SB Nation - Jeff Tarpinian

All-Big Ten Awards Announced, Swept Once Again By Toto

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Northwestern won 17-10. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Good news, everyone!* The Big Ten announced its picks for the all-conference teams. Naturally, the offensive and defensive player of the year are both Terrelle Pryor. Okay, not true; he's not even honorable mention.

But there's plenty of actual good news. First, the devil media named Kirk Ferentz coach of the year, and here he is reminding them that they can go suck it and he hasn't forgiven them for the slights of the regular season.

Such language, Kirk!

As for the players, here's the link to the voting results. The media named Bryan Bulaga to the first team on offense, while the second team featured four of his friends from the line: Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway, and Tony Moeaki.

On defense, the first team had a little more Iowa representation; Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash all received their no-brainer merits. On the second team, Brett Greenwood and Amari Spievey. Iowa put eight players on the media's honorable mention team: Ryan Donahue, Broderick Binns, A.J. Edds, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Karl Klug, Daniel Murray, Adam Robinson, and Ricky Stanzi.

Not surprisingly, the coaches had a slightly higher opinion of the Hawkeyes; here's the link to their voting results. Bryan Bulaga was named their offensive lineman of the year(!!!), an award the media doesn't give out. Bulaga is joined on the first team by Moeaki and Richardson, both of which are worthy selections. Calloway and Eubanks didn't make the second team--not sure why on Calloway--but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos snuck in on a three-player tie for second-team WR.

On defense, the coaches agreed with the media in putting Sash, Clayborn, and Angerer on the first team roster. They also added Amari Spievey; as coaches, they're more likely to know that the reason Spievey didn't have a ton of picks wasn't that he's not good at football, but that there's just no hope in throwing at him; Spievey was a machine this season, and we're starting to lose hope that he's got more than one game left in an Iowa uniform. A.J. Edds is the lone Hawkeye on the defensive second team.

For honorable mention, it's as follows:Christian Ballard, Kyle Calloway, Ryan Donahue, Brent Greenwood, Karl Klug, and Adam Robinson.

Full All-BXI teams and a few thoughts are after the break.

MEDIA

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	JOHN CLAY, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Tandon Doss, Indiana	Blair White, Michigan State
WR	Keith Smith, Purdue	Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
G	Justin Boren, Ohio State	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Dace Richardson, Iowa
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Kyle Calloway, Iowa
T	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin	Dennis Landolt, Penn State
TE	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin	Tony Moeaki, Iowa
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan State	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Jared Odrick, Penn State
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	GREG JONES, Michigan State	Josh Hull, Penn State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Brent Greenwood, Iowa
DB	Donovan Warren, Michigan	Amari Spievey, Iowa
DB	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern	Brad Phillips, Northwestern
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

COACHES

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	John Clay, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Eric Decker, Minnesota	Tandon Doss, Indiana*
WR	Blair White, Michigan State	Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa* Keith Smith, Purdue*
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa* Joel Nitchman, Michigan State*
G	Dace Richardson, Iowa	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Justin Boren, Ohio State
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Rodger Saffold, Indiana
T	Dennis Landolt, Penn State	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
TE	Tony Moeaki, Iowa	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Jared Odrick, Penn State	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa Linebacker	A.J. Edds, Iowa
LB	Greg Jones, Michigan State	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Donovan Warren, Michigan*
DB	Amari Spievey, Iowa	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern*
DB	Brad Phillips, Northwestern	Brandon King, Purdue*
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue* Jay Valai, Wisconsin*
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Okay. While we're quite happy that Bulaga got such high accolades for the season, we can't be alone in thinking that he was hardly the best lineman in Iowa City, much less the Big Ten. He was either on the sidelines or out of sorts for the majority of the season, and we still haven't seen the elephant-tusk-covered road grader from last season on display. He totally would have deserved a preseason OL of the year, but his performance over 2009 didn't merit such superlatives.

This is hardly a new development from these postseason lists, however; generally, the lists are crafted off of the preseason lists, and anybody whose knee blew out with more than four games left was excised and replaced by someone else. After all, Bulaga was only a second-team All-BXI player last season, even though he was by far the best lineman on the team in 2008. Seth Olsen, meanwhile, had the good fortune to be a first-teamer to start the year, so he was on the first team after 2008, despite a relatively blah senior campaign; we'd have put him about fourth on the list of Iowa linemen for 2009, behind the two bookends at tackle and Rob Bruggeman at center.

