Big Ten roundup: Iowa

Everything said about Iowa's offensive line after its spring scrimmage was choreographed like a ballet.

Iowa's O-line carries the belt for the Hawkeyes in 2o11. Left tackle Riley Reiff is a future NFL draft pick, maybe even a first rounder. Center James Ferentz is sturdy and experienced and ready to challenge for some all-Big Ten recognition. Right tackle Markus Zusevics has developed to the point where you know he'll be invited to the draft combine after this season.

The guards aren't exactly hurting, even though they'll be somewhat new. Senior Adam Gettis might be the OL's best "brawler." During the spring scrimmage, he wrestled senior defensive tackle Mike Daniels to a stalemate. Daniels is Iowa's top returing D-lineman. Left guard is a bit of a mystery with sophomore Nolan MacMillan out with "orthopedic issues (according to head coach Kirk Ferentz)" this spring, but redshirt freshman Brandon Scherff jumped in and solidified himself at least as the No. 5.

Iowa's O-line sets up well for an offense that will have a new QB and experience issues at wide receiver. You would never believe it listening to them, though.

"They're going to have to do a little better than they did today," Kirk Ferentz said. "We did a pretty good job with holding penalties, I think we had three or four or five. We had a couple exchange problems. That group will be fine, but we're not there yet by any stretch."

Kirk Ferentz said Reiff, Ferentz and Zusevics are all capable of getting better. And then he let a little truth slip in.

"If we're going to have a good football team, we're going to need that to happen," Kirk Ferentz said. "We have the potential to be solid up there and we're going to need to be. We're going to need that to be a strength for our football team."

A few zone blitzes trickled out of Iowa's spring scrimmage. Defensive end Broderick Binns broke up a pass in the flat intended for a wide receiver. Reserve defensive tackle Mike Hardy dropped maybe four steps into coverage and snared a John Wienke pass.

Iowa's schedule is different this season. The notable Big Ten absences are Ohio State and Wisconsin, the reigning heavyweight champions of heavyweight Big Ten football. They run straight at defenses. Iowa does face Nebraska and Purdue, two offenses that lean to the spread.

Iowa lost a lot of firepower up front with the graduations of DE Adrian Clayborn, DE Christian Ballard and DT Karl Klug. If there was a year Norm Parker's 4-3 defense might have a different look to it, the next two seasons might see it.

"Well, it's a little bit of adouble-edged sword," Parker said. "You think that, with losing all those guys, some of the guys we have now that probably aren't as big but might have a little bit more quickness or have good quickness, that you might like to do more things to really off-set that lack of size, but they're so young that -- how much can you do before that goes backwards, too."

IOWA HAWKEYES

• Division: Legends
• 2010 record: 8-5, 4-4 Big Ten 
• Returning offensive starters (5): OT Riley Reiff, OT Marcus Zusevics, C James Ferentz, WR Marvin McNutt, RB Marcus Coker, OG Adam Gettis (part-time starter), OG Nolan MacMillan (part-time starter)
• Returning defensive starters (5): CB Shaun Prater, FS Micah Hyde, DT Mike Daniels, MLB James Morris. OLB Tyler Nielsen, DE Broderick Binns (part-time starter)
• 2010 review: Just an overall frustrating year for the Hawkeyes, who failed to build on an 11-2 Orange Bowl season in 2009. What happened? The defense lost three starters to the NFL draft. Two (LB Pat Angerer and CB Amari Spievey) ended up starting in the league as rookies. The offensive line lost senior contributors, most notably Bryan Bulaga, who left with a year of eligibility remaining and started at right tackle for the Packers in the Super Bowl. The 2009 had a self-made mentality. It oozed resilience from its earholes. The 2010 Hawkeyes didn't have the bite '09 had. Case(s) in point, the Hawkeyes lost all five of their games in the fourth quarter in '10, with Wisconsin being the real kick in the head. Did the '09 success translate into complacency or entitlement in '10? Or was it old fashioned bad luck? Probably a little of both.
• 2011 schedule: S3 Tennessee Tech; S10 at Iowa State; S17 Pittsburgh; S24 Louisana-Monroe; O1 OPEN; O8 at Penn State; O15 Northwestern; O22 Indiana; O29 at Minnesota; N5 Michigan; N12 Michigan State; N19 at Purdue; N25 at Nebraska
• Noteworthy: The Hawkeyes lose Wisconsin and Ohio State, which changes the nature of their schedule. Iowa begins a season-ending rivalry with Nebraska and picks up a scheduling-imposed "rivalry" with Purdue. Both teams run more spread-type offenses, certainly moreso than Wisconsin and Ohio State. Iowa's home schedule has earned a few complaints from fans.
• Quotable: “I'll just say this: We can't play special teams next year like we did last year and expect to be playing in a bowl game or having a good year. It just won't work." -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz on the Hawkeyes' special teams in 2010