Let's play good news, bad news. Bad news! Another player is transferring away from the Iowa football team. Good news! It's not another running back. Bad news! It's one of Iowa's biggest recruits of the last few years, a superb athlete, and a potential difference-maker on offense or defense. Good news! It's not a defensive lineman. Bad news! It's A.J. Derby.
IOWA CITY, IOWA - University of Iowa football player A.J. Derby has asked for a release from his football scholarship and will transfer from the University of Iowa. The announcement came Monday from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
“A.J. has asked for his release, which has been granted,” said Ferentz. “We are sorry to see A.J. leave the program. He has been a positive member of our team and a pleasure to coach over the past two years. We wish him the best as he moves forward with his career.”
A.J. Derby added the following: “I would like to thank the University of Iowa and football coaches for the opportunity. Unfortunately, I don’t feel this is the best fit for me personally to reach my goals as a student-athlete. I especially wish my brother (Zach) the best of luck in the coming year. I will miss all of my teammates, family and friends who have supported me here. Good luck to everybody. Once a hawk, always a hawk.”
Derby played in nine games as a redshirt freshman in 2011, completing three of six passes for 30 yards and recording one solo tackle on special teams.
We don't the know the whys and wherefores of this particular transfer decision -- it may be because Derby still has an itch to play quarterback, it may be because he's upset about his treatment after his run-in with a bus window last fall, it may be because he didn't like the depth chart at linebacker, it may be because he didn't like the gum Kirk Ferentz chewed, or it may be for some other reason altogether. But he's gone. And so Iowa football loses another player to the grim specter of attrition. This sucks. God, does this suck. Best of luck to A.J. wherever he lands.
0 recs | 484 comments
Damn!
Kid had promise, but guess he just wasn’t a Ferentz type of guy….or something.
MP hawkfan - January 16, 2012
He sure was when he got recruited.
At least that’s what we were told. By KF.
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
Please make it stop.
SaturdayMorningKegStanzis - January 16, 2012
I want to say I'm done with Iowa Football. It feels that way at times like these.
Maybe we could give the schollys to the other football team. Wooooooo Iowa Futbol Awesomez
Yeah. Yeah, that feels pretty good.
Go Hawk Soccer!
No sir, I don’t like it.
Okay, I’m back to hating the fact that I like Iowa Football.
Carry on.
[I do actually hope that Iowa Soccer does well, but it won’t replace Hawk Football for me.]
Eyeheartfreedumb - January 16, 2012
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
that is all
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
Oh and best of luck
perhaps you’ll land with a coach that understand how to utilize a mobile quarterback
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
Where is the guy who coached Brad Banks these days?
Notclevr - January 16, 2012
Mr. Derby, there's a "Coach Rhoads" on line 1 for you
CyHawk - January 17, 2012
You keep your filthy red hands off him!
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
Steele Jantz 2.0
Let us know how that works out for you.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Well enough to beat Iowa, I imagine.
Bucketochicken - January 17, 2012
too so--aw, fuck it.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
Vagina
Boob.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
My last girlfriend had one of those
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
But not the other?
Sorry, man
chitownhawkeye - January 16, 2012
Which would your rather have your girlfriend go without?
That’s a head-scratcher.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
A voice?
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
haha those darn girls always saying stuff
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
But the question is
Is it a boob shaped like a vagina, or a vagina shaped like a boob?
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
This is a mature tangent
and there are females in the room so I’m sure they’re really loving the sophisticated man talk here.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
Ladies? Damn!
[puts on pants]
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
Ladies? Yes!
(takes off pants)
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
i'll wreck that
sailorjerry - January 16, 2012
It's more mature than fighting with people about Barta in that FanShot
Sorry, that sounds harsh, but that fight was ridiculous.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
That guy's been stalking me from one comment to the next for weeks (thanks SBN search function)
I’m guessing that’s how Bellanca felt.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
And, for the record, no, it's not more mature
I would hope people here realize anatomical differences between males and females. Whereas people do not understand what Barta’s value is, at all.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
He's a thorn in everyone's side
And I can see you getting personally annoyed with him. But I think we’re all capable of understanding physiology and making dumb jokes about it to find some humor in bad times. It offends a lot less people than the internet fight IMO.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Okay...but I can't believe that fight offended anyone
and if a bunch of female posters came in her yucking it up about dick size and man boobs in a crass and self important way I’m betting a few guys would be kind of silenced. But they wouldn’t do that so it’s not relevant.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
They talk about girl stuff all the time, actually.
and the ASAT mega-thread had tons of reference to the hotness or notness of male Iowa athletes, which is one of most peoples’ favorite BHGP memories.
I know you like to use BHGP to discuss more important things (and stuff that has merit like the relative worth of Barta), but I just had a problem with how you called several people immature for a joke.
In any case, I’ve said my piece. I’m not interested in a drawn-out argument with you.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
SMA I love your posts, I really do
you provide thought provoking commentary on most subjects here at BHGP. I was simply trying to bring a little levity to the situation at hand, that being the ridiculousness of all these transfers, and my attempts appear to have fallen flat, if I offended any of the fine women that visit this fine site, I sincerely apologize. But with that said, as a man with a tiny penis and man boobs, have at it ladies!
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
No offense taken
Actually, I applaud the mods & general commentariet. The majority of the time BHGP is a fantastic corner of the interwebz. It goes off the rails every now & again but that’s ok. As long no one’s calling me awful things I’m good.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
YOU'RE AWFUL
-ly nice!
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
;)
Well played
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
poor persecuted Bellanca
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Norse? Even you?
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
I was fine with Bellanca, even though he seemed to think otherwise
I just think he took the internet way too seriously and made his exit way more dramatic than it needed to be. He was not a martyr for some great cause, which is how he seemed to want people to react to him leaving.
Anyway, this is way off-topic, so, sorry.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Blame Cats
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
I love cats.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Corn Nation loves you.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Well I don't love them
They smell like a meat packing plant.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Wait, what?
Bellanca is gone? I am really going to miss his “I’m a CEO, your argument in invalid” angle around here.
Hawkaloogie - January 16, 2012
That is such a ridiculous oversimplification.
The Final Gun - January 16, 2012
Same here
Didn’t know he’s gone, what’s the story?
Twin Cities Hawk - January 16, 2012 via iPhone app
Let's just say it involved Jerry Sandusky, the Catholic Church
And RAINN.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
and a stalker
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
Oh yeah, I forgot about that
That part was legitimately weird.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
I never heard about the stalker
but the other part of it was a silly over reaction on his part. He seemed a lot more mature than that.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
He's not the only one who needed a hiatus from Iowa sports
I’m truly glad the football offseason’s here. Now, just to scroll on past every “IT’S FERENTZ’ FAULT!” “NO, FUCK BRUCE DAVIS!” argument…
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Yeah, you're right.
I got more heated than I should have, but that’s the breaks with Monday morning.
DisplacedHawkeye82 - January 16, 2012
Hai Guys
Carry on
/averts eyes
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Whaaaaat!?!
These are CLEAN pants!
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
Oh I'm not taking any chances
But I’m sure they’re fabulous
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Thank you!
They flatter my hips.
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
As do mine
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Fart Muffin Jonestown
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
NOTHING TO SEE HERE.
Move along.
9isEnough - January 16, 2012
You had both the beginning and the end as "bad news"
But that’s probably fair. Sigh. Things that would not have made much mention in 1992 but now depress my world in 2012.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
The fu.....?
BlackHeartOldPants - January 16, 2012
sigh
RossWB - January 16, 2012
or
sailorjerry - January 16, 2012
i don't think Fran needs an instruction manual
and sorry to see Mr Darby depart
it must be gut wrenching
but i loved his comments
best of luck
the kind of guy you can always root for
no matter where he lands
OhioHawk - January 16, 2012
AND TAKE YOUR FUCKING CHAIR WITH YOU
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Hmmmm
Good form, good form. Can’t just settle for CoachCo, cut-rate shit.
hkobb7 - January 16, 2012
at OSU yesterday the lead in video for indy
talked about all the stuff that came from Ohio
and ended with ""And Bobby Knight"
pretty awesome, not as good as the wisonsin deal with it, but awesome
OhioHawk - January 16, 2012
No picture of the mugshot?
That thing was awesome.
Suck. I liked Derby and really thought with a solid year at LB, he could end up a great one.
ckmneon - January 16, 2012
At least it will be safe to ride the busses.
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
Morehouse was talking about Derby's Wisconsin connections on twitter
Ferentz isn’t dumb enough to let him transfer there, is he?
hithisisryan - January 16, 2012
I think a Wisconsin transfer is unlikely.
Probably just feeding the conspiracy theorists. Seeing the resulting meltdown of a Derby to Wisconsin transfer would be hilarious, though.
The Mexican't - January 16, 2012
He's the next Russell Wilson, you see.
hkobb7 - January 16, 2012
And I would have to choke a muthafucka
if this came to pass.
It’s times like this that really test a man’s sanity.
Dip-Shit - January 16, 2012 via mobile
I would hope he has a BIG10 stipulation on that damn release
waterboy31321 - January 16, 2012
Didn't matter for Ben Brust
Besides, there’s probably less than a 10% chance he ends up anywhere D1. Not much playing time left if he transfers to a D1 school
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
2 years is plenty of time if he picks his spot properly.
WhiteSpeedReceiver - January 16, 2012
Brust specifically petitioned to transfer in-conference
and I believe it had to go through conference officials for clearance.
HawKCP - January 16, 2012 via iPhone app
I'm guessing anybody that wants to specifically petition can get it done
Don’t want to hurt the kid’s chance to play for the school that gives him the best opportunity to succeed, especially with the threat of a lawsuit.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Lawsuit?
Or is this a Brust thing? That was pre-BHGP for me.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
I think that's speculative of where a situation like this could go
if someone really wanted to challenge conference rules regarding being able to put a kid on scholarship.
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
Correct.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
It's not additional info about Derby or Brust in any way.
I’m just saying that an anti-trust or NCA lawsuit could easily be brought against the B10 if it tried to truly not allow a kid to transfer between B10 schools, and that if one was brought they’d probably cave immediately to avoid the costs and bad press.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Gotcha
Many thank yous
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Well
to be fair, they can block his transfer in terms of a scholarship. If he wants to transfer and pay his own way, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.
Brock8144 - January 16, 2012
This is childish and counterproductive,
but I kinda hope he does transfer to Wisconsin, and I hope he wins a Heisman as a QB. What a fucking waste.
Bucketochicken - January 16, 2012
And back to choking muthafucka's.
As childish as it may be, at least in some weird way, it may justify the loathing I currently have for the Captain.
