this should be a slam dunk....lets break down the numbers...
Tackles - 10th in the nation (Leading the big 12).
Solo Tackles - T 9th in the nation.
Passes Defended - 73rd in the nation (5th highest amoung LB)
Interceptions - T 35th in the nation (2nd amongst LB)
Forced Fumbles - T-18th in the nation. (9th among LB)
No other LB in the nation is ranked remotely close to these numbers across the board - and i'm not making a joke - ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE....Those that have a lot of tackles have far fewer forced fumbles and interceptions. Those that excel at the forced fumbles and interceptions have far fewer tackles...a true testament to his overall game.
Not to bash on AJ Klein as he's had a spectacular season. I personally think his numbers would have been up closer to Jake's overall had he not moved inside after Matt's injury.
But, for a position that everyone including myself was skeptical a bit heading into the season, these two guys have performed. Now that said, i looked over the lists to see which hawkeyes were up there....it was weird that statistically there were very few hawks on these lists. IMO thats because of their team concept, that the stops are spread out more evenly between the different levels and thus are a more sound defense.
Regardless - need one more fantastic game out of these two studs to see if we can go practice some more!!!!!
Tackles - 10th in the nation (Leading the big 12).
Solo Tackles - T 9th in the nation.
Passes Defended - 73rd in the nation (5th highest amoung LB)
Interceptions - T 35th in the nation (2nd amongst LB)
Forced Fumbles - T-18th in the nation. (9th among LB)
No other LB in the nation is ranked remotely close to these numbers across the board - and i'm not making a joke - ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE....Those that have a lot of tackles have far fewer forced fumbles and interceptions. Those that excel at the forced fumbles and interceptions have far fewer tackles...a true testament to his overall game.
Not to bash on AJ Klein as he's had a spectacular season. I personally think his numbers would have been up closer to Jake's overall had he not moved inside after Matt's injury.
But, for a position that everyone including myself was skeptical a bit heading into the season, these two guys have performed. Now that said, i looked over the lists to see which hawkeyes were up there....it was weird that statistically there were very few hawks on these lists. IMO thats because of their team concept, that the stops are spread out more evenly between the different levels and thus are a more sound defense.
Regardless - need one more fantastic game out of these two studs to see if we can go practice some more!!!!!