A couple Iowa-related notes
I’ve been on vacation the past week, in Minnesota for my brother’s wedding. Good times.
While I was gone, the Big Ten announced kickoff times for Iowa’s first three games. The Hawkeyes games against Maine (Aug. 30), Florida International (Sept. 6) and Iowa State (Sept. 13) all will start at 11 a.m. and all will be shown on the Big Ten Network, which has yet to strike a deal with Mediacom (I’m almost guaranteeing it’ll be done by Aug. 30, so don’t worry). Times for Iowa games against Northwestern (Sept. 27), Michigan State (Oct. 4) and Minnesota (Nov. 22) had already been announced. Northwestern and Michigan State will go at 11 a.m., and Minnesota is set for 6 p.m. — the final game at the Metrodome. All three will be on the BTN.
That’s at least six Iowa games on the BTN. That’ll be a lot of lonely TVs in Iowa if Mediacom doesn’t get a deal done, as Comcast did last month.
Aside from that, some big news from around the Big Ten: Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis, an Iowa killer the past two seasons, has been reinstated after serving a suspension this spring. That’s huge news for Hoosiers fans. Lewis is, if not the best, easily the most versatile quarterback in the conference. He was a unanimous second-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago. He’s just a guy who strikes fear into the heart of opposing coaches because he can do so many different things with the ball in his hands. Without Lewis, IU would have been lucky to win three or four games. With him, the Hoosiers could contend for a bowl. He’s that good.
Outside the Big Ten but on Iowa’s schedule: Rivals has Pittsburgh ranked 25th in the nation. Click here for their breakdown of the team the Hawkeyes meet on the road Sept. 20. I’ve said it before, but any love Pitt gets is good for Iowa. That’s going to be a tough game, but it’s one the Hawkeyes could conceivably pull off and gain some momentum early in the season.
I’m working at the John Deere Classic golf tournament all week here in the Quad-Cities. I’ll be at my computer a lot, so if any of you have questions about Iowa football, drop me a line. Big Ten media day is two weeks from tomorrow. Mitch King, Matt Kroul, Seth Olsen and Kirk Ferentz will represent Iowa at the annual event in downtown Chicago. Not much news comes out of something staged like that, but it’s always a nice kickoff to the season, which is right around the corner.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
You say that nothing comes out of these organized events……..well, I have a few questions for Mr. Ferentz. Perhaps you can pass them on.
1.) What is the status of the medical redshirts for Moeaki and Brodell?
2.) Is Dace Richardson calling it a career? (How is his knee?)
3.) Is Marcus Wilson back on the team?
4.) What is the current status of Marcus Wilson and Shonn Greene and Amari Spievey?
July 10th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Jebus … thanks for the comment. Here’s what I know:
1. Both Moeaki and Brodell were listed as seniors on the spring roster, so it doesn’t appear as if a medical redshirt has gone through. They played in 33 percent of the games last season, and I’m pretty sure that’s right around the cutoff for a medical redshirt. Not sure what the NCAA will decide, and I haven’t seen anything as far as a release.
2. Richardson still has a long road back from his knee reconstruction. It wasn’t just a routine ACL repair he had done. I’ve heard he might be done.
3. Marcus Wilson is back in school, trying to get his grades to where they need to be this summer. He is not back on the roster — yet. If he does well in the classroom, he’ll be on the team when it opens camp in August.
4. See above for Wilson. Greene and Spievey are in school and on the roster, as they were part of the spring recruiting class. I expect both to see significant playing time this fall. Two good stories to see guys bounce back from academic struggles.