Who's The Most Underrated Ferentz-Era Hawkeye?
by Adam Jacobi on Aug 4, 2011 8:01 AM CDT
in Iowa Hawkeyes Football
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PrintWhen it comes to recognizing college football players past and present, there are so many ways to honor them and so many metrics upon which to measure them that if a player doesn't get recognized by anybody at all, he probably sucked.
And yet, there are players who--for whatever reason--play a far greater role in Iowa's success than ever gets reflected in their post-career perception, and hence end up being "underrated." That word's in scare quotes because it's all so insanely subjective that there's never going to be an objective way to answer this question. Does a successful pro career prove that a player was underappreciated as a Hawkeye (Benny Sapp), or unduly slant opinions toward the positive if he was eminently replaceable in the black and gold (Colin Cole)? Similarly, if the guy didn't do crap in the NFL, does that diminish the weight of his contributions as a Hawkeye (Kahlil Hill), or does it heighten their importance as a result of shortening the sample size (Brad Banks)?
For me, the above thought exercises prove that a pro career is nothing more than a logical confounder in this debate. I'm sure many people disagree with that interpretation. Anyway, when I think of guys who made a gigantic difference in their times as Hawkeyes, then never really got the recognition for it, my first inclination is to think of Jared Clauss and Matt Kroul. Stuffing gaps in a 4-3 is a largely thankless task, especially when it comes to freeing up your fellow DT or the linebackers on your side of the play, but I'm a former DT myself (difficulty rating: YOU DO NOT WANT TO TRY THIS) so I'm probably a little biased.
So for my most underrated Hawkeye, I'm choosing someone at a more high-profile position.
Jovon Johnson was never a high-profile member of Iowa's 2002 recruiting class. He was one of the last guys to verbal to Iowa, and as a two-star prospect with a sparse offer sheet, odds were slim that Johnson would do much in his first two or three years on campus.
Someone forgot to tell Johnson that two-star prospects aren't supposed to contribute right away, because he worked his way into the two-deeps as a true freshman, and he began starting games in Iowa's 2002 rout over Northwestern. He wouldn't relinquish that spot until graduation in 2005, and what transpired inbetween was an object lesson in busting ass.
Johnson was challenged pretty regularly by opposing quarterbacks, and as we've seen from Mssrs. Shada, Dodge, and Atkins, that's often a recipe for horrible screaming disaster. Instead, when opposing quarterbacks declined testing fellow 4-year wonder Antwan Allen, they went after Johnson, and good things for the Hawkeyes regularly ensued. Jovon Johnson ensnared 17 interceptions as a Hawkeye, which is just one off the record set by Devon Mitchell and some guy named Nile Kinnick, and he registered two touchdowns as a senior.
Johnson was honorable mention Big Ten as a junior, and he finally broke through to first-team All-Big 10 by the media (second-team by the coaches) his senior year as he continued to anchor the Hawkeye secondary. His senior year, Johnson returned a very badly conceived pooch punt 90 yards for a touchdown against Ball State, and he also took an interception 18 yards to the house on hapless Northern Iowa. All in all, Iowa was 31-10 in games Johnson started, and that wouldn't have been the case if Johnson were half as flammable as, say, Adam Shada.
And yet, Johnson seems like an afterthought, probably because he never got much more than a cursory practice squad glance from the Pittsburgh Steelers before the CFL became the most obvious rout to go.
And wouldn't you know it, Johnson's stayed in the league ever since, and he's been named an All-Star two years running. I didn't know about Johnson's all-star status when I started writing this article, but here he is and here we are, and that fact just seems to fit even better. Of course I didn't know he was tearing up the CFL. He's that underrated.
So who's your guy in the Ferentz era that never won an award better than the keys to your heart? Metaphorically speaking, I mean. Seriously.
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This is a toughie, but I have an early years nomination . . .
I think Ladell Betts meets the criteria. Now, he may not fit the classic definition of underrated, as he was one of the very few “stars” on the early KF teams. But my reasoning is thus: had Betts played behind one of Iowa’s, later, stellar O-Lines, he would have put up CRAZY numbers. The fact he was so good, with tiny, underdeveloped, not super talented blockers in front of him is amazing. Chew on this stat: “As a junior in 2000, Betts started every game and accounted for Iowa’s entire rushing offense.”
Betts behind the 2002 line might have broken school and Big 10 season rushing averages.
Sorry, but you have to be rated before you can be underrated
What Sam did was admirable. But there is no way in hell that kid should have ever ran the ball in a Division I football game and would not have were it not for AIHRBG. Sorry, but I have to call it as I see it.
Yeah but
he did run the ball in a Division I football game – bunch of them. And performed more than admirably.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
by Bucketochicken on Aug 4, 2011 8:37 AM CDT up reply actions
Agreed, very admirably.
But I don’t think he was underrated at all. He was what pretty much everyone thought he was – a pretty slow running back who wouldn’t break any big plays but could block and have good ball security.
Johnson's pooch-punt return is one of my favorite Kinnick memories.
Maybe it’s because their careers ended in the infancy of my true Hawkeye fandom, but Mo Brown seems to be forgotten fairly easily. Single-season TD record (11), 4th in single-season yards (966), ranked 4th natiaonlly in 2002 with 20.1 yards per reception.
Mo is a good one . . .
Thought he’d play a bit in the NFL.
Who was that fullback that didn’t do so much at Iowa, but then had a very good NFL career. Maybe played for the Falcons? Had kind of an unusual name . . .
He should probably make the list, because I can’t remember his name, lol.
Jeremy Allen?
He was pretty damn good. Perhaps the best fullback we’ve had in the Ferentz era.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 8:52 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Nope, it was earlier than Allen I think . . .
Had a long name . . . Maybe played for the Chiefs? I know his NFL uniform was red. (Jeebus, now I sound like my wife. Maybe I should quit while I’m behind).
bornofclay nailed it below: Zeron Flemeister . . .
If I recall correctly, he was a fullback/H-back at Iowa, but then played TE in the pros. And it was for the Redskins (see, I told you he wore a red uni!)
