2012 SEASON PREVIEW 11 tackles in 13 games. He is listed ahead of seniors Tom Donatell (62, 205) and Collin Sleeper (6-2, 200). Donatell split time between the secondary and outside linebacker a year ago, starting twice at outside linebacker. He recorded 17 solo tackles while playing in eight games. Sleeper played in 11 games and started twice at strong safety in 2011, recording 14 tackles. The secondary will be without cornerback Shaun Prater and safety Jordan Bernstine, both seniors in 2011. Prater earned first team all-conference as a junior and senior, while Bernstine had his most productive season as a senior and was also used on kickoff returns. Both were selected in the 2012 NFL draft. KIRK COMMENTS: “Micah is really our only senior, defensively, who has started and played a lot; he is clearly our most experienced player, and a strong leader. He’s a very good football player and a great team guy. B.J. Lowery was having a good camp last August until he broke his wrist. B.J. had a very good spring. Micah and B.J. give us two very capable corners. Behind them, Jordan Lomax is a young guy who had a good spring. On the opposite side, Greg Castillo is a fifth year senior who had a productive spring as well. All four, along with Torrey Campbell, who would be the fifth, improved. The safety position is tale of two cities; Tanner, like C.J. at tight end, improved as the year went on. He started to look like he was figuring it out. That continued in the spring and he really solidified his position. The other spot is the opposite, we have three players pretty much in a dead heat, and you could maybe throw Lowdermilk in that equation as well. Those four will fight it out. It is somewhat like the offensive line; we’re not real sure what will happen or how it will play out.” SPECIAL TEAMS Iowa lost just one member off the special teams, dependable punter Eric Guthrie. Taking over the punting duties for his senior season, Guthrie averaged 41.2 yards on 53 punts and allowed opponents an average of just 4.6 yards on only 14 returns. He earned honorable mention all-Big Ten honors from both league coaches and media. The Hawkeyes led the Big Ten and ranked 25th nