73 days to kickoff questions

[kingcy]

QB: Some say if you have 2 QBs you dont have any. I hope in ISU's case both are as good as advertised. Is Bates that good that it is a toss up between him and AA. AA has been in a college system for 2 springs now and around college football for longer. He has played some mins at QB in games. It is Bates 1st spring and he has made it a true fight for QB. One would think AA would take a big step to win this spot but that hasnt happened. I think either will be a good QB. AA was impessive in game and looked like a true leader.

RB: true there are 3 good RBs returning, but all 3 had problems last year. None could stay healthy. Scales has a history of injuries. Bass didnt practice all spring. ARob was good once he was healthy, if he can hold onto the ball. 3 RBs is good, if they start faster this year than last, and other coming in the RB spot should be OK.

TE: starting over but it looks to be an upgrade.

WR: Will be better than OK here

Oline: Guys changing spots, young guys pushing starters. New young guys are going to start. Scarry but if they improve as group like they did last year this will be a bright spot.

Kicker: who knows but really, not much is needed to upgrade this.

Dline: inside unproven that is scary since Rubin was an animal out there and covered up weaknesses.

DE: Will be OK here. If Parker starts as good as he finished could be the strong point of the D.

LB: Lossing a lot. The heart and soul of the D for 2 years for one. Smith inside was an animal at the end of last year but is he ready to be the man the O wants to block now that Bowen is gone? Very unproven outside.

DBs: At CB the team will be ok, but can they stay healthy? Will they find another S besides Brown and Brown does have some weaknesses. It has been a few years since ISU has been strong here. A lot of questions around the S spot.

Punter: Should be ok here if he gets more constiant.

KR/PR: All most anything is better than Blythe fair catching punts. Will someone be able to break one? KR got better as the year went on but it still needs work. Will that happen?

 

[BryceC]

I agree with you for the most part, but I am worried about the WR's as well. Chizik's quotes around the spring game didn't make me feel super comfortable and we need the newcomers (Carlson and Johnson) to step in and really make an impact. It's tough to count on that.

 

[jay moe]

A good strong running game will make all the difference in the world on both sides of the ball.

 

[CyValley]

I've come down some from my high about the OLine. My instincts tell me the potential is there for much better things in the future, but decades of watching college football instruct me that these things take time. Winning with a frosh/soph OLine is a tall order, isn't it? Anyway. . . .

Offense: QB and the OLine are my chief worries as a fan. Not because we don't have some Big 12 players in these slots, but because they're all so young. Inexperienced. There will be rough spots in 2008, don't see how that's avoidable. Now, by 2009. . . .

Defense: The interior DLs have been in the program a while, the coaches didn't appear to try to recruit over them in February (were we after any JUCO DLs last recruiting cycle?) Maybe this is an indication we'll be OK here (or maybe I'm whistling past the graveyard, how to tell at this point?)

As a fan, guess my top concern is the youth at linebacker. Coach McFarland says the lbers will be darn fast, but inexperienced. Fine core of experience at DB with some key newcomers, it appears. Can't wait to see what Banks, Benton and Johnson can add immediately to the nickel and dime coverages game.

Special teams: Lots of newcomers playing here, too? Scary and exciting at the same time, right?

 

[Clones85']

Good write up.

I still feel as if it is Arnaud's to lose and will be quite surprised to see anybody but him start the first game.

I don't feel good about our WR's. Us fans have said for the last 3 years that our WR's were the strongest part of our team and yet they have never lived up to it. Fact is we don't have great athletes at this position. Hopefully Sed J can come in and play right away and give us that break away threat that we need. I really feel as if Wallace Franklin can be a big play threat for us as well. Look for Sumrall to catch nothing but slants and ding passes.

 

[ISUclones33]

there should be excitement for the future of the WR position, there are not many times ISU has had a 4* recruit coming in at WR. and Carlson, Carlson has got some wheels. Purely hype and speculation right now, but that should provide excitement for our WR's. Not to mention a very solid Marquis Hamilton and RJ Sumrall return.

 

[Al_4_State]

there should be excitement for the future of the WR position, there are not many times ISU has had a 4* recruit coming in at WR. and Carlson, Carlson has got some wheels. Purely hype and speculation right now, but that should provide excitement for our WR's. Not to mention a very solid Marquis Hamilton and RJ Sumrall return.

Hamilton really impressed me last year, and Sumrall has been a very consistent hands guy through his career. The thing is Hamilton isn't quite a burner, but if we get a speedster/big play threat out of Franklin, Johnson, or Carlson, then our offense will be opened up immensly, with Hamilton being the overall go-to guy. I've stated earlier that this is the kind of thing that is necessary for us to reach bowl eligiblity, and I still feel that way.

 

[Stormin]

Arnaud will start, Bates will get minutes. Both are better than Meyer IMO. Just need experience. Bates makes plays. He could take over for Arnaud if AA stumbles out of the gate.

DL will be okay. Remember that a couple years ago that Nate Frere was starting as a true freshman. Now he is trying to compete for playing time as an upperclassman. That would signify that we have probably upgraded overall at DL. I got the impression that the coaching staff was comfortable enough with the personnel we have.

LB, Jesse Smith is solid. Bibbs gained a lot of experience, and Raven wasn't too bad. We will miss Bowen and Banks. But mix in Garrin, Schmidgall, and Bell and we should have enough bodies to be okay.

