The 2008 Iowa football team is winning awards like Titanic Gladiator (yeah, definitely Gladiator).  Shonn Greene and Mitch King won the big awards, but they weren't the only players recognized.  Now, for awards given at an earlier ceremony:

First Team All-Conference
Shonn Greene, RB (media (unanimous) & coaches)*
Seth Olsen, G (media & coaches)
Brandon Myers, TE (coaches)
Mitch King, DL (media & coaches (unanimous))

Second Team All-Conference
Rob Bruggeman, C (media & coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, T (coaches)
Kyle Calloway, T (media)
Matt Kroul, DL (media)
Pat Angerer, LB (media & coaches)
Amari Spievey, CB (coaches)
Ryan Donahue, P (coaches)

Honorable Mention All-Conference
Kyle Calloway, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Matt Kroul (coaches)
Bryan Bulaga, Ryan Donahue, A.J. Edds, Bradley Fletcher, Brett Greenwood**, Brandon Myers, Amari Spievey (media)

That's one hell of a haul, considering Iowa had just two honorable mentions last season.  Congrats to one and all.

* -- Voters are allowed to choose two running backs for first team all-conference consideration.  Greene didn't get a unanimous selection from the coaches for first team all-Big Ten, which means one coach inexplicably had him third or worse in the conference.  It's either the result of a massive oversight (unlikely) or a petty, vindictive, childish vote by someone with a vendetta against Iowa.  Whoever did it should be relieved of their duties as a voter on these awards, a coach in this conference, and a living being on this planet. 

I'm looking at you, Fitzgerald.

** -- We don't get Greenwood's inclusion, either, but we're not going to rain on his parade.  Besides, the Big Ten's official website has his name misspelled.  That's just cruel.

As if Greene's award wasn't enough, Mitch King is your Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year:

King became the first Hawkeye to nab Defensive Lineman of the Year laurels from the coaches since Jared Devries was honored in 1997. Other Iowa defensive linemen to be honored include Paul Hufford (1984), Dave Haight (1987) and Leroy Smith (1991). King's stout interior play helped Iowa lead the Big Ten in rushing defense for the first time since 2002 by allowing only 97.9 yards per game. The Hawkeyes also ranked third in conference play by limiting their opponents to only 16.2 points and 306.5 yards of total offense per contest. King led the team with 15.5 tackles for loss and added 51 total tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble in 12 games.

Again, uncontrollable sobbing to come later, but it was an incredible year by the defense in general.  King's numbers won him the award, to be sure, but the leadership and guidance he has given a remarkably young - and remarkably good - defense are what has stood out to those who know this program.  Kroul and Unusual Punishment held this entire team together when there were plenty of opportunities for it to enter a mid-season death spiral.  Congrats Mitch.

Sure, Iowa just lost to the Illini, 27-24. But how much do we really know? What was really important about losing to Illinois? What does it all mean, Basil? The Takeaway has the answer.

The Zooker proves his point with dance and impassioned lyricism.

This game was lost in the first half. Iowa had three red zone possessions in the first half. Their total scoring for those drives, and the half as a whole, was six points. You cannot win on the road like that. Sure, you can blame Ricky Stanzi's inexperience, and that's not altogether incorrect; the Manzi was 5-14 in the first half. But too often in the red zone, he wasn't put in position to succeed, especially on third down. His throws were both short of the first down marker and low-percentage; where did the roll-out game go? Why sit in the pocket and throw five-digs on 3rd and 8 when the receiver's in double coverage?

Worst. Statue of Liberty. Ever.

Granted, Stanzi didn't improve much in the second half. It wasn't until he coughed up the ball on the scoop-and-score (see above, vomit, rinse, repeat) that gave Illinois the 24-9 lead in the fourth quarter that Stanzi and the Iowa offense came to life. Also helpful: Illinois trotting out an obviously injured corner to abuse. Granted, it was great to see Iowa's offense come to life and finish off drives, but that cannot continue to wait until the 4th quarter--especially not against Penn State.

