From the Sidelines: Fans shouldn’t put much stock in Spring Game

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I got a real kick out of my first Iowa Spring Game experience this past weekend. From other Iowa media members criticizing every single play to the fans screaming out negative words to quarterback Jake Christensen, I just have to laugh. It is four months away from opening kick off and already “experts” and arm-chair quarterbacks are throwing out 6-6 predictions. How can you predict anything based on one game and 15 days of practice? Did the Hawks look up to par in every phase of the game? Nope. Did the offense look any better than it did last year? Not really. But to judge based on what they saw Saturday is not fair to the team or anyone involved with the team. What unit missing six starters on offense would be perfect? I can maybe think of four or five national powerhouses that can make do without a few guys. And a program like Iowa is not one of them. At least not during spring ball. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz agrees. “We’ll continue to evaluate things collectively,” said Ferentz, who begins his 10th season at the helm this fall. “This is just one day. What counts is what we do in August.” The quarterback situation is interesting. But, unlike most, I feel like competition is a good thing. I would hate to think the coaches at Iowa would bring in kids who weren’t capable of playing on the field at some point. While it’s Jake Christensen’s job to lose, it is good to see sophomore Rick Stanzi putting himself into the mix with much-improved play. Like Christensen, Stanzi made some good throws and some not-so-good throws. Who will be under center Aug. 30 when the Hawks host Maine at Kinnick Stadium is anyone’s guess. “Right now, Jake is No. 1, but we will let the process continue,” Ferentz said. “Outside of (Mitch) King and (Matt) Kroul, no starting job is safe.” As usual, the defense was way ahead of of the offense. Which is why fans didn’t really get a decent look at the running back situation. Paki O’Meara is No. 1 right now over former JUCO stud Nate Guillory, but that only may be because O’Meara knows the offense and understands the speed of the Division I game. “The speed at this level is so much faster,” O’Meara said. “It was encouraging to get a lot of reps this spring. I feel good about where I am.” Both guys run hard and are low to the ground. It may feel a little bit like the Fred Russell days and look like the Albert Young days (Guillory wore Young’s No. 21 during the spring game). The competition at running back will get interesting this summer and fall as former Hawkeye Shonn Greene returns to the program and incoming freshmen Jeff Brinson and Jewel Hampton come on board. On defense, King and Kroul have cemented themselves spots on the interior defensive line. Junior A.J. Edds is the other guy who will most likely have a starting spot come fall. The Hawks could have one of the best defensive lines in the Big 10 or even the nation if sophomores Christian Ballard and Adrian Clayborn can duplicate what they started as freshmen last year. The linebackers and secondary unit should battle for starting spots right up until the first game of the season. “We’ll be inexperienced, but I think there are some really good athletes on this defense,” Edds said. “There’s still work to do, but it is something to build on.” Edds knows replacing Mike Humpal and Mike Klinkenborg at linebacker and Charles Godfrey at cornerback won’t be easy, but the junior says the Hawks should have more depth on defense this season. “You don’t replace guys like that, but I think we have guys that can do the job,” Edds said. “Several guys showed this spring that they should be in the mix.” The good thing for every team in the country is that championships are not won or lost in the spring. The Hawks have plenty of time before the opening kick off. Don’t take much from the spring game. The real Iowa team — good or bad — will take the field in August. It will be then that you should start to judge. Drake Relays I want to personally send my congratulations to all the area athletes who qualified for the Drake Relays this year. It is an incredible honor to represent your school at the prestigious event and to do so with so few meets because of weather this year is a big feat. Good luck at Drake.