The Hawkeyes come into the 'Shoe on Senior Day.
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Q: At Iowa, who's replacing Shonn Greene? Was last year the start of a run, or was it a one-season wonder for the program? What's the most important position battle to watch for this spring?
A: By Jon Miller from HawkeyeNation.com - The 2009 team enters the season with as few questions as any Ferentz team has since Iowa's 11-2 Big Ten Championship season in 2002.
Jewell Hampton will be Iowa's primary ballcarrier next year, but he will likely split time with freshman Jeff Brinson. Prior to the start of last year, not many would have predicted that Hampton would have been the freshman to play, but he won out over Brinson and some others, so Brinson redshirted. Hampton averaged well over 5 yards per carry last year and found the endzone quite a bit when you consider how many times Shonn Greene scored. I am of the opinion that Hampton could have gained over 1200 yards last year, if he would have had the touches. Iowa's offensive line might not be as excellent as this year's was, which was Ferentz's second best offensive line in my opinion, but next year's crew is going to be in the discussion of Ferentz's best when all is said and done. During the Ferentz era, Iowa has had two backs splitting reps more often than not, with Fred Russell and Shonn Greene being the lone 'featured' backs. Even in 2002, which was Iowa's best year under Ferentz and the best line in school history, Russell had over 1300 yards, but Jermelle Lewis had nearly 900. I think that is what Iowa likes to do.
Cont'd ...
Jeff Brinson just got a lot more PT.
Linebacker Coleman leaving Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa linebacker Jacody Coleman is leaving the program and another player is recovering from surgery.
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz announced the status of the players in a news release on Monday.
He says Coleman, who had 28 tackles as a sophomore last season, decided to transfer for personal reasons. He had a total of 52 tackles in his two years at Iowa.
Ferentz also says that junior offensive guard Julian Vandervelde has undergone surgery that could limit his playing time early in the season.
Vandervelde started in nine games last season as a sophomore.
The news release did not specify the nature of Vandervelde's injury.
Iowa loses starting CB Bernstine for season
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa's vaunted defense will be a bit thinner this season with the loss of projected starting cornerback Jordan Bernstine, who will sit out 2009 because of an ankle injury.
Bernstine, a junior, suffered the injury in practice, coach Kirk Ferentz said Thursday. Bernstine was expected to start in place of Bradley Fletcher, who was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams.
Bernstine, a native of Des Moines, had 12 tackles and an interception in seven games as a reserve in 2008. Perhaps the only good news for Bernstine is that he has yet to use a redshirt season, meaning he'll likely still have two seasons of eligibility.
"We all feel badly for Jordan -- he has worked very hard and was doing well," Ferentz said in a statement. "That said, I am confident he will bounce back from this very disappointing injury."
Iowa will now turn to sophomores Shaun Prater and William Lowe or redshirt freshman Greg Castillo to fill the vacant starting spot at cornerback.
Cont'd ...
Big Ten Countdown - No. 6, Iowa
By Tony Gerdeman
Predicted Finish
8-4 (4-4)
Two-Cent Overview
The Hawkeyes enter 2009 with a returning starter at quarterback, but have to replace the Doak Walker Award winner from the year before. There are a few viable options at receiver and tight end, but health and attitude remain concerns. The offensive line returns arguably the top two tackles in the conference and there are several choices to pick from for the interior. The defense only replaces two tackles and a cornerback, so things look very promising on this side of the ball.
Schedule
Sep.05 Northern Iowa (W)
Sep.12 at Iowa State (W)
Sep.19 Arizona (W)
Sep.26 at Penn State (L)
Oct.03 Arkansas State (W)
Oct.10 Michigan (W)
Oct.17 at Wisconsin (L)
Oct.24 at Michigan State (L)
Oct.31 Indiana (W)
Nov.07 Northwestern (W)
Nov.14 at Ohio State (L)
Nov.21 Minnesota (W)
Goal
A Big Ten Championship. There is enough talent here to compete for the conference championship, but when you have Iowa?s roster, you can?t have ?compete? as a goal. ?Competing? is what Michigan is hoping for.
Team Motto
?The University of Iowa, where average just barely isn?t good enough!?
Cont'd ...$
BB73;1517559; said:Tony Gerdeman picks them in the middle of the pack, due to the tough conference road schedule.
...The defense only replaces two tackles...
Ozone
That sucks. We can't have Iowa losing at home to Arizona in a few weeks.BB73;1527173; said:Per Adam Rittenberg on College Football Live, Ferentz has said that RB Jewel Hampton is out for the year.
That leaves them very little experience at RB.