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.

The two-deeps used in these mid-conference audits are taken directly from The Gazette's Marc Morehouse, whose fine On Iowa blog is a fixture on our RSS readers.

IOWA OFFENSE

WR — DJK, Stross

Well, this is a good place to start. DJK's 2008 has been pretty meh, actually, and while it seems pretty obvious that Stross' legendary speed is gone and never coming back, he's turned into one hell of a possession receiver; his hands are probably the best on the team. DJK is physically capable of making plays that nobody else in the WR corps can make, but he hasn't put it all together for a dominant game since, like, Northwestern 2007. If there was an unsafe starting job on the offense at this point (Kuempel aside), this is it.

LT — Bulaga, Kuempel

Good jesus, Bryan Bulaga. The word on him in summer camp even as a true freshman was that he was a mean, nasty blocker. But nobody could have anticipated the total domination he has put on opposing defensive lines. He regularly plants defenders 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, and it is simply no exaggeration to say he deserves All-American consideration.

LG — Vandervelde/Eubanks, Gettis

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Readers of BHGP, we need to talk.

HawkMania, the banner under which the QC Times' sterling Hawkeye coverage runs, has uncovered disturbing information about one of the captains for this week's game. We'll let Eric Page take care of this for us:

"Rob has these weird collections," McGrath said of his roommate and Week 1 co-captain. "He got into like Pez and those Beanie Babies, those Ty Beanie Babies. He’s a big collector. You go into his room at home, and he’s got all this stuff all over. He gets into all these phases. Right now, it’s Jordans."

Beanie Babies? Really?

Not exactly the kind of information a 290-pound offensive lineman wants out in the open as he’s coming into his own as a starter in the Big Ten.

 
Jesus God no.

Bruggeman attempts to bring the conversation back into the realm of the sane, but Page, forgetting whose goddamned side he's on! for one moment, won't let up:

No, Rob. Let’s do talk. How many of those adorable little stuffed Beanies are we talking?

"Lots," Bruggeman said. "I have three sisters. I was like 12 years old. Give me a break.

We would like to, sir, but Beanie Babies? Jesus, man. The only way for Bruggeman to redeem himself would be to go on camera and act out a skit with said Beanie Babies (he can just pick whatever ones are his favorites). That way, we wouldn't be able to complain, because our brains will have all exploded.

Last, in related news, Paki O'Meara is a big fan of those shitty Transformer knockoff Go-Bots, Tony Moeaki has 80% of the Snapple Fun Facts collection, and Brett Greenwood has pennies from every year from 1982-2008, plus a few from the 70s. Rad!

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.  To date:

1. Defensive Tackle
2. Tight End
3. Safety

Tonight: Center

Just another reason to post this picture

You might think center should have been higher on the list.  After all, Iowa returns a two-year starter who made about 97% of last year's snaps.  Initially, we thought that too, but the coaching staff clearly thinks Rafael Eubanks has some serious competition this season.

The Possible Starters

Rafael Eubanks (6'3", 285, Jr.) - Eubanks was a can't miss recruit who turned down offers from Oklahoma, Miami, Notre Dame, and Minnesota to play for the Hawkeyes.  Needless to say, he hasn't disappointed.  After a redshirt year, Eubanks entered 2006 at the top of the depth chart.  Except for a three-week stretch in 2006 where he was injured, he has snapped the ball on every relevant down of the last two years.  He was anywhere from first-team (Scout.com) to second-team (Rivals.com) to third-team (TSN) freshman All-American.  He was on the 2007 Rimington Trophy watch list, and he will be again this season.  He's incredibly quick (and, as we'll discuss later, agility is the key to zone running), and he's experienced.  Translation: he's probably the best lineman on the team, and might be the best center in the conference.

Yet, by the end of spring practice, he was the co-starter.  Go figure.

Rob Bruggeman (6'3", 290, Sr.) - Rob Bruggeman is the bizzaro Rafael Eubanks.  He walked on, ostensibly as a defensive tackle, and was quickly moved to center.  In the past two seasons, Bruggeman has played sparingly in 4 games.  He missed time in 2006 with injuries.  He missed the first 9 games of last year with a torn ACL.  What I'm trying to say is he's a little injury prone.

That being said, he's earned heaps of praise from the coaching staff; this spring, Ferentz called him, "a veteran guy, extremely smart, extremely hard working."  He was named academic all-Big Ten as a finance major, so there's no doubting his intelligence.  And, when healthy, he's been effective.  Obviously, the fact that he's listed as a co-starter with Eubanks is a testament to his ability.

In the end, we think Eubanks will be the starter.  When dealing with a young team, continuity is key.  Given Jake Christensen's problems last season, knowing he'll be touching the same taint for three years should be comforting.  That being said, if Bruggeman manages to stay healthy, he'll likely find a spot at guard.

Should See the Field

Josh Koeppel (6'1", 260, So.) - Listed as second-team center on the spring depth chart, Koeppel will likely be the starting long snapper.  For the sake of the team, we hope he doesn't follow in the footsteps of former long snapper Clint Huntrods.  For the sake of BHGP, we hope he does.

Andrew Schulze (6'6", 255, So.) - Handled PAT snaps last year.  Probably will do more of the same this year.