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It’s been a while since we’ve been privy to such a shakeup in the makeup of the Hawkeye football team. Off the top of my head we have a new special teams, wide receivers, quarterbacks and offensive line coach. Oh, and a new offensive coordinator.
Obviously the look of the offense under Brian Ferentz has been debated quite a bit on the interweb. At first I thought he would open up a whole new playbook, then I calmed down and realized it would likely be identical to the offense of Greg Davis.
Now, after hearing new offensive line coach Tim Polasek and tight ends coach LeVar Woods, I’m a little more optimistic about the wrinkles we will be exposed to while watching some pigskin this year.
“I think so,” Woods said responding to a question on downfield vs. shorter routes. “Again, we have a couple guys who can stretch the field that can do that, so that’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Remember when Jake Duzey outran the entire Ohio State defense? Good times.
Also, in the least surprising Iowa news ever, we have ourselves a KICK-OFF. No, not that kind:
At kicker, sophomore Keith Duncan returns. He booted the 33-yarder that beat Michigan and put shine on the 2016 season. Duncan finished the season 9 of 11. Miguel Recinos handled more of the 40-plus kicks, hitting 1 of 3. Woods called it a “wide open” competition.
Woods said he’d love to have the specialists openings decided before spring practice finishes (April 21 with the spring game at Kinnick Stadium beginning at 7 p.m.), but knows it might go through fall camp.
We may take the abilities of past offensive line coaches for granted. Obviously it helps when your head coach basically is the offensive line coach, but still. I’m intrigued by what Tim Polasek brings to the table, and something tells me he’s going to be a favorite of ours in the coming years.
“I really like to see active bodies out there. I get on edge a little bit when I see too many guys standing around, and so we're going to go fast,” Polasek said. “We want to have a great deal of energy. We want to have an urgency, a can't-wait mentality in what we're doing.”
Does that mean shades of a hurry-up offense is on the way? We’ll save this for a future Zap-Ruth-er film.
As Iowa fans, we certainly know the importance of special teams. The Hawkeyes are somehow going to replace Ron Coluzzi at punter this year. One could make a serious argument for Coluzzi as team MVP last season, so finding his successor will not be easy. Say nothing that Iowa’s two return men from last season are gone, so whoever is fielding punts and kicks this year will be a rookie in that regard.
Maybe Josey Jewell is in that mix?
“Still the first guy in every line in every special teams drill,” Woods said of Jewell. “Setting the example for everyone, the younger guys. … Not sure which unit or how many units, but he's going to play, and he wants to.”
No, probably not.
The rest
- CJ Beathard is “worth a late-round selection,” according to Pro Football Focus.
- Really, really nice piece here about honoring Arnold Palmer at this year’s Masters.
- On this day in 1896: our first modern Olympic Games.
- This story of Kansas high schoolers fact-checking their new principal’s credentials is incredible.
- How Uber uses psychology to run its business.
- How to enjoy the golden age of television without going broke.
- This Q&A with Arnold Palmer biographer Tom Callahan is a must-read.
I hope your weekend is full of pimento cheese and green jackets.