Meet Us At Kinnick

Ah yes who doesn’t love a good rumor. So what’s the current word on the Hawkeyes?

1.) Nate Guillory has been looking like a 4th string or lower RB apparently. And, there is even talk that his scholorship has been revoked after this semester. Nothing is official yet! But, there is reports he has already quit and will leave school Wednesday.

2.) Brinson may move to fullback. Apparently he can block real well, and can put on weight easily.

3.) Jewel Hampton has been impressing everyone with his shiftiness and ability to pick-up the system easily. He will see some carries this season and challenge Paki for the #2 RB spot down the road.

4.) The Christensen/Stanzi battle is a LOT closer than you may think. Message boards were buzzing when the 2 deeps came out with Stanzi as a co-starter. Most people played it off because Ferentz loves to keep us under the radar. Sources inside the team have leaked that Stanzi may get the start, and Jake hasn’t been able to stay consistent.

4 Star In-state recruit Brandon Wegher will announce his college decision this Saturday.

Ok, so time for the worst news you could want to hear around this time of the year, injuries. It could be a lot worse, in fact it’s really not that bad at all. Basically here is who wasn’t in pads sartuday: Christian Ballard, Jeff Brinson, Andy Brodell, Greg Castillo,Drew Gardner, Cody Hundertmark, Tony Moeaki, Diauntae Morrow, Trey Stross, and Jeff Tarpinian. Bulaga was in pads but didn’t scrimmage, he’s suffering from a bruised bone. Bernstine was in pads, but his hamstring was acting up so he sat out too.

Most the guys should be back this week nothing seems too serouse, Ballard and Brodell are already back. Dan Doering might miss 6-8 weeks after surgery for a broken wrist. Supposenly it was broke for the past week, and he just had pins placed in it yesterday. Stross’s hamstring injury has placed him as questionable for the Maine game.

Ah, all saturday’s open scrimmage really did for me was make me even more antsy for the season to start. Anyway, some quick notables from the weekened:

1.) BTN will air Iowa’s open practice on Tuesday at 8 P.M. Central.
3.) Coleman came on as the starting MLB.
2.) Shonn Greene IS the starting RB.
3.) Jake played only alright.
4.) Stanzi looked about the same, they both seem to have some problems.
5.) A lot of expected starters sat out because of injuries including Ballard, Brodell, and Bulaga.
6.) I’m getting a little nuts with posting every YouTube video I come across.

I was thinking the other day about how unlucky we have been with Moeaki and Stross already hurt before the season starts. Everybody and their brother-in-law was expecting good things out of them this season. Regardless, were not the only team that has guys getting hurt, and it be selfish to think we are the most ravished by injuries. And, No this is not a good thing. I’d rather beat an opponent at full strength than not. Obviously at this time it’s pretty hard to find out about other teams injuries because no one wants to let their opponents know a kid isn’t practicing. That being said this probably isn’t entirely accurate, but should give us a glimpse of what is going on. Anyway, some notables concerning our schedule:

Illinois – DT Sirod Williams is out for the year with a knee injury, LT Xavier Fulton went down in practice the other day but is expected to be fine, and WR Jeff Cumberland has been experiencing a sore foot (the same one he had a stress fracture in last year).

Pitt – DE Doug Fulmer is out for the year with torn knee ligaments, WR Cameron Saddler is out for the year with a knee injury (Saddler is the 2nd WR done for this year, Maurice Williams was declared academically ineligible).

Penn State- LB Sean Lee is done for the year with a torn ACL, DT’s Chris Baker and Phil Taylor were booted from the team in late July for problems with the law.

Wisconsin – CB Aaron Henry will have knee surgery will miss 2-4 weeks might take medical redshirt instead. Several players have been not practicing without information being released concerning specific injuries, among them: DT Dan Cascone was on crutches and wearing a boot on his right foot, DE Kirk DeCremer (back), RB John Clay (ankle), QB Allan Evridge (hamstring), CB Aaron Henry (knee), TE Mickey Turner (shoulder), LB Kevin Rouse (unspecified), DL Tyler Westphal (unspecified) and CB Otis Merrill (unspecified). TE Travis Beckum has been experiencing tightness in his lower body and hasn’t been in full pads. RB Lance Smith is suspended for a situation involving battery and disorderly conduct charges.

