SB Nation - Josh Koeppel

INPIYL2I Presents the Big Ten Media Day News Rodeo

Hawkeye State — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:08:25 -0000

Football Theater, in a Marriott Conference Room. So much of the televised portion of Media Day is spent watching coaches dodge questions that they can't, or don't want to, answer, that you're genuinely surprised when you get actual news. Some are better than others; Jim Tressel is positively Clintonian in his ability to avoid making any news, while Tim Brewster accidentally confessed to the murder of Amelia Earhart.

The real news comes with beat writers in the hall (video of which can be watched here), where those involved actually know something about the team and aren't simply asking each coach the same "Isn't the SEC so awesome?" question. And yesterday was a veritable treasure trove of Hawkeye news:

* Suspended Reality: We finally got some answers on how long this summer's ne'er-do-wells will be missing. Kyle Calloway (Moped DUI) will miss one game. James Ferentz (Got hammered on a Sunday, acted a fool) will also miss one game. Shaun Prater (Non-moped DUI) will miss two. None of these are surprising in the least, though (and I hate to dwell on something so stupid) we're fortunate Galloway will be back when we go to Ames.

* Injury Loves Company: The good news? Jewel Hampton is apparently going to be at full speed when fall camp opens next week. Sure, there's questions of his long-term durability, but Ferentz made it clear that he wouldn't put a player on the practice field unless there was no significant risk of reinjury.

Not so good? Julian Vandervelde, who suffered an undisclosed bicep injury (I think we can assume it's a tear) is going to miss some time, likely 2-4 weeks of the season:

Monday, Ferentz said the 6-3, 305-pound junior won’t be ready for the start of camp and could miss Iowa’s first couple games...

"It’s probably not realistic to think he’ll be ready, but everybody heals differently," Ferentz said. "We’re going to go conservative on the comeback. We’re not going to risk two or three games for a season. It just isn’t smart and not fair to anybody."

The downside of this, of course, is that Vandervelde is unlikely to get any preseason practice time at center, where he was in contention for a starting spot. Should Dace Richardson (detailed in Morehouse's first video) be healthy and capable at left guard, Vandervelde should take the right guard spot upon his return. Which brings us to...

* Positional Royal Rumble: With Vandervelde on the shelf and James Ferentz missing week one, center is Rafael Eubanks' position to lose, right?

Center is also up for grabs with senior Rafael Eubanks and junior Josh Koeppel in contention.

"Raf has a huge experience advantage (over Koeppel), but they competed evenly in the spring," Ferentz said. "Raf Eubanks is a good football player and that tells me that Josh has really elevated his game very quietly. We might be on the verge of a good story there."

Freshman James Ferentz might also be in the mix at center, but he’ll serve a one-game suspension after two alcohol-related arrests last school year.

"We felt like we had a chance to have a good offensive line last year. Things were probably a little more clear at that point," Ferentz said. "I think the potential is certainly there this year for that group. We have eight, nine, 10 guys who have a legitimate chance to see playing time.

"We have good competition, we just have to see where it all settles."

I know everyone is asking about DJK (and let's face it, he'll be a starter by week 2), but what the hell did Rafael Eubanks do? He was an honorable mention all-conference center after his sophomore season and made the Remington Trophy watch list before last year. Now he's being pushed by Vandervelde (who has never played the position) and Koeppel (who is listed as a long snapper)?

Ferentz also said left cornerback is "wide open." Jordan Bernstine is the most logical choice for the spot: He's a junior, he was a heralded recruit, and he's got some experience in the position. Of course, that assumes he can stay healthy long enough to win the spot. Willie Lowe and the aforementioned Prater will be in close pursuit.

All Along the Water Tower. Painting the hospital water tower outside Kinnick with a tiger hawk or other Iowa logo has been a longtime pet project of people who care about things like "what is painted on a water tower." Good news for those people: The athletic director is one of you!