If it was before Allen, it was probably before Ferentz.
We had Edgar Cervantes not long after Allen, but I don’t think he made the League.
We had a TE named Zeron Flemister.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:08 AM CDT up reply actions
He had a decent Iowa career, particularly his senior year. He fumbled a little.
I didn’t remember him playing in the NFL, but I guess he was with Atlanta, New Orleans, and Minnesota from 2002 to 2004. Maybe he was on practice squads more often than not?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:07 AM CDT up reply actions
Kyle McCann.
Only because he gave us my favorite screenname ever.
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
This
If he had played on more talented teams I think McCann would have have posted great career numbers
Agree
I watched McCann at Kinnick and he was getting hit before he could back away from the center. He had horrible protection and played admirably.
by Chief Okemos on Aug 4, 2011 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Kyle McCann was truly underrated
Kid was a solid, solid QB. Didn’t have a cannon arm, but he did his homework. He was Stanzi before Stanzi was Stanzi, and with quite a few less weapons than Ricky had.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." - W.C. Fields
I think it is probably one of the D-Linemen or O-Linemen
that didn’t get accolades or even very many mentions.
DLs could include Kroul, Klug, Binns, Daniels, Mattison, Clauss, D Robinson, Babineaux, Hodges, others.
Reisner, Myers, other lesser-known starting TEs.
Olsen, Kuempel, Vandervelde, Bruggeman, Zusevics, Elgin, Lightfoot, and about ten other guys I’m not thinking of.
Maybe some of the LBs (Klinkenborg, Humpal, Worthy, Barr, Lewis, Miles, Hunter).
Any starting FB (Busch, Mickens, Cervantes) could also be considered. Maybe one of those starting RBs that we don’t think about (Simmons, Sims).
I’ll go with Andy Lightfoot, because that line was awesome and people tend to forget his name.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
I have to respectfully disagree with Babineaux being "underrated"
As a senior, he was first-team all-Big Ten, an all-American, and a second-round pick. Hard to be considered “underrated” using that as criteria. The rest fo the list is solid though, and I completely agree with it. Robinson and Luebke were both really good on that 2004 D-line.
Andy Lightfoot is a good one. Adding to the 2002 line, David Porter was underrated as well. Everyone remembers Gallery, Steinbach, and Nelson. No one talks about LIghtfoot or Porter (or Ben Sobieski, who was the Jess Settles of Iowa football).
Comedy is where the mind goes to tickle itself.
Well, if you didn't like Babs being on my giant list,
then beware as you read below.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 10:24 AM CDT up reply actions
I also have to disagree with Kuempel and Simmons being mentioned
mostly due to the fact that neither played much. Kuempel started like 2 games, due to those ahead of him being injured, and while I really liked Simmons, he was hurt too much to make an impact.
"There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy." -Mark Rippetoe
What All-American squad did Babs make?
My porn name is HogOfHawkness
by HeartOfHawkness on Aug 4, 2011 7:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Nevermind I just found out he made 3rd team AP squad
My porn name is HogOfHawkness
by HeartOfHawkness on Aug 4, 2011 7:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Hmm.
Good question – and a tough one.
A few names that immediately spring to mind with little real thought or analysis:
Tom Busch – tough as nails FB, great hands, stuck on what was arguably the worst two teams of the KF era.
Adam Shada – underrated? Probably not. Under-appreciated? Absolutely. Were it not for the multiple instances of through-the-pants-felching “coverage” of a superstar James Hardy, I think Shada would be remembered a little differently in the collective memory of Hawkeye fans. Kid busted his ass, earned the starting role, and was what, a 4.0 student? AND had to bear the brunt of torrential amounts of boos from his own fans? Fuck yes he makes this list.
Zack (or possibly Zach) Gableman – I liked watching him blow up fools on special teams.
Lee Gray – I dunno, just felt like I needed an offensive lineman here somewhere.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
Sean Considine
I’m not sure if he ever received any Big Ten recognition, but he started out as a walk-on and was an absolute terror on special teams. I just remember him always making a big play at critical times.
I also like the Jovan Johnson pick, as well as all the others mentioned above.
Yeah, that's right! I forgot about that.
Loved it almost as much as he loved blocking punts.
That's John Constantine to you!
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 9:15 AM CDT up reply actions
Keanu doesn't do well in movies
where his character motivation can’t be summed up with “whoa.”
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." - W.C. Fields
Sean also gets special credit
for having never been on scholarship. If I have my facts straight, he wasn’t offered one until his senior year. In a very classy move, he declined it, so that the team could use it elsewhere.
by Space Hawkeye on Aug 4, 2011 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Not to mention he's a 6 year NFL vet now.
I know that shouldn’t weigh in, but damn that’s impressive for someone never on scholly.
They say you're a pitcher, you're sure not much of a dresser. We wear caps and sleeves on this level, son.
He is the man.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:52 AM CDT up reply actions
Two guys come to mind
Tavian Banks and Drew Tate. They may not be in the NFL but they had really good stats in Big Ten play.
Yeah, he was Fry-era only.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
by Bucketochicken on Aug 4, 2011 9:04 AM CDT up reply actions
And he (Tavian) was in the NFL, though I'm not sure he did anything more than return a few kicks?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:09 AM CDT up reply actions
His hip went asplodey fairly early in his NFL career, I think.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I thought it was a knee.
http://www.bigcatcountry.com/2010/6/3/1499832/former-jacksonville-jaguars-where
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:12 AM CDT up reply actions
It was his knee, but yeah
He looked really promising at the start of his rookie year (and occasionally looked like he might be better than Fred Taylor, who the Jags picked in the same draft), but then he shredded everything in his knee and never played again.
"The knee bone's connected to the hip bone..."
Yeah, okay. I knew it was something in his leg.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
The knee bone is not connected to the hip bone, sir.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:59 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
How about in, like, a holistic sense?
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
by RossWB on Aug 4, 2011 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sure it is.
