Iowa Preview:
Hawkeyes Are Impossible to Ignore

By Paul Smith
paul.smith@collegeblitz.com

PORTER, IND. — When it comes to Big Ten venues, the fine community of Iowa City doesn't make it too far up the must-visit charts.

Ann Arbor is trumpeted as a cosmopolitan community where espresso coffee joints meet internationally-acclaimed restaurants and through it all, the classic college-town environment dominates.

Madison is Ann Arbor with the added beauty of two of the Midwest's most beautiful lakes...State College is nestled in a gorgeous valley amid some of the East's most impressive mountain chains, Bloomington was called the quintessential college town by The Princeton Review and Columbus' massive state-capital and metropolitan atmosphere mingles perfectly with the huge Ohio State campus while Evanston is a classic study in urban-suburban diversity.

East Lansing, Minneapolis, Champaign...

And then, Iowa City.

So when more than a few veteran Iowa football followers whose loyalty dates back to the days of Forest Evashevski, or even beyond to Nile Kinnick, for whom the Hawkeyes' stadium is named, they will tell you they're used to being under the radar.

That said, seventh-year coach Kirk Ferentz is making it impossible to suppress the Hawkeyes image.

The pre-season No. 11 Hawkeyes have emerged from the long shadows of mediocrity, then respect to become a major league prime timer.

Beating Ohio State 33-7 at home last fall, the worst loss in the four-year Jim Tressel era in Columbus, plus tying Michigan for the Big Ten title (7-1) and finishing off a boffo 10-2 season with a come-from-behind 30-25 Capital City Bowl victory against Southeastern Conference power L.S.U. in Nick Saban's final game, validated the Hawkeyes as a bona fide national player.

And even with the loss of its entire starting defensive front four from last year (ends Matt Roth and Derreck Robinson and tackles Jonathan Babineaux and Tyler Luebke) barely slows down the relentless forward progress Ferentz is making.

Now the reporters come from Chicago, from Columbus, from suburban Washington, D.C. (USA Today), from Dallas to mingle with the usuals from DesMoines, Cedar Rapids, Mason City or Dubuque.

Senior linebacker Chad Greenway, who headlines a trio of hitters that include fellow senior Abdul Hodge and junior Ed Miles that likely is one of the top linebacking corps in the country, and while he loves the national print and tape clips, he is overjoyed to see the Hawks smacking pads again.

"There's a breaking point where you want to get back to doing what you've been doing," Greenway told The Des Moines Register's Andrew Logue. "I'm probably the happiest right now that I've been in six months.

In a league well-known for linebackers -- Penn State, with Paul Posluszny, Tim Shaw and Dan Connor can realistically stake its traditional claim as Linebacker U., Ohio State's talented young crew is led by rock 'em/sock 'em A.J. Hawk and Purdue is loaded.

But Iowa's 'backers put the capital M in what may be the league's most muscular defense. Sophomore defensive end Kenny Iwebema has been compared to Philadelphia Eagles all-pro Jevon Kearse and undersized freshman tackle Matt Kroul will assure that rushing yardage will be very hard to come by.

In some corners, Greenway and Hodge are being pushed for All-American honors. "I'm going to be honest," Hodge told Logue, "we don't believe the hype. As players and coaches we don't know what we have right now."

Throw in a capable secondary that was one of the better collection of Big Ten pass defenders last year (e.g. senior cornerback Jovon Johnson, who is four interceptions away from the Iowa career record and senior corner Antwan Allen, whom most opposing passers avoided but wound up with a career high four INTs last year anyhow) and a lot of people will find out in a hurry,

Ummm, OK. That about does it for the defense. Did we mentioned the quarterback, Drew Tate, who may not be the second coming of Purdue's uber-passer of three years back, Drew Brees, but is good enough to be touted by some as potential Big Ten offensive player of the year?

Start there and throw in two very talented wideouts in Clinton Solomon and Ed Hinkel, who combined for 1,649 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall...and revisit Tate, who completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,786 yards and 20 touchdowns behind a powerful offensive line and about the only question mark is the running game, which could be the one missing ingredient that bars the door to the Top 10.

"There's probably been a lot more talk than in years past," Ferentz, the former Connecticut quarterback from the early 1980s, told Logue. "I know Ohio State and Purdue...none of those guys are impressed or care about what's being said about the Hawkeyes."

Tressel, for one, will tell you Iowa got his team's full attention after the Buckeyes' mid-season nadir in Iowa City last fall.

"The league is tougher than ever this year," he said. And clearly, the Sept. 24 Hawkeyes visit to the Big Horseshoe to open the Big 10 regular season will be a top priority.

For the Hawks, it is one of three critical games -- the other two being at Purdue Oct. 8 and Michigan's Oct. 22 visit.

Michigan is pre-season A.P. No. 4, the Bucks are close behind at sixth and Purdue is 15th. Win two of those and Iowa City, for one late fall at least, may wind up being the Big Ten's capital city.