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta is on your side. He wants the giant, white water tower that looms over Kinnick Stadium all Hawkeye’d up.

He’d love to see a huge Tiger Hawk or something Hawkeye to add a little flair to the Kinnick area.

"If a petition gets signed, I’d join the fans," Barta said Monday at the Big Ten media days. "I’ve been a proponent of putting a logo on the water tower for some time. I’ve learned that it’s not that simple, that there are some groups in the community who don’t want a logo up there."

When Barta was hired at Iowa in 2006, a logo on the water tower was one of his first thoughts.

"If that ever gains momentum, I’ll jump on board," Barta said.

Gentlemen, start your petitions! Honestly, I've never understood this particular obsession. Sure, a tiger hawk on the water tower could be nice, but the amount of time and energy spent campaigning for this seems far in excess of the benefits of success. It's not as if people sitting in Kinnick Stadium or watching on television forget where the game is being played and need to look skyward to remind themselves.

You Can't Spell FAIL Without Matt Millen. Oh noes.

Matt Millen’s new man-crush? Kirk Ferentz.

"Iowa’s tough," the former Detroit Lions general manager and new ESPN analyst said Monday during Big Ten Media Days, where he was asked about the Hawkeyes’ prospects. "I think first of all, they have an excellent coach. Kirk is very good.

"Also, this program is one of the good ones out there … you know you’re going to get guys who know how to play, who are tough kids who practice hard, who understand fundamentals, who practice fundamentals. They play physically. All those things."

It's always a great sign when the man who was primarily responsible for the worst single season in the history of professional football loves your team. It's even worse when ESPN's new college analyst (he's doing both college and pro this season) measures college players based on their draftability.

Two-Deep Audits: Offense

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:30:05 -0000

The two-deeps used in these mid-conference audits are taken directly from The Gazette's Marc Morehouse, whose fine On Iowa blog is a fixture on our RSS readers.

IOWA OFFENSE

WR — DJK, Stross

Well, this is a good place to start. DJK's 2008 has been pretty meh, actually, and while it seems pretty obvious that Stross' legendary speed is gone and never coming back, he's turned into one hell of a possession receiver; his hands are probably the best on the team. DJK is physically capable of making plays that nobody else in the WR corps can make, but he hasn't put it all together for a dominant game since, like, Northwestern 2007. If there was an unsafe starting job on the offense at this point (Kuempel aside), this is it.

LT — Bulaga, Kuempel

Good jesus, Bryan Bulaga. The word on him in summer camp even as a true freshman was that he was a mean, nasty blocker. But nobody could have anticipated the total domination he has put on opposing defensive lines. He regularly plants defenders 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, and it is simply no exaggeration to say he deserves All-American consideration.

LG — Vandervelde/Eubanks, Gettis

What should have been the weak link of this line (I mean, did you see Vandervelde last year??) has been rock solid. Think--if the left guard position was getting abused even half as regularly as with last season, then it wouldn't matter one bit how good Bulaga is, running to the left would be an exercise in futility. But Vandervelde has improved substantially in his second season on the line, and the rotation with Eubanks is perfect for both players, as there's always a fresh pair of arms to throw at opposing DTs. I would not have guessed before the season that this setup would work--at all--but damned if it's not solid.

C — Bruggeman, Koeppel

I often wonder if losing Bruggeman with that ACL last season didn't hurt Iowa worse than anyone could have predicted. Remember, he was right in the mix for a starting spot before he blew that knee out, and by the time NIU rolled around in 2007, Travis Meade was starting. No disrespect to Travis, but, you know, he's not even on this two-deep even with a starting guard injured. Bruggeman has been solid, even if he's on that Beanie Baby tip and he fixes computers and stuff. Clearly no need to make a change here, especially since Josh Koeppel is the long snapper and Eubanks is audibly clearing his throat.