Just not directly.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
by Bucketochicken on Aug 4, 2011 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
Ugh, that reminds me of an utterly awful modern country song:
The drinkin’ bone’s connected to the party bone
The party bone’s connected to stayin’ out all night long
And she won’t think it’s funny and I’ll end up all alone
And the lonely bone’s connected to the drinkin’ bone
Repeat.
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 10:19 AM CDT up reply actions
Mentioning Fred Taylor made me think of
Fred Russell. I was a big fan of the little man. He was quick, shifty, and reliable. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research." - Albert Einstein
"Consider them rolled." - Jim Delany
by 6 seconds of hell on Aug 4, 2011 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Love him. Have the jersey.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:24 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah.
I feel like Freddy would probably be #2 on a lot of people’s lists (after Greene) for “best RB of the Ferentz era.” I love him, but I think he’s fairly properly rated.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Eh
I loved Freddy, don’t get me wrong, but that O-line of his was probably better than a quarter of the NFL’s lines that year.
Please note that the internet does not, as of yet, have a sarcasm font.
I think that's a bit over-the-top for the 2002 line.
And the 2003 had none of those guys but Gallery, and while he was very good, he wasn’t the only reason Freddie ran for 1300 yards again.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Perhaps a little over
But not a whole lot – the 2002 line had 4 guys (Steinbach, Sobieski, Nelson, and Gallery) get drafted plus Clark at TE, including 3 in the top 50, albeit Gallery the following year.
Please note that the internet does not, as of yet, have a sarcasm font.
Shonn Greene comes to mind.
Just kidding.
I think of like Zerron Flemister. But only because I didn’t know who the hell he was until after his Hawkeye career.
Pete McMahon comes to mind, really the whole O-Line from 2004 was underrated.
Derrick Robinson and Tyler Leubke….George Lewis…THE ENTIRE 2004 FOOTBALL TEAM ALMOST?!
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:02 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
That team is to quickly forgotten
They also finished # 8 in the country. We had 3 in a row. How nuts is that?!?
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research." - Albert Einstein
"Consider them rolled." - Jim Delany
by 6 seconds of hell on Aug 4, 2011 9:25 AM CDT up reply actions
Robinson was awesome
I’m surprised he didn’t have a better pro career. He was a stud at Iowa
by Chief Okemos on Aug 4, 2011 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
I remember Mike Humpal
being a beast of a middle linebacker, but unfortunately on the 2006, 2007 Disaster Squads.
So forgotten that you didn't even remember what position he played!
He was an outside linebacker, and yeah he was going to be my pick too. He was one of the best linebackers in the country his senior year, and never got the recognition he deserved. He was every bit as good as other guys in the conference like Laurinaitis or Leman and he couldn’t even make both second team all conference teams.
My other pick would be another guy from those teams, Bryan Mattison, who is one of the better d-ends of the Ferentz era and is now probably less remembered that his teammate Iwebema, despite being a much better college player.
Ha, whoops!
To Mr. Humpal, if you are reading, I apologize, and will remember your legacy.
by TheCornballer on Aug 4, 2011 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Good call on Mattison.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
by Bucketochicken on Aug 4, 2011 9:30 AM CDT up reply actions
I think Humpal (and Klink) get overlooked
because of all the praise Norm lavished on them, praise that was more than a bit overblown and probably didn’t do them any favors. They were both good to very good LBs and solid contributors on some rough teams, but at no point did they make people forget Greenway and Hodge, as Norm was prone to say.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
As you could probably guess, I wasn't there when Norm said those words.
But was he definitely saying it to mean, “This guy is going to be better than Greenway,” or could it have been construed to mean, “This guy is good; if we’re playing poorly you won’t be saying, ‘If only we still had Greenway..’”?
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
George Lewis
Never got the hype of other LBs, but I seem to remember him always making the play when called upon.
Ankles! We don't need no stinking ankles!
by three and out the kok story on Aug 4, 2011 9:11 AM CDT reply actions
Nathan Chandler?
10 game winner..was pretty smart with the ball. He also broke some pretty significant plays with his legs.
Yes. He’s my pick.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:12 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
If anything I think he's a little overrated
He was kind of hilarious to watch, but he really was not a very good passer (nor as effective a runner as I think he thought he was) and I think he’s remembered a lot better in hindsight because of the record.
He had a 19-10 td-int ratio...which isn't too bad. but i see he did only complete 53% percent of his passes.
Six rushing td’s.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:19 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
He probably would have had a 25-10 TD-INT ratio if he would have had any touch on his deep passes.
“Chandler goes long… !”
“… and it sails five yards past the receiver.”
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
by RossWB on Aug 4, 2011 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm trying to remember who his receivers would have been.
A gimpy Mo Brown, Ed Hinkel, and Ramon Ochoa? Not exactly a bunch of guys who would run under the long ball.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Calvin Davis and Erik Jensen, too.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:25 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Razor Ramon might not be most underrated, but highly underrated I think
Thicker than Delta Burke swimmin in a Guiness.
It's less who his receivers were and more how bad his throws were.
I remember several instances of him air mailing wide open receivers. (There was one really egregious example against Purdue.)
I don’t hate him or anything (I actually liked watching him run with the ball because he looked so awkward), but he was a deeply flawed QB.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
And, to be fair to Big Nate, he did have one of my all-time favorite TD passes of the Ferentz era.
The game-winning bomb to Ochoa against Michigan was magnificent.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Yesssssssssssssssssssss!
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions
Thankfully this was also The Robert Gallery Year
So we could have a decent offense just by going “yo, Bob, go knock over the entire left side of their defense for us and Freddy will follow”.
Actually Gallery might be underrated in that he did not win the Heisman.
The entire canvas of college football that year was petrified of Robert Gallery.
People knew him. People stayed away from him. If you watch highlights closely, you’ll see that he wasn’t blocking so much as the defense was running away from him screaming.
It’s very subtle, but you’ll see it on the film.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:35 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I loved, loved, loved watching Gallery pancake people that year.
That ‘03 defense doesn’t get quite enough love, either. The ’04, ’08, and ’09 are (justly) lauded, but ’03 was pretty damn killer, too.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Yeah, I remember when they would profile Gallery around draft time
They’d show these clips of him taking a guy and blocking him six yards back and into the other team’s sideline. Such a beast of a man.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions
He was a decent runner for having very little speed,
and when he didn’t see anyone open, that ball was going into the stands.
