Signing Day 2010: Which Hawkeyes Will See The Field in 2010 (Part 2)

On the defensive side of the ball, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Hawks burn at least three redshirts.

To begin with, Iowa's current D-line will play three seniors this year and will be extremely disruptive.

Nonetheless, so many upperclassmen means that there will be starting spots to be competed for on the 2011 team.

The 2010 class signed five defensive linemen: Anthony Ferguson Jr, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Mike Hardy, Donovan Johnson, and Carl Davis.

As mentioned when considering the O-line, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of these players moves to the offensive side of the ball.

Moreover, in order to break up this rather substantial group, I expect one of these linemen to play this year.

Trinca-Pasat, who enrolled early and has been on campus since January, should have a jump on the competition.

However, my money is on Carl Davis.

The soon-to-be-freshman from Michigan is already at 300 pounds. While Iowa likes their inside linemen relatively small and quick—see Jonathan Babineaux , Mitch King , Karl Klug —in order to exploit the O-line on stunts , they rarely have an opportunity to sign and play a naturally big player.

Carl Davis has a chance to be a force Iowa hasn't really seen since Colin Cole graduated.

Moreover, the 300-pound Davis seems to be fairly quick for his size and has been clocked at running a solid 5.0X40. Whether that will translate into football speed remains to be seen.

However, in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten, where games are won in the trenches, Davis' bulk can only help him.

Meanwhile, Iowa also signed a hefty four linebackers in this class: James Morris, Austin Gray, Jim Poggi, and Christian Kirksey.

Linebackers, like tight ends, are built in such a way as to make it fairly easy to switch positions. Nevertheless, three of the four linebackers in this class are prototype linebackers, with the one exception being Kirksey, who is a bit slimmer than the others.

Kirksey could conceivably become a big strong safety, but I don't expect it to happen.

As it stands, it is entirely possible that he will eventually wind up playing the quasi-centerfield safety position that Jeff Tarpinian often played this year on passing downs. Still, that is probably a few years in the future.

Regardless, due to the amount of linebackers in this class, I expect at least one to burn his redshirt.

It is impossible to say which one, as physically, they are all somewhat identical. In the end, it will be whichever one most distinguishes himself in August.

In the backfield, Iowa has two players that are coming in as defensive backfield players: lightly recruited Iowa native Tanner Miller, and B.J. Lowery out of Ohio.

There are also two other players who could and probably will land in the defensive backfield when all is said and done: RB/S Anthony Hitchens and WR/DB Don Shumpert.

Lowery is, without question, a cornerback, and that is where he will line up through the duration of his Iowa career.

Under different circumstances, he might be able to make a splash, but Iowa is currently loaded at CB. This is true despite Amari Spievey leaving for the NFL draft one year early.

With Shaun Prater, Jordan Bernstine, Micah Hyde, Willie Lowe, and Greg Castillo all having considerable experience, expect Lowery to redshirt.

Meanwhile, there is a good amount of playing time available at safety.

While Iowa's starting safeties—Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood—are all but set in stone, with the transfer of backup David Cato , there are no established backups.

Furthermore, FS Greenwood is a senior. In effect, this year, the Iowa staff will be looking for a player to distinguish himself in the backup role, thereby making in-roads to the starting position for 2011.

As I mentioned in a previous article , I think Brandon Wegher will move to safety this off season. It's difficult to say which safety position, as the free safety position comes with certain play calling and audible responsibilities. I don't know what Wegher's skill set is in that regard.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see one of Iowa's incoming safeties burn his redshirt and compete for the other backup job.

I'm going to go out on something of a limb and say that Hitchens will be the one to play.

In terms of frame, he is a little bigger and thus, more ready-to-go than the other safeties. Moreover, he did play safety, as well as running back, in high school.

I don't think he will get any meaningful playing time. I hope he doesn't, as that would mean Tyler Sash or Brett Greenwood would be injured and that could be catastrophic this year.

Still, I think he'll get his feet good and wet on multiple special teams units.

All told, a good and mixed class for the Hawkeyes, and if my predictions hold true, there will be four true freshmen on the field in 2010.