GONE BABY GONE: NICO LAW LEAVES IOWA HAWKEYES FOOTBALL TEAM

Iowa safety Nico Law has left the team, per a post to his Facebook wall:

Given that Iowa's prohibition on Facebook usage runs through the offseason, the fact that he's posting means it's a done deal.

Law was involved in a fight outside a downtown Iowa City burrito establishment Saturday night or Sunday Morning and was facing a disorderly conduct charge after an altercation with an unidentified Femme Fatale.  With the simple misdemeanor pending and rumors swirling that the victim was a teammate, Nico was left Waiting for the Man to make his decision.  There is no word yet on whether Law voluntarily quit the team or was dismissed, and given how Iowa has handled other summer departures in the past, we might not hear anything until Big Ten Media Days in late July.  Suffice it to say, Kirk Ferentz has never needed something as big as a Heroin bust to throw someone off the team.  There wasn't much left for Nico to do but to go to All Tomorrow's Parties and wait for the verdict.

Law was a three-star recruit out of Bishop McNamara High in Forestville, Maryland; with an offer list that included NC State, Illinois, West Virginia, and a number of mid-major programs, most thought he could contribute immediately.  And while Nico showed he could Run Run Run, played on special teams as a freshman, and got some early-season depth chart love as a sophomore and junior, he could never break through.  Word was that, despite his reputation as a thunderous hitter, Law was perpetually out of position.  You would be watching Iowa's defensive secondary, and Law would bite on a play action fake, and There He Goes Again right down the seam and past the safety.  He was as good a recruiter as Iowa had, pulling in other players from the mid-Atlantic after committing and talking up the Iowa program to anyone who would listen, even Europeans, Son.

As such, the loss isn't that significant.  Iowa has two starting safeties -- John Lowdermilk and fellow Marylander Jordan Lomax -- already set, and while Law's departure moves safety to the top of the Assume the Position rankings, the chances of Nico actually starting during his four years at Iowa was looking increasingly slim. Defensive coordinator Phil Parker had hinted at using him as a safety/linebacker hybrid in passing situations this coming season, which might have been a perfect fit.  That is obviously all for naught, now.

So spin The Black Angel's Death Song and dress Venus in Furs.  Best of luck wherever you land, Nico.