Dip-Shit - January 16, 2012 via mobile
Dumb enough? Let the kid go where he wants.
Hasn’t the contributions to the program from Dad and Brother given this kid the right to go where it’s best for him?
One_ill_KevinJ - January 16, 2012
Am I wrong, or
do I remember the list of scholarship offers he got, but one reason he chose Iowa was because Kirk recruited him as a QB, and the other schools just listed him as an athlete to be named later type….then 1 year after he gets here, Iowa says “just kidding, try LB”. This is not surprising to me, I guess is what I am trying to say
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
Meh. I'm thinking it was similar to Dwight
Where Iowa was the only place to let Dwight play RB, he spent a few games trying it out, and discovered the slot was a better place for him. Sure seemed like Ferentz was letting him prove himself at QB. Could have easily buried him behind Weinke without raising any eyebrows. Could be he looks at himself and wants to play in a different defensive scheme or somesuch.
I agree we should have found a way to use him, particularly given the lack of RB2.
nhradar - January 16, 2012
I don't disagree necessarily
But if the transfer is position related, and judging by his comments it must be, I just feel like the kid probably deep down still wants to be a QB more than a LB in a different scheme.
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
I have not seen us do much (if any) shoehorning of talented players
at Iowa players bend to the program, not vice versa.
To be fair, Kansas doesn’t do that either.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
I thought that was what the jailbreak screen was for..
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
Which is a thing you can do
And still be successful. If you can be sure of building the folks into the team you want. Just not as much as in the past.
The issue we’re really having right now is that people are leaving before the team gets there, leaving us short of bodies for next man in. If you’re KF, you see the risk of rearranging the offense around someone who then gets injured, leaving us with no ability to put the next man in. I agree with you, SMA, that things have changed with recruiting and player communication/teaching and it feels like the IA staff hasn’t adapted to it.
nhradar - January 16, 2012
I think you're right about the perceived risk, but putting a package in for the goal line or short yardage to
exploit his superior athleticism is not kowtowing. If he leaves, dump the package.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
so much this
I love our offense when we are balanced and pound teams to submission (see Wisc last year). That said, why can’t we take advantage of a unique talent the same way others do? Hell, a wildcat-esque package with derby seems like something we could have tried or game one, or at the black and gold game at the least.
Is a unique right? Sounds better than an unique, which should be right, to me. Stupid english.
BoiseHawk - January 16, 2012 via mobile
Yeah, I agree with you
I meant the last line to be a new paragraph, and one of the things I meant wrt recruiting and retention was that, nowadays, being a little more flexible and showing players that you want to give them the chance to help you win might be useful.
nhradar - January 16, 2012
This
Heading into the year, running some wildcat and/or goaline stuff with Derby at qb was an logical and obvious option. But it was a dream I knew right away Ferentz would be too conservative to make a reality.
Mike Brownlee - January 17, 2012
Fail, sorry
Mike Brownlee - January 17, 2012
They offered him the chance to play QB
And that’s exactly what he got. It’s not like they never tried him there, he was a quarterback for a full year and half and when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to have a long-term future there they moved him somewhere where he’d have a better chance to see the field. Were they supposed to guarantee him a starting spot or something?
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Of course not
but I think his perception might be different than the coaching staffs on what it meant to be given a shot. Which is why I think he still wants to play QB somewhere. I don’t really blame either party here, I just think it didn’t work out and it isn’t a mystery as to why.
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
In my mind
It was a big win when Iowa signed him, even if he was a legacy and a hometown kid, but also, kind of a square peg in a round hole for Iowa’s offensive system.
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
Then the Iowa coaching staff needs to stop being such weird, stubborn assholes
and ADAPT THEIR FUCKING STUPID UBER-RIGID SYSTEM. The square peg/round hole crap is a pretty terrible excuse.
Bucketochicken - January 16, 2012
No shit.
What the harm would it have been to have TRIED the wildcat with AJ against our patsies? The fact we never did EVEN FUCKING ONCE tells me all I need to know about the stagnant state of our program compared to, oh I dunno, everyone else’s, who ARE using kids like AJ in those roles, and succesfully, I might add.
The more I think about it, the madder I get. OK, so I had a bad day at work anyway, and am crankier than usual, but even on a good day this would piss me off: we have a unique talent (for Iowa), there’s a burgeoning new offense in college FB as a whole, we have that talent who can run this offense every so often, and we…do….nothing.
The Director - January 16, 2012
What is this "Wildcat" you speak of?
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Yeah, there is no place for that shit here.
We are “Hawkeyes” not “wildcats.”
WE WILL NOT CONFORM TO YOUR WINNING WAYS!
Dip-Shit - January 16, 2012 via mobile
It was obvious he couldn't play QB?
I still think it was a short-sighted move to sure up depth at a position of need. The guy was the No. 2 QB for God’s sake. He wasn’t shit.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Did you ever actually watch him play QB?
He had zero shot of getting past JVB.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
Just curious, what are you basing that on?
Tenn Tech, in garbage time when he was playing with second and third teamers out there? Just curious.
I can accept that KOK and KF thought JVB was better and that Wienke would be a better backup in a pinch, but when Derby was recruited KF was asked if he would adapt his offense to suit the guy. He said yes. It seems that they never adapted anything to him. He came in and was required to be essentially a stunt double for JVB. They never explored his ability to get to the edge at all.
This is the Iowa way, we all know this. KF has his system and you fit or you don’t. If you don’t it doesn’t much matter if you were a walk on or the #1 ranked player in the state out of high school, you don’t fit so you need to either find a new position or a new attitude. I think, outside of the skill positions, that approach makes a lot of sense. But, if you have a supreme athlete at a skill position (I’m not suggesting Derby was or wasn’t but I would guess he was likely a very good athlete with unique skills among all the QBs) and you cannot find a place for him to contribute to your football team outside of special teams, then you’re not being creative, adaptable, or honest with recruits.
StoopsMyAss - January 17, 2012
He was also only a redshirt freshman. Maybe he just wasn't ready to be out there yet.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
The depth chart suggested he'd jumped an upper classman
but perhaps he hadn’t and KF did that to reward his work ethic and legacy status? Or not.
StoopsMyAss - January 17, 2012
I'm listening to some preseason On Iowa pods
and they’re mocking Wienke for always throwing interceptions. Passing a junior to be #2 behind a very solid #1 doesn’t mean he’s ready to see a lot of playing time.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
The likelihood of AJD bumping Vandenberg is based mostly on Feretnz shifting the offense.
Ferentz has shown that he’s more comfortable running a pro-style with someone like Vandenberg, and when I did see Derby throw the ball it was clear that the Tebow comparisons were fair in at least one regard. I’ve no doubts that Derby is a fantastic athlete and could have been a good, or even great QB in the right offense, but he likely would have waited until his senior year to get that chance (see: Banks, Brad). With Rudock’s commitment, Derby also had to worry about another pro-style QB grasping the current playbook and taking the job once Vandenberg graduates.
Ferentz has said from day one that he couldn’t wait to get Derby on the field. He consistently complimented Derby’s athletic abilities and was almost drooling at the idea of playing him ANYWHERE else on the field. Derby’s insistence on playing QB despite being unable to usurp the job meant that Ferentz had to hold strong to his recruiting promise and let Derby work it out on his own. Once Derby realized that QB wasn’t an option at Iowa he saw playing time immediately, albeit as a ST player.
I sincerely believe that Derby would have competed for a starting LB job in 2012, but Derby seems never to have let his QB dreams go. If UNI has an opening maybe his eyes got big and his dream of playing QB for a D1 school is still a possibility so he chose the transfer route.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
I completely disagree. Four of Derby's six throws looked excellent to me.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Less that he couldn't play QB and more than he wasn't good enough to beat out Ruddock
If they really thought he was going to start down the road, I seriously doubt they’d have moved him, especially knowing how much he wanted to play QB. It was a move to increase his chances of seeing the field, because that was unlikely to happen at QB with Ruddock on the team and they didn’t want him wasted on the bench. He was the number 2 QB early in the season, but I think that’s mostly because Weinke is really bad and they wanted Ruddock to redshirt. The impression I got was that there was a pretty huge gap between JVB and everyone else.
NorseHawk - January 17, 2012
Yes, about Weinke. His only pass this year was a god awful interception.
Obviously we can’t take one play and be certain but he certainly left a bad impresssion.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
He's also looked really really bad in every open practice I've been to
NorseHawk - January 17, 2012
Yep. Don't worry. NO KIRK FAULT!!!
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
He's a legacy. His dad played here and his bother plays here
so I’m guessing this was not an irrational decision. He went from #2 QB to irrelevant LB. From the outside looking in, I wonder about that.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
This.
It’s not an ordinary transfer.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Maybe, but not like you suggest or SMA it is.
Unlike the numerous kids who screw up, get in the doghouse, and leave out of spite, this appears to be about a kid who wants to play QB. It was a deal-breaker two years ago coming out of high school, and it’s a deal-breaker now. Legacy is what it is, but the dream is his alone.
One_ill_KevinJ - January 16, 2012
Let me guess:
Kirk Ferentz is unavailable for comment.
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
KF released a statement already.
And he’s currently in Colorado recruiting a 4* OL per Blair Sanderson
The Mexican't - January 16, 2012
Who he will move to QB in this third year
/too soon?
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
And then transfer to Southern Illinois as a sophomore.
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
The next Jared Lorenzen.
I like it.
The Mexican't - January 16, 2012
Battleship Lorenzen FTW.
Or Pillsbury Throwboy, I can’t decide which I like better.
Norm Parker's Amputated Toes - January 16, 2012
Pillsbury Throwboy
hadn’t heard that one before. I love it.
Brock8144 - January 16, 2012
Fun Fact: Lorenzen is COMMISSIONER of the Ultimate Indoor Football League.
That is all.
One_ill_KevinJ - January 16, 2012
I'm not sure which is less believable
that Lorenzen is commissioner of a sports league, or that the Ultimate Indoor Football League exists.
Brock8144 - January 16, 2012
Com'on Man!
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Indoor_Football_League
One_ill_KevinJ - January 16, 2012
We need to get those 2 damn colorado lineman
waterboy31321 - January 16, 2012
I thought you said he was recruiting Blair Sanderson
And I was like LOL OMG WUT
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
I gotta say, that it's nice to see Ferentz actually doing a little PR on this one.
The Final Gun - January 16, 2012
Ooh, busted by KF/Mexican't
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Scholarships are like timeouts, right?
In that if you don’t use them you can trade them in for valuable prizes? That must be what’s behind this.
