Five Things To Pay Close Attention To in the Iowa Hawkeyes Spring Practice

On Saturday, April 17, Kirk Ferentz' Iowa Hawkeyes will suit up and play in front of their fans for the first time since their impressive Orange Bowl win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

For those familiar with Ferentz' spring "games," the atmosphere is less game-like and more scrimmage-like. In fact, even "scrimmage" might be too strong a word.

Basically, the first hour of the practice is spent warming up, going through fundamentals, and maybe doing some seven-on-seven drills. After this, full 11-man squads get on the field and the coaches have them go through situational drills.

For example, they run the two-minute offense, the goal-line offense, the red zone offense, etc., along with the corresponding defenses.

There is no real scoring or competition along the lines of what we come to see as competition during the football season. Furthermore, the end results of spring practice in no way cement who will be on the depth chart come Sept. 4 when Iowa takes the field against Eastern Illinois.

Nevertheless, it's always good to be sitting in Fort Kinnick, as it will be a long four months until football season starts.

Moreover, the spring practice does have a good deal of internal competition, as this is the time of the year when younger players start to assert themselves in position battles and as players of the future.

The following is a list of five things those in attendance at spring practice should pay close attention to.

1. Tight End Play

During Kirk Ferentz' pre-spring ball press conference, he seemed particularly worried about his tight ends.

He professed a great deal of confidence in his probable starter, senior Allen Reisner, and he has every reason to do so.

Over the past three years, as former starter Tony Moeaki piled up the injuries, Reisner has accumulated 27 catches for 374 yards. He is not the blocker that Moeaki was, but few are. In short, Reisner will be another in a long line of solid Iowa tight ends.

The problem starts behind Reisner after whom there is nobody.

Yes, it is the second string tight end and not the quarterback, but in Iowa's offense, a capable second tight end opens up a great many possibilities.

There are the various looks two tight ends can offer in a basic set. Also, last year, Iowa flexed out Moeaki and/or Reisner or occasionally motioned one of them into the slot.

In other words, when both Moeaki and Reisner were in the huddle, opposing defenses didn't know whether they'd be looking at what amounted to a four-wide or a fairly basic strong-I. Needless to say, there is a big difference.

As of now, the most likely second string tight end would appear to be true junior Brad Herman. He was heavily praised by Ferentz following the 2008 season, but in 2009 he seemed to fall off the face of the earth. Against Penn State, with Moeaki out, Herman still didn't play a single offensive snap.

Rumor has it that the coaches have been extremely disappointed with his blocking, an aspect of the game that has a good deal more to do with desire than innate talent.

Other players in the mix will be junior Zach Furlong, sophomore J.D. Griggs, and redshirt freshman Dakota Getz.

If none of them impresses this spring, expect to see true freshman and the jewel of the Iowa recruiting class, C.J. Fiedorowicz, get a great deal of playing time and opportunity this fall.

2. Second String Defensive Line Play

Binns, Ballard, Klug, and Clayborn. That will be Iowa's starting defensive line in 2010. There are no question marks and there are no worries.

However, all but Binns are seniors. The backups this year will go a long way in determining who will start in 2011.

Also, if you do plan on attending the spring practice on April 17, don't expect to see much of Iowa's starting defensive line. They'll get some snaps to be sure, but Ferentz isn't going to risk injury to any of his linemen for a scrimmage.

Spring practice is more about the upperclassmen staying sharp and the younger players improving.

Therefore, when Iowa does get to their situational practices, and Adrian Clayborn et al are not on the field, watch closely.

Remember names like Lebron Daniel, Steve Bigach, Mike Daniels, and Dominic Alvis, all of whom were listed as second string on Iowa's pre-spring depth chart. These may very well be a large portion of the front four Hawks in 2011.

3. Keep Your Eyes on the Safeties

We know that junior Tyler Sash and senior Brett Greenwood will be Iowa's starting safeties in 2010, and Hawkeye fans are very happy about that.

Nevertheless, both will miss spring practice while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. In effect, their practice reps will be up for some serious competition, not only just for playing time this spring, but also for second string status in the fall.

