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Set the Delorean to November 11, 1939. Accelerate to 88 mph. Hop aboard the Wayback Machine: Nile Kinnick and the game that won him the Heisman, from the stadium that would eventually bear his name, in living color:
Late edit: I've received a couple of emails asking for Kinnick's 1939 numbers. Kinnick won the Heisman, Maxwell, and Walter Camp Awards that year. From the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia:
[Kinnick] led the Hawkeyes to a 6-1-1 record by rushing for 5 touchdowns and throwing for 11, drop-kicking 11 extra points and scoring 107 of the team's 130 points. Kinnick played all 60 minutes in 6 of Iowa's 8 games and led the country in kickoff return yardage and tied for the lead in interceptions.
Possibly more impressive than that is this passage, from the Wikipedia entry on the '39 Hawks (describing 6:28-8:00 of the video).
Toward the end of the second quarter, Kinnick made a touchdown saving tackle on a Notre Dame run at the Notre Dame 41 yard line. On the next play, a Notre Dame pass was intercepted by Kinnick at the Iowa 45 yard line, and Kinnick dodged several tacklers to return the ball 20 yards with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.
On the next play, Kinnick fired a pass for Dean in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Steve Sitko at the goal line. Sitko returned the ball for a few yards before being hit hard by Andruska, forcing a fumble. Dean and Evans recovered at the Notre Dame 4 yard line. Rushes by Kinnick and Dean for no gain brought up third down, and Notre Dame called a time out. Kinnick shifted to right halfback on third down and carried the ball over the goal line for the touchdown with forty seconds remaining in the half. Kinnick added the extra point under a heavy rush to give Iowa a 7-0 halftime lead.
So, um, yeah, he was good.
Caring is Creepy. Iowa picked up its ninth verbal commitment for 2010 yesterday in the form of Brandon Scherff, a Denison (IA) offensive lineman (and universal 3-star). Scherff, who turned down offers from pretty much the entire Big XII North, is the first offensive lineman in the class. He comes equipped with the Kirk Ferentz Recruit Starter Kit (multi-sport athlete, squeaky clean background, looks like a small mountain):
As a junior, Scherff lined up at quarterback on offense....Scherff also played tight end some and caught 11 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Scherff was a defensive lineman, a position he was much better at than quarterback. He had 47 tackles including 1 for loss in the Monarch's 9 games. His efforts landed him Class 3-A Second Team honors by the Iowa Newspaper Association.
In high school, in addition to football, Scherff played basketball. He averaged 10.6 point, 8.0 rebound, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 block per game as a junior. He also has excelled in the shot put and discus. He won the 3A title in shot put as a sophomore before getting beat by incoming freshman Drew Clark in 2008. Scherff is also a pitcher on the Monarchs baseball team.
Scherff is already 6'6", 300 lb., so the move to collegiate offensive tackle will be far focused on technique than it will on size. Call me crazy, but a 17 year old with that kind of girth and the speed and agility to play high school quarterback/tight end could contribute quickly, and in a big way.
Footnotes Someone from Des Moines speculates on the future of Bret Bielema and, in the process, sends Adam Rittenberg the single dumbest email in the history of the world. Smart Football answers that age-old question: Why are NFL offenses so damn boring? LeBron James' video censorship skills are the envy of 1989 Communist China.