Brock Sampson - January 16, 2012
WTF RICHARD!?
waterboy31321 - January 16, 2012
Welp. I'll be in Skyrim. Hawkeye-free Skyrim.
BentNotBroken - January 16, 2012
I"ll see ya there.. gonna go jump off the throat of the world
SaturdayMorningKegStanzis - January 16, 2012
This is a fantastic idea and I can't believe I never thought of it...
Black&Gold.Forever - January 16, 2012
I kamikazied once against a giant, and called it good.
BentNotBroken - January 17, 2012
I used to play Skyrim.
Then I took school to the fucking life.
…yeah you can shoot me now.
iamalex13 - January 16, 2012
Just realized Mr. Girleye spent the afternoon
Playing Skyrim. First gaming he’s done in quite some time.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Lucky him. I haven't gamed in awhile either, Skyrim was worth coming back.
Huge game, not enough hours in the day.
BentNotBroken - January 17, 2012
We have all the different gaming systems
& he used to spend a lot of time playing. Now it’s mostly for the kiddos, it seems. I’m interested to see if Skyrim sucks him in the way gaming used to (& based on what I’ve heard about Skyrim!).
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
This morning when still have asleep I farted in bed and though I received a "resist fire
HawkeyeRecon - January 17, 2012
* resist fire unlock.
I hate it when I accidentally hit post
HawkeyeRecon - January 17, 2012
WTF
I wanna hear more about damn recruiting violations and less about our damn players leaving, enough of this clean program shit
waterboy31321 - January 16, 2012
And player tweets!
Notclevr - January 16, 2012
When you can't keep a DERBY on the team,
things are bad. Bad baby, bad.
Hawkeyegirl - January 16, 2012
When Brain Ferentz transfers
I’m out of here.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
.
/Freudian typo
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
That happened a couple years ago, apparently
Brock Sampson - January 16, 2012
"Hey! I'm still here!"
RossWB - January 16, 2012
This tag pretty much read my first thought...
iowaengineer - January 16, 2012
Ross: You guys should just boiler plate the GBG posts and adjust accordingly!
/slight over-exaggeration
Swarley - January 16, 2012
Meant to say: boiler plate GBG posts for the entire roster
Swarley - January 16, 2012
Just write them all in advance like they do with obits for famous people?
Brock Sampson - January 16, 2012
Yep, modify them for cause of departure and such.
Swarley - January 16, 2012
President Gerald Ford mauled by tigers today.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Is THAT what tigers dream of?
Swarley - January 16, 2012
I see I got a rec. Somebody else saw that Dana Carvey SNL skit. Masterful.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Gerald Ford died today
he was eaten by a pack of wolves.. He was delicious.
yeah.. it was me.
SaturdayMorningKegStanzis - January 16, 2012
We could create our own trivia game
Where we have to guess the player after reading a bunch of vague facts that led up to the transfer. Someone please put this on Sporcle.
SupermanWears#6 - January 16, 2012
GBG Mad Libs!
RossWB - January 16, 2012
YES
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Actually, once you right the Caring is Creepy article
you should just prepare the Gone, Baby Gone article at the same time. Odds are you will need it within two years.
Enoch - January 16, 2012
Inconsolable
99FormationsButFourWideAin'tOne - January 16, 2012
Guess who doesn't like this....
Me!
I’m transferring to Sickofthisshit tech.
Chabdul Hodgeway - January 16, 2012
...In further news, Kirk Ferentz has been asked to be released from his head coaching position
a man can dream. am i right?
odiE- - January 16, 2012
The sky is falling
Real donors will not be happy…losing a local star like that…either win or appease the donors…….right now ferentz is doing neither.
Chabdul Hodgeway - January 16, 2012
well this seems a bit dramatic
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Because it is.
Go eat some chocolate chips and peanut butter. I have a much better perspective on things after enjoying that concoction. In fact, I already made hotel reservations in Pasadena!
Hawkeyegirl - January 16, 2012
Stage one in your plan to breed a baby Bielema to anchor the Hawks D in 2032-ish?
Eyeheartfreedumb - January 16, 2012
And now I just threw up my chocolate/peanut butter analgesic.
Hawkeyegirl - January 16, 2012
Wait 10 years...
I’m raising a future All American tight end…hopefully.
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
i got a grandson
with a lot of talen and footspeed
he’s only a hs Frosh
wait, footspeed, oops
OhioHawk - January 16, 2012
I just had some peanut butter cup ice cream
Life is good.
for now.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
I'm SO PROUD of you.
So damn proud.
Hawkeyegirl - January 16, 2012
THIS
Is way to positive. I demand you be more negative damnit.
However, I did eat some ice cream and am feeling a little forgiving. Carry on!
Dip-Shit - January 16, 2012 via mobile
Why would donors care that a player that never saw more than ST play is transferring?
We need to take a step back and disregard his status as a 4* legacy and remember that he wasn’t able to unseat JVB at QB and was probably looking at a steep learning curve at LB. It sucks to lose AJ Derby, but this isn’t a reason for “sky is falling” rhetoric.
The Mexican't - January 16, 2012
If this had happened in a vaccuum, I would agree completely.
After all the other departures of the last 2-3 seasons, it can really wear on people.
Swarley - January 16, 2012
How many guys have to transfer in order for the sky to actually be falling?
There has to be a number, right?
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
It's always
2-3 more. Somehow, the shore is never reached where it actually becomes a “real problem”
HoyaGoon - January 16, 2012 via mobile
They care because of the same reasons that we’re all talking about this. If it were a few here and there, of course itd be different. I was being sarcastic about the sky falling, but the whole last 2 years has left a lot of people with very bad tastes in their mouth. People do care about losing local talent even if he wasn’t playing. This isn’t some 4.4 kid from south Florida who’s going back to his home state and we’ll never think of again.
Chabdul Hodgeway - January 16, 2012 via mobile
I care, because it seems like we never tried.
We never put AJ in and “just let him be AJ,” running an option or wildcat, or whatever. It’s like having a WR who runs a 4.2 40 who you never throw deep to. After two years, where he has ten catches for 50 yards, when he’s never been allowed to run a pattern downfield, how can you say he failed?
Seems like maybe you’ve failed HIM.
The Director - January 16, 2012
I just never took you for a program apologist. It's so weird to me.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
For remaining rational after a player that has so far amounted to nothing more than hype leaves the program?
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
And whose best play in his Iowa career was a tackle on a kickoff return.
coltranemonk - January 17, 2012
It WAS a helluva tackle
YouCanPutYourEddsInIt - January 17, 2012
This is the same debate I had with Chazz last year.
And others have had earlier this winter.
You can look at each incident as separate and completely unrelated and say, “Nothing to see here. It’s a single incident. This is just one time. Anyone who thinks the coaches had any responsibility in this is irrational.” (that is your obvious implication)
Or you can look at the trend of very talented players leaving the program and say, “Holy crap, something sure seems wrong here.” I don’t know why the latter is the irrational track.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
The "rational" portion of the argument is simply that I choose not to participate in the Chicken Little bullshit.
I understand that a pattern is developing and that some coaches may be responsible, but I refuse to lose my shit over college kids leaving a program. Mass firings is not going to solve the problem.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
You know what would be helpful?
Not labeling people as “apologists” or trying to paint everyone into a “pro-KF” or “anti-KF” brush. You consistently want to make this a very binary debate, when it’s anything but that.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
Why do you have to be such a level-headed discussion apologist all the time?
I keed, I keed
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
So now we're going for political correctness?
If you are constantly apologizing for someone or something, you are an apologist.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
How is seeing a gray area being "politically correct"?
You have your opinion. Cool. You choose to be hostile and attack everyone that disagrees, instead of simply admitting that it may not be ONLY the coaches. Chazz isn’t wrong when he states that all the recent defectors have been in trouble.
The coaches may need to learn how to better handle some kids, but expecting coaches to cater to kids that simply want out if things don’t go their way seems foolish.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
I've never once said it is "ONLY" the coach's fault.
I have repeatedly said that the responsibility of the issues with defections ultimately lands on the coaches, not on the players. There is difference. Whether intentional or not, you have chosen to believe I have said one and not the other.
Kirk Ferentz is in charge of the University of Iowa Football Program. The responsibility of the program, certainly in anything player-related, must stop with him and his coaching staff. I don’t see how anyone disputes this.
I’ve repeatedly stated (and repeatedly been ignored or shrugged off) that, yes, i believe the coaches are ultimately responsible for essentially one of two reasons:
1) they have somehow lost the ability to reach and relate to kids and have somehow failed them, or
2) they are just not as good at evaluating which players have “what it takes” to make it through the program as they have been in the past
Either “the program” is too demanding or not rewarding enough (as in, not getting wins) or they are getting kids who can’t get with the program. I think either error is ultimately the coaches’ responsibilities. That others can’t even possibly fathom this thought leaves me baffled. And I’m the one who can’t see gray.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Ol’ coach was never the same after 2012.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
It's not about political correctness at all.
Calling someone an apologist is an unnecessarily loaded term that adds nothing to this debate. It’s simply a way to take a shot at someone and diminish their viewpoint. You might as well just call him a kool-aid drinker or a sheep.
And I repeat: you consistently try to paint this as an issue in which there are only two sides (and in which only one side is remotely rational and why can’t everyone else just pull their heads out of the sand see that already?), which I think is patently false. There are shades of gray in this debate.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
I agree. I guess I just see the "other side" as not wanting to even allow for the possibility that the coaches could be at fault.
Until this year, I was always on the wait-and-see approach, it’s too small a sample, something could be wrong, but let’s wait and see. Well, I’ve waited and seen, and I see something wrong.
I certainly don’t expect others to change their minds just because I hit a threshold of evidence that satisfied me. What gets me, though, is that so many people can’t even seem to entertain the thought that the something could be wrong.
I often felt that I was in the middle, up until this season. Since I don’t know what is wrong, I’m still not 100% sure there is something wrong, but I certainly lean hard that way. What gets me are the people that seem so 100% sure that the coaches aren’t at fault in any way. That seems the no-gray area approach to me.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
I think you read too much exoneration into others' comments
that is not intended nor actual.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
That's a fair, reasoned explanation -- thank you.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
Thank you.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
Got in a fight...
with a bus. Struggling with post-concussion-like symptoms and possible PTSD. His golden arm is not what we thought it was but has been exposed as uncontrollable and likely to fling his iron fist into inanimate objects of whatever size. There is no position in a stock 4-3 defense where that attribute is of use. OLB in a 3-4, maybe. There you have it.
rosko - January 16, 2012
Did Derby transfer
because he found out he wasn’t the next DC?