Essentially, Bulaga won the award in 2009 for his play in 2008.

At the end of the day, this comes down to stats; there aren't any for linemen, despite the ill-fated attempt to get the "pancake" introduced about a decade ago (for this, we blame Orlando Pace). It's assumed that linemen are sure things, and that as long as they stay healthy, the narrative has stayed true. After all, without stats, most scribes have no time (or no idea) how to watch linemen individually.

Frankly, though it's a subjective stat, we'd love to see how linemen grade out per play (remember that Blake Larsen famously graded at 100% during his senior season at Atlantic; lord, had those knees survived...) Without having the means to undertake such an activity ourselves, we'd imagine that if you graded each Iowa offensive lineman, Kyle Calloway or Dace Richardson would probably be at the top.

If they're not, which is possible, then it would probably be the guy who didn't even get an honorable mention: Riley Reiff. He was stout in relief of Bulaga--hell, we're pretty sure O'Brien Schofield would not have batted Reiff around like a catnip mouse, unlike some Iowa linemen--and he basically forced his way into the starting lineup even before Big Dace went down. But since he wasn't even a projected starter, to say nothing of a preseason honoree, Reiff didn't have much of a chance for postseason mention. Shame, really; dude is legit, and he hasn't even filled out his frame yet.

As for the skill players, it's a little disappointing that Stanzi only made one honorable mention team. But we get how that can happen. Spievey only making second team in the media is flatly ridiculous. If he'd put together that same season in an Ohio State uniform, he'd be getting All-American talk.

Other than that, we don't have a ton of beef; Stanzi killed himself by leading the conference in interceptions when he went down to injury, and the rest of the offensive skill players were far too inconsistent or hurt to merit much consideration. Jeremiha Hunter not getting any honorable mention love is a little disconcerting, but the BXI was lo-ho-hoaded at linebacker this season; we're not quite sure whom we'd place him above. He'll get some love in 2010 if he stays healthy. Also--given the play of Jeff Tarpinian in relief--if Hunter stays healthy between now and next September, there's no position battle at weakside backer next season, right?

So, all in all, a fair list, even if the voting on offensive linemen is basically a year behind schedule. It's a year behind for everyone else, after all. Anybody else that you folks think got shafted? Did Marvin McNutt deserve a nod, or is he still a year away from recognition?

*/Farnsworth'd

Assume the Position 2009: Linebacker

Hawkeye State — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:48:00 -0000

It's about that time again. For the next three months, BHGP will be previewing this year's Iowa Hawkeyes, position-by-position. Naturally, as the earth revolves around the sun, things will change. Therefore, we're starting with the position where we are most certain, and ending with the position of which we are least certain. To date:

1. Quarterback
2. Offensive Tackle
3. Safety

Tonight: Linebacker

Pat Angerer employs the rarely-used Scorpion Spear "Get Over Here" technique

The three positions covered so far were all quite different than linebacker. Quarterback, the tackles, and the safeties are manned by returning starters with no serious competition from below. While all three starting linebackers return from last year, two have legitimate, somewhat-proven players beneath them (it was three, of course, before this happened). We even have our first serious position battle to discuss. While those other positions have entrenched starters, they do not have nearly the depth of the linebacking corps. What I'm saying is, we have a lot to discuss.

The Starters

MLB: Pat Angerer (#43, 6'1", 235, Senior) - When it's finally written, The Epic Saga of Pat Angerer will be positively Dickensian: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. It's fairly safe to say that no player on the current Hawkeyes has faced more adversity over the course of his time in Iowa City, and it's painfully obvious that nobody has overcome adversity more effectively.

It was virtually unreported at the time, but Angerer was THISCLOSE to quitting football and leaving Iowa after the 2007 season. He had just faced a neverending string of injuries, illnesses, and bad luck. He moved from the weakside to the middle, then sat on the sideline and fought mono while Jacody Coleman, a true freshman, fought for playing time with Mike Klinkenborg. Any reasonable human would have looked at the depth chart, seen that they were stuck behind a younger player, cut their losses, and went home.

Pat Angerer, it turns out, is not a reasonable human being.