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Sure, Iowa just lost their first game of the year, 21-20. But how much do we really know? What was really important about losing to Pitt? What does it all mean, Basil? The Takeaway has the answer.

HASSAN CHOP!

Jake Christensen has officially played his way out of the starting lineup. There are myriad stories floating around about why Stanzi didn't see a single snap in the second half, and while none of them are anywhere near verifiable enough for publication (other than this nugget: "mutiny"?! Come on guys, Varsity Blues was an MTV joint. You can lie better than MTV), it's safe to say that bizarre, ineffectual one-minute drill by Stanzi to end the first half probably earned him a spot on the sidelines for two quarters.

And two quarters is it, because Stanzi is now your starter, according to Ferentz and the depth chart (pops to embedded PDF). This is probably for the best; Christensen was beaten into fear and insufficiency in 2007, and that sort of thing you just can't unlearn. After his offseason QB lessons with legendary NFL superstar Steve DeBerg, Christensen has now turned into the Big Ten's Dikembe Mutombo, a player of considerable athleticism and skills, but without the organic thought process to make it highly functional. He, like Mutombo, is like a robot on offense, deciding what steps his body will take before he executes them. The end result is awkward passes, pocket panic, and a game that cannot evolve as quickly as the play around him.

It's a genuine shame, because like Ladell Betts eight years prior, Christensen shouldered the load to the best of his ability, has little to nothing to show for it, and not one single time mouthed off publicly about it. Granted, Betts had plenty more room to gripe, but Drew Tate didn't, and that didn't stop the Five-Shooter, now, did it? We'll let Mike Gundy voice our opinion on the kid one last time, then tentatively relegate all Christensen talk to the trash bin of yesterday's news:

Stanzi is once again the Manzi against Northwestern, a role he has earned. While he's probably liable for a drive-killing Stanziball or two (or three), we're hard-pressed to imagine a scenario without injury or full implosion that involves a prominent role for Christensen from here on out. Shame that the era ends like this, but end it must.

Iowa's lone defensive weakness is at safety. On Pitt's first and third touchdowns, both long runs snaking through the Iowa secondary, FS Brett Greenwood was caught laughably out of position. The first run was especially egregious, as one unremarkable juke move left Greenwood with two broken ankles and utterly incapable of laying even a hand on the rusher five feet in front of him. Greenwood hardly made his presence known against this first tough opponent of the season (notable exception: saving a 20+ yard run with a dive tackle on McCoy's ankles in the second half), and we're thinking the comparisons to Sean Considine and Derek Pagel can wait until Greenwood cuts down on the mental errors that were famously absent from his predecessors' play.

E for Effort. Or Error.

Meanwhile, Tyler Sash (above), coming off a virtuoso performance against Iowa State, was downright pedestrian this Saturday, making some plays and missing just as many. We're not ready to give up the experiment on either safety so far (and looking at the depth charts, neither are the coaches), but they absolutely must perform at a higher level against a spread rush team like Northwestern--no position is put at higher stress levels against a spread offense than safety.

The cornerbacks, however, are doing just fine. It's safe to say Amari Spievey is doing just fine and will start until his career's over here. The Prodigal Hawkeye didn't miss a single tackle or lose coverage that we can remember, and he's still a sophomore in his first season of BXI action. We couldn't have known it at the time, but with Jordan Bernstine's problematic hammy, Spievey has become every bit as important an acquisition for the defense as Shonn Greene was for the offense. Bradley Fletcher has improved, yes, but without Spievey, we're either starting Shaun Prater (good, but definitely not ready) or Drew Gardner (horrrrk) right now. Those two are serviceable in spot duty. Spievey is undoubtedly a future NFL cornerback. The difference is palpable.

No Constitutional Amendments can help you now!

Meanwhile, after three unremarkable games, Kroul and Unusual Punishment have made their presence known once again. After Iowa went down 14-3, Pittsburgh tried to establish a running game, and it led to a two-quarter drought as the Panthers watched Iowa climb back into the lead. Statistics be damned; conventional rushing against Iowa is useless. Err, I mean, no! Anything but that! Please, opponents, don't rush up the middle on Iowa! We'd be doomed, I tell you, doomed!