Honestly, I don’t even know what to think anymore. All I know is that Iowa isn’t oversigning but they’re sure losing a lot of players for “personal” reasons. Name me a dynamic coaching staff who has the same problem.
Kyle McCann't - January 16, 2012
I agree. There's definitely a problem with the kids not feeling loved.
That sounds stupid but that’s this generation of kids. The bottom-up model of sports management has seeped into parents who all believe their kid is Joe Montana. I can’t talk about Derby’s case but when you sell out a 75,000 seat stadium every home game and your RB of the future thinks bunk’n up with his sister in Carbondale is the better “fit” it probably indicates a problem.
rosko - January 16, 2012
Teaching includes motivating
How many college students really want to delve into those long drawn out discussions about obscure thought provoking issues in their non-major classes? This staff is also required to motivate the kids.
Apparently it was better for Derby to be a LB. It was up to the experienced professional coaching staff to teach him how to do it. Quit blaming the kid. Of course he wanted to play the position he wanted to, and also do it immediately. It’s part of being a kid.
Remember what Coach Parker said, “the kids haven’t changed over the years, but the parents have.” Instant gratification is more exciting than hard work. All players want it. Always have and always will. Sometimes kids need to be motivated. This staff is not doing that.
Vandy's Mom Digs Me - January 16, 2012
Our bowl opponent. Bama and LSU have also both lost a ton of players in the past several years
I recall somebody mentioning that in the runup to the game. However, they reload with 4-5 star guys. AJ Derby leaving would be a zit on those programs’ ass.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
It's called:
Teh oversigning.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Yes, this was the caveat I applied to begin with.
It makes sense at programs where the coffers are absolutely loaded with Blue Chippers. It is troublesome to say the least at a school known for its walk-on tradition.
Kyle McCann't - January 17, 2012
Correct me if I'm wrong
Do I remember Ferentz being uncomfortable with Derby joining the team for spring ball during AJD’s senior year?
Derby really seemed to want to get to work at QB.
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
He said he didn't like the idea of anyone joining the team early
And i think he was speaking mostly as a parent. He wanted them to have a little buffer time between high school and college
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Thanks
I’m not trying to gin up a conspiracy theory, just building a timeline.
Blackheartnopants - January 16, 2012 via Android app
Transfermers!
I’ve set a wake up call for 10 am on Saturday, September 1, 2012.
NotSallyMason - January 16, 2012
Are you implying that there's "More Than Meets The Eye" to this transfer?
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
Derby was the man
On the grassy knoll.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
That's pretty funny there.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
All whimsical previously made comments aside...
I wonder if we can add “hometown heroes” to the list of things that annoy Kirk Ferentz. I’m curious as to if there are fequent hints, comments or suggestions made to him by fans, parents or whomever has influence in the world about getting [insert highly-touted Iowan here] some playing time which breeds resentment in KF. That may seem like a fantastic thought but as if late it seems to me that his attitude is: It’s my fucking program and I don’t give a flying fuck what you have to say and if you don’t like it you can kick fucking rocks.
This isn’t to say that AJ Derby was moved to LB because he was tired of hearing people talk about him at QB but I seriously question whether that possible irritation reinforces his doubts about some players.
I feel like helicopter parents are the worst possible thing that can happen to a kid’s playing chances. Unless of course, your daddy works for ESPN.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
How many more reasons can anyone suggest for all of this other than the common denominator?
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
Hey
WE GET IT.
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
I don't think he cares
WE SEE HE TROLLIN WE HATIN
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
/BLOGGINDIRTY'D
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
He may be trolling (largely is)
But at some point, the effort that goes into concocting excuses for KF has to end, right? I mean, at some point Occam’s Razor will have to apply
HoyaGoon - January 16, 2012 via mobile
Right.
Because the more obvious answer is the buttoned-down coach is the problem, not the student-athletes, particularly those that run afoul of the law.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
THERE IT IS
I knew YOU had it in ya.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
The same buttoned-down coach whose kid ran afoul of the law.
So… blame the kid, not the parent!!!
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Except you know, James Ferentz dealt with the punishment
and didn’t transfer away.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
Oh dear lord, that would have been fantastic if he had
The Ferentzes are in line for a pretty enormous inheritance someday if they don’t piss off their dad. I don’t think the dynamic is quite the same.
Notclevr - January 17, 2012
Even without the money
they guy will be his coach for 5 years and his Dad for a lot longer.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
Ok well in that case. Even bringing up Ferentz to support
your argument, is bull shit.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
And I am not speaking to you specifically,
I am speaking to Tyger.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
You obviously don't.
You keep rationalizing the same nonsense over and over again. Who’s next—these players are obviously communist spies like that hot Russian chick?
Nyghtewynd - January 16, 2012
SBN needs an ignore button
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
I assume you mean the Royal You.
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
Royale Oui
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Royale with Cheese
Xarin - January 17, 2012
and a beer
txhawkeye - January 17, 2012
So, say what you want to say
And quit sharpshooting in every single fucking thread.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
No wait, he still needs to bring up Kirk's salary and his tax dollars
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Apprently not.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Or if your Dad is Biff Poggi
that guy kicks ass
The Nihilist - January 16, 2012
My love for Kirk Ferentz is slowly fading. How can a coach let this many talented players leave?
kEvanson - January 16, 2012
agreed
I don’t blame the kid. That talented of an athlete needs to be on the field I don’t care where. Two wasted years on the bench…
Good luck to him. Again I hope he goes somewhere where he’ll be utilized.
IAinCA - January 16, 2012
They moved him to a different position specifically to give him a chance to get on the field earlier
And that probably contributed to him leaving. Where they supposed to start him at QB just to make him happy?
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
never suggested that he should be starting at QB
but how about giving us a different look when JVB was shitting down his leg in multiple games. You can argue we’re a pro style offense blab blab, but if we don’t have a not yet ready for primetime QB lets at least try and utilize the talent we have on the sidelines…
Rant over, I’m just cranky about all this bs going on with this football program
IAinCA - January 16, 2012
Except wasn't Wienke still next on the depth chart?
I guess at one point Wienke and Derby were both QB2.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
No Derby was second before he got into trouble
I don’t think they were especially comfortable with either of them actually playing at QB though.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Nope. All year Derby has been the solid No. 2.
You’re just remembering things wrongly (subconciously of course).
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Solid is a slight exaggeration
It was still a toss-up in camp. And, given that, I wonder what was going to happen after the suspension.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
I am not immune to error.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
What is the process for changing a school's nickname?
Can we be the Smoldering Dumpster Fires by next season, or does it take longer than that?
nerdhawk - January 16, 2012
Our new mascot
A uniform, washed and neatly folded, sitting on a shelf.
Brock Sampson - January 16, 2012
Maybe it should just be an outline of this:
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
BRUCE BANNER!
EnergizerHawk - January 16, 2012
I would trade one AJ Derby
for one Hulk. But not the Brazilian soccer player of the same name.
Kyle McCann't - January 17, 2012
There's a Brazilian named Bruce?
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
I would trade for that Hulk too.
Mainly so I could buy an Iowa jersey and customize it to say “HULK,” of course, but STILL. He’d probably be a better punt returner than Hyde.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
I believe Penn State
is ahead of you all in the line.
MNWildcat - January 16, 2012
Fun fact:
Walking back to my apartment off South Dodge St. on New Years Eve there was a Smoldering Dumpster Fire. IT’S A SIGN!
SallyMason - January 17, 2012
Ahh, South Dodge
My old street. Good times in that old house, i ncluding it’s christening with the Asian Sensation.
Captain n Diet Coker - January 17, 2012
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
at least Cyrus Koundijo didnt commit last season. He’d be transferring right now after being moved to fullback
IrishHawkeye7 - January 16, 2012
It is what it is...
Rudock will be better than him anyways…
hawktalker - January 16, 2012
its still one less body in the program
Iowa is going to be able to recruit like Bama next season and sign like 35 guys it looks like
IrishHawkeye7 - January 16, 2012
Rudock isn't a linebacker...
Yet.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
after he transfers
TEXaco - January 16, 2012
Ok folks...
Are we going to wake up now?? Are we all going to finally realize there is a systemic problem in the Iowa football program that needs to be seriously investigated?
You don’t lose a legacy recruit like this over something like playing time or what position he wanted to play. Remember, AJ Derby played both ways at City High and was an elite performer on both offense and defense.
This is something that should NOT be happening. You don’t lose the son of a former great of your program like this.
I’ll guarantee you folks..if the media wasn’t going to start asking questions after the Coker BS…they damn well will over this.
I have a very bad feeling that something ugly is going to be discovered here very soon..and its going to change a lot of people’s minds about KF and the coaching staff.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
all the guys who have left have gotten into trouble
is it the program or the players
IrishHawkeye7 - January 16, 2012
Coker didnt get into trouble
he almost got into trouble. its not the same thing
justsomehawkeyefan - January 16, 2012
all rumors at this point
IrishHawkeye7 - January 16, 2012
Well he got suspended for something, presumably that is considered trouble.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
unless he was suspended for being under investigation
which is what im going with since i havent heard anything else that can be proven
justsomehawkeyefan - January 16, 2012
Who chooses the players for the program?
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
I blame Bruce Davis.
(Sorry, I just think there is some irony here.)
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
It's more likely you have a good feeling that something ugly is going to be discovered.
You say the exact same thing every time you come on here, which by the way is only when something bad happens. I can only assume you want something bad to happen to the program.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
Are you really..
that naive to believe nothing is wrong?? I don’t want anything bad to happen to this program..however, you have to be completely and utterly asinine if you don’t get that there are BIG problems inside the Iowa football program right now.
This is a program that is losing elite talent on a yearly basis now. The Iowa program is becoming more well known for the players who are leaving the program rather than the ones who are on the field playing.
You’re not going to find a family that bleeds Hawkeye black and gold more than the Derby family. So, for things to be bad enough to cause AJ Derby to ask for his release—says there is something seriously wrong here. Open your eyes..
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
Bad enough? Or maybe he just wanted to still play QB and realized it wasn't going to happen here.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
Derby was given..
the opportunity to say yes or no to the move. He discussed it with his father and told the coaching staff that he’d do it.
Again..you forget that Derby was JVB’s backup until the public intox incident. That means he was ahead of Weinke in terms of where the coaches thought the QB’s were.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
Yes but Rudock was right there as well.
