The Hawkeyes had their first casualties of the off season with safety David Cato and runningback Josh Brown. You really can't blame either for deciding to transfer as they were both stuck on the wrong end of the depth chart for the foreseeable future.

The seniors have played their final game as a Hawkeye and juniors Bryan Bulaga and Amari Spievey are both going pro. Despite these departures there is still a wealth of talent retuning for the 2010 football season. For an idea of who is coming back and the production they had this year, I went through different statistics and broke them down by players returning versus leaving. I'll share my thoughts on what all of this means throughout this way too long hiatus...so for now, just the numbers.

Stat: Returning / Total (Percent)
Defense
Total Tackles: 672 / 957 (70.2%)
Sacks: 29.5 / 31 (95.2%)
Tackles for Loss: 63.5 / 74 (85.8%)
Interceptions: 13 / 21 (61.9%)

Offense
Rushing Touchdowns: 13 / 13 (100%)
Rushing Yards: 1450 / 1485 (97.6%)
Receiving Touchdowns: 13 / 19 (68.4%)
Receiving Yards: 2052 / 2887 (71.1%)
Receptions: 144 / 213 (67.6%)
Passing Touchdowns: 19 / 19 (100%)
Passing Yards: 2887 / 2887 (100%)

Special Teams
Punt Return Yards: 218 / 225 (96.9%)
Kick Return Yards: 845 / 918 (92.0%)

Other Stats
Total Points Scored: 265 / 301 (88.0%)
All-Purpose Yards: 4805 / 5822 (82.5%)
Starts: 168 / 286 (58.7%)

It's old news already that Amari Spievey is skipping his senior year and turning pro. And, even when it new news, it really wasn't surprising at all. Spievey didn't have a lot to gain by coming back...it would just be another year of QBs throwing to the opposite side of the field. So unless completing college was more important than bring home some serious cash, he had no real reason to stay.

Spievey was rarely beat, never missed a tackle (he was the best tackler on the team for sure), kept receivers in front of him and the first down marker, and was really just an amazing player.
Losing him, one of the best (if not the best), cornerback in Iowa history certainly is a blow to the defense. However, it is a blow I think the team can absorb. Thea team is actually quite deep at corner going into next year and the defense around Spievey's replacement will make whoever's job that is, a lot easier.

I think there will be quite the battle for the starting corner spots over the next 8 months or so. It is likely Prater will retain one of the spots as he had a very good year. But he might not have even started if it weren't for Jordan Berstine's ankle injury. Berstine was apparently back at full speed during the bowl practice and would be the logical choice. However, I think Micah Hyde may be a real threat to one of those spots. He not only played as a true freshman (something kind of rare on Ferentz coached teams), but also worked his way all the way up to the 3rd corner by the bowl game. He was the first to come in when Prater missed a few series with a light ankle sprain. Also in the mix are Willie Lowe and Greg Castillo, who both saw a lot of playing time and started some games early in the season with Prater's suspension and subsequent minor injury.

The other good news is that the corners have great players backing them up from behind in Sash and Greenwood, and an outstanding defensive line in front. I would venture a guess that the corners will not need to cover their receivers for very long because the opposing quarterbacks are not going to have very long to get rid of the ball.

So while, Spievey was a great player for Iowa, I think the Hawks will be just fine. And, I wish the very best for Spievey in the NFL.

The 2010 US Army All-American Bowl, a game the features the best high school seniors in the nation, is Saturday and will feature at least 3 future Hawkeyes. The West Team's roster has A.J. Derby from Iowa City, but he's actually going to be playing for the East team. He's listed as a DB, which he did play in high school, but he was recruited by Iowa as a quarterback and will likely play QB in the game tomorrow.

Also suiting up for the East are Iowa commits C.J. Fiedorowicz and Andrew Donnal. Fiedorowicz is a tight end and Donnal an offensive lineman, so there's a chance all 3 could play together. A Derby to Fiedorowicz completion would be exciting and a hopeful preview of what's to come (and it's already been happening in practice).

The game will be aired live tomorrow on NBC at noon (central time as always). College football is over, but I think this will be a suitable replacement for a Saturday afternoon.

With an Orange Bowl victory the Hawkeyes earned their highest final rankings in the Kirk Ferentz era finishing 7th in both the AP Poll and the coaches' poll. Iowa finished 8th 3 times in a row following the 2002, 2003, and 2004 season.

The six in front of the Hawks are: Alabama, Texas, Florida, Boise State, Ohio State, and TCU. Call me biased, but I would have put Iowa sixth in front of TCU, but that's hardly worth complaining about.