Rankage!

So as any Iowa fan now knows, we are ranked. 19th to be exact. This happened after the blowout win against South Carolina. But more than that, its the players we go into the 2009 season with.

That includes one of the nations top defenses, a very experienced O-line, good recievers and backs, and Ricki Stanzi who has proved himself in the end of the season. This is the first time they've been ranked in two years, and are ranked above great teams such as Notre Dame and Oregon State.

They managed to get this preseason rank despite losing Shonn Greene to the NFL draft. Jewel Hampton is there to step in for him and he has done a great job stepping in for Shonn in past games. We also have four star recruit Brandon Wengher coming in who is supposed to be a stud.

We're also losing Andy Brodell but DJK has stepped up and there are also some great backup receivers. But more than that, we get Keenan Davis, the four star recruit from Washington High School, so we will be set there.

The O-line took some hits losing Rob Bruggeman and Seth Olsen. But they also have three returning starters and the players replacing them should do a nice job. The o-line is actually projected to be the second best line in the big ten next year.

The defense lost great players such as Bradley Fletcher, Harold Dalton, Mitch King, and Matt Kroul. But the entire linebacker crew is back and will be better than ever. Also the d-line has both ends returning, Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard. THe people replacing King and Kroul are pretty good too, but I can't think of their names right now. Amari Spievey is coming back and will lead the cornerbacks, and Brent Greenwood will lead the deep backs.

I feel like next year will a truly great season for the Hawks. All the cards are right for them. They didn't lose many players and though some they did lose can't be replaced (King, Greene) I think the replacements will still do a good job. Also the returning players have that much more experience now and are starting to really play good ball. Especially Stanzi. He has always had the talent, and now he has the experience to go along with it. They're starting out ranked which is also good and will let them advance in the league that much faster.