Western vs Northern Iowa - 10/25/2014
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sealhall74
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Prior to today, I was thinking this game was more important to UNI than us for playoff implications. Now I am not so sure. Given we knock off these guys and can somehow win out from here, I just ran through a very realistic scenario that leaves us in 3rd place alone with a 5-3 record. My scenario also assumes that both NDSU and ISUr will lose one game, certainly not out of the realm of good possibilities. The other quality teams simply beat each other up leaving them at 4-4 or 3-5. So I for one am not throwing in the towel for this season quite yet.
Embrace the pace of the race.
That would be great, seal, but I'm not holding my breath.
With that said, I did take a "re-look" at the roster the other day; and it's easy to forget how really young this team is. Someone made mention of the seniors that would be leaving, and while a couple of them are key players, if all goes well we should have a quality team with the returning "youngsters".
The main thing that bothers me about the UNI game is that we are so weak on pass defense. We can bottle up the run, but the pass has eluded us. Seems their QB is pretty adept at passing (from what I've read on their boards), so it's tough to call.
Let's go 'Necks!!!!!!!!
With that said, I did take a "re-look" at the roster the other day; and it's easy to forget how really young this team is. Someone made mention of the seniors that would be leaving, and while a couple of them are key players, if all goes well we should have a quality team with the returning "youngsters".
The main thing that bothers me about the UNI game is that we are so weak on pass defense. We can bottle up the run, but the pass has eluded us. Seems their QB is pretty adept at passing (from what I've read on their boards), so it's tough to call.
Let's go 'Necks!!!!!!!!
They also announced today that Trenton Norvell, lets not forget he is a sophomore, is nominated for National Player of the Year. They only select 30 players to be part of this so it is a huge honor to even be in the running and at his age it is an huge achievement. I agree though I think the offense will be amazing next year and for sure the year after, but I hope we can restock on defense and have a good D again. I like what the freshman Aaron Diggs has brought to the table so far.
Agreed. Though, to be fair, we have lots of young players on defense that might be ready to step up next year. Don't know much about that, do you?WIU0812 wrote:They also announced today that Trenton Norvell, lets not forget he is a sophomore, is nominated for National Player of the Year. They only select 30 players to be part of this so it is a huge honor to even be in the running and at his age it is an huge achievement. I agree though I think the offense will be amazing next year and for sure the year after, but I hope we can restock on defense and have a good D again. I like what the freshman Aaron Diggs has brought to the table so far.
JJ is a junior and will be the leader of the group, from what I have heard the local prospect Brett Taylor has a lot of potential and will be a redshirt sophomore. Other than that it is mostly going to be redshirt freshman starting for the first time and we have Brad Blumenshine who I think was a transfer? He is listed as a Junior right now, but they do not have any history on him. Also, there is Demetrius Allen who transferred in last year, but had to redshirt 2013 and has played some this year so should know the defense.
12 Demetrius Allen LB 6-0 225 Jr. Miami, Fla. Northwestern
17 Kevin Kintzel LB 6-2 230 Sr. New Lenox, Ill. Lincoln-Way West
27 Brad Blumenshine LB 6-2 215 Jr. Bloomington, Ill. Normal
34 DeAndre Daniels LB 6-1 205 Sr. Oakland, Calif. Deer Valley / Glendale CC
35 Adam Brott LB 6-2 225 R-Fr. St. Clair, Mo. St. Clair
43 J.J. Raffelson LB 6-3 235 Jr. Lake Zurich, Ill. Lake Zurich
44 Brett Taylor LB 6-2 230 R-Fr. Macomb, Ill. Macomb
46 Luke Venegoni LB 6-3 235 Sr. Gurnee, Ill. Carmel
47 Michael Bishoff LB 6-2 195 Fr. Elk Grove Village, Ill. Elk Grove
54 Cale McMakin LB 6-1 205 Fr. Overland Park, Kan. Blue Valley West
56 Darren Southwell LB 6-3 220 Fr. Taylor Ridge, Ill. Rockridge
- Luke Brown LB 6-2 215 Fr. Jerseyville, Ill. Jerseyville
12 Demetrius Allen LB 6-0 225 Jr. Miami, Fla. Northwestern
17 Kevin Kintzel LB 6-2 230 Sr. New Lenox, Ill. Lincoln-Way West
27 Brad Blumenshine LB 6-2 215 Jr. Bloomington, Ill. Normal
34 DeAndre Daniels LB 6-1 205 Sr. Oakland, Calif. Deer Valley / Glendale CC
35 Adam Brott LB 6-2 225 R-Fr. St. Clair, Mo. St. Clair
43 J.J. Raffelson LB 6-3 235 Jr. Lake Zurich, Ill. Lake Zurich
44 Brett Taylor LB 6-2 230 R-Fr. Macomb, Ill. Macomb
46 Luke Venegoni LB 6-3 235 Sr. Gurnee, Ill. Carmel
47 Michael Bishoff LB 6-2 195 Fr. Elk Grove Village, Ill. Elk Grove
54 Cale McMakin LB 6-1 205 Fr. Overland Park, Kan. Blue Valley West
56 Darren Southwell LB 6-3 220 Fr. Taylor Ridge, Ill. Rockridge
- Luke Brown LB 6-2 215 Fr. Jerseyville, Ill. Jerseyville
Last edited by WIU0812 on Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
We may see them try to pick up a transfer from a BCS school in order to fill the gap if they are able to find anyone, but they will need to transfer before the spring in order to allow ample time to study the defense so they do not blow every play at beginning of year. I would fully expect them to try to bring in a transfer or community college linebacker to fill some quick gaps. Hopefully they find another Kris Harley in a linebacker form that kid is a ton!
Personally I say scout the SEC/B1G rosters for some kids who were high prospects and were pushed aside by an even higher prospect. This happens all the time a great player comes in and is forced to sit because the next best thing happens to sign at the same location. Even better is if they can look back at 4 star prospects from IL, WI or IA from about 1 or 2 years ago and find the ones who got pushed aside and go after them aggressively marketing immediate playing time and a shot at the NFL if they can prove their worth. If someone made a program that could search through either the ESPN or Rivals four and five star candidates and then automatically would break out the ones who were from within 200 miles and then from there break it into those who had no playing time or very limited time you could find a great deal of prospective players for a good FCS level team.
Seriously go to the link below and look at current stats on the DL. He has 20 solo tackles, 5 TFL, 2.5 sacks and 1 pass breakup. That is pretty awesome for a first year transfer.
http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football
Personally I say scout the SEC/B1G rosters for some kids who were high prospects and were pushed aside by an even higher prospect. This happens all the time a great player comes in and is forced to sit because the next best thing happens to sign at the same location. Even better is if they can look back at 4 star prospects from IL, WI or IA from about 1 or 2 years ago and find the ones who got pushed aside and go after them aggressively marketing immediate playing time and a shot at the NFL if they can prove their worth. If someone made a program that could search through either the ESPN or Rivals four and five star candidates and then automatically would break out the ones who were from within 200 miles and then from there break it into those who had no playing time or very limited time you could find a great deal of prospective players for a good FCS level team.
Seriously go to the link below and look at current stats on the DL. He has 20 solo tackles, 5 TFL, 2.5 sacks and 1 pass breakup. That is pretty awesome for a first year transfer.
http://goleathernecks.com/roster.aspx?r ... h=football