Shonn Greene is doing an Earl Campbell impression for which he is unprepared. God bless Shonn Greene. Honestly. For someone who spent, as near as we can tell, almost two years away from the football field (first the ankle injury in 2006, then his academic hiatus), he is putting in a superhuman effort.

This is normal, Mr. Wannstedt. Be happy it only happened once. Northwestern's going to see it happen, like, four times.

Greene currently ranks eighth in the NCAA in rushing offense, which is remarkable; not only did he not run up gaudy stats on cupcakes and MACrifices, but that career high he put up against Pitt came in essentially three quarters. In the fourth, Greene was completely worn out, barely able to peel himself off the field or walk without a noticeable limp. In this sense, Greene is like 2006-07 Tony Freeman, a physical specimen, but noticeably lacking in conditioning. Freeman improved there, and we have no doubt Greene will too. We just hope it'll be soon; if he gets to the level where he can register thirty carries in a game, Iowa probably wins it. And really, if Greene rushes 30 times, no game is off the table. The sooner Greene reaches this level is the closer Iowa gets to a high-level bowl game.

PHOTO CREDITS:

1--Brian Ray/The Gazette
2--Press Citizen / Matthew Holst
3--Press Citizen / Matthew Holst
4--AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

This piece was meant to have been an all-inclusive, one-stop-pop roundtable discussion on the upcoming Hawkeye football season.  All four authors that contribute to BHGP were to answer 12 incredibly written questions and give their expertly expert expertise.  Seeing that I collaberate with a bunch of overzealous, pompous wannabees (I can only assume they were the same guys who, as kids, ran to the front of the class to be first to hand in their math assignments), this story is much larger than I anticipated.  Henceforth (yeah, big word, I know), this will be a double dipper.  Six questions now, six questions later.  Wow.  Fun.

LEGEND (for those of you scoring at home):

	Oops Pow Surprise
	Hawkeye State
	Jebus H Christ
	storminspank

EXPLANATION OF THE LEGEND:  If you were wondering about the basis of the icons for each contributor to the roundtable.  Here’s your answer.  I suppose I could have used everyone’s current avatar, but that would just confuse everyone severely.  The only logical thing to do was to go to Google.  It basically runs everything in the world, top to bottom.  The Google image results were studied and the most applicable images were used.  Sure, JHC gets a flaming unicorn and I get Pearl Jam rocking out on stage, but that’s randomization at its best.  If you disagree, go screw.

Now, without further ado, the questions…

Well, there’s a little more ado.  The questions are after the jump… so… make the jump… now.

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Iowa's most celebrated player of 2008, at least before the season begins, is undoubtedly defensive tackle Mitch King, the stout, crazed senior from Burlington. We like Mitch King around here (even if Ohio State doesn't), but he just doesn't have a great nickname yet.

Yet.

So that's where you, fair readers, will come in as part of our first poll of BHGP 2.0! Excited? Sure you are! Go ahead and vote below, and feel free to add your own suggestions, even though they're definitely worse than ours.

(and this is what the "Ill Mitch" thing is about.)

It's about that time.  For the next two months, BHGP will be previewing this year's Iowa Hawkeyes, position-by-position.  Naturally, as the earth rotates around the sun, things will change.  Therefore, we're starting with the position we are most certain of, and ending with running back the position of which we are least certain.  Tonight: Defensive Tackle.

For three years, there have been only two constants in Iowa's defensive depth chart: Kenny Iwebema and Bryan Mattison are the defensive ends, and Mitch King and Matt Kroul are your starting defensive tackles.  Iwebema and Mattison are gone, but the heart of the defensive line remains intact.  It's Kroul and Unusual Punishment, one more time with feeling...

The Starters

Mitch King (6'3", 264, Sr.) - What more can be said about the terrormonster?  He came to Iowa as a relatively unheraleded 3-star linebacker.  By the start of his redshirt freshman season, he was the starter at defensive tackle, and once there he never let it go.  In three years as a starter, he has recorded 96 solo tackles, 39.5 solo tackles for loss, and 13.5 sacks.  His numbers dipped ever so slightly last year, as opposing offensive coordinators realized he was a greater threat to their quarterbacks than either of Iowa's defensive ends (and watched in horror as Mattison decapitated said quarterback). 

