Signing day is in the books, and, with maybe one or two exceptions, Iowa’s 2008 class is complete — Kirk Ferentz did say Wednesday that he might have an announcement later this week.

Coming in, this appears to be an average class. Of course, we won’t know how good it truly is for two or three years when we know how many of these guys stick around and how many wins they help the Hawkeyes collect. That said, I like this crop of recruits. Watching the highlight films on all of them shows some potential. I think the three running backs coming in could team to be very effective over the next few seasons, especially running behind what should be a seasoned offensive line. And I like the fact that the coaching staff appears dedicated to giving David Blackwell a shot at QB. Between Blackwell, John Wienke, James Vandenberg, Arvell Nelson, Marvin McNutt, Ricky Stanzi and Adam Farnsworth, someone should be able to push Jake Christensen for the starting job next fall. At the very least, they’ll push Christensen to elevate his game beyond where it was last season.

I also think there is some very good potential on defense coming in. Khalif Staten, who was an explosive receiver in high school, could be a freak at outside linebacker. And there is a handful of defensive backs that should provide Iowa with at least two or three solid players in the years to come.

As always, it’s hard to tell how good these guys are going to be. Highlight tapes are just that — highlights. We don’t know who they’re playing or what the other side of the coin looks like. So, I’d advise you to be enthused but to be cautious with expectations. This will be a developmental class, and I’d look for it to make an impact in the 2010 season. The running backs, of course, could — and probably will – come of age sooner than that.   

If you want to check out highlight film on all the recruits and read up on their full bios, go to www.gohawks.com. My stat of the day from the Class of 2008 … James Vandenberg’s career completion percentage of 64 percent, including a single-season mark of 70 percent. Just a note: Jake Christensen’s career completion percentage in high school was just over 50 percent, right about where he is through two seasons at Iowa. That’s not to say Vandenberg is going to come in and complete 65 percent of his passes. That stat just jumped out at me as I was reading over the bios.

Spring practice starts next month. What are you looking for from the Hawkeyes? Who from this class do you think is going to jump right in and contribute? What is your prediction for next season? I’m sticking with my early prediction: 6-6, maybe 7-5.    

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Hawkeyes Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.