I meant to post this about a week ago to go with the early look at Iowa's 2012 recruiting on offense, but that was before sickness hit.

Defensive linemen for Iowa

Seniors: Lebron Daniel*, Thomas Nardo, Broderick Binns*, Mike Daniels*, Joe Forgy
Juniors: Steve Bigach*, Joe Gaglione
Sophomores: Marty Hopkins, Casey Kreiter, Scott Covert, Dominic Alvis
RS Freshmen: Carl Davis, Donavan Johnson, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Mike Hardy
Freshmen: Darian Cooper, Riley McMinn, John Raymon

For 2012: 3

Early Offers:

• Tommy Schutt - Glen Ellyn, IL
• Vincent Valentine - Edwardsville, IL
• Sheldon Day - Indianapolis, IN
• Mike Shoff - Cambridge, NE
• Noah Spence - Harrisburg, PA
• Faith Ekakitie - Lake Forest, IL

Depending on how things shake out at the tackle spot opposite of Mike Daniels, all 4 starters on the defensive line could be seniors. It's still likely that at least 3 will be seniors, meaning 2012 will see a lot of fresh blood. There is little depth at the position as Iowa hasn't done much of a rotation the past couple of years. Iowa will need to try to get more of the younger guys experienced this year to lessen the blow of a big senior contingent graduating. I think there is enough depth that there won't be an immediate need to get a guy who needs to come in a start as a true freshman...a spot on the two-deep though wouldn't be out of the question.

This past week might have been the longest I've gone without posting since I started this blog almost two years ago (I didn't check). I've been sick. I haven't really done much of anything in the past week besides lie on the couch and watch bad movies on Starz! and marathons of Top Chef. I barely got up to eat, let alone fire up the laptop to write.

So, here it is a week later, and actually there isn't too much I missed. Good thing it's the off-season.

Austin Blythe, Heavyweight Champion of the State of Iowa

I watched a lot of the state wrestling finals on Saturday night. The split screen to show the matches for all 3 classes at the same time made it difficult to follow, but I managed to keep my eye on the top-right quadrant for Blythe's match. Blythe became the first Iowan to reach the finals at heavyweight all 4 years of his high school career and he became a 3-time champion on Saturday pinning his opponent about half way through the third round.

Blythe controlled the match from the very beginning. He scored an early take-down and never let up. He showed his burst, his strength, and his technique and was just all-around impressive. It's easy to see how his wrestling talents will translate into an interior offensive line spot.

Hawkeyes in the NFL

Good and bad news on the NFL front. Good news first... Former Hawkeye and son of Kirk Ferentz, Brian Ferentz got a promotion with the Patriots last week and is now the tight end coach. He's been coaching for New England the past 3 years as an assistant.

Now the bad news... It's not really that bad, but still uncool--the Colts have decided to release Bob Sanders. Injuries are ultimately what brought an end to the relationship. Sanders has played in just 9 games in the past 3 seasons after winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. So it's an understandable decision. I have been rooting for the Colts for a while now, as much as I root for any NFL team (not much), because of all the Iowa ties. I loved watching Sanders and Dallas Clark (and most recently Pat Angerer) make big plays in Indianapolis and remember their huge contributions in Iowa City. It's sad to see that end.

Quarterbacks for Iowa

Seniors:
Juniors: James Vandenberg*, John Wienke
Sophomores: Wyatt Suess
RS Freshmen: A.J. Derby
Freshmen: Jake Rudock

For 2012: 1

Early Offers:

• Gunner Kiel - Columbis, IN
• Zeke Pike - Ft. Mitchell, KY

Quarterback looks like it is set for the next few years. Vandenberg is the likely starter for the next two, then Derby (if he's still a QB...I think he will be) and Rudock will battle it out. Still, a quarterback per year is important to have. Especially if Derby is looking at switching positions, Iowa will need some depth when Vandenberg and Wienke graduate.

Check out the Insight Bowl trophy

Between the wrestling meet and the basketball game on Sunday, the Insight Bowl trophy will be on display at Carver Hawkeye Arena. They'll be a photographer there, so fans will have the opportunity to take a picture with the trophy.

Then at halftime of the basketball game, Marcus Coker and Micah Hyde will be honored for being the Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Players respectively of the Insight Bowl. The rest of the team (any football player at the game) will be honored as well.

Iowa is also doing a special deal where a wrestling ticket or a basketball ticket will get you in to all 3 events: wrestling meet vs. Michigan, Insight Bowl trophy display, and basketball vs. Minnesota.

Iowa offered scholarships to 110 players, according to the Rivals.com recruit database. This number is probably not precise as it is only a list of offers that were reported to Rivals, but it's the best available. I decided to see where all 110 of these players ended up after I saw something similar posted on a Michigan blog.

Iowa does most of its competing for players against other Big Ten schools (I included Nebraska as B1G in this chart). In fact, of the 110 players Iowa recruited, 24 signed with Iowa and 24 signed with other Big Ten schools. The other two conferences that Iowa competed most with were the Big 12 (one kid, Donald Smith, signed with Iowa State) and the ACC. All 3 of these conference make sense because of Iowa's recruiting footprint. Iowa mainly focuses on the states were the Big Ten is present, but also ventures out along the East Coast.