It was wet, cold and blustery; hardly what you'd hope for from spring ball, but approximately 8,000 Iowa Hawkeye fans got the only look at their team that they're going to get for four months.
I did not attend the practice. In effect, this article does not contain my first-hand observations. Rather, it is something of a nexus of a number of different sources that I have come to trust, in varying degrees, through years of trolling around the Internet.
Those sources include:
- thebigtennetwork.com
- hawkeyenation.com
- hawkeyeinsider.com
- Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids Gazette
- Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette
- specific posters on the hawkeyeinsider.com message boards
- and specific posters on the hawkeyenation.com message boards
- various interviews with Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa coaches
- bits and pieces picked up around the Internet
- the world famous Hawkeye blog, Blackheartgoldpants.com
The star of the open spring practice was unquestionably true junior wide receiver Keenan Davis. Davis made three circus catches on Saturday, at least two of which would have made ESPN Gameday if they had been made during the season.
They are available for viewing on the Big Ten Network's website, and they reminded me of Michigan's Braylon Edwards in 2004. During that season, Edwards was without question the conference's best receiver, and he was playing with a true freshman quarterback in Chad Henne.
Henne tended to lean on Edwards and throw it to him even when Edwards was blanketed. This occasionally got Henne in trouble. However, Edwards often bailed Henne out with his amazing play.
I'm not quite ready to say that Davis is another Edwards. However, a couple of those catches were ill-advised throws, and Davis went up and made the play for his quarterback.
Also keep in mind that on those plays, Davis was blanketed by Shaun Prater, who, along with Wisconsin's Antonio Fenelus, Nebraska's Alfonzo Dennard and Penn State's D'Anton Lynn, is the best returning cornerback in the conference.
Obviously, this was only one practice, but if this is any indication of what we can expect from Davis in 2011, then opposing defenses had better be on their toes.
In other receiver news, Steven Staggs is one of the biggest surprises of the spring. He is a 6'3", fourth-year junior walk-on out of Oskaloosa. As a walk-on receiver, it is highly unlikely that he has the speed to burn teams deep.
However, that doesn't mean he can't get off the line, run routes and get open. Ferentz has specifically praised Staggs, and word is he will be in the mix for playing time.
Finally, despite all the talk about Don Shumpert and Kevonte Martin-Manley—including talk by yours truly—they are still very raw, as can be expected from underclassmen. They will need to do a lot of work before they see the field.
On the other hand, tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz is ready for some playing time. He still has to work on his blocking, but he is already a weapon in the passing game.
As for the quarterbacks, James Vandenberg is both clearly the No. 1 and clearly has to clean up some elements of his game.
He threw two picks on the day. One was off the hands of his receiver, and one was a bad throw right into traffic. Nonetheless, it is palpable how much effort he has put in this offseason, particularly where it concerns his footwork.
Behind him, possibly the biggest surprise of the day was redshirt freshman A.J. Derby. Ferentz has been saying Derby and fourth-year junior John Wienke are even, which I have been interpreting as diplomatic Ferentz-speak.
Yet, on Saturday, Derby held his own, and while he got less reps than Wienke, he looked every bit as polished. It will be interesting to see how the No. 2 quarterback position shakes out in August.
As for the running backs, not surprisingly, Marcus Coker didn't do much. Jason White was the No. 2 and he was solid. The No. 3 was De'Andre Johnson, and though he's got a way to go with his blocking, he looked the part of a shifty Freddy Russell-type scat back.
Perhaps the best news of the day was that fullback Brad Rogers has gotten some positive results back from his heart tests, and the coaches hope he will be fully cleared within a month.
That said, Jonathan Gimm, despite looking odd as a fullback wearing No. 92, has made substantial strides and looked solid running with the first string.
I've heard different takes on the play of the offensive line. Hlas reports that they played extremely well. I've also heard some say they were a bit disappointing. Ferentz himself says that he hoped they would be further along in blitz pickup.
Redshirt freshman Brandon Scherff has established himself as the fifth O-lineman. When Nolan MacMillan gets fully healthy, he and Scherff will compete for the last starting spot.
Finally, Ferentz has repeatedly praised the play of fifth-year senior Adam Gettis, who would have started last season, but lost a lot of time trying to get healthy.
On the defensive side of the ball, outside of Mike Daniels, there don't appear to be any dominant linemen. Consequently, Ferentz said that he expects the 2011 line to be "by committee."
Amongst the committee members will be seniors Lebron Daniel, Broderick Binns and Thomas Nardo; junior Steve Bigach, who missed spring ball with injuries, sophomore Dominic Alvis and redshirt freshman Carl Davis.
Needless to say, this group has a great deal of work to do, but they'll be ready by September, as they have always been throughout Ferentz's tenure.
At the linebacker position, James Morris and Tyler Nielsen will be starters. On the other hand, the third backer position will be one of the most interesting position battles on the team.
Right now, sophomores Christian Kirksey and Anthony Hitchens are splitting time. When third-year sophomore Shane DiBona gets healthy, he will also throw his hat in the mix. Finally, when senior Bruce Davis is 100 percent back from his ACL tear of last year, they might try to get both Morris and Davis on the field at the same time.
In the backfield, Shaun Prater is poised for a big year at his cornerback position. Also, Micah Hyde has successfully made the switch from corner to free safety, and I do not expect him to switch back.
As for the other cornerback position, senior Jordan Bernstine, junior Greg Castillo and sophomore B.J. Lowery are all in the mix. I've been hearing very good things about Lowery, and personally, I think he will get it.
At the strong safety position, the two primary candidates are junior walk-on Colin Sleeper and the aforementioned Bernstine. This is a position that might get juggled back and forth through the out-of-conference portion of the schedule ala Pat Angerer/Jacody Coleman and Ricky Stanzi/Jake Christensen in 2008. If it does, hopefully it turns out just as well.
Finally, on special teams, despite heavy competition for the starting place kicker position, according to Ferentz, Mike Meyer is "still the starter right now."
Also, though Australian wonderkind Jonny Mullings has the strongest leg on the team, word is it takes him forever to get a punt off. Meanwhile, senior Eric Guthrie has had a strong spring, and has taken the definitive lead in that position battle.
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