I’m a fan.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions
I have seen Jason Manson.
53% is heaven.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:30 AM CDT up reply actions
I thought about him,
because I always liked him more than most Hawk fans I know.
But, for me, if you’re a starting QB, it is tough to talk about you as being super-under-rated. Plus, he was a JuCo all-american before Iowa, so we should have thought better of him, maybe?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:15 AM CDT up reply actions
I think if you're a starting QB
To be considered underrated, you’d first have to get slapped with the “game manager” moniker. Chandler was for sure that guy, and he also didn’t have Mo Brown for most of that season. Still, his stats aren’t too impressive, so I don’t know.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:24 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
So. Slow. On. Rollouts.
Time that man with a sundial.
Still worked.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions
We didn't call him
Nathan “The Gazelle” Chandler for nothing.
Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa
by Not Marv Cook on Aug 4, 2011 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I read that as "The Gazzette"
He’ll get there by the morning.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions
I didn't actually read that second z.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
Oh also 2005 Drew Tate
For some reason Tate is widely viewed as a one year wonder, even though by basically every metric he was a better player the next year. The rest of the team just wasn’t as good (or not as lucky, anyway) and somehow he gets all the blame for it. I guess because he sometimes made dumb faces.
He did take a step back the next year, but I think a lot of that was him being way more hurt than they let on (I always heard rumblings that his shoulder was really fucked up) and he was the victim of an insane number of dropped passes that year.
That’s what happens when you enter a hay bale throwing contest….
But in all seriousness, there were a shit-ton of passes dropped that year.
Carpe Diem! - Seize the Carp!
by pollo diablo on Aug 4, 2011 10:29 AM CDT up reply actions
Klink and Jovon
But I’d lead towards Jovon. He was all over the field yet quarterbacks kept on throwing to his side. He wasn’t lockdown but he had great instincts and reflexes.
Hands down...
Ladell Betts. The stat summary above says it all. He was one of the first to “buy in” to KF’s philosophy and take a chance to be part of the upgrade of a program. The fans and teams today have big, broad shoulders from a few guys like him to stand on. Those few guys did the spade work to build this program into what it is today.
And for a guy who’s never seen the field at Iowa, Chris Doyle deserves a lot of the credit.
Anyone here old enough to remember DB? A real old school baseball coach...
by two_niner_was_old_school on Aug 4, 2011 9:26 AM CDT reply actions
I love Ladell Betts,
but I’m struggling to think of many (any?) plays that he just made me say “wow.” I know not everyone can be Shonn Greene, but…
I do feel horrible that Betts couldn’t play in the Alamo Bowl at the end of 2001.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions
He was running behind maybe the worst line in school history
A bunch of those guys would go on to be really awesome, but in 99 and 2000 it was ugly. The 1000 yard season he had in 2000 is one of the great seasons in school history when you consider what he was working with.
Exactly!
He couldn’t make highlight level plays because he literally had two or three guys draped on his legs EVERY SINGLE TIME he came up to the line of scrimmage. Dude never ran through a clean hole. He just was strong enough and relentless enough to gouge out three or four yards completely on his own.
And never complained or threw his crappy o-line under the bus. Maybe my favorite player of the KF era.
Yeah.
Still, you’d think he could break one against some of the shitty opponents (and we didn’t play a ton of shitty teams those years).
In 1999, we played No. Illinois, and reasonably-crappy Indiana and NW.
In 2000, we played Western Mich, and Indiana.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Yes.
We lost to plenty of not-so-great teams those two years. Of course, we also played some good teams (Nebby both years, K-State in 2000).
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:38 AM CDT up reply actions
Yes
And we lost to all the guys he listed in 99 too. You’re seriously forgetting how terrible we were in Ferentz’s first two years, Chazz.
I was there for some of those games, particularly 2000.
I know how terrible we were. But a good-to-great RB breaks one at least once a year, even if it is against a shitty defense like Indiana.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions
And I'm sure LB did. You're just not remembering it . . .
Because of the nightmarish quality of some of those games.
Offshoot topic: what was the most heartbreaking loss from those two seasons? Was it 2000 when we lost at home in a freezing cold rain to a very good Michigan team that we completely played over our heads against? Wasn’t that the one with the ridiculous back-of-endzone catch by a Wolverine reciever?
Fuck you, Marquise Walker.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
by RossWB on Aug 4, 2011 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Absolutely.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions
That shouldn't have even counted.
Especially since it was so out of nowhere. Derrick Alexander, sure, Desmond Howard, sure, Braylon Edwards, sure, David Terrell, sure, but Marquise Walker?
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 10:21 AM CDT up reply actions
I was pretty pissed at losing to Western Mich in 2000.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions
I would say Western Michigan 07
except that I was completely unsurprised by that point. It was truly unbelievable how little of a shit that team gave.
"There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy." -Mark Rippetoe
My favorites
Babineaux
Mattison
Klinkenborg
He sired a baseball team... An orchestra, if you count the bastards!
by SaturdayMorningKegStanzis on Aug 4, 2011 9:30 AM CDT reply actions
An interesting question because of the nature of the concept of "underrated."
To me, that implies a guy who was better than he is generally given credit for being. My initial thought was someone like Ramon Ochoa, one of my favorite players of the KF era, but I don’t think he really fits the bill. He wasn’t one of the best players (nor even best receivers) of the KF era. He was a smart, hard-nosed kid who worked his ass off and took advantage of his moment in the sun when injuries depleted the WR corps in 2003. I think he’s properly rated as “solid player who took advantage of his opportunities.”
I’ll say Babineaux. I’m not sure how underrated he is because I suspect if you asked people to make a list of the top 5 defensive linemen of the KF era, he’d show up on every single one, but… I’m not sure people totally remember how good he was. When he was totally healthy in 2004, he was an absolute terror in the interior. I think he was the piece that took that 2004 defense over the top and made them a truly awesome unit.
