information through email that has made its way to message boards. Typically I take message board talk with a grain of salt but am told that this information is solid and we should all certainly keep Dan Heiar and his family in our thoughts and prayers.

"Dan Heiar was in a one-vehicle accident on Sunday morning and he is in intensive care in Iowa City. He is lucky to be alive! Lost control as he was returning to Iowa City and another vehicle saw him roll his truck and was able to call 911 right away and it took about an hour to get him out of his truck. He dislocated his hip and wrist but luckily no head injury or spine problems! He did suffer internal injuries, broken ribs and bruised organs and he is in intensive care. Since he is stable they are putting off surgery due to damage to his diaphragm. His mom and family are grateful he is as good as he is... please keep him in your prayers."

Heiar is a member of the 2011 Hawkeye recruiting class. The 280 pound offensive lineman is a native of Charlotte, Iowa and played two years at Iowa Western Community College. After Heiar committed to Iowa he told Ryan Suchomel, of Hawk Central, “I’d dreamed about being a Hawkeye, running out of the tunnel at Kinnick Stadium, I grew up as a Hawkeye fan. I told myself if I ever got the chance to play for them, I would. I wouldn’t pass it up.”

UPDATE: 4/13/2011 2:29 PM CST

Marc Morehouse, of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, spoke with Iowa State Patrol Trooper Matt Costello. Here is the story:

Details released on Iowa lineman’s Interstate 80 crash

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Wide Receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley

Before I continue with KMM I wanted to note that newcomer Dan Heiar, a JUCO offensive lineman part of the 2011 recruiting class, was injured and is still hospitalized after a one car accident over the weekend. Per Ferentz, more details are still to come. Let's hope Dan recovers quickly and can continue his football career soon.

As I stated yesterday, I'm going to profile as many new faces as I can leading up to Iowa's annual Spring scrimmage this Saturday (at noon). The redshirt freshman aren't exactly new to the program but may be new to fans as the get first or second team reps for the first time. Today I'll take a closer look at wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley (KMM).

Iowa lost a load of seniors at the wide receiver position. Collin Sandeman, Paul Chaney, Don Nordmann, and of course Iowa's all-time leading receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. Senior Marvin McNutt will miss the Spring scrimmage while recovering from off-season surgery, so, besides Keenan Davis, the wide receiver position will be full of new faces.

One of those underclassmen fighting for receptions is Martin-Manley. KMM is a 6'0" 190 pound wide receiver from Pontiac, Michigan. KMM was part of Iowa's 2010 recruiting class where he received two stars from Scout and two stars from Rivals. ESPN recruiting called KMM a "well rounded receiver" and says he has a "versatile skill-set."

Some of the most notable praise for KMM has come from Twitter and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. DJK has tweeted good things about KMM, here are some examples:

"B ready for KKM,Brad Herman,Prater& Morris 2 really take the reigns of guys like Clayborn,Stanzi,Tarps ETC. They all have winning attitudes!"


"Kevonte Martin Manley is NEXT!!! Mark my words.... "

Iowa likes to rotate wide receivers so it's safe to assume KMM will see the field. Can he emerge as the teams number three or even number two option? The competition will be fun to watch for sure.

Hawkeye Football | Who Is? Defensive Back BJ Lowery

With Iowa's annual Spring scrimmage approaching I thought I would profile some more names this week of players that may see plenty of playing time this Fall. There have been reports of Carl Davis and Brandon Scherff playing well this Spring. There have also been possible position changes opening the door for other guys. It sounds like Micah Hyde is fitting well into his new role at free safety and that means we may need to get used to hearing BJ Lowery's name.

Lowery is in his second year on campus. As a true freshman, the Cincinnati, Ohio native recorded five tackles and played in seven of Iowa's games. He primarily played a back-up role at corner and occasionally was the fourth defensive back when Iowa went to the dime defense. He did miss the Insight.com bowl due to injury.

Lowery picked Iowa over Akron. The Rivals three star recruit had interest from Indiana, Ball State and other MAC schools. Scout.com also rated Lowery three stars and said the high school quarterback/cornerback might have a chance to excel at both football and baseball on the college level.

Just after National Signing Day in 2010, Marc Morehouse had this profile of Lowery. He writes that BJ played free safety his senior season and has this quote from Lowery's coach:

“He’s just a remarkable athlete and a guy that can be a true cover corner.”

Lowery was sort of a surprise to me at Iowa's "Kids Day" open practice last Fall. In just two weeks as a Hawkeye he saw significant reps during the open session. He looked like a freshman physically, he was a small guy out there, but he showed off some serious quickness. Hawkeye Report listed Lowery with a five pound weight gain from his freshman season, or fifteen extra pounds from his high school senior season. At 5'11" and 185 pounds he should be physically ready to become Iowa's newest corner.

Hawkeye Basketball | Wes Washpun Commits and Not to Iowa

It was just Thursday that Internet rumors had Washpun possibly committing to play for the Black and Gold. Those rumors, sparked by a tweet, turned out to be false. We now know were the Cedar Rapids guard will play his college ball. According to GoVolsExtra.com Washpun has committed to play hoops at Tennessee.

Washpun's reason for leaving the state and heading to Rocky Top?

“A lot of it is about Coach Martin, just being the guy that he is, and recruiting me for so long,’’ Washpun said. “Iowa kind of came in at the last second.’’

So where does Fran McCaffery and his staff turn to now? Your guess is as good as mine.