One last reminder: the spring game/scrimmage/open practice is tomorrow at noon. Doors open at 10:30 and remember to bring a canned good.

Norm and KOK speak

It's not too often that we get to hear from the coordinators, but when we do it is always enjoyable. Ken O'Keefe, who I know is not always the favorite, is absolutely fascinating to listen to. He is a little more candid that Ferentz and drops a lot of knowledge and insight into how he works with his offensive players, particularly the quarterbacks. Plus he is a pretty funny dude.

Some highlights from the pressers:

Parker (Full Transcript [pdf])
  • "Wow" players - B.J. Lowery, Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, and James Morris
  • Carl Davis - A 300 pound dude that can dunk a basketball but can't dance. (He hurt his knee during Dance Marathon).
  • Hyde to FS - The move is necessarily permanent and Tanner Miller was the original thought at free safety. Miller's out after undergoing shoulder surgery, so in comes Hyde. They at least want his as Miller's backup if not the starter.
  • Offensive standouts - C.J. Fiedorowicz, Keenan Davis, and Don Shumpert
  • Vandenberg - O'Keefe talked a lot about Vandenberg. He knows the system, studies film, corrects mistakes, is a good leader, etc... A lot of good praise from the QB coach.

O'Keefe (Full Transcript)
  • Backup QB - Weinke and Derby are getting equal reps right now.
  • KMM - DJK has been hyping up this kid, Kevonte Martin-Manley, like crazy, but he is still a "work in progress."
  • Plus there was this (about Norm):

    These are small -- for him, for other people, these are giant obstacles to overcome. For him, these are small bumps in the road. That's it. It's crazy in that regard.

    It was kind of cold out in practice -- last week, a cold day, I don't know if he told you this story or not. But they are driving around in the cart and it was so cold -- I don't know how the conversation actually came up.

    But we were talking about, "it was pretty nippy out there," or whatever. And he said, "Yeah, it was so darned cold my leg fell off." And I'm like, what? And I can't remember if he said leg or foot or whatever. But I don't know how it's put on or anything, but whatever it was, I don't know if it was a contraction or whatever. But he didn't even blink. He thought it was funny.


    So, yeah, a few people here think it was funny, but probably his wife doesn't think that's funny. But what else is new with any of us --excuse me, in that regard. But he's just a tough guy. Okay, have I gone too far now, or what?

Depth chart for the spring game

This depth chart will probably be the least accurate one we see all year. It excludes players who are injured or sitting out this spring due to off-season surgeries. Case in point--Steven Staggs will not be Iowa's starting receiver this year.

But, this is what we'll likely see as the first and second teams (with plenty of rotation) during the scrimmage portion of Iowa's open practice this Saturday.

Offense
WR - Steven Staggs, Don Shumpert
LT - Riley Rieff, Matt Tobin
LG - Brandon Scherff, Drew Clark
C - James Ferentz, Conor Boffeli
RG - Adam Gettis, Woody Orne
RT - Markus Zusevics, Brett Van Sloten
TE - Brad Herman, C.J. Fiedorowicz
WR - Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley
QB - James Vandenberg, John Wienke
FB - Jonathan Gimm, Jacob Reisen
RB - Marcus Coker, Jason White

Defense
CB - Greg Castillo, B.J. Lowery
DE - Broderick Binns, Joe Forgy
DT - Carl Davis, Mike Hardy
DT - Mike Daniels, Cole Heissel
DE - Lebron Daniel, Dominic Alvis
OLB - Tyler Nielsen, Dakota Getz
MLB - James Morris, Terrance Pryor
WLB - Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens
SS - Collin Sleeper, Tom Donatell
FS - Micah Hyde, Jack Swanson
CB - Shaun Prater, Jordan Bernstine

OUTRAGE!

An Iowa City committee has recommended to the City Council that the game-day vendors outside Kinnick Stadium be banned. The area is technically zoned as a residential, but the vendors have a long-standing tradition on Melrose.

The conversation about the vendors started "following complaints from neighborhood residents." Come on now folks. I'm not sure what you were expecting when you bought a house right next to Kinnick Stadium, but it's not like these vendors and heavy tailgaiting are anything new. Of course damaged property and the likes are bad, but if the complaints are just about noise, traffic congestion, and a little mess...

Quick Hits

  • A final shot of practice pictures from Wednesday ...Hyde has the ball in his hands (right where we want it) in the final photo. There have been a lot of interception pictures over the past couple of weeks. Hopefully this is more of an indication of astrong secondary than poor quarterbacks.
  • Dallas Clark was on Criminal Minds last night. If you missed it, Hawkeye Locator (an awesome new site by the way made by a few students) has you covered with a clip from the show.
  • We now know at least a little bit more on the Dan Heiar situation. He was driving on I-80 following a wedding and may have fallen asleep and gone off the road. There were beer cans in the car, but no word on if Heiar was intoxicated. It sounds like his injuries are pretty severe. Hopefully it is something he can fully recover from.