Do you not think that it is possible that Ferentz said VDB is the starter this year and next, and Rudock is already looking as good as you. Along with the fact that we need help at linebacker and could be a stud there. Derby agreed to that and then after this year maybe thought, I want to play QB afterall. But at this point playing QB at Iowa was a slim chance so he decided to take his talents elsewhere.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
And maybe someone is holding one of Ferentz' children hostage
and will hurt the child if Ferentz doesn’t make terrible clock-management decisions late in the second quarter.
I mean, that’s way more likely than the possibility that, maybe, this coaching staff isn’t perfect.
The Final Gun - January 16, 2012
Finally.
A voice of reason.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
OR OR OR I should add.
Maybe Derby wants to play QB and realized he would have to go to a smaller school or strictly like a spread team where he isn’t a pro style QB.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
Oh yeah, elite talent
that couldn’t get on the field for this soul-crushing 7-win team. Wake up.
GaryDolphinSafeTuna - January 16, 2012 via mobile
because this coaching staff never leaves talented kids on the sideline
It is difficult to have a discussion with people who believe that Ferentz and Co. never make a mistake, all evidence to the contrary.
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
No one is saying that, good lord
Aside from being from Iowa and having a lot of recruiting buzz, what exactly has AJ Derby done to show that he was ready to play right now at either QB or LB last year? Most schools weren’t even giving him a chance to play QB (even schools that ran primarily spread option offenses like Florida) because he was so raw, and he had been a linebacker for about 12 seconds.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
Considering you were one of the guys arguing that CJ shouldn't see the field
I am not persuaded by your insight.
There is a group of people on here who will break their own necks to avoid casting any blame on this coaching staff.
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
When did I ever say that?
NorseHawk - January 17, 2012
CJ said CJ shouldn't see the field
TEs who can’t block because they don’t want to work in practice aren’t exactly a blessing in the IA system. He learned how to work in practice and block, and started to play. He said it himself.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
At no point did anyone say that CJF "shouldn't see the field".
The argument was that he probably hadn’t given the coaches any reason to put him in the game. No one was angry when CJF finally earned his playing time.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
IIRC
Everyone was thrilled! Seemed to be one case where we actually knew (based mainly on CJ comments) why he wasn’t getting PT.
Honestly, isn’t it sort of surprising that there was never a GBG for CJ? Dude had plenty of growing pains adapting to the Iowa Way & yet he appears to have finally made the adjustment (knock wood).
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
There was a fear that had CJF not figured it out this year
that he’d be gone after this season too. Fortunately, he seemed to figure things out and really started to come on towards the end of the year. He certainly has the potential to be a big part of the team next season.
Captain n Diet Coker - January 17, 2012
Agree on all points
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
Exactly
it was more speculation about why CJF wasn’t playing. There were some rumours he wasn’t practicyng well and they were later confirmed.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
The media is more aware than you that these things happen to all schools
And it has happened since time eternal. We just know/care about it more now in the Twitter Age.
Is Iowa worse or better at retention? I don’t really know. That’s worth discussing. But the Chicken Little stuff is just as hard to take as the player defections in my mind.
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
#teamCatnuts
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
bet you never thought 5 years ago that you'd type that phrase
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
You're probably right.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Iowa is worse at retention.
Discuss.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
stats or facts, please
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
We have been losing about 50% of our players before their eligibility is up
Nobody knows for sure what the national average is, but it seems to be about half that.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
I would love to discuss this if we have stats or facts. It's all suspicions
I suspect we’re only slightly higher than national averages, if at all. But I won’t defend that side (and certainly not get polemic about it) until I know if there’s any basis in that suspicion at all.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
While a lot of people are just upset we are losing players, I'm not happy at the reason in which we are losing player
at many schools players leave. No doubt. But are they leaving because they see no playing time in their future? Because they don’t like the campus and their teammates (homesick)? Because they’ve gotten into trouble and don’t feel like they have a fair chance of getting beyond it with the coaching staff? Every kid is unique I guess and every kid has his own reasons. But, there are two things that seem unusual at Iowa. One, the enormous number of players at a single position that cannot seem to make it to graduation. Two, the enormous number of players that are receiving plenty of playing time that can’t seems to stick around.
Derby doesn’t fall into either category. He is a whole new paradigm. A legacy, local kid who turned down better football factories to stay close to home and play for the school he cheered for, I would assume, all his life. After his arrest things seemed to go sideways for him.
StoopsMyAss - January 17, 2012
I think he does fall into the playing time category though
At least at the position I think he’d prefer to play.
NorseHawk - January 17, 2012
Then research it. Or don't jump in the discussions.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
You're the one who presented it as a statement of fact.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
I thought the sarcasm was made obvious by the "discuss" part after that.
I appreciate your factual observation, though. Thank you.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
If by "something ugly" you mean
Kirk Ferentz realizes that some players aren’t good at their desired position and have to be moved…then yeah, it’s going to be fucking ugly.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Um...
WTF are you talking about? Moving Derby to LB from QB was done out of lack of depth at LB that Iowa had after the injuries to Nielsen and Morris and the Bruce Davis departure.
It had NOTHING to do “not being good at their desired position”. Remember that Derby was JVB’s backup at QB before the public intox incident.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
Did they say that for sure? Because he didn't play at LB either and it was considered a
permanent move. Maybe Rudock became a better QB than Derby and so they made the decision to put him at linebacker, where he would help the team more.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
Rudock..
Was being redshirted this year…There was no way in hell or high water that the coaches were going to put him in this year.
As for Derby not playing this year at LB….you can bet that Derby would have been in there if there had been more injuries at LB. Iowa was playing on the razor’s edge at LB for much of the season. Morris and Nielsen both missed time this season, Davis left..so at times, Iowa was down to Kirksey, Dibona and Hitchens at LB.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
I didn't say Rudock was going to play this year.
That doesn’t mean that they believe Rudock is the QB of the future over Derby, and were also fine with putting in Weinke if VDB got hurt. And like someone else said, there are like 100 players on the team, they chose to move Derby for a reason.
clay-born to party - January 16, 2012
They moved him..
Because he was an elite LB in HS and had experience at the position… You don’t move a guy to LB who’s never played it before.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
He didn't play LB in high school
He was a safety. And anyway, the move to linebacker was not done for this season (you will note that he did not actually see any playing time on defense this year), it was a permanent move with an eye towards the future. They realized he was more likely to see the field down the road at linebacker and asked him to move.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
IIRC,
The move was to get him time on ST, then work him in at LB in the following years.
One Night Stanzi - January 17, 2012
For you to say that it had NOTHING to do with is just crap
There are plenty of guys who could’ve filled in at backup linebacker but they chose Derby. Him being selected wasn’t some odd coincidence. There’s no doubt that he’s a great athlete but I don’t think KF believed he was a QB. And it became clear that his move to linebacker wasn’t just “temporary” when we continued to offer quarterback after quarterback.
Simply because he got moved there out of “necessity” doesn’t mean that he’s stuck there for the rest of his career. If Kirk Ferentz wanted AJ Derby to play quarterback badly enough, he would’ve played quarterback. Honestly, does anything really think it was just coincidence that out of all players moved to backup LB…it was Derby? C’mon meow.
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Seriously??
Derby played linebacker at City High school and if memory serves me was an all state performer at LB….and yes, Iowa was going to be just as thin next year at LB as they were this year.
Tyler Nielsen graduates..leaving you with Morris and Kirksey as your returning starters..with Dibona and Hitchens as the other LB’s who had seen any sort of playing time.
FlyingDutchman1 - January 16, 2012
So you're sitting here and telling me that Derby's QB talent being "questionable"
Had nothing to do with his move?
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
Yeah Flying I'm not really seeing you winning this..
It was a combination of things, our depth at linebacker was not in so dire need that KF would have taken someone he thought to be a future star at QB and make him an LB. In addition, the window incident probably hits harder if he is to be a QB. If you look at all of his scouting profiles he gets more props for being an athletic guy and for his quickness, he has problems with his throwing mechanics, and would be a dual threat QB who would run out of the spread…Not Iowa football. As for the “choice” that he was given. It isn’t really a choice. When asked if you want to switch positions you are pretty much also being told you are not going to start at whatever role you are switching from. The coach wouldn’t ask you to switch if you were going to start the next season. It is fairly obvious. As for your original claim that something is wrong with the program. I have to sorta side with you on this. Although I do not think the Derby case should be an example for that, nor should the programs problems be an explanation. Derby simply has his mind set on playing QB, bad enough that he is willing to leave Iowa.
David Starbuck Petersen - January 16, 2012
Whatever they did to poor AJ,
it was apparently so awful that he couldn’t even tell his brother about it. It must have been hideous!
Brock Sampson - January 16, 2012
Hawkeye Hazin'
If you ain’t tough enough to piss brown, then GTFO!
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
Still
Too sooned!
Dip-Shit - January 16, 2012 via mobile
Well, better than Florida A&M hazing
There’s some seriously screwed up stuff that went on there, from what the news says (lolwut news media).
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Only one guy died.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
I want to rec this,
but as it makes light of a person’s death, I will not.
But please know that it made me laugh inside, where I am dead.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
folks
That’s the word Libaugh uses. It irritates me. A lot.
This has nothing to do with your point
txhawkeye - January 17, 2012
Folks
Yes, just an awful fucking word.
mikjones24 - January 17, 2012
My old neighborhood has a very active group email system
There’s a guy who opens every single email with ‘Team’. I want to jump thru my computer & strangle him.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
The sad thing is, i dont even care anymore
Iowa football has officially been moved to third in my hawkeye sports pyramid and will stay there until they either have another nine win season or stop making me sad, whichever comes first
justsomehawkeyefan - January 16, 2012
Maybe KF/KOK wanted him to move back to QB and go wildcat
And he realized that if he carried the ball for Iowa he’d be doomed to injuries, legal troubles and/or undisclosed violations of team rules, etc, and he’d never see his senior season and graduate… So he decided to go to a program with no backfield curses. Can we blame him?
codenameduchess - January 16, 2012
Just spitballin
codenameduchess - January 16, 2012
Fuck it. Since I made em and will now never be able to use them, here they are...
And I thought these would be good for at least a couple seasons.
Eyeheartfreedumb - January 16, 2012
I thought this was one of my better works too! :(
IPeeBlackAndGold - January 17, 2012
Goodnight Sweet MSPaints!
Eyeheartfreedumb - January 17, 2012
We took a four star ATH recruit
with offers from several big programs (Alabama, Florida, etc.) and turned him into a 3rd string LB who barely saw the field, despite the fact the LBs who were starting weren’t exactly setting the world on fire. He could have gone to Alabama, played just as much (and maybe played more), and won a national title. From his quotes when he switched to LB, it suer seemed like he wanted to play, and he thought he would be seeing the field soon as an LB. But he never played. So he watched Morris get pwned, and Neilsen come in and out, and yet he never saw the field. And then he watched Oklahoma roll out an offensive package for a young QB with a similar skill set that demolished our D. Stoops had no problem putting Landry Fields (a Heisman candidate) on the bench, but our coaching staff wouldn’t dream of sitting Vandy.
I wonder what role the signing of that JUCO QB Sokol had on this?
Oh well, it will be easy to replace AJ with all those fantastic athletes Iowa always recruits.
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
He'd never played linebacker before and had been playing QB until midway through the year
There’s no fucking way he was ready to play linebacker at the Big Ten level with only a few weeks of practice, come on.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
So we switched our second string QB to LB
for depth issues, but had no plans to play him there? What if Vandy had gotten hurt?
That seems weird. I thought it was odd they switched him in the middle of the year, but I figured that meant things were so dire at LB that they really needed him. The the whole “not good enough to play QB” thing seems odd too. He was good enough to win the second string spot behind a redshirt junior, but not good enough to stay there, taking 3 in-game snaps? Rudock must be the truth.
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
It turns out he was eligible to play years beyond this one
It was a move for the future. If they thought he had a serious chance at starting at QB down the road, they wouldn’t have made the switch, even with depth issues at linebacker. With Ruddock’s emergence, I think they realized the best way to get Derby on the field (eventually, not right away) was to move him. To expect him to play immediately after playing a completely different position for a year and half is just silly.
NorseHawk - January 16, 2012
And, he DID play immediately
on special teams. Had the one tackle in his first game, and nothing much after that, but, he was out there.
nhradar - January 16, 2012
No you are wrong
“He could have gone to Alabama, played just as much (and maybe played more), and won a national title.”
False—Alabama didn’t have a guy on their defense younger than a JR. He would have seen barley any/if any playing time on the defensive side of the ball.
David Starbuck Petersen - January 16, 2012
To be fair, I did say "just as much"
and 0=0, since he never started at LB at Iowa either. But you are right, he wouldn’t have cracked the starting lineup on that bama D.
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
Also still
such a young kid. The switch has nothing to do with not playing a lot on defense. It is that he wants to play QB somewhere and he knows that won’t happen at Iowa. That is fine, I don’t want Derby running the offense. I’d love love love to see him playing on the defense, but that wasn’t gonna happen anyway. He stuck out the rest of the season, good for him. But don’t let us think that means he is leaving cause he didn’t get to play on the defense.
Also I hate people calling it a “choice”. He was not givin a choice. When you are asked to move places, the coach is basically saying to you, look you are not gonna be starting at your current spot. You probably will play and eventually start.
Also I would watch your smack-talk on Morris. Last year he saved the defense. We would have been playing pretty much a man down if it wasn’t for his unbelievable effort as a freshman. Pretty sure he also led the LB position in tackles this year.
David Starbuck Petersen - January 16, 2012
I agree with most of this
But I don’t think your argument is bolstered by the Morris love, as it became apparent that his ability and talent is more hype than actual.
HoyaGoon - January 16, 2012 via mobile
To be fair
I think he was playing hurt a lot of this year.
Brock8144 - January 16, 2012
Well, we'll see next year
I was really unimpressed with how he played down the stretch this past year, but that’s out of place here, I suppose.
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
And that's when he was injured
He was playing better in the beginning of the year. He had some fantastic plays down the stretch of the Pitt game, for example. The goal line stand in that game (prevented a TD and they had to settle for a FGt points of the game).
Captain n Diet Coker - January 17, 2012
That was an epic series
Our seats are on that end of the field & he was SO locked in. You couldn’t help but focus on him.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
But a really weak game versus ISU
where he just looked lost out on the field
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
I'm not saying he's a world-beater
To be honest, I don’t think we know exactly what he is, at this point. In the past, Greenway, Hodge, Humpal, Klink, Angerer, etc. played behind lines that allowed them to flow to the ball. Our less-than-stellar DL didn’t provide that this year, which hurt the play of all of our LBs. Hopefully he’ll be able to heal up this year, continue to put on a few lbs (I think he can settle in around 232-235) and see what we’ve got there. I don’t know that we’ve seen anything from Alston or anyone else to suggest they should be ahead of him in the middle (I like the pairing of Kirksey at SLB & Hitchens on the weakside).
Brock8144 - January 17, 2012
If I had a kid who was D1 caliber at a skill position
I would absolutely not send him to Iowa
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
But...
But…
SO MANY PLAYERS IN THE NFL!
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
You can go a lot of places and make the NFL
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
You're gonna need to substantiate that claim.
Lukateake - January 16, 2012
Seriously?
Guys get drafted out of DIII. Iowa isn’t the only school to send guys to the pros. This level of homerism is stupid.
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
Come on, you also saw UpUpDownDown's excellent work
No, you can’t go “anywhere” and get drafted. The number of guys that come out of D3 or even FCS is stunningly low, especially as a percentage. If you want to get drafted, you’d better go to a BCS-conference school, and preferably one of about ten programs of which Iowa is near the top. Otherwise you’re climbing Everest instead of Kilimanjaro.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
That ignores the fact
that most guys who aren’t on BCS teams are not on them because they aren’t BCS level talent. Maybe some of them just wreen’t all that great in high school but they got the right coaching and BAM! Or they just got overlooked. Chad Greenway could pretty easily have ended upat an FCS school if Iowa hadn’t spotted him.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
Now you are flat-out ignoring UpUpDownDown's excellent work
that normalized for star level
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
Watch any NFL game
that part where the startes name themselves and their schools, you’ll notice that most of them do not say “Iowa”.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
Yeah.
Iowa should have, like, 1/3 of the NFL starting positions.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
You'll notice that most of them say "notable FBS school"
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
Yes, they do
but you realize I was responding to this:
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
No, ONLY IOWA PLAYERS GO TO THE DRAFT
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Speaking of Ferentz's NFL connections
Did you guys see the Pioli hit piece in the Kansas City Star?
Pioli’ed
if that stuff is true, and that’s one of Ferentz’s closet football colleagues, yowza.
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
I read it in semi-disbelief yesterday morning
& then I kept thinking how much sense it was making (& really didn’t like that). Any KC peeps know the rep of the reporter? Or how commen/uncommon stuff like that is in the NFL? The whole thing was, I don’t know, bizarre? Creepy? Sad?
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Wow.
Bucketochicken - January 17, 2012
Marvin McNutt, Albert Young, Brad Banks, CJ Jones, Mo Brown, Ricky Stanzi, Drew Tate, Ed Hinkel, and others all just rolled their eyes. At the same time.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
And Shonn Greene is preparing to truck you somethin' fierce, Ly.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
I am rolling my eyes right back.
A handful of CFL players and a couple of career backups? You really showed me.
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
Ding ding flippin' ding
As much talent as Iowa’s been able to bring in, and as well as a lot of the talent has played, what standouts do we have in the NFL at an offensive skill position? Shonn Greene, yes, and who else?
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
I guess my point is that Ly's got a point that I've never really considered fully
Iowa doesn’t do so well in terms of player development from a skill standpoint. Well, damn, that felt weird to think.
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Hopefully McNutt
but it’s depressing to think about otherwise. Hell, Kaeding being drafted is one of the few success stories from a skill position angle (if you consider a kicker to be a skill). That’s just not good.
chitownhawkeye - January 17, 2012
You're all too focused on the sizzle.
Bucketochicken - January 17, 2012
Yep.
We have a nice amount of starters, they just aren’t “skill” players.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
You mean besides Dallas Clark and Tony Moeaki?
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
Do DBs count as skill guys?
Godfrey, Spievey, Fletcher, Considine started for a few years
Brock8144 - January 17, 2012
Yes they certainly do
But:
1) The argument is primarily about offensive skill guys
2) The reason it’s about offensive skill guys is because people want a reason to fluster and bluster
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
But
it is a little disturbing that we have no WR’s that made it to the NFL. We’ll leave DJK out of it….. If Dane Sansenbacher can make and NFL squad and contribute at a noticable level, why can’t some of our guys?
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
Hey, I've been pushing that particular locomotive for far longer than you
I just don’t get the WR dearth.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
I believe Iowa has fielded WRs as good as Sanzenbacher
But the “No Iowa WRs in the league” meme is killing their stock. Iowa WRs have to be ultra impressive to overcome the meme and make the league.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
No, it's because Iowa's a damn feeder team on the lines and on defense
Offense doesn’t seem to match that. Tight ends slipped my mind, though. Clark’s had a hell of a career so far and Moeaki’s, well, in the league, at least until the gods smite his femur.
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
offensive skill guys
It’s true. While Iowa has produced two serious heisman contenders, we haven’t done well developing NFL-level skill players. Part of it is AIRBHG, which has been damping down RB careers since, oh, 2003. Not too broken up about QB; Iowa in the 80s/90s had some career backups in the NFL (Vlasic, McGwire*, Long; Rodgers was on a practice squad for a couple of years), but no real success there. It’s just a crapshoot there, I think, and that Banks and Tate are still playing isn’t embarrassing. Banks was never going to be an NFL quarterback with his size.
The total lack of NFL production from the WR position is odd, I think. Dwight and Quinn Early…who else has Iowa ever had with success?
So, yeah, I think that probably plays into recruiting, and it’s a question whether that’s a cause or effect of the emphasis on the system; if you aren’t confident of getting multiple 4*-calibre skill players, it’s risky to plan for it, so you work on the positions you can develop. And it’s hard to dress that up as anything other than what it is. Is it a problem? I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a major problem, if you can continue to develop the positions you are supposed to develop. CJF not coming along as quickly as we liked really hurt early on this season, and the D-line situation was deadly. Those two things are different, and I think we’re looking back on a 9-10 win season. I don’t think AJD playing wildcat has the same impact.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
Ladell Betts?
One Night Stanzi - January 17, 2012
Ladell Betts!
Notclevr - January 17, 2012
Not even a player per yer!
Huzzah!
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
I guess I could've added more guys
like Brodell, or a few others, but I figured that might get bitched at.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
brodell?
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
That would have deserved bitching
Iowa’s skill positions have always had trouble getting guys in the pros under KF, on offense at least. I’m a KF supporter, but there’s no denying that or hiding behind irrational love of what those guys accomplished at Iowa.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
I think this convo began
with “if my kid had D1 talent and was a skill player” not “what can I do to get my kid to the pros.”
So I was kind of focused on their production in college.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Don't the Vikings
have some talented linebacker, too?
/backs out slowly
MNWildcat - January 16, 2012
Skill position?
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
Missed it.