Ultimately, whoever winds up spelling Greenwood come September will probably be first in line to take his vacated starting spot in 2011.

According to the spring depth chart released on March 24, Greenwood's backups are Nick Nielsen or Jack Swanson. Meanwhile, Sash's backup is Tom Donatell.

I consider myself to be a fairly rabid Hawk fan, yet when I read "Tom Donatell," the first word out of my mouth was, "Who?" Furthermore, I only know Nick Nielsen because his brother, Tyler, is in line for A.J. Edds' vacated strong-side linebacker spot.

I guess the key thing to know is that both N. Nielsen and Donatell are walk-ons while Swanson was lightly recruited out of Florida.

Both Swanson and N. Nielsen are sophomores while Donatell is a junior. Swanson came to Iowa as a defensive back. However, Nielsen came in as a linebacker and Donatell came in a quarterback who switched to linebacker before landing at safety.

Donatell and Nielsen are both listed at 205 pounds, while Swanson checks in at 195.

Needless to say, at safety, walk-ons and lightly recruited players seem to be Iowa's stock in trade. In fact, to my memory Tyler Sash might be the only safety that Iowa has started under Kirk Ferentz that has been highly recruited.

In effect, seeing these relative no-names listed on the depth chart doesn't worry me. Furthermore, true freshmen and position switches might play a part in who winds up behind Sash and Greenwood in August.

Nonetheless, this is a position that Hawk fans will want to watch closely.

4. James Vandenberg's Development

As with the defense line, expect to see much more of backup James Vandenberg than starter Ricky Stanzi.

This is not to say that Stanzi won't play. It is just to say that the coaches know that Stanzi knows the playbook. He knows how to lead an offense. He knows how to hand the ball off and how to run a play fake.

Kirk Ferentz is not going to risk injury to Stanzi, so that he can work on running a stretch play to the right.

In effect, James Vandenberg will get a good amount of reps.

The last time we saw Vandenberg, he was trying to figure out a way to beat the Minnesota cornerback blitz. His results were less than spectacular, but most importantly, he led Iowa to a 12-0 win over the Gophers.

Presumably, JVB has matured considerably since that time. He has had an offseason in the weight room, studying film, and learning plays. He had bowl practices, and he has had a few months to reflect on playing in Iowa's final three regular season games.

Watch to see how Vandenberg does against blitz packages. Pay close attention to any audibles he may call, and how successful he is when he does change plays.

Finally, watch Vandenberg's touch, particularly on medium-range passes.

In his three games, he got himself in trouble multiple times with throws into the seam that should have been lofted, but were instead beamed. In fact, I would guess it was due to Vandenberg's lack of touch, as much as anything, that caused Kirk Ferentz to essentially take the ball out of his hands at the end of regulation play against OSU.

5. The Offensive Line

Not only did Iowa lose four starting linemen from the 2009 squad, but they lost six of their top 10 linemen.

Needless to say, the offensive line is the biggest question mark on many Hawk fan's lists.

However, knowing Ferentz, the starting five in spring ball will in no way determine who will start on Sept. 4. In fact, knowing Ferentz, the starting five on Sept. 4 might in no way resemble the starting five on Oct. 2, the beginning of Big Ten season.

Nevertheless, it will be the first step towards determining it.

The only thing that is safe to assume is that, barring injury, sophomore Riley Reiff will man the left tackle spot vacated by soon-to-be first-round pick Bryan Bulaga. Also, senior Julian Vandervelde will play one of the guard spots.

The pre-spring depth chart had the line as follows (from left to right): Reiff, Vandervelde, senior Josh Koeppel OR sophomore James Ferentz, junior Adam Gettis, and junior Markus Zusevics.

Backups include: redshirt freshman Drew Clark, junior Cody Hundertmark, and redshirt freshman Nolan MacMillan.

Don't expect too much out of this crew when they are playing against the first team defensive line. The chances of this relatively green bunch budging Clayborn and Co. are minimal.

However, look to see how they move the pile when the second team is on, as that will be a more even match. Furthermore, notice if they are picking up blitzes, and if not, exactly where the penetration is coming from.

In closing, enjoy Hawk fans. We won't see our Hawks in any capacity for another four months.