Iowa Football Position Group Report Card Two-Thirds of the Way Through the Season

Iowa Football's Offensive MVP thus far this season

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Offense

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Quarterback

Grade: F

This position group is obviously a bit unfair to judge fairly due to Cade McNamara's season-ending injury at the beginning of Game Five against Michigan State, but he wasn't exactly setting the world on fire either. Still, he remains Iowa's leading passer in most statistical categories through eight games with a whopping 505 yards and 4 TDs while completing 51.1% of his passes. In relief, Iowa has effectively handed the keys of the 2001 Ford Taurus that is the Iowa offense to Deacon Hill, who has done what I thought was impossible: Made me internally beg for Spencer Petras to leave his perch on Iowa's sideline throw on a jersey and come take over at QB for one last go-around. Hill is completing 37.8%(!!!!) of his passes with a 2:3 Touchdown:Interception ratio and no less than five throws each game that miss the intended target by more than five yards. I legitimately didn't think it could get worse at this position than what Iowa experienced last year, but these Hawkeyes aren't shy about historic performances on the offensive side of the ball. With the worst offense in all of FBS football by a considerable margin, they have a quarterback situation that somehow has found additional downside to reach.

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Fullback

Grade: A-

Through the first part of the season, Iowa didn't utilize this position as much as prior years in favor of lining up Erick All as an H-back (which I liked, for the record). In the past couple weeks as Iowa's TE room has thinned with injuries, FB Hayden Large has found a more regular role, with largely (pun intended) good results. He's made key blocks on multiple long runs throughout this year, which translates to about 95% of Iowa's offensive production. He's not the problem with Iowa's offense.

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Running Back

Grade: B-

The three-headed attack of Kaleb Johnson, Leshon Williams, and Jazium Patterson has flashed a lot of potential this year, and they've alternated turns providing the engine that keeps Iowa's 2004 Chevy Impala offense lurching down the field once or twice a game. Injuries have robbed us of a steady rotation, and their production has been inconsistent throughout the year. That's why I give them a middling grade.

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Wide Receiver

Grade: N for Non-Existent

They get this grade because they've been invisible essentially this entire season. Shoutout Diante Vines for a great catch last game against Minnesota. He might get three more catches this year with that kind of effort.

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Tight End

Grade: A

Prior to their injuries, Erick All and Luke Lachey were easily one of the best TE duos in the country, and All even singlehandedly carried Iowa's offense for a couple weeks before a Wisconsin player took a cowardly dive directly into the medial aspect of his knee (I'm not bitter at all). Even since, Iowa's TE3 Steven Stillianos and TE4 Addison Ostrenga have picked up the slack to a degree and are still well above average. Ostrenga flashed some big-time potential against Minnesota by catching multiple Deacon Hill passes (one called back, but I am counting it because I don't see a lot of passes caught on a week-to-week basis), a feat that I consider nearly impossible. This room was so loaded, and they've been the true backbone of this offense despite the injuries.

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Offensive Tackle

Grade: F

Mason Richman and Gennings Dunker have not improved, and they got absolutely destroyed by Penn State's EDGE defenders in a very public way earlier this year. The offensive line is, shockingly, noticeably better than last year to me (they have a good game once every three games instead of nonce every three games). These two have not. I've been very disappointed, because I had high hopes for both.

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Offensive Guard

Grade: C-

There was some shuffling at this position early in the year, but they've settled into starting Rusty Feth and Connor Colby. That's the best combo in my opinion, but even those two haven't been absolutely stellar. Inconsistency has marred the whole offensive line, and I think that is largely due to some inconsistency between these two. When Feth and Colby are rolling, the Iowa run game can move the ball. When they don't Iowa might as well pass every play. Or just punt.

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Center

Grade: B-

He hasn't been absolutely perfect by any means (I have high standards for Iowa centers), but he has improved massively since last year. His snaps are more crisp, and his athleticism when blocking in space combined with rare strength has made me see the path for him to develop into an NFL-caliber center. Unfortunately, he plays on a Pop Warner offense, so it's hard to tell exactly how good he truly is. Big props to Will's Man™️, though!

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Defense

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Cornerback

Grade: A

The only reason this isn't an A+ is because we've seen some inconsistency from Jermari Harris by allowing like two or three long completions this season. That's an unbelievable standard to hold a Power Five cornerback to, but this is the world we live in. Cooper Dejean is electric and elite. These two and Deshaun Lee are an excellent cornerback trio, and they've been more than serviceable even by Iowa standards. They just haven't been quite at the level of some prior groups.

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Safety

Grade: B+

There have been some splash plays made by Xavier Nwankpa, and I think he has sky-high potential and will prove to be a high NFL draft pick. There have also been brief lapses in concentration/technique that have allowed a couple big plays to happen that simply should not happen against this offense. Quinn Schulte is steady, but this season has had a number of moments that hammered home the truth that he is a former walk-on playing against big-time athletes. I think this group should be better, and it's because I think highly of their ability (particularly Nwankpa's).

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Cash/LEO

Grade: A+

Sebastian Castro has manned this spot essentially all year, and he's been a revelation. Hard hits, blanket coverage, and timely splash plays have emphasized how valuable both he and this position are to the success of this defense, and why Iowa usually reserves this position for one of their best players. He's an All-American (in my book), a future NFL player, and he might be Iowa's best pure defensive player this year.

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Linebacker

Grade: A

There were some coverage lapses early in the year by yours truly's Man™️ Nick Jackson, but since that has been cleaned up, the tandem of Jackson and Jay Higgins has been absolutely rock-solid. We talked on the podcast about how difficult it would be to replace Jack Campbell and Seth Benson, but Higgins and Jackson have been more than up to the task. Higgins, who is second in the country and leads the Power Five in tackles, will likely challenge for All-American honors while Jackson is a bonafide All-Big Ten performer to me. These guys have been awesome, and Iowa has leaned heavily on both of them to make a ton of plays throughout the year.

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Defensive End

Grade: C+

This is a difficult grade to give because there is more to the DE role in Iowa's defense than just rushing the passer, but Iowa's ends have not pressured the quarterback nearly enough. I expected a breakout year from Deontae Craig, but that simply has not occurred (2 sacks through eight games). Joe Evans leads the team with 3.5 sacks, which is not a number you're satisfied with this late in the year. Many people (me included) thought that Iowa's depth at DE would make up for the loss of a first-round talent in Lukas Van Ness, but that clearly has not played out to this point.

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Defensive Tackle

Grade: B+

This group has been better than the DEs, but I expected them to be extremely dominant this year. The absence of Noah Shannon clearly didn't help, but it's taken some time for Yahya Black and Logan Lee to establish consistency on the interior. Black had a phenomenal day against Wisconsin and Lee was very solid against Minnesota. Sophomore Aaron Graves has flashed elite potential with an expanded role, and I think this is a unit that will continue to improve as the year goes along, especially if Shannon is able to return to the field.

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Special Teams

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Kicker

Grade: A-

He had a rough outing against Purdue, but has otherwise been really solid. He's probably the best NFL prospect Iowa has had at the position in over a decade.

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Punter

Grade: G for GOAT

Literally the best punter of all time in my lifetime as a Hawkeye fan.