Mea culpa.
/continues to back out
MNWildcat - January 16, 2012
Someone stop this ride
I want to get off…
Enoch - January 16, 2012
Iowa is becoming a hell of a prep school
MOAR WALKONS
Feelin' Orney - January 16, 2012
And there are a lot of "lifelong" Hawks playing in places other than Iowa City
Feelin' Orney - January 16, 2012
It's called the NFL.
/contrarian’d
SomeJerkPoster - January 16, 2012
A tip of the hat to you
Feelin' Orney - January 16, 2012
We all know the reason for these transfers.
We’re a basketball school now. Get used to it guys.
At least maybe they’ll let the students have good seats again…
TwistConePlease - January 16, 2012
Again?
Meaning at some point we had them? I did not know this.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Once upon a time...
mikjones24 - January 16, 2012
In a land far, far away
HawkeyeGirleye - January 16, 2012
Yes!
Railroad side of the sideline, from (if I remember right) the endzone to about the 30 yard line. The first…. 25 rows maybe?
It wasn’t too far back either. You could at least get them as late as the 2006 season.
TwistConePlease - January 17, 2012
Oh!
Totally thought we were talking about basketball seating. Yes, Kinnick did have better student seating pre-reno.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
i swear the syracuse band
just played something from the
rocky horror picture show
OhioHawk - January 16, 2012
I won't lose any sleep over this
If wants to play QB, he had to leave. Good luck. While it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns in Iowa City, I’m interested in rooting for the kids who want to be Hawkeyes.
djwoody - January 16, 2012
Let's all take a step back from the ledge....
and realize this wouldn’t be a big deal if not for the name. Kid was a pretty good athlete but didn’t have a natural position in the system….the system that hasn’t produced a losing regular season in over a decade. BTW, does anybody know what other B1G programs’ attrition looks like? Without knowing where we stand with our competitors, I have a hard time getting worked up over these transfers…yet…
hawkpride - January 16, 2012
Anyone else notice that all of transfers are sure to say "once a Hawk, always a Hawk" in their statements
Dont know what that means
YouCanPutYourEddsInIt - January 16, 2012
It means
that UIHC takes every athlete on scholarship and grafts Hawk DNA onto their genes. It’s impossible to remove.
Josh Timmers - January 16, 2012
It means "no hard feelings"
Wish some BHGPers could do that once in a while
therealCatnuts - January 16, 2012
Nope.
Ferentz/O’Keefe/PhilParker/DarrellWilson/LesterErb/GaryBarta/SallyMason are all in concert with Satan, and must be criticized until they return to the fiery pit from whence they came.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
And everyone who dares criticize Ferentz/O’Keefe/PhilParker/DarrellWilson/LesterErb/GaryBarta/SallyMason
are evil trolls who secretly hate the Hawkeyes and could never ever have a point. They should be cast into the fiery pit from whence they came.
We’re a regular bunch of Hatfields and McCoys.
Regardless, I think we can come together on 1 issue. Iowa State sucks.
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
I think "the critics" have a point at times,
but I just don’t always agree with it.
And I don’t really suggest that they be silenced, but perhaps be more selective about their criticism and its targets.
Because otherwise, when you keep blaming the same people, no matter what the problem, it just seems kind of personal/mean.
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
Don’t you do this as well? Just with players and not coaches.
Lycurgus - January 16, 2012
Well, there's such a high turnover rate of players, that it's never the "same people".
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
Somewhat, yes.
Easier to do when those players have anything from simple tickets on up to assaults.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
I will wholeheartedly agree
Iowa State does suck
Brock8144 - January 17, 2012
Don't forget
Once you criticize the coaching staff, you are immediately proven not to be a “true fan”
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
LMFTFY
OnceWhen you continually criticize the coaching staff, you areimmediatelyeventually proven not to be a "true fan".WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
The coaching staff and the program are two entirely seperate entities.
If one thinks that the coaching staff is not living up to the program’s potential, then the staff should be criticized by ‘true fan’s’ of the program.
DoYouLoveHawksorHate'Merica? - January 17, 2012
Did you say that when Fry was coach?
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Yes
Otherwise the Iowa football program ended 15 years ago & retired to Texas.
DoYouLoveHawksorHate'Merica? - January 18, 2012
no, they are in concert with god/allah/yawhew and can never be criticized of anything EVER because...
…not only can they do no wrong, but they are the very definition of perfection so anything they do MUST be correct.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
So, who's the new 3rd string LB?
I would rather have Coker or McCall than Derby. No offense to the Derby family.
Norm Parker's Amputated Toes - January 16, 2012
Rudock
Ratface McDougal - January 16, 2012
Jess Settles at WLB, Daniel Murray at OLB, and Fran McCaffery and Dan Gable sharing MLB.
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Gable doesn't share
destruction over the middle duties
chitownhawkeye - January 17, 2012
His chair throwing footwork isn't as good as Fran's
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
Do not cast aspersions on Gable's footwork.
The will is there, the health of hips might not be. He could still make it happen.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Totally Unsprised and Totally Supportive of the Decision.
Derby clearly wanted to be a QB, and I stand by my justification for bus-punching: That night he wanted Florida start a 3rd string QB against Bama and thought, “damn, why the hell am I here.” I understand that the dream of playing QB is strong, and I wish him all the best in following (and hopefully achieving it). He’s a wickedly talented kid who appears to be stuck behind some other pretty talented kids.
On the flip side, does this mean that Jake Ruddock is really, really good? I think so.
One_ill_KevinJ - January 16, 2012
I, for one, am enjoying the sweet, succulent
irony inherent in Dutchman’s posts given his reaction to certain other transfers. That said, there is a key kernel of truth that he hits on. This particular transfer, a highly-touted local kid, legacy Hawkeye who’s on brother is still on the team, will be the one that causes the press to really start probing. I don’t know that there is anything to discover – I actually doubt there is – but the press is going to be digging around A LOT more in the near future. It just got a lot less comfortable for KF in Iowa City.
HoyaGoon - January 16, 2012 via mobile
I find it absolutely hilarious that this is his response
I’m still waiting for him to call out McCall, Coker, and Derby for QUITTING on their teammates. They made a commitment
Brock8144 - January 16, 2012
And McNutt too.
Stick with the position you committed as, you no-talent hack!
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
/troll'd
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
I'll believe that when I see it.
I hope you’re right, and that the press (aside from Mas Casa, Hlas, & Howe, who do a good job of asking good questions already) will finally start digging and turning up the heat, asking tough questions and not accepting KF’s bullshit coachspeak or outright rude dismissals (I farted!), making it less comfy, etc, etc.
But I’ll believe it when I see it.
Bucketochicken - January 16, 2012
Sports Journalism, by and large, and especially local college sports journalism, is not about exposes and investigative reveals
because their readers don’t care about that. And they are barely about grilling people. The editors don’t send these guys out to find dirt or ruffle feathers. Readers don’t want red meat when it comes to their beloved team, they want poetry of devotion.
Frankly, I doubt it’s easy doing what Mas Casa does when things are as they are right now, the team performing below expectations, well liked players transferring or being kicked off the team. KF doesn’t want to talk about it, nor does the kid, and as a journalist you’re reading between the lines of two sentence press releases, or chasing down facebook page posts or calling the police department to inquire as to whether a kid was popped for this thing or that related to booze or sex. And, getting info from the behemoth that is SUI? Sure, give it your best shot because if you want to effectively lose your press pass or just be put on ice, go right ahead.
This is why I think the national press has a much better chance to unearth anything and create any real pressure with tough questions, because they don’t have to get along with the players, the coaches, the athletic department, or the university. They just come in and go for it, then leave.
StoopsMyAss - January 16, 2012
Calling OPS Jacobi
The All-Seing Eye has motherfuckin’ resources, man.
Lukateake - January 16, 2012
Yeah, that's the rub - access, and risk of the loss thereof.
And you’re right – the majority of the readers (especially with a “local” program like Iowa) want only fluff and sunshine.
Sucks.
Bucketochicken - January 17, 2012
NEXT!
MAN IN!
WaterlooChazz - January 16, 2012
Born a Hawk !
The worst part about this is that he was born a Hawk and always wanted to be one. If he is leaving just to satisfy a QB itch thats BS. He could have really helped the team at back up LB. See ya !! Where to S. Illinois ?
Herky - January 16, 2012
As a UNI fan,
I am slightly dismayed that so many Hawks are going to SIU and Eastern Illinois.
If Derby has the wheels that many think he does, I think he could do nicely in UNI’s adopted QB-run offense.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Does Iowa play UNI in the next three years?
Because the last thing I want is Derby on the team, playing QB and just running wild on us because we still haven’t figured out how to stop a mobile QB
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
We play UNI in 2012 and 2014.
RossWB - January 17, 2012
FUCK
if Derby ends up there
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
Coffeyville
Holy smokes !
Herky - January 16, 2012
Huh. I wonder how his grades are
or whether he just wanted a year as a starting QB tapes to shop to Wisconsin.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
Door #2 is the popular thought
But who knows?
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
Whatever. Nothing surprises me anymore.
The Bird Cult - January 17, 2012
They disappoint me.
Bungs - January 17, 2012
Anything "Wire"
gets a rec from me.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Take away the name, and...
1) Highly-touted recruit that chose Iowa
2) Redshirted and earned his way to 2nd QB ahead of a previous 4-star, Michigan QB recruit that was two years older
3) GOT IN TROUBLE with the law
4) suspended
5) “asked” to switch positions due to attrition (in one game, no less) at another position
6) hardly played
7) transferred out
Clearly, he was a bad kid that couldn’t take the punishment that was given to him. He ran afoul of the law. He is a bad kid who made a bad decision and can’t live with the consequences.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
OR Weinke showed that his 4-star rating was a bit of a stretch, Derby got the spot by being less bad
and now he’s transferring to play QB at a school that will bend to his wishes.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
when you have to make up reasons for so many players, a bell should be ringing in your head
at least we’re getting started in on the “he’s a spoiled kid who wants what’s owed him” line.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
You are the one that sarcastically created all of the reasons.
clay-born to party - January 17, 2012
Point me to one article that CLEARLY states why McCall, Coker, and Derby have decided to transfer.
Once that’s done, no one will need to make assumptions as to why players leave. You’re doing the same thing in assuming that it’s the coaches fault, except your bullshit is easier because all you have to say is “THEY’RE LEAVING BECAUSE THE COACHES ARE INCOMPETENT”.
If you want to take the side of the athlete because you feel some responsibility as a former D1 walk on, then go for it. But you’re the one consistently derailing conversations by jumping up people’s asses.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
I just want some of you guys to at least that the coaches might be doing something wrong.
