Iowa Hawkeyes Spring Football: A Peek Inside the Doors of Fort Kinnick

The doors of Kinnick Stadium are generally well-guarded. Not much information gets out, and that is exactly how head coach Kirk Ferentz wants it.

The only substantial information we can hope to get will be on April 16, when the Hawks take the field for their spring "open practice," and even that won't tell all that much.

Nevertheless, there are always inferences to be drawn from Kirk Ferentz press conferences. Moreover, there is no getting around the fact that in this day and age of instant everything, something will always seep out. Finally, the Hawks recently opened their doors to the media for one practice.

In effect, we know a few things.

Firstly, the injuries. The following players have not participated and will not participate in spring ball: WR Marvin McNutt, S Tanner Miller, LB Shane DiBona, DT Steve Bigach, TE Austin Vier and FB Brad Rogers.

McNutt's absence is not that huge a deal, as he is a senior and upperclassmen rarely do that much in spring ball. The only real loss is that he could have had an opportunity to develop timing with his new quarterback, whoever that will be. Nonetheless, he'll have all summer to work on that.

On the other hand, the losses of Miller, DiBona and Bigach are substantial, as they all were and will be competing for starting jobs. In my opinion, this setback will cost DiBona and Miller chances at starting this year, as their competition is too talented and/or experienced, and will gain too much ground for them to make it up. That said, I still feel Bigach will be in the mix for starting time next season.

As for Vier, he is out due to "serious back issues." Back pain is a very tricky business, and frankly, it's a shame, but I'd be somewhat surprised if we ever see the redshirt freshman suit up as a Hawkeye.

Meanwhile, Rogers is the most concerning case (both for his sake and for the team). He sat out the bowl game due to irregularities with his heartbeat, and, obviously, he has still not been cleared. As there is absolutely nobody with any experience behind him at the fullback position, Kirk Ferentz decided to initiate some position changes.

The following players have all become fullbacks during the offseason: Scott Covert, formerly a DE; Jonathan Gimm, formerly a TE; Matt Meyers and Cameron Olson, both of whom are walk-ons and former linebackers.

On top of that, there have been two recent walk-on fullbacks: Adam Cox out of Stillman Valley, Illinois and Air Force transfer Mark Weisman, the latter of whom will have to sit out this season per NCAA regulations. 

Lastly, Jacob Reisen is a third-year sophomore fullback, whose only collegiate action came in last season's win over Iowa State. This is concerning because fullbacks are usually substantial contributors on special teams. If Reisen had impressed the coaches, he would have at least seen time in that capacity.

In short, all of the fullback activity blatantly points to one conclusion: Kirk Ferentz is not counting on Brad Rogers to be able to play again, and he is very worried about the fullback position.

Unless one of the new fullbacks really steps up or Rogers gets healthy, I expect to see a lot of two tight or three wide looks next season (in lieu of the I-formation that Iowa often favors).

Speaking of receivers, true sophomore C.J. Fiedorowicz seems to have settled into the second tight end spot.

Iowa's pass catchers next season should be fun to watch. Fiedorowicz is 6'7", first string tight end Brad Herman is 6'5", McNutt is 6'4", probable second starting receiver Keenan Davis is 6'3" and backup Don Shumpert is 6'3".

The shortest scholarship receiver currently on the Hawks' roster is 6'0" Kevonte Martin-Manley.

And speaking of the backups, as previously mentioned, former Iowa receiver DJK has been raving about K-Mart for months, and rumor is that Shumpert has the most raw physical talent of any Hawk receiver in the Kirk Ferentz era.

The Hawkeyes are obviously moving toward big, physical receivers and opposing secondaries are going to need strong, solid tacklers to contain this bunch.

As for the running backs, De'Andre Johnson is fully recovered from the knee issues of his senior year of high school. Word is he has solid cutting ability (think Freddy Russell), and he could be a nice complement to probable starter, Marcus Coker's bruising style.

On the I'm-so-frigging-smart front, Micah Hyde appears to be transitioning from cornerback to free safety with sophomore B.J. Lowery taking his corner spot. Moreover, fifth-year senior and former cornerback Jordan Bernstine is competing with fourth-year junior and walk-on Colin Sleeper for the open strong safety spot.

I can't speak for the strong safety spot, but I think Hyde will find a good deal of success at free. He is more suited to play there than at corner. When it's all said and done, I think Hyde may wind up Iowa's best free safety since Sean Considine used up his eligibility in 2004.

At corner, Lowery will get picked on mercilessly to begin next season, but he will hold his own by the Big Ten opener. Still, that could spell trouble when Iowa plays Pitt, whose junior quarterback Tino Sunseri completed almost 65 percent of his passes last year. It is worth remembering that in his ascension up the depth chart, Lowery passed two corners—Greg Castillo and Willie Lowe—with starting experience.

The linebackers are currently James Morris at MIKE and Tyler Nielsen at LEO. No surprise there, while the WILL spot is split between true sophomores Christian Kirksey and Anthony Hitchens.

My guess is that Kirksey will get it. The coaches have been extremely high on him, and there was never any question of pulling his redshirt last year, even before injuries depleted the linebacking corps.

As for the defensive line, at last glance, Joe Forgy, and not the much more experienced Broderick Binns, was taking first string snaps opposite Lebron Daniel.

Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist Marc Morehouse didn't know the reason for this. Nevertheless, Binns and the other upperclassmen on the line are taking a personal stake in this year's class, and I'd be extremely surprised if the senior from St. Paul isn't at the top of the depth chart by the end of spring, let alone by September.

On the other side of the line, third-year sophomore Nolan MacMillan is a player that was conspicuous by his absence at the recent open practice. After starting six games last season, MacMillan missed the last half of the season with a shoulder injury.

He hasn't had surgery, and he was one of the rhabdo 13. Word is that he should be fine, but for now, redshirt freshman Brandon Scherff was lining up in his place. Other than that, the rest of the starting line is predictably: Riley Reiff, James Ferentz, Adam Gettis and Markus Zusevics.

Lastly, Iowa has added a walk-on juco cornerback in Iowa City West High's Gavin Smith. Reportedly, Smith spurned multiple FCS full-ride offers to walk on at Iowa. Being a West High graduate, that is certainly understandable.

Given the Hawks' still fairly deep pool of experience at corner, I doubt Smith will challenge for a starting job, though he might work his way into the two-deep and into nickel and dime looks.

He will be able to make a more substantial and immediate contribution on special teams. He has experience returning kicks, and with his reported speed, he could be invaluable as a gunner on punt coverage.