Northwestern – RB Drake Dunsmore is done for the year with an ACL injury and Sutton has been battling a foot injury but is supposedly at full strength now,

This about wraps up everything I could find. It seems that either Wisconsin is running their players through a meat grinder, their extremely unlucky, or everybody else is just keeping injury reports very quiet. Anyway, I’ll update this list accordingly to keep tabs on everything, but I hope these guys work things out and come out health and on top.

Just had to include it…

For the most part our players who we anticipate to have a good year are currently unknowns in the college football world. No, not just because were only Iowa. On this team there just seems to be a lot of high expectations for a lot guys who are barely known as of now.

1. Amari Spievey - Soon to be a household name for at least all Hawkeye fans. Came to Iowa in 2006 as Connecticut’s high-school player of the year and redshirted. Transferred to Iowa Central Community College in 2007 for academic problems. While there, Amari earned All-American honors while recording 7INTs bringing back 2 for TDs, scored 2TDs off of kick returns, and recorded 4 blocked punts. Talk about bringing some athleticism to Iowa. Amari is a complete athlete, he can defend the run pretty well, and when he drops back in pass coverage he sticks to receivers like flies on shit. All reports from camp claim the coaches are extremely impressed with him. If Amari can stay healthy there is no doubt he will be a pleasant surprise this season.

2. Jeff Brinson - 2008 recruit from St. Petersburg, Florida, 1st team all state as a senior. Committed to Iowa in late December last year, it’s a miracle he managed to slip outa staying at an in-state college. Brinson definitely could wind up being one of those studs who just slipped threw recruiting. He had offers from Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan State early. By the time Florida coaches caught wind of him, it was too late for his liking. Even an offer from the Gators couldn’t keep this kid in Florida. Brinson is 5′11”, weighs 215, and sports a 4.5 sec 40 time. He was also named on Rivals.com’s list of top under the radar recruits.

3. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos - Saw significant playing time last year due to injuries in our WR core, DJK impressed everyone. I’ll be the first to admit he looked raw, and well like a redshirt freshman. That coupled with the o-line problems, and Jake’s inconsistency didn’t allow DJK to have a break-out year. Despite this, his explosiveness was apparent. And no not just that had that amazing one handed TD grab at Wisconsin that I can’t find on YouTube because I think it’s been removed. He’s got a great skill-set that just needs to be tuned, and Coach Soup is just the man to do it. DJK’s explosiveness and ability to find the ball will propel him into becoming an excellent player in time to come.

Iowa held its’ first scrimmage inside Kinnick stadium tuesday morning. There was a lot of interesting names mentioned in the offensive report. I was the most excited when I read Paul Chaney Jr. had a “remarkable” touchdown catch during a two minute drill. Every time I picture little 5′9” Paul Chaney blazing past everybody, I chuckle inside. I’d also like to imagine he would would yell a high pitched “EEEEEEE!” noise while he does this.

Allen Reisner also had a diving touchdown grab. Which is good to hear because most likely will see him get some playing time with Moeaki out. O’Keefe made some positive comments on Sandeman, Brodell, and DJK. O’Keefe describe Sandeman as a great competitor and said he had looked good the last four practices, giving DJK some competition. Ken also claimed Brodell had been acting like a senior leader, and catching balls that came to him. (For those who haven’t noticed before, Andy seems to have a huge case of the stone-hands when it comes to catching footballs so this is great news)

Greene is back to full workouts after not being able to put a helmet on due to a scalp infection. He even scored two touchdowns in today’s scrimmage. Even the younger guys at running back have been getting their chances. Coach Erb has Brinson and Hampton have been getting their fair share of touches during scrimmage, along with walk-on Adam Robinson. But, as it stands now Paki O’Meara and Jayme Murphy seem to be carrying the load.

O’Keefe also commented on Jake’s progress claiming he had started off slow, but has been very good and very consistent the past couple days. And, that consistency has been Jake’s main problem in the past. Overall, it seems like there is some positive vibes concerning Iowa’s offense. The second best thing I came across was O’Keefe mentioned that he was extremely surprised with the tempo and work ethic of the group. He claimed their a lot more physical than normal at this stage. All I have to say is….THANK GOD. If I had to go through another year where defenses like Purdue’s and Western Michigan’s push our offense around i’ll wind up shooting myself.