Said to have a "high motor" (which is code for being undersized, white, and really good), King has been one of the keys to the Iowa defense since Norm Parker wrote his name in pen at the top of the depth chart.  As repeatedly chronicled here, Iowa's defense is alarmingly basic; the same formation - in fact, the same play - is used with amazing frequency, with small adjustments due to personnel.  The upshot, of course, is that Iowa rarely blitzes the passer.  Any pass rush Iowa puts together is the result of its defensive line.  King, despite being a defensive tackle, is a fantastic pass rusher who also has great instincts against the run.  On top of that, he's nasty enough to illicit Zapruder-esque videos from Ohio State fans.

This year, expect similar numbers to last season (58 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks).  Iowa starts two new defensive ends, and opposing coordinators will be more focused on stopping King than ever before.  While that might mean happy days for Clayborn and Ballard, it also might mean another decrease in sacks for King.  Nevertheless, King remains one of the most instrumental players on the defense.

Matt Kroul (6'3", 277, Sr.) - While King receives the newsprint and accolades, Matt Kroul has quietly become the most important player on the Iowa defense.  Kroul doesn't simply take on blockers; he absorbs them like a black hole.  Kroul practically forces a double team from the offensive line, freeing up his linemates to rush the passer and harass the running backs.  It's Kroul that allows the linebackers to stay back in coverage against the pass and move unabated to fill the gaps against the run.  It's Kroul that prevents a thoroughly mediocre secondary from being eaten alive.  Kroul might not have the numbers of King or the other great Iowa defensive tackles of the past decade, but he knows his role and plays it to perfection.

That role has never been more important than this year, as Iowa breaks in two new defensive ends and two new linebackers.  Again, expect more of the same from Kroul this season: About 75 tackles, maybe a sack or two, and hundreds of blocks digested.

Should See the Field

Anton Narinsky (6'4", 265, Sr.) - Poor Anton - maybe the smartest player on the team - graduated before last season.  You read that right.  He's still playing football, even though he's in his second year of grad school.  Unfortunately, he's never found a niche on this team.  He started his career as a defensive end, was switched to the offensive line after his redshirt year, switched back to defensive tackle last spring, and is stuck behind two other seniors.  He might be your boss some day, but he probably won't unseat either of his classmates.

Karl Klug (6'4", 235, So.) - Last summer, the moment of highest trepidation was certainly when the coaching staff mentioned they wanted to use Klug in a rotation at defensive tackle.  The thought of a 235 lb. defensive tackle seeing time in Big Ten play had me thinking of, well, this.  He was injured in early August, though, and didn't see action until the Minnesota game, where he ran around like a poor man's Matt Roth.  He was an insane pass rusher in high school, and all indications are that ability was not lost in translation to the college game.  Still, unless he adds about 25 lbs., he's eventually a defensive end.

Mike Daniels (6'1", 240, Fr. (RS)) - See Karl Klug.  Similar size, similar numbers, similar accolades from his coaches.  Will likely be a starter in 2009.

Cody Hundertmark (6'4", 260, So.) - Now that's the size we're looking for.  When Klug went down injured, Hundertmark found himself without a redshirt and in the two-deep.  He was a rotational sub by Penn State, and saw limited action throughout the season.  Looks like the eventual heir to Kroul's position as black hole in the middle, and should be the default fill-in for Matt this year.

Thomas Nardo (6'3", 245, Fr. (RS)) - Boffo high school numbers in Pennsylvania.  Didn't make the two-deep at the end of spring practice, but could force himself into the mix with a good summer.  Inexplicably wears #87, meaning he's an eligible receiver if necessary.

Jared Oberland (6'0", 250, Sr.) - Two-time recipient of "Team Leader" award, despite never seeing any game action in three non-redshirt seasons on the squad.  Still, given his obvious level of respect in the locker room and his upperclassman status, he might see the field on occasion.