 Mike HlasHi, I'm Gazette/TheGazette.com sports columnist Mike Hlas. This is the Hlog. We will meet here, discuss things, and then go [...] |
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Hey Iowa football fans: Going with an unproven quarterback isn’t the concern it once was
OK, only seven of the top 100 college quarterbacks this season are freshmen, but ...
Though it doesn’t have total relevance to this topic, we’re seeing a lot more playing time for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. This year you had the can’t-miss duo in Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. But we’ve also seen extensive playing time from Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson and Brandon Weeden, and now Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins.
Iowa is going to break in a new QB next season, be it a freshman or a junior college transfer. We’re not used to seeing freshmen quarterback the Hawkeyes, but if it is one (C.J. Beathard is a candidate, there is all sorts of recent precedent for rookies who have done well at the position.
Cody Sokol: Junior-to-be Iowa QB
You really need look no further than red-shirt freshman Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, the Heisman Trophy winner.
Ohio State’s Braxton Miller made a nice splash as a frosh last year. Nebraska junior Taylor Martinez, who had a fine season this year, threw 196 passes as a freshman in 2010.
Freshmen J.W. Walsh of Oklahoma State and Marcus Mariota of Oregon are fifth and sixth, respectively, in FBS passing efficiency. Mariota has thrown 30 touchdown passes and just six interceptions.
UCLA has gotten terrific quarterback play this season from freshman Brett Hundley (26 TDs, 11 interceptions).
But now that I look at the top 100 in passing efficiency, I see only seven freshman.
Well, maybe Iowa will go with the juco transfer, Cody Sokol. Or maybe third-year sophomore Jake Rudock will be the guy. He hasn’t taken a Division I snap, either.
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Because not many first year QB’s can be worse than what we just went through with a 5th year senior QB? I guess there is always a possibility whoever it is, is far-sighted and struggles learning/making the three, one yard throws that are found in the chapter on forward passing found in the Greg Davis playbook.
Hey Greg Davis even said that we had a lack of speed for his offense. All we have to do is have way WAY more talent than everyone else and we can run his offense with some success. Too bad we have the 11th best talent in a 12 team league next year.
Well at least we have a top 50 (49…and dropping) recruiting class this year behind such powerhouses as BYU, Maryland, and Utah…….agh…nevermind.
Well at least we have a coach that is paid in the top five!! He really gets out there with the fans …….and…….. oh wait he holes up in his plush offices and could care less about any of us “lower life forms” that he refuses to mix with.
Mike thanks for trying to give us hope. But if we have a QB anywhere close to those you mentioned, they should have been playing this last season. But maybe we do have a “gamer” who just wasn’t given a chance. And maybe the intent was just to avoid a QB controversy.
All the freshmen QB’s mentioned are surrounded by great talent and this won’t be the case for an Iowa freshmen QB.
Yeah Mike, I guess if you can get such ineffective play from a fifth year senior the yin to that yang would be getting outstanding play from a freshman. This Hawkeye fan is convinced that whoever takes the snaps will be playing in a program that has basic team culture problems and is unlikely to improve on this years dismal showing. Don’t know what they are or what underpins the situation, mainly because you have a staff that is far less than forthcoming about the program’s overall condition. We’ll see how many verbal commitments fall by the wayside and who else bails out before, or just after, spring training. As always, I hope I’m dead wrong.
It’s just too bad that there weren’t any opportunities for Rudock to see any snaps this year – even if it was just to hand off the ball or throw a short pass or two…….
Mike,
The majority of Iowa fans understood what you pointed out in this article. The problem is there is one man who doesnt share what appears to be a pretty obvious point of view.
Your article you should be re-titled to “Hey Kirk Ferentz”
I’m kind of pulling for Sokol and the reason is because he has had experience even though it was at the JC level. I’m sure someone will complain about what I said but its my opinion / comment.
Every Hawkeye fan should be excited with a first year QB. Every good year under Ferentz has been with a 1st year or 1st full year QB. I have long believed this staff coaches them out of being good. Stanzi, VDB, Tate all showed great promise because they were still “raw” and making plays that this staff would consider wreckless. The longer they stayed in the program the worse they got; their completion %s would increase, their turnovers would decrease, but so would their Wins. Take a chance Ferentz.
can anybody tell me why we didn’t offer JUCO national champion QB jake waters a scholarship?
2nd question; why did we have 6 kickers on scholarship this season?