Hawkeye in Big 33 . . .

William Lowe was the lone Hawkeye in Saturday night's Big 33 prep football all-star game between Ohio and Pennsylvania preps.

Quarterback Tino Sunseri and receivers Cameron Saddler, Jonathan Baldwin and Mike Shanahan -- all Pittsburgh recruits -- put on a show in Pennsylvania's 31-16 victory, connecting for 116 yards and five TDs. According to Pantherlair.com, Baldwin beat Lowe, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound cornerback, for a 10-yard TD.

According to some posters on HawkeyeReport.com, Lowe shouldn't report to Iowa City for summer conditioning and check out his prospects at Allegheny College.

Points taken. Iowa's DBs have become a lightning rod for frustrated fans, who seem to outnumber the optimistic going into '08. Too short, too much cushion, won't turn around and look for the ball. That's all out there. You'll find a lot of unkind things written about Iowa players out on the internet, a form that breeds anonymous critics. (I really let Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon, a paid professional, have it on the 300 Level, proving I can be anonymous and knee jerk with the best of them.) So be it. Doesn't make it wrong, doesn't make it right. It's there and, as far as I can tell after 10 years of kibitzing with Iowa players, they don't pay much attention to it, good or bad. Messageboards are a great place for fans to celebrate or vent or whatever you want (I particularly enjoy the TV/satellite dish talk, very helpful). I believe the buzzword here is "communities." My role is different. It's public and it's personal. I have to own up for my words. Does this mean I pull punches? No, not at all. It means if there's a criticism to be made or a tough question to be asked, I do it respectfully and without rubbing a kid's or coach's nose in it. In the heat of the battle, it doesn't always come out that way. I've had "all due respects" thrown at me when they really meant "go jump off a really tall building, turd." (I'm sure we'll discuss this more as the season moves along. What is it now, 61, Travis Meade, days?)

Anyway, it's a spirited discussion. The majority of posters on the Lowe thread took a "wait and see" and are a million miles from off with his head. Late June all-star game, new defense, a week away from home (Ohio players spent the week with host families), that seems like the sound conclusion.

In a Cleveland Plain Dealer story (link here http://www.cleveland.com/hsfootball/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1213518806184980.xml&coll=2), Lowe is spotlighted in moments after the game, sharing time and taking pictures with his host family.

I looked up Lowe's bio in Iowa's spring prospectus. It said he had 102 career tackles and seven interceptions. It said he had 2,033 rushing yards with 27 TDs, 61 catches for 799 yards and nine TDs and two TDs off returns. It said he was a team captain. It said he was a member of Academic Merit and prep honor roll.

I'm gonna go wait and see. A lot can happen in five years.