D line hasn't been an issue since Campbell got here. We will take a step back. But it's still a really strong group behind them. Lee and Singleton will return to anchor the middle. Blake Peterson has really flashed this fall
Returning players next year
- Thread starter Beach_Tornado
- Start date
D line hasn't been an issue since Campbell got here. We will take a step back. But it's still a really strong group behind them. Lee and Singleton will return to anchor the middle. Blake Peterson has really flashed this fall
I know I'm in the minority but the OL was not that bad all season.... were they exceptional? heck no. but being asked, as Campbell himself pointed out , to block 8-9 in the box with almost no deep threat or fear of many explosive plays on the perimeter... yeah, that makes it really hard for an offensive line.
As for the defensive line - I agree I think we may take a step back but I dont know. Maybe I'm delusional but I think Coach Rasheed will have that unit humming. Obviously we may not be setting records or anything like that right away but I am cautiously optimistic
As for the defensive line - I agree I think we may take a step back but I dont know. Maybe I'm delusional but I think Coach Rasheed will have that unit humming. Obviously we may not be setting records or anything like that right away but I am cautiously optimistic
Biggest program weakness is corner. By far. Next is getting the offensive line to maul.
QB - more talent but less experience and not 16-1 in JTS for conference play
RB - by committee. With a better line, not the dropoff you think. Play calling with change as well
WR - Noel need to be Deshante Jones level or above. Outside of Shaw. The room is set to be more shifty and able to separate. Hutch will be missed
TE - Lots of TE targets will go to the WR. Could lead to more big plays and more drops with Kolar gone.
DL - arguably the program strength
LB - undersized in Vaughn, Davis and Horne. More athletic
S - Argue with this group and DL for program strength if Young returns
ST - please get Mevis eligible for 2022
QB - more talent but less experience and not 16-1 in JTS for conference play
RB - by committee. With a better line, not the dropoff you think. Play calling with change as well
WR - Noel need to be Deshante Jones level or above. Outside of Shaw. The room is set to be more shifty and able to separate. Hutch will be missed
TE - Lots of TE targets will go to the WR. Could lead to more big plays and more drops with Kolar gone.
DL - arguably the program strength
LB - undersized in Vaughn, Davis and Horne. More athletic
S - Argue with this group and DL for program strength if Young returns
ST - please get Mevis eligible for 2022
I may get killed for this. But having a strong armed QB may help this
This part is on the OC. It isn't like ISU didn't have a couple guys with speed. The route running and general lack of shots down field was pretty disappointing the last 2 years. Purdy is also part of the problem here. He was pretty consistently under throwing deep shots. ISU will have to find someone to replace Hutchinson, which will be a tall order. On the bright side the Dekkers kid has a cannon of an arm.
Playing as a freshman would not be a factor at all next year since he still has a covid bonus year available. If I recall, there wasn't much depth at DE that year and either he or McDonald were needed in the rotation. Zach was further along in his development so he was the better choice. What it comes down to is that a decision has supposedly been made, I assume on his part, to move on. I fully understand it. It's a grind to play another year compared to starting a career and earning money. Especially when most of the guys that you came in with and have been playing with are gone. Last year it was a different situation for the seniors. They had a reasonable chance at reaching higher goals and coming back didn't tie up a scholarship slot on the roster.
IMO our roster is fine from a talent & experience perspective. There are a couple key position groups where guys need to emerge:
- QB. Dekkers appears to be the guy, but who knows. I do think we will see a different type of QB with more deep completions and Dekkers in the run game.
- WR. This might be the position group that has the most room to grow. It is hard to judge the young talent because we played so much 2 TE plus FB formations the last 3 years. We need some game breakers from the WR group.
- DE. We need to find a stud pass rusher among the young guys. I like Blake Peterson's motor in the snaps he got.
- K/P. Going to be tough to replace Mevis. He was All Big12 this last season. Plus he was solid as a punter.
- Our 3-3-5 has been very successful. Are opposing coaches learning how to exploit it? In our 7 wins, the Cyclone defense gave up an average of 11.7 points. In our 5 losses, the defense gave up an average of 33 points. Why such a Jeckyl & Hyde defense? Opponent Speed or Strength, Opponent Offensive Philosophy? Home vs. Road?
I struggle with Heacock's tendency to only rush 3 guys. The best pass defense is a pass rush. Only bringing 3 pass rushers creates bigger windows for the QB to see downfield. With graduation of Rose, Hummel & Vance- does it make sense for ISU to move to a 4-2-5 defense? I believe Campbell ran a 4-2-5 at Toledo. If we stay with the 3-3-5 defense, I would love to see development of a 6'3"/240lb hybrid LB who is a stand-up DE and pass rusher on most pass plays. I love watching aggressive defenses like Okie State, Michigan and Wisconsin.