I also think George Lewis is a little underrated, mainly because he had the misfortune of playing at the same time as Greenway and Hodge. He wasn’t as good as them, but he was still damn good. Or maybe my memories are clouded by images of him just killing guys in the Capital One Bowl. I have a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t too great in coverage.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Some NFL season preview magazine called him the most underrated member of Atl's D-line.
So you might be on to something.
by bornofclay on Aug 4, 2011 9:38 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I want to agree,
but once a Hawk makes the NFL, I tend to stop thinking of him as too under-rated.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions
ALL Hawks in the NFL are underrated.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah I wasn't sure what to do with Babineaux
I think he’s mostly remembered as a great player for us, but it’s true that a lot of people might not remember how great. With all due respect to Mitch King, who is one of my favorite players ever, I think Babineaux is the best defensive tackle we’ve had under Ferentz. He also got a little overshadowed while he was here because he was playing with Roth.
He is defintiely underrated as an NFL player
Babineaux is the best DT of the KF era
Fact. I love King – he had a never-ending motor and worked his ass off – but Babineaux was simply outstanding. Too bad he missed so much time in 2003. His career numbers were already good, but they’d be outrageous if he hadn’t missed the last half of the 2003 season with a broken leg. And don’t forget – he was really good in 2002 as a defensive end.
George Lewis is a good one. He definitely saved his best for last – he had a fantastic Cap One Bowl. Largely overshadowed by Greenway and Hodge, not as athletic or as gifted as those guys, but he was a tough player.
And I noted above in agreement with Chazz – Andy Lightfoot was pretty underrated, and I threw in David Porter and Ben Sobieski from that 2002 line. I think Sobieski eventually spent a little time in the league, despite a ridiculous list of injuries that’s only rivaled by Dace Richardson.
Comedy is where the mind goes to tickle itself.
My memory might be a little clouded too
but wasn’t that Ed Miles? That’s who I tend to think of as the third wheel in the Greenway/Hodge corps. He never really did anything overly spectacular, but was at least decent in coverage and made a handful of big hits in the open field. Then again maybe I’m wrong (those years are a little blurry).
I think George Lewis might have been the 4th guy, but got some playing time when others were injured for a game or two.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 10:11 AM CDT up reply actions
Lewis started most of the games in 2004.
Miles was a regular starter in 2005 and 2006, as I recall.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Babs is underrated by many Iowa fans
Mainly because of the worship of Matt Roth. Roth was outstanding but Babs was better. He was chosen by teammates and coaches as the MVP of that 2004 team.
However, for most underrated, some names that come to mind for me are Cervantes, Myers, Rothwell, and Bruggeman.
And for being a 1st team All Big 10 guy who had a monster senior year, it seems like Howard Hodges is often forgotten.
by H I McDonnough on Aug 4, 2011 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Howard Hodges - yes
I’m also going to throw Fred Barr’s name in the ring.
Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa
by Not Marv Cook on Aug 4, 2011 11:08 PM CDT up reply actions
Babineaux and Hodges,
it seems like I heard their names more often over the Kinnick loudspeaker (for a tackle) than most Iowa DLs, perhaps save King.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:23 PM CDT up reply actions
it was the Roth worship
that makes Babineuax underated. Your average hawk fan has no idea who that guy is and he may be the best Iowa DL of the Ferentz era.
He sired a baseball team... An orchestra, if you count the bastards!
by SaturdayMorningKegStanzis on Aug 5, 2011 7:51 PM CDT up reply actions
Have to go Blake Larsen or Dan Doering..
Oh, wait what’s that? Oh shit, underrated?.. oh wow, my bad. In that case gotta go Morse or Busch. Really any FB.
"And after it was all over, he took us in the house and served us pancakes... pancakes." - Charlie Murphy
by Podolak Pimpin' on Aug 4, 2011 9:35 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Yep.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions
Calling this one early, but Polish Hat will be all-time underrated.
Thicker than Delta Burke swimmin in a Guiness.
The fact that he already has a nickname
and is somewhat of an internet legend will make it nearly impossible for him to be underrated.
They say you're a pitcher, you're sure not much of a dresser. We wear caps and sleeves on this level, son.
Via Bucketochicken on twitter,
possible gunman on Va Tech campus. I’m tuned into MSNBC.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
While undoubtedly an interesting story
Hamsterdam Chazz
"He lowballed us and said: 'Take it or leave it. If you don't take our offer, you are rolling the dice.' I said: 'Consider them rolled.' " - Jim "Huge Brass Balls" Delaney
by ClaybornSmash on Aug 4, 2011 9:51 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
Yeah, I know.
But nobody’s commented there for about a half hour or an hour, so I figured I’d let more people know here.
But yes, I’ll not talk about it on this thread anymore.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 10:03 AM CDT up reply actions
Mike Elgin?
I guess it’s kinda’ easy to pull solid performers off of those lousy teams and call ’em underrated. But still, Elgin was a darn good center.
"Oh, glorious cheeseburger, we bow to thee. The secrets of the Universe are between the buns."
That was my pick.
Took the last scholly, put on 60 pounds his freshman year. Went on to be damn solid starter for 3 years and a perennial academic all-american and hustle award winner. Good ’ol fashioned Iowa lineman story.
Kyle Schlicter
Had to follow the amazing Nate Kaeding, but was very nearly as automatic.
What I wouldn’t give to have a Kyle Schlicter on this team.
"There are no Pan Asian supermarkets down in hell, so you can't buy Golden Boy peanuts." - The Mountain Goats
I was just thinking that the other day
We can’t expect a Kaeding on our team regularly, but I think it’s fair to expect Schlicher level of kicking. (Plus the “Schlicher the Kicker” nickname was awesome!)
I'm not sure how underrated he was though.
He’s almost an automatic #2 behind Kaeding in the best Ferentz kickers. I loved Schlicher.
Good call
Kaeding was a tough act to follow and Iowa fans may have been a little spoiled by the time Schlicher came along. I don’t think Schlicher ever got the credit he deserved as a Hawkeye, but I was at the Barnstormers game when he started kicking for them and he got a hell of an ovation. Which was nice.
