Hlas column: So many good Hawkeye seniors this year who deserve appreciative sendoffs

Seniors Day. Where do you begin when it comes to honoring such a noteworthy collection of Iowa football seniors who have gone 27-9 since the start of the 2008 season?

Let's start here: Senior offensive lineman Josh Koeppel was on a small motorcycle when he was struck by a truck in Iowa City on Aug. 30. Koeppel was knocked off the bike and into the air. Amazingly, he suffered only bruises. He was listed as the Hawkeyes' first-team right guard earlier this week.

When Koeppel wasn't seriously injured by that accident, Iowa was playing with house money for the rest of the year. It already was a winning season.

Several Iowa seniors have received plenty of attention the last few years. I'd like to note some that haven't received quite as much.

Hawkeye assistant coach Reese Morgan saw something in Pleasant Valley High School's Brett Greenwood, and strongly urged him to walk on at Iowa. That was 44 starts and 11 interceptions ago.

Being a fullback in Iowa's offensive system brings little individual glory. It's for selfless hard-workers. Brett Morse has been just that, an integral part of Hawkeye offensive successes.

Colin Sandeman hasn't been a flashy punt-returner. But a good one? Absolutely. He has always seemed to know when to return a punt and when to fair-catch it. To me, he seemed to squeeze out most of the available yardage whenever he has returned a kick. Had he not been on a team well-stocked with wide receivers, his numbers there probably would have been notable this season, too.

Linebacker Jeremiha Hunter will make his 35th start today. He has 244 career tackles, six of them in Iowa's Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech. He is the father of 2-year-old twins who says he wants to work with troubled youth as a career if pro football isn't in the cards for him.

Like Koeppel, starting offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde is one of nine Hawkeye players who were on the university's Dean's List in 2009-2010. Vandervelde is going places in life.

So is another Dean's List guy, kicker Daniel Murray. He's been in the shadows this year because of an injury. But Murray sealed his place in Hawkeye lore two years ago with the field goal that beat Penn State in Kinnick Stadium.

Marion's Allen Reisner, without benefit of a red-shirt season, has become one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten as a senior. He has made some terrific catches this season among his 35. It should shock no one if he joins Dallas Clark, Tony Moeaki, Brandon Myers and Scott Chandler as former Hawkeye tight ends in the NFL.

Punter Ryan Donahue has gotten plenty of acclaim over four years, but I still think he isn't fully appreciated. The combination of the average distance of his punts along with the large number of them that have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line has been remarkable.

It seemed odd when defensive lineman Karl Klug was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week for his play in a

September 2008 game against Florida International. He had two sacks and nine tackles, but as a substitute in a blowout win. It was a tease of good things to come. Klug became a big-time player over the next couple years, with 7.5 sacks since the start of the 2009 season.

Were it not for injuries, linebacker Jeff Tarpinian probably would have had piled up some big tackle numbers this season. He had a team-high nine against Ball State, and had eight last week at Northwestern.

Oh yeah. Christian Ballard, Adrian Clayborn, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Ricky Stanzi have been pretty good, too. Each could get their own page here, actually.

Like I said, 27-9 over the last three seasons, and with two resounding bowl wins. These men and their classmates deserve every bit of applause they get in today's pre-game ceremony.