RG — Kuempel, Doering

Seth Olsen was ostensibly Iowa's best lineman coming into this season, even if nobody thinks so at this point. Still, he was hardly a weak link, ever, and you'd think his departure would hurt the line, but Andy Kuempel absolutely dominated in his absence against Wisconsin. Watch this video of Shonn Greene again, but this time, watch Kuempel's blocking at the RG spot.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but you'll notice all four touchdowns went Kuempel's way. He's very good at executing blocks at both the first and second levels, and if Olsen is unable to go, expect to see Kuempel making Brit Miller's life hell this Saturday. Olsen deserves this job when he's healthy, but the lack of dropoff is very encouraging.

RT — Calloway, Aeschliman

Speaking of improvements from Year 1 to Year 2, how about Kyle Calloway? Greene's last TD came on Calloway reach-blocking a corner all the way to the sideline before Greene even came into play. We get the notion that he's a lot happier not being the blindside blocker for the QB in this offense, unlike with the left-handed Christensen. Now he's usually got TE help (and Moeaki and Myers are both very capable blockers) and he's the point man on rollouts to the right, where Stanzi's most effective. Calloway's vast improvement has kept Aeschliman off the field, which is both A) very good (it means there's good blocking) and B) horrible (Aeschliman, at 6'8", 315, is comedically large and fun to watch).

White receivers celebrate like THIS...

TE — Myers, Reisner

Man, it sucks so much to not see "Moeaki" on this 2-deep. He's worked way too hard to be relegated to rehab for so much of his career at Iowa, and we hope he can make anything of his football career, either here or at some next level. Lord knows he's physically capable when he's healthy; hell, he's Iowa's most athletic tight end since Dallas Clark. Or Scott Slutzker. Or Fritz Fequiere. Luckily, Myers has been quite able, if unspectacular, in his replacement of Moeaki, both last year and this. Allen Reisner plays enough snaps to be a part of the offense, and you could legitimately make the case that Reisner is a better receiver than Myers. Both are among the top 5 TEs in the last 10 years for Iowa, though, and that bodes very well for the offense as a whole.

His hair's so... so soft!

QB — Stanzi, Christensen

This, I think, is safe. The Stanziballs are abating, but we'll need to see if for a sustained amount of time, especially with 4 games left, all of which (yes, even Purdue) can be won or lost by Iowa. Seriously, everything from 5-7 to 9-3 is in play. Anyway, you know how Iowa's offense runs, and it's the run setting up the pass. It was disastrous in 2006 and 2007, but it's happening now, and it's working. Stanzi's probably somewhere around the fourth best QB in the conference right now, depending on how you look at Juice Williams and Adam Weber, but he has certainly earned his starting spot. It's too bad for Christensen, because he suffered through an absolute sieve of an offensive line last year while his receiving corps collapsed in front of him. If Stanzi had to suffer through the 2007 offense while Christensen sat on the bench, then Christensen would be rocking this year while Stanzi sat on the bench with a nervous tic. Timing is everything.

WR — Brodell, Sandeman

Brodell has emerged as the real #1 of this offense, as he's been both a solid possession guy (especially on first down and off play action) and a good deep threat (most of Stanzi's shots downfield). Sandeman is much improved over last year, probably because of the 20 pounds of muscle he has put on, but he's not quite at a Big Ten level quite yet.

RB — Greene, Hampton

I think it's safe to say we're okay with this situation. VOTE GREENE PARTY 2008!

FB — Morse, Leppert

Look, it would be extremely stupid to blame the three straight losses on the fullback, but the fact of the matter is that the offense scored points with a lot more ease when Morse wasn't injured than when Leppert was filling in. Again, looking at Shonn Greene's rushing numbers, there's barely a difference in production--he kicks ass either way--but he seems to kick just a little more ass with Morse in there, who's even a more capable receiving target than Leppert. There's no sense in assigning bogeymen to Iowa's losses on the year, of course, but a healthy Brett Morse puts Iowa a whole lot closer to 8-4 or 9-3 on the season, and that's a realistic goal for a team like this.