He was a good kicker but the Schlicter the Kicker thing drove me nuts
If only because every play by play person beat it into the fucking ground. HIS NAME RHYMES WITH THE POSITION HE PLAYS ISN’T THAT AWESOME AND FUNNY HAHAHAHAHAHHA
Cort Hrbek drops back to pass...
Caught by Wyatt R Seaver! He’s at the 40! He’s at the 30! He’s — ooh! Knocked to the ground hard by Connor O’Strongsafety!
by EastLosRandy on Aug 4, 2011 9:18 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Very Nice, Randy!
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Colin Sandeman
not vastly overrated and not a top flight receiver, but he often doesn’t get credit for being a pretty solid receiver and return man.
"To bottomless perdition, there to dwell, in adamantine chains and penal fire" -Milton
Andy Brodell
AND HE CAN FLY!
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions
I hated Andy Brodell.
Herb Grigsby gets shit for having stone hands, but Brodell seems to get a pass because of his Alamo Bowl performance.
by The Mexican't on Aug 4, 2011 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions
I was thinking of his punting return against Ames College
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions
I thought he got better. He was never great, but he improved.
Grigsby just got worse.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I was nearly punched in the mouth at a game in IC for yelling at Brodell.
I think his cousin was standing in front of me. I was “that guy”.
by The Mexican't on Aug 4, 2011 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Get into it with Drew Tate's cousin
And the punch will fall at your feet. Or be intercepted.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Is Drew Tate's cousin
JC6?
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
No. Then you'd get punched in the rocks.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 2:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Maybe he was just racist.
The cousin, I mean.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Not really
As the founders of this site were more than happy to point out. Brodell certainly had the dropsies early in his career but, by his senior year, had become probably the most dependable receiver we had. Of course by then he had lost a step or two thus limiting him somewhat.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
I loved Andy Brodell
He had a good senior season, but if Stanzi ’10 would have started in place of Stanzi ’08, it could have been so much better.
Also let’s not forget that monster game he had against Texas in the Alamo Bowl…
It would've been interesting to see how Brodell's career panned out
if he hadn’t completely shredded his hamstring against Wisconsin in 2007. That game cost us both him and Moeaki that season. Brodell lost a step after that, which is too bad. He had elite speed.
Comedy is where the mind goes to tickle itself.
Not elite
he may have been great on the track, but never saw much from him on the football field to indicated elite. Calvin Davis was in the same boat.
"There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy." -Mark Rippetoe
Brodell wasn't a GOAT,
but I tend to give a man credit for putting up 150+ yards and 2 TDs against a national-title-caliber-secondary. We just don’t have very many WRs who can or actually do that.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:31 PM CDT up reply actions
This quickly degenerated into a Brodell discussion.
But I agree with Lycurgus that Sandeman was a good player that would have gotten more love if he played with a less talented receiver corps where he had to be the Man.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
But that overlooks that fact
that you would never, ever want Sandeman to be The Man. We tried it once, it was called 2007, and it was a horror-show. Sandeman was a solid and reliable contributor, so long as we didn’t ask too much of him. But he lacked a number of factors you want in a top flight WR in that he wasn’t particularly fast, and didn’t have the world’s most reliable hands. He wasn’t 2006 Brodell bad, but Sandeman had a LOT of drops in his career, and often at the worst time and with an annoying tendency to bat them in the air allowing an INT rather than an incompletion. Sandeman was a nice complement to your starting WRs, but you would never want him as a #1 or #2
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
I've blocked out most of 2007
But he was a freshman then, by my calculations.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 8, 2011 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
We didn't really have a "The Man" at WR in 2007.
Once Douglas and Bowman were ensnared in Hatgate and Brodell shredded his hammy, we were down to a couple RS FR (DJK, James Cleveland) and TR FR (Sandeman), as I recall. I’ve long felt that DJK ended up being the leading receiver that year almost by default. (And it probably would have been Cleveland if he hadn’t been afflicted with a pretty bad case of the dropsies that year.)
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I think it just might be one of the early Ferentz area punters.
Like Jason Baker—wasn’t he playing in KF’s first couple of years? Punting had to have been tough back then, but Jason was good enough to make the NFL. Yet I barely remember his name, and barely remember when he played. I think he still is on an NFL roster somewhere.
I agree with Sandeman. When he got hurt against MSU, our PR team became very iffy—I held my breath every single kick after that.
"Apparently, riding Joe Paterno like a small horse is FROWNED UPON IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT!"
Returns in the 2009 Indiana game were awful.
"To bottomless perdition, there to dwell, in adamantine chains and penal fire" -Milton
I was excited when Spievey got his shot, and then promptly fumbled the kick right before halftime.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions
That ended my excitement.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions
That kindled my rage
"To bottomless perdition, there to dwell, in adamantine chains and penal fire" -Milton
That was the jNW game, wasn't it?
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Ah yes.
I was thinking of the ‘08 jNW game, where Spievey also fumbled a return. I guess it’s not too hard to see why the coaches didn’t exactly trust him too much back there.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
It was so similar to Brodell’s fumble in the jNW game. They were both trying to do too much.
"To bottomless perdition, there to dwell, in adamantine chains and penal fire" -Milton
That Brodell one was infuriating.
Iowa was up 17-3, heading to halftime. I understand wanting to get a good return, but sometimes you need to be more aware of the game situation. Iowa’s two minute drills aren’t exactly the stuff of legend (usually) and with a 17-3 lead, the odds of KOK and KF pushing things are slim. Just fair catch the damn ball.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
He tried to break like 8 tackles. Weren’t both the fumbles we are talking about right before the half?
"To bottomless perdition, there to dwell, in adamantine chains and penal fire" -Milton
The Brodell one against jNW and the Spievey one against Indiana, yes.
And they both lead to points right before half for the other time. Totally deflating.