Despite recording just one tackle in his sophomore season (and that being on special teams), Angerer chipped away at Coleman's lead during the spring. Even though he was still officially listed as the backup, Angerer started the spring game and did not go unnoticed. By week 2 of the regular season, he was the starter and never let up. He finished with 107 tackles, 6 TFLs, 1 sack, and 5 interceptions. Angerer is even more important this season, without Kroul and Unusual Punishment anchoring the middle of the line. I would expect a slight uptick solely for that fact, and another all-Big Ten campaign for arguably the best middle linebacker in the conference. Not bad for a guy who just about gave it up.

OLB: A.J. Edds (#49, 6'4", 245, Senior) - Something funny happened in 2008 to the best coverage linebacker in Iowa history: Everybody avoided him. His tackle totals fell 25%, from 80 to 59, while his other statistics remained steady (though he did record the first two sacks of his career). In a list of possible reasons for this slight downtick in production (better play from the front four against the run; opposing offenses focusing on attacking the safeties rather than the linebackers; Angerer sucking the wind out of the room), any actual diminution in effort or ability should be at the very end. The fact is that - especially early - teams avoided Edds like the plague, and for good reason. He is the only linebacker on the team (and the most effective I saw in the conference last season) who can successfully cover most slot receivers in man-to-man (not that it's really necessary in Iowa's defense, but it's there nonetheless) and still shirk blocks from tight ends like they weren't there. A linebacker with Edds' size, agility, and technique should be playing on Sundays. If his production returns to 2007 levels, he just might.

The Steel Cage Match

WLB: Jeremiha Hunter (#42, 6'2", 235, Junior) and Jeff Tarpinian (#33, 6'3", 235, Junior) - One year later, it's the same position battle, only in reverse. Tarpinian, a former high school option quarterback who added about 50 pounds (mostly in hair), entered last fall as the prohibitive favorite to start on the weakside. He then suffered a hamstring injury in August camp and didn't see the field until Northwestern in week 5. By that point, Hunter had established himself as the starter, and the competition was effectively over.

Jeremiha Hunter, a highly-sought recruit from Pennsylvania when he graduated high school in 2006, finished the campaign second on the team in tackles (80), including 5 tackles for loss, and threw in an interception and fumble recovery for good measure. He showed good instincts for a first-time starter (effectively a first-time weakside linebacker; Hunter entered the year with only 10 tackles, all on special teams or as Edds' backup at OLB), and improved as the season progressed. If it weren't for Angerer's miracle season, Hunter would have gotten a lot more publicity.

Instead, he gets to fight for his place on the team. The oft-injured Jeff Tarpinian is back to 100% and is probably sick of playing special teams. Tarp recorded only 17 tackles last year, mostly in garbage time or on kick/punt return defense. If he doesn't win the WLB spot, he might be the prime candidate for a move to middle linebacker, especially given the fact that Angerer is a senior and Hunter will block Tarpinian from the top line unti the day he graduates. He has the love of the coaching staff, who routinely talk up his ability and heart. If they can find him a place to play - a big if - they won't think twice about using him.

Should See the Field

Tyler Nielsen (#45, 6'4", 232, Sophomore) - Nielsen won the job backing up A.J. Edds as a redshirt freshman; given his size and agility, he'll be the heir apparent to the OLB crown, and should be ready to take the throne in 2010. Nielsen spent last year primarily on special teams, recording 12 tackles and impressing the masses at times. There's no denying his ability; one more year of seasoning and we should have a peaceful transition on the strong side.

Troy Johnson (#48, 6'2", 235, Junior) - On the other hand we have Johnson, a redshirt junior without a home. He's technically the co-second string OLB, but has almost certainly been left behind Nielsen's steady rise. He has the build to play in the middle, but he might not have the staff support to supplant Tarpinian, should he make the move over. It's not to say he's a bad linebacker; that pass breakup against Iowa State was crucial, and there were some flashes of brilliance in his limited playing time last year. It's just that he's a victim of depth, the sixth wheel on a depth chart that really only needs five. We nicknamed him Montressor last year; looks like he's still in the wine cellar.

Bruce Davis (#57, 5'11", 230, Sophomore) - You may remember Bruce as the guy who recovered the squib kick to seal the PSU win. Much like Warren Holloway, he's now had his moment.