Safety, James Smith is a playmaker with speed and he is pretty solid. Chris Brown played pretty well last year. Plus we have a few newcomers like Banks and a couple others that played that we should at least be serviceable or better. Better than last year IMO as we are more experienced.

Corner, Bell and Singleton are back. Plus a couple top subs. Add to that the new recruits and I think we are at least as good or better than last year.

So on Defense I expect us to improve even with the loss of Tuba, Banks and Bowen.

Offense, I think the OL will be better. My reasoning is that two year starter Schmeling didn't come back for his senior year. He probably knew that the RS Frosh KO and Baysinger would eventually take his minutes. Not exactly the way a senior wants to go out. Dedrick is even in a dogfight for playing time.

Our backs should be better. All are back and should be healthy. TE should be at least as good or better than last year. Catlett and Colin Franklin are pretty good.

WR. We will miss Blythe. But Blythe was a poor blocker from what I saw last year. And at times didn't seem to make good fakes and carry out his routes if he wasn't the primary receiver. Maybe because he knew Meyer would never get him the ball because he would still be locked on somebody else. Hamilton was very good last year. Sumrall okay. I think with the newcomers and returning veterans that we will be alright but we will definitely miss Blythe's deep threat and big body. Sedrick Johnson may have even more potential though.

So all in all I look for improvement. I am thinking 6-6 record or possibly 7-5. But I am an optimist.

 

[hfour]

Didn't Chris Brown hurt his knee? If so, will he be ready for fall?

 

[Palmer]

Didn't Chris Brown hurt his knee? If so, will he be ready for fall?

I had this question as well. Chris made quite the impact bringing the hammer from the defensive backfield.

 

[cycloneryan]

The inside of the D line is by far my biggest worry. If we cant shut down the run in the big 12 and against EIU we will be in for another long season.

 

[Rogue52]

The inside of the D line is by far my biggest worry. If we cant shut down the run in the big 12 and against EIU we will be in for another long season.

If we shut down the run against the Big 12, we'll make sure the Big 12 isn't able to beat us in a one-dimensional game.

If we shut down the run against EIU, we'll shut down all of Kinnick Stadium.

 

[sdillon500]

If we shut down the run against the Big 12, we'll make sure the Big 12 isn't able to beat us in a one-dimensional game.

If we shut down the run against EIU, we'll shut down all of Kinnick Stadium.

I don't think Iowa State's going to have any problems shutting down the run against Iowa, considering their starting running back is walk-on Paki O'Meara (I don't know anything about Nate Guillory, and who knows if Shonn Greene will make it to campus).

 

[cycloneman003]

DE's will be money... taylor is gonna murder

 

[Wesley]

Can we exceeed 2.3 yards per punt return that we averaged last year?

 

[cycloneG]

Can we exceeed 2.3 yards per punt return that we averaged last year?

And chance a fumble? :sad:

 

[CyValley]

I don't think Iowa State's going to have any problems shutting down the run against Iowa, considering their starting running back is walk-on Paki O'Meara (I don't know anything about Nate Guillory, and who knows if Shonn Greene will make it to campus).

Who was that lanky bright-blonde kid during the middle ORF years who was a senior starting RB at eiu? He was from Iowa or Minnesota, I think. Don't remember his name . . . was it Bayless maybe?

He rushed for well more than a 1,000 yards. Tough kid. He was a walk-on there originally. It all starts up front, doesn't it? Hope eiu's OLine isn't anything to write home to the taverns about.

 

[clonedude]

I agree with you for the most part, but I am worried about the WR's as well. Chizik's quotes around the spring game didn't make me feel super comfortable and we need the newcomers (Carlson and Johnson) to step in and really make an impact. It's tough to count on that.

I really think we will be fine at WR. Maybe no stars, like Blythe, but very, very deep IMO.

We've got Hamilton, Sumrall, Wallace Franklin, Messiah, Sandvig, Jake Williams, along with newcomers like Jason Carlson, Sedrick Johnson, Darius Darks, and Lonzie Range. And don't forget guys like Collin Franklin. I know he's a TE, but he will likely line up at WR at times IMO. He will be a valuable target as well.

 

[ISUFan22]

Can we exceeed 2.3 yards per punt return that we averaged last year?

And chance a fumble? :sad:

Yeah - turnovers and field position killed us last year. We need to do a lot better in minimizing turnovers, doing something in the punt return game and kicking off to the other team.

And I absolutely can't wait to see what Hamilton can do as the key receiver this year.

 

[isugcs]

As a unit, there are going to be areas to exploit by opposing teams. Our Oline is going to face the nastiest Dlines in the country and our Dline is going to face some of the most, experienced, decorated Olines in the nation. Opposing teams will have skill players that abound. I'm not trying to be a downer, but every game is going to be a tall order in different ways with each team.

I think the key is coaching. We need game architects to win and we need a team that believes and follows their guidance. Surprisingly, in the final stretch of the season this team had more mental toughness since DMac teams that tirelessly executed the run.

I think the strategy will not be to be flashy or stunning, but deliberate and steady. They will need to slowly gain confidence throughout the season and by the time they meet the titans of the B12 they will need to have experienced what it will take to win games. But it all comes down to game planning and out coaching the competition. Keeping the opponents guessing, while maintaining a punishing offensive attack. This will do wonders towards success. We will also need to have a handful of players that nobody is talking about right now come in as a backup and either maintain or advance the skill at their position. The raw talent is there, but they just need to believe, this is where I think hiring the Chiz will really pay off.. if, and I do mean if, the stars align and success keeps forward every game. It can happen.