 Marc MorehouseHi, I'm Marc Morehouse. I've covered sports for more than 15 years, mostly in Eastern Iowa. I've had Hayden Fry [...] |
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No. 22 — G Matt Tobin
Iowa's Matt Tobin (60) protects quarterback James Vandenberg (16, right) from Minnesota's Cameron Botticelli (46) in the third quarter of their game at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011, in Minneapolis. Iowa lost 21-22. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)
GUARD MATT TOBIN
Arrival: The 6-6, 290-pounder arrived in 2008 as a walk-on from Dyersville Beckman (Worthington). He was big, but raw. It didn’t take long for him to find the depth chart. After his redshirt freshman season in 2009, Tobin made his first appearance as a No. 2 left tackle.
That wasn’t going anywhere. Tobin was behind Bryan Bulaga and Riley Reiff also was starting to head in that direction. Yes, that wasn’t going anywhere. On the spring 2011 depth chart, Tobin was listed No. 2 left tackle behind Reiff, but Iowa had an opening at left guard. Redshirt freshman Brandon Scherff got a shot, but the job remained open until camp, when Tobin made his move.
Scherff suffered a concussion during camp and fell out of the competition. Sophomore Nolan MacMillan, who started six games as a redshirt frosh, missed camp recovering from a sports hernia. Tobin moved in and started 10 of 13 games at left guard in 2011.
“One thing about Matt, he’s worked hard since he got here,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He just wasn’t big enough or strong enough. He’s making the most of his opportunities; it’s great to see.”
Tobin earned a scholarship going into last season.
Takeoff 2012: One little tidbit about Tobin you might not know is he went toe-to-toe with all-American defensive end Adrian Clayborn during 2010 spring practice. This doesn’t mean much, anyone can fight, but it does take some heart to take on Clayborn, especially as a walk-on sophomore against a soon-to-be first-round draft pick.
Tobin held the spot until the Minnesota game, when Scherff nudged ahead for the next three starts. Tobin had his struggles, but did come on at the end of the season, particularly against Purdue and DT Kawann Short. After Purdue, Tobin had a solid spot in the lineup.
This spring, Tobin shared time with junior Conor Boffeli, who rotated in at both guard spots. Ferentz mentioned at the beginning of spring that Tobin might get a look at tackle. That didn’t happen, but he again should start at left guard for his senior season.
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We seemed to give up a LOT of pressure up through the middle last season – which gave JVB happy feet at times, especially on the road. I really hope that gets corrected this year or else it may not be pretty considering we’ll have a brand new RB committee and JVB still hasn’t proven he’s a road warrior yet.
I think that’s a fair observation. Iowa’s tackles were solid, except maybe Minnesota. The interior got better as the season went on, but definitely had struggles.
Will it be better this year? Should be, even with Blythe being a first-year.
I’d like to see Ferentz and Davis let the guy step up and prove he can BE a road warrior! I remember too many games where we had the ball with less than two minutes left in a tie game and KF had JVB run it out instead of trying to go for a win in regulation. The most egregious example was the Ohio State game in 2009. We lost in the OT, of course. JVB was clearly told by the coach that he was not trusted in that situation. Heck of a message to give a young QB, isn’t it?
That sort of thinking only aids the home team. James has shown he can run the no-huddle. How far do we have to fall behind before they will let him use it?
Unfortunately we did not find out in the MSU or Nebraska games last year, or at Iowa State, either. Road warrior, indeed. When will he ever get the chance?
There was a bad drop late against Iowa State that would’ve helped James’ case here.
Although I’m not necessarily one of those fans who think that O-linemen have to be THAT huge … one issue for the interior OL last year was that they were rather undersized (at least with Scherff out). Also, while I really liked Gettis and I think that he had a pretty darn good SR campaign, he also would have been A LOT better had he not gotten injured as much as he did as a junior. Lastly, Scherff’s injury during fall-camp threw the OL a little bit of a curve-ball … and having to integrate Tobin in at OG arguably slowed how quickly the unit gelled.
Now, as we look to ’12, Ferentz and Tobin will each be bigger/strong than before and they both each essentially have a season of starts under their belts. In addition, you have a veteran 4th year JR who has continued to positively develop in Boffeli. Boffeli will not be a guy who is lacking in strength … and he’s also smart to boot. He’ll definitely be firmly in the picture for playing time. We also have Blythe who is obviously recognized as a very promising “up-and-comer.” Heck, although he’s likely slated more to see reps at OT in practice … MacMillan could also be in the picture to play at OG too.