- On offense our o-line needs to gel in September. Not sure why UNI and Louisiana gave our offense so many issues the last 3 years. IMO ISU should be run all over the Panthers. There is something wrong with how our O-line is being developed in fall camp.
- On offense more big plays. With Purdy, Hall, Allen & Kolar it made sense to leverage our talent to be a ball control offense. With guys like Noel, Jackson, Porter, Sanders, Townsend, etc.- I am hopeful to see us stretch defenses vertically.
Last edited:
*whispers* Love Purdy, but he didn't throw a good deep ball unless there was broken coverage and D coordinators knew it.
It can... but its not all about that. Sure, Dekkers seems to have a very lively arm. But it comes down to play calling largely. Even without a rocket armed QB, there is more we could have done to give our OL and quarterback easier reads and plays.
I think the 2022 defense would set up well for having 2 DT's a big DE and a stand-up LB/Rush end hybrid. You have 2 guys at or above 300 with a DE over 270.
Getting Zach Petersen to return would be like landing a top 10 transfer in all of college football. He's the perfect project to have one final off season to refine his pass rush.
I think we rotate more guys than we did this year on the 2022 d-line. Singleton and Lee are likely the best players on the defensive front set to return. We need to get them on the field if there is a threat to run. Howard Brown will enter the mix. Expect to hear BIG things from freshman Tyler Onyedim this off season. 2 proven Big 12 starters and 2 talented back-ups. For passing downs/3rd down. Sub out a DT and throw 270+ lb Blake Peterson inside. Then get your best pass rushers on the edge and create pressure. I you look at ELITE defenses on 3rd down and long. Some don't have any traditional DT's on the field and move their DE's inside with a hybrid LB/Rush end to go hunt QB's.
Plenty of talent. We just need guys to kick butt this off season and have Heacock add some wrinkles to our D.
See I think we're actually set up nice in the 3 man front but I agree on rotating.
If Onyedim slides into the role Enyi had - and maybe a Howard Brown or Lee/Singelton then we're two deep there, I agree on the pash rush part and moving Blake around but also, just in general - fresh legs help with the pass rush. When Isaiah started getting more reps I liked what I saw from him in terms of getting pressure from the middle.
I think you have to go to a 4 down front looking at the size of our LB's in 22. No Rose or Vance sized guys to help in run support. Davis, Horne and Vaughn are all quite a bit smaller than our 2021 starters. Maybe we see McDonald move from safety to an in the box DB. He is massive and a big time tackler.
If we could find a Butler or Lazard that would clear a lot of things up on the offensive side.
1) To the difference in the defense - I imagine if you look at 3rd down conversion rate, there is your answer. Our offense failed to extend drives and our defense failed to get off the field. We're a bend but don't break type of scheme and the more we're on the field.
2) Pass rush is also reliant on an ability to cover for 3 seconds roughly. If you can't cover, you can't get pressure. So in general dropping 8 in theory gives you a chance to give your rushers a chance to get there. An experienced QB who gets rid of the ball fast largely renders a pass rush moot. So you have to be able to take away the quick and intermediate game then get pressure, unless you are going to commit to blitzing but that's not our concept. Our concept is largely keep the ball in front of us, rally and make the tackle.
Also, since we typically don't have a ton of track stars - rushing 3 allows us to get another skilled player on the field to in theory get us quicker to the ball when it is thrown on the perimeter or down field.
Michigan has 2 NFL - possibly high NFL edge rushers. Both of those kids are monsters. But even with that Ohio State threw for 394. You aren't sacking people all the time.
3) As for the OL - for one, UNI's defensive line is arguably better than some FBS defensive lines. Has been since guys like Bryce Paup where there. It needs to gel yes, but its not just on them. Id say we need to have a more clear identify of who we are and how we are going to go about doing it than we seem to have in September. It seems to take us 3-4 games to figure out exactly who we are in terms of a play calling perspective
Agree. Going 11 personal will lead to more big plays. We will really miss Charlie. But having a WR catch the ball instead of Kolar can lead to more home runs and less singles and doubles.
Could also lead to more drops and INT's though since Charlie caught everything thrown his way.
Noel, Shaw, Jackson and Greg Gaines/Xavier Townsend (22 recruits who likely will play a lot) offers a lot more home run ability than Kolar and Allen have on pure athletisim alone. Throw in a QB with a BIG arm. We better stretch the field more.
I wouldn't be shocked if we saw more 3 WR sets to pull DB's out of the box. Loosing Hall will suck. But giving Brock and Sanders a 6 man box could really help that issue