When one side is is so one-sided and steadfast, you can’t have a discussion.
tyger1147 - January 17, 2012
I think plenty of people have said that the coaches are at least partly to blame
I know I have. Actually, I’ve pinned far more blame on them than they probably deserve.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
This. Many people are in your boat, tyger just chooses to read it a certain way
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
That said, could you imagine a coach like Belichick engaging in a two way conversation with *anyone*?
The Bird Cult - January 17, 2012
And I LOHL’d.
SomeJerkPoster - January 17, 2012
Where the heck was Weinke 4 stars?
NorseHawk - January 17, 2012
Remember that when he was recruited,
Ferentz hinted at changing the offense to suit Derby. Per the link below,
http://thegazette.com/tag/kirk-ferentz/page/29/
If I were a four star recruit and my expectations went from “you’re so definitely going to play quarterback here that we’ll change the offense for you” to “howabout third string linebacker?” I’d transfer, too. Rudock better be the fucking shit.
Third Generation Hawk - January 17, 2012
So, you'd transfer if you weren't good enough to start
rupertj - January 17, 2012
Why not, if you like to play football?
It’s pretty common at major programs.
nhradar - January 17, 2012
yep. It's as simple as that.
He wasn’t going to see the field at QB for Iowa, rightly or wrongly. As a highly-touted recruit, he has expectations to do so. He transfers to a school that gives him that opportunity. It’s not malice on his part, as indicated by his closing statements.
therealCatnuts - January 17, 2012
I wish he could have just come back to QB with a giant THANK YOU.
Would have solved some of the depth issues.
But I’m thinking the timing seems like he saw that we recruited a new QB and said “okay, the move is permanent… do I want this linebacker deal?”
Eyeheartfreedumb - January 17, 2012
Yeah.
But we are probably trying to bring in a QB a year, so…
If AJ was confident in his abilities, I’d think he’d relish competing with Rudock and possibly Vandy over the next year or two.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Then go to the SEC
If you play in the B1G you go to school and play football not play football and go to school.
mikjones24 - January 17, 2012
Oh come on
I hate the SEC as much as anyone, but that’s just stupid. We have as many General Studies majors as anyone.
Notclevr - January 17, 2012
Aw yeah, interdepartmental studies! Wooo!
hkobb7 - January 17, 2012
"We’re eager to see how he can progress and improve..."
Aaaaaaand there’s his out.
Bucketochicken - January 17, 2012
Were probably gonna lose our damn recruits
waterboy31321 - January 17, 2012
DADA! DADA!
mikjones24 - January 17, 2012
Jaleel Johnson has been hinting at that on the Twitters
and getting some truly ugly responses in turn from Iowa “fans”
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
He said something on FB last week.
And followed that over the weekend by tweeting that he had a great conversation with Ferentz.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
Saw that
but then also had something about a day ago about “reasons why he should be a hawkeye”. And the reactions of some fans was chilling.
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
Ah.
I don’t follow him so I see only the stuff that gets retweeted. Losing Johnson would be a bummer. I wish people would just leave the kids alone until they sign their NLI with Iowa.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
And even after they sign, it'd be nice if they'd quit being asshats.
The Mexican't - January 17, 2012
Oh hell you might as well ask for this while you are at it
The Bird Cult - January 17, 2012
I'm going conspiracy theory for a moment.
I wonder if it could be fans from other schools, going negative on the twitters?
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
No
Never blame on malice and malevolence that which can be explained by simple stupidity.
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
That is so just asking for trouble
& I honestly don’t know what frustrates me more: the lunkheaded move of twittering that particular question or the vocal douchecanoe minority who feel they must respond in an asshat manner.
I saw that last night & forgot he was a current commit (confused him with the currently (I think) uncommitted Jordan Diamond). Saw a few of the responses but at that time they were all positive.
HawkeyeGirleye - January 17, 2012
I think it's funny
that KF has basically banished social media when I see the harassment that players take on it and wonder why they would want to be there in the first place.
They I remember that they’re 18.
chitownhawkeye - January 19, 2012
A very significant departure
This has probably been said a thousand times already but this is a very significant departure. Mostly because not only is the kid talented but he has arguably the strongest ties to the program that you could hope for. He’s from Iowa City his brother is on the team and it’s his childhood dream to play for the Hawkeyes. What the hell is going on. While the team may be managed well in regards to football I’m beginning to think the non-football aspects such as the locker room are very poorly managed. Get your shit together Iowa!
Squawkeye - January 17, 2012
Sometimes, attrition is just one of those things that can snowball in an organization - and I think that's what is happening
In the early 90s, I was working for a regional planning consulting firm in Ohio in the planning department. Shortly after I got there, the partner in charge of planning announced he was leaving the firm – they were going to buy back his shares, and he was going to work for a non-profit (although he hadn’t actually landed a job yet).
The paranoia in this office was unbelievable. There was an associate – not quite a partner, but someone who was partially bought in and shared in the firm’s profits – that was under pressure to start producing. Then management brought in an outside planner to manage the planners who was not a partner, or associate.
This guy assured all of us that none of us were going to be fired or forced out (what a thing to have on your head when you’ve been hired, moved 300 miles, and then hear constantly every day that “we’ll all soon be gone” by all the people you work with), that none of us had to leave, yet everyone that was already there was busily cranking out resumes and mailing them to the four winds (including me).
There was just no atmosphere of trust that even in following the rules you would get a fair deal, and I was one of three that left a planning department of about 10 people (and I think another 2 or so left shortly after I did).
This is what I think is happening in our football program now. That feeling of trust, that you’re going to be treated fairly – may not be there, or Kirk may not be vocalizing it sufficiently and making sure the rest of the coaching staff drives the point home.
This is one of those things that will work itself out – or it won’t work itself out. But, if the bleeding continues, it will eventually take Kirk down, because sooner or later we are not going to have a sufficiently level of talent to be competitive, and I think two losing seasons in a row, combined with the attrition, is all it is going to take.
The Bird Cult - January 17, 2012
Or maybe there really isn't an atmosphere of trust
From the outside, it appears DJK got shafted at every opprotunity right up until he handed KF a reason to boot him off the team. Then there’s the NFL situation.
When a guy is asked if he’s being blackballed by KF and his responding tweet is “It looks like it”. That’s pretty telling.
Flakbait - January 17, 2012
Sometimes perception matters more than reality
IF (and that is a qualified if) a sizable portion of the locker-room feels that there isn’t an atmosphere of trust for whatever reason (they aren’t KF’s “type” of guy, coaches/assistants not conveying information properly or just rampant paranoia), then eventually that takes hold and perception becomes reality. I don’t think KF is to “blame” for the recent attrition, but he is responsible to figure out away to stop the bleeding so to speak. Active, probably vocal leadership is called for by KF. Here’s hoping he can deliver.
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
Kind of agree with that.
Also, it sounds like in Coker’s case, Ferentz was not really in control, and was actually supportive/sympathetic to Coker.
Sometimes, these things happen without the impetus from the head coach.
WaterlooChazz - January 17, 2012
Agreed
From what I can tell, the Coker situation really caught KF by surprise and doesn’t seem to have been of his doing. But still, the margin for error at Iowa is so much smaller than other places (Michigan, OSU, USC, Miami, Texas, Tennessee, etc.), that the coaches have to be doubly on guard to try and prevent the avoidable situations from bubbling up. There will always be attrition outside the control of coaches/anyone else, we just need to make sure that the coaches aren’t compounding the problem.
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
I agree...
What I was trying to get at is that these things feed on themselves… they really do unless nipped in the bud.
And I do think that it is more difficult now coaching kids than even 10 years ago… reading the Joe Pa interview in the Washington post this weekend his comments make it clear its gotten harder than ever to manage these kids – and they are kids who are very inexperienced life-wise.
OTOH, I don’t think we should go the other extreme and kiss their asses, either, and part of the problem may be Kirk is reluctant to budge from his blue collar presentation of what Iowa football is all about, which is, everyone is the same, work hard, and you might get playing time if you work hard enough.
Some of this may also stem from a problem that we aren’t recognizing, either – that we are getting better talent and that better talent, if things don’t pan out the way it wishes for them to pan out, well, the kids transfer somewhere else. (Ugh this is kind of saying the obvious). But even non-athletes change colleges after the first, or second, or third year. Sometimes its financial, sometimes they decide they’d be happier somewhere else. I transferred to Iowa after spending my freshman year at UNI because I found out I really didn’t like the UNI campus and the whole experience there.
I don’t see how it should play out any different for 18-20 year old kids deciding that “Hey, maybe I don’t want to play football here anymore”, or, in some cases, if they are injured and possibly can’t play football at all anymore, they might want to transfer somewhere else. One of my best friends’ sons did that at the Div III school he was playing at after his sophomore year, and transferred to ASU to be back home. He was injured to a point that getting back on the field was doubtful, he was a little homesick, and I think he liked the girls at ASU a whole better (who wouldn’t?). There was nothing wrong with where he was going to school and he was passing his classes, but the main reason he was there was to play football. When that reason was gone – in his case, due to career ending injuries – he packed it up.
Did he want to? Hell no, but his body, unfortunately, made the decision for him.
This is a kid that had offers from I-AA schools, but he would have had to RS, sit until his junior year, maybe done ST duty, before he got a chance to start. And he was dedicated; he was working a summer job and getting in workouts in the morning and weights at night before he went to bed. He worked his butt off to play, and it simply did not work out.
I knew a guy in undegrad school – can’t remember his name – that had tried to play defense at Iowa and had neck and shoulder problems that forced his retirement from football. Smart guy; when it was obvious he was no longer going to be able to play, he decided to stay and finish his degree. He loved the game but had also accepted that if he were going to be able to move the rest of his life he had to quit playing.
I think we may underestimate just how badly many of these kids want to start, and yes, some of them may coast on their talent as CJ did for a while and not work hard, but its not easy being a college student and playing a tough, demanding sport like football, and when I think of how confused my thought process was at 18-20, its amazing MORE kids don’t quit or transfer when you look at the entire picture…
The Bird Cult - January 17, 2012
Very well said
It’s important, at times, to step back and appreciate the nuanced complexity that is involved in the major life decisions of guys who are, emotionally/developmentally, still basically kids (or at least not fully-realized adults in most cases).
HoyaGoon - January 17, 2012
Thanks Hoya
Hell, I’m 50 and I’m still not sure if I’m capable of making complex, life-altering decisions… in some ways its harder when you are older because so much can go wrong…
The Bird Cult - January 18, 2012
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