Here’s the deal I’m going to post all pictures I can find that “flame” another school. Of course the post will be huge and won’t be displayed here. Click the “more” link to continue viewing. I will post anything you send to me and update this post. Mail them to me at meetmeatkinnick@gmail.com.Or just comment with a link. Have fun and don’t bother to send me something too crude. (Of course none of these are my own, so if you are the author, let me know and i’ll give you credit)

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Word out on the street is Moeaki and Stross are hurt. BHGP has the story here.

If for some godforsaken reason you would be limited to one game of college football to watch a week, I have compiled a list of interesting games. I tried to diversify the list, so don’t get pissed that the best SEC game of the week isn’t number one for each week. I was looking for what game should turn out to be the most interesting, given the circumstances. Here is what it should be:

Week 8: Missouri @ Texas -Chase Daniel and Colt McCoy lead two of the Big 12’s best offenses into this matchup. Texas really hasn’t been in the limelight since Vince Young has left. Mack Brown has been trying to toughen up his troops, and claiming every position on the depth chart is up for grabs. This year Missouri isn’t rising from the depths of the unknown, they are a team with a target on their back trying to climb higher without getting picked off. Others that are mentionable: LSU @ South Carolina, Kansas @ Oklahoma, Texas Tech @ Texas A & M, Ohio State @ Michigan State.

Week 9: Auburn @ West Virginia - Great nonconference matchup. A lot of people are interested in seeing how WVU does with Slaton out and Stewart in at head coach. It’s also a Thursday night game, which brings a different atmosphere to the field. This is a statement game for both teams. Others that are mentionable: Illinois @ Wisconsin, Michigan State @ Michigan, Alabama @ Tennessee, Georgia @ LSU.

Week 10: Florida @ Georgia (in Jacksonville) - The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. How could this not make the list, especially after last year’s fiasco. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, basically after the first Georgia touchdown it turned out into a who had more team spirit contest. This is two teams that HATE each other, and are both in position to make a run at the National Championship. Honestly, if you don’t have your own wedding planned for this day, make up whatever excuse you can to free up some time to catch this one. Others that are mentionable: Texas @ Texas Tech, Oregon @ Cal, Iowa @ Illinois.

Week 11: Kansas @ Nebraska -Kansas will be looking to prove that last season was no fluke, and Nebraska is looking to rebound. Bo Pelini has been trying to tighten up the Black Shirts on D, and Marlon Lucky should be the cornerstone of the Husker offense. Meanwhile, Todd Reesing looks to continue to lead Kansas to the top. That is of course unless Mangino eats him first. Others that are mentionable: Clemson @ Florida State, Cal @ USC, Oklahoma @ Texas A&M, Alabama @ LSU(Saban returns to Death Valley).

Week 12: Ohio State @ Illinois -Talk about a bitter taste in their mouth. The Illini aren’t on good terms with Tressel and crew. After winning in Columbus while OSU was #1 last year, how will things turn out this year. Ohio State will be looking for revenge, and the Illini will be filled with confidence. Regardless, expect there to be some high emotions in Champaign for this one. Others that are mentionable: Notre Dame @ Navy (snicker), Virginia Tech @ Miami, Georgia @ Auburn, USC @ Stanford (another snicker).

Week 13: Texas Tech @ Oklahoma - Texas Tech should have one of the most power offenses in college football this season. And, Oklahoma looks to showcase one of the nation’s best defenses. This should be a great conference matchup with a lot on the line late in the season. Others that are mentionable: Michigan @ Ohio State, Indiana @ Purdue, Pitt @ Cincinnati/

Week 14: Auburn @ Alabama - Rivalry week, easily the best weekend for college football. And, nothing could be better than the Iron Bowl. This is the best in-state rivalry game you can find. This game always provides great entertainment even if one team is having a down year. Others that are mentionable: Florida @ Florida State, Kansas @ Missouri, South Carolina @ Clemson, Texas A&M @ Texas.

Week 15: USC @ UCLA - This happens to be the last weekend of the regular season for college football, and at this point most the teams are on rest till conference championship week, or a bowl game. UCLA’s addition of former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow is going to bring some extra heat to this rivalry game. Pete Carroll will have his troops ready as always to try and beat down their rivals. For Carroll, keeping UCLA down brings more recruits and success to USC. So, this game is always very important to him. Others that are mentionable: Arizona State @ Arizona, Navy @ Army, Cincinnati @ Hawaii.