The Spievey fumble against jNW (08) happened early in the 2nd half. Fortunately, it didn’t lead to points because the shitty jNW kicker (probably Demos) missed the FG.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Jason Baker, The Thinking Man's 2000 Heisman Trophy Winner
by NorseHawk on Aug 4, 2011 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Reggie Roby: Best player in modern history, or best player in history?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 10:37 AM CDT up reply actions
This is Fry era, but my favorite punter was Nick Gallery.
He was like 6’4" and 245 lb (or something like that) and I distinctly remember a punt where the returner started to break it, and then BOOOOOOOOM! Bobby’s older brother just destroyed the dude. Heavy, big hit.
After that it was funny watching returners seemingly keeping their head on a swivel watching as much for the punter as for the gunner. It made me laugh every time.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Don't forget his 80-yarder against (was it OSU?)
One of the few highlights in that game.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:34 PM CDT up reply actions
I will always remember Jason Baker
we didn’t start “Heisman” chants for him for nothing.
Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa
by Not Marv Cook on Aug 4, 2011 11:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Tim Brewster
You got no fear of the underdog; That's why you will not survive!
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Aug 4, 2011 10:18 AM CDT reply actions 13 recs
Honestly, I'm surprised that 50 posts in nobody else had gone there
My honest vote is either Jovon Johnson or Antwan Allen. Didn’t they play 4 years of steady ( not amazing but not Shada) cornerback. That’s consistency at that position that we haven’t had since.
You got no fear of the underdog; That's why you will not survive!
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Aug 4, 2011 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions
NEEDS MORE RECS
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Someone get this man a beer.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 4:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Off-topic but football-related
The 9-game schedule is official! Starting in 2017.
http://hawkcentral.com/2011/08/04/big-ten-to-go-to-nine-game-conference-football-schedule/
Iowa gets 5 conference home games in 2017 and 4 in 2018.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Please, please, please let UW and Iowa play every year.
I miss going to Madison so much I’m actually attending the Wisconsin-Oregon State game this fall and cheering for the Badgers.
It’s so much more fun to cheer AGAINST them as Iowa pummels them.
Yes.
Although, I could tolerate going 2 against Wisky, then 2 against PSU.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions
Go Beavers.
By the way, I just said Beavers. Ha.
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 1:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Jason Baker is a good choice, but I still think
that Rob Bruggeman was KF’s most under-rated guy.
Razor Ramon was another under-appreciated guy.
by DrHenryKillinger on Aug 4, 2011 11:15 AM CDT reply actions
I sometimes wonder what 2007 would have been like with Bruggy.
I don’t think Eubanks was the drizzling shits or anything (he was a good center), but Bruggeman was a special player. The 2007 team needed someone with his leadership, his fire, and his just plain meanness.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Ferentz waged a one man war to make sure that Bruggeman wasn't overrated
He brought him up in every single interview he gave, no matter how unrelated the questions he was being asked. I’m pretty sure he talked about Rob more than he talked about Greene that year.
I wonder if he berates James and tells him to be more like Bruggy.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Ed Hinkle
He had some of the most amazing catches i’ve seen a hawkeye make.
also, when he got hurt in 05 that’s when the season fell apart. Tate didn’t have a receiver he could rely on.
by Internet Legend on Aug 4, 2011 11:23 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
That is who I was thinking of.
Ed made some spectaculiar plays. He wasn’t the fastest, strongest, or biggest, but he always came through in the clutch it seemed like.
All my good friends at BHGP helpled pick this most awesome name!
TOUCHDOWN IOWA! TOUCHDOWN IOWA! - Gary Dolphin
I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! - Jim Zabel
by Bloodpunch's Barbasol on Aug 5, 2011 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions
Hmmm . . .
Mo Brown?
Marcus Paschal?
Ramon Ochoa?
Brett Morse?
Grant Steen?
I’m going Grant Steen.
Excellent post, Adam. As an OLB, I used to come this close to yelling at DLs, but they were bigger than me and could bench 350 pounds. And really, I was the weak link. Fell asleep during film every time.
"I always like it better when the clowns seem to try to be happy."
Marcus Paschal
another great answer.
Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa
by Not Marv Cook on Aug 4, 2011 11:13 PM CDT up reply actions
He never really got a chance because of injuries.
Jayme Murphy was a beast on special teams. I don’t know if injuries preventing his full potential from being realized counts as being underrated, but I loved watching him on kickoffs.
by Rollin_Woolridge on Aug 4, 2011 12:06 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
yeah
he lit some fools up.
He sired a baseball team... An orchestra, if you count the bastards!
by SaturdayMorningKegStanzis on Aug 4, 2011 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions
IRISH CAR BOMB!
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
If I was one of his Regina players
I’d call him Coach Car Bomb.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions
One of the only reasons I could find
to be excited initially in any way when the Blackhawks signed Dan Carcillo was that his nickname is Carbomb. I’ve warmed up to him since then, but the dude is truly the living caricature of everybody’s concept of the hockey goon.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions
Derek Pagel.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 12:29 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Don't forget this guy
Only TD catch of his career, on the last play, of his last game. :)
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
Look. Right behind Warren's left elbow. Is that Bobby Williams looking confused?
Shocked, I tell you. Shocked.
Excuse me for my bellicosity. And spelling. Bellicosity and spelling.
by Blackheartnopants on Aug 4, 2011 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions
Behind his left elbow is some dude's junk.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Bobby Williams's confused junk?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 4, 2011 11:36 PM CDT up reply actions
The best thing about this picture, and other pictures like it is
the expressions on the faces of the coaches, players, and fans in the background.
I like the slack-jawed look on the bald guy behind Holloway's right hand.
But I really love the LSU guy (#38?) that looks like he’s either really upset or taking a crap on the sidelines.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
This suggests a whole new thread to kill a couple of days, while we wait for football
Best adverse reaction (by the other team) of a Hawkeye play… I’m sure BHGP can come up with a good set of photos :)
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
by The Bird Cult on Aug 4, 2011 5:02 PM CDT up reply actions
I think someone here once did an analysis of this picture.
From left, we’ve got stunned disbelief (First coach to Warren’s left), next “OH MY GOD LSU IS THE NEW MICHIGAN STATE IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN I CAN’T LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND OH NO!”, then we have an LSU player pretending to be in Munch’s The Scream, and finally we’ve got a guy who looks like he might be laughing.
"Nein, ich bin Schnappi das kleine Krokodil."
by ReadingRambler on Aug 4, 2011 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Its by far my favorite picture of The Catch
The horror on the LSU bench, collectively, is delicious. Think of it as a preview of the “Sad Fan” from the 2008-9 season (with all apologies to Rambler).
I was working and living in Mississippi at the time and my big boss went to Auburn and was constantly telling me how the ESSS-EEE-CCCCEEE was superior to all things Big 10. I made sure I had a nice copy of that picture prominently displayed in my cubicle after that. :D
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
by The Bird Cult on Aug 4, 2011 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
joy.
That’s the only emotion that comes to mind when I think of that play Pure, unadulterated joy.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
I think I read somewhere - it was probably here --
Wasn’t that picture, for a while, prominently displayed in the Iowa football offices?
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
by The Bird Cult on Aug 4, 2011 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions
I love that it looks like he may have his eyes closed
just hoping to get to the goal line before the dream ends.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:49 PM CDT up reply actions
Kevin Kasper, anyone?
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 1:34 PM CDT reply actions
I remember him making, like, a Time magazine hottest persons list, or something.
Sorry if I took a simple quip that was meant as a rebuke for a single-minded poster and turned it into a completely uninteresting and inconsequential tangent.
-McCann't
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Aug 4, 2011 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions
I think that was Matt Bowen. I think Kasper might've been in some fitness magazine, though, perhaps even on the cover.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions
I mean Ryan Hansen, not Bowen.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions
That is a really good pick
He wasn’t underrated at the time, but no one seems to remember how awesome he was now.
Agreed
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
by The Bird Cult on Aug 4, 2011 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions
That's exactly what I was going for.
He graduated as the all time leader in receptions in a game, season and career, but these days the first possession receiver from the pre-Stanzi/pre-Christiansen years is Hinkel. Kasper was the shit.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Good call.
He suffers from Betts-itis — i.e., not playing on any of the good Ferentz teams.
Along those same lines, Aaron Kampman doesn’t get quite enough love. He was a beast in ‘01, though. In fact, I’d forgotten what a beast he was until I wiki’d him:
He had 96 tackles in 2001 and led the team with nine sacks. Iowa, which had only won seven games in Kampman’s first three years combined, rebounded in 2001. The Hawkeyes faced Minnesota, needing just one more win to clinch their first winning record and first bowl bid since 1997. Kampman responded with possibly the best game of his college career, making 15 tackles and three sacks and leading Iowa to a 42-24 victory.
Holy balls.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
I remember that fuckin' game.
I was there and Kampman was just Superman’ing it up.
As excited as I am for Senior Day to fall on Farmageddon every other year, I am gonna miss our seniors turning our ferret-related frenemies into paste in the last game of the season.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 4:26 PM CDT up reply actions
To be consistent with my post on the offense
I’d say Brett Morse. I really like the Mike Elgin pick, though. Ochoa and Edgar Cervantes, as well.
FOUR. THREE. COVER. TWO.
Not one mention of...
Albert Young. He was a stud and is now totally forgotten. He played behind some bad lines and consistently produced. He’s knocking around the NFL i think. Deserves a mention.
This.
Templeton Rye'd the Lightning.
by Smokin Herb Grigsby on Aug 4, 2011 2:16 PM CDT up reply actions
I wish he could have stayed healthy in '06 and '07.
And that he’d had better lines to run behind. As it is, it looks like he peaked in 2005, which isn’t an entirely fair judgment of him.
"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"
Not big, not fast
but did everything well and nothing poorly. Kind of like how Iowa likes to see itself. Now can I just add, as an ex patriot living in Wisconsin: we might all hate Purdue the most but FECK Brett Bulimic and his stupid Badgers. Nobody here’s ever seen a badger that’s not part of sports memorabilia. And i hate Beleima’s snarky gum chomping face.
I prefer Badgers stuffed, myself
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
by The Bird Cult on Aug 4, 2011 5:03 PM CDT up reply actions
Great call on Young
Leading Big 10 rusher in 2005.
Despite multiple injuries and a poor offense in his senior year… his performance to beat MSU in 2007 should be remembered as an absolute all-timer.
by H I McDonnough on Aug 4, 2011 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions
He was one of those guys
who would fall forward and gain an extra 2-3 yards after he was tackled. Good player but I believe he was well thought-of at the time, just subject to injury and a subpar line. A bit like Betts in that regard. I think he’s only less thought of now because Greene followed him.
FOUR. THREE. COVER. TWO.
That MSU 07 game...
he carried the entire offense that second half. I still remember the write by BHGP (think its was either HS or OPS) about how they could hear the crowd from past Mormon Trek. Albert was the only offensive player that didn’t give up on the team that game and it showed on the next few weeks….until W Mich….
If I'm remembering punters right
What about Jason Baker? He did a pretty good job for us, right?
"Mom, just get me a Pepsi! Please, all I want is a Pepsi!" And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi!
One receiver that I will never forget is
Clinton Solomon had some of the best catches I have ever seen. The one diving down the sideline catching one handed with a corner draped all over him was amazing. I really thought he was going to the NFL but no one took notice of him it seemed.
David Porter
He could have played in the league if he wanted to. But with his knees already giving him trouble, and with a pre-med degree in his pocket, I don’t blame him for becoming a doctor rather than a blocker. He was a very good OL though. Would have made a solid guard in the NFL.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull." - W.C. Fields
Are you sure that was Porter?
I thought it was Lightfoot that went to med-school not long after 2002?
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 5, 2011 9:32 AM CDT up reply actions
This.
But I think Porter played a pretty mean horn, if it’s any consolation.
"They're not people, James Ingram. They're Jimmy Buffett fans."
by SomeJerkPoster on Aug 5, 2011 12:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, the E Street Band could use another 6-5 saxophonist.
We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.
by WaterlooChazz on Aug 5, 2011 1:50 PM CDT up reply actions
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