Top 45: The 2015 Iowa Hawkeyes

You don't need a thousand players to win in college football. It doesn't hurt, and you could probably argue the difference between Ohio State's 45 to 85 is quite a bit different from the rest of the Big Ten's and most of the college football world's for that matter.

At Iowa, a year-in, year-out roster likely will have 45 game-ready contributors. Give or take, of course. There is some rotation in the defensive line, running back and wide receiver, but after those positions, Iowa usually locks in pretty heavily on its top 22 starters. Mix in some special teamers and specialists and, yes, it takes about 45 solid to win in Iowa City.

It's time to get granular with Iowa football 2015.

This will be the football nerd's look into the top 45 players on Iowa's roster. Who are these guys? What have they done? What has the last year been like for them on the field? Where do they fit? What have the coaches said about them?

Look at it as a refresher or for reference.

What went into this: The guiding factor this year (and thanks to colleague and Iowa beat writer Scott Dochterman for helping come up with the rankings) was most important players on the roster. Who are the starters who don't have much experience behind them? How much value, say, do senior defensive ends Drew Ott and Nate Meier carry when it could be redshirt freshmen and/or sophomores behind him? Same goes for senior center Austin Blythe? Oh yeah, and junior quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Start with the idea that this is the list of the 45 players the Hawkeyes can least afford to lose or need to come through the most if they want to contend in the Big Ten West Division.

As was the case last year, this isn't about setting limits on a player. I assume someone will rise up and tear this list to pieces.

Running back Mark Weisman didn't make the Top 45 from 2012, you know when he led the Hawkeyes in rushing for the first of three straight seasons. Last season, I didn't have junior Greg Mabin on the list. Why would I? In 2013 as a redshirt freshman, he didn't play a down, not even special teams. And then last season, Mabin jumped into the starting lineup at cornerback.

So, you know some player is out there ready to bite me on the keyboard.

Mostly, this is a conversation piece. It's conversational and unscientific.

This also is an introduction. It will cover the next starting left guard to the No. 3 cornerback, the No. 3 offensive tackle and the long snapper.

For Iowa to improve on 2014's 7-6 and seriously contend in the West Division, the top 20 (or thereabouts) on this list have to be Iowa's best players.

The first post will publish tonight and then one every week night through Aug. 29, which leads us to week 1. Please, tell me your thoughts. I hope you let me know where you believe a player should be on this list. If you end up being right in the end, I'll find you on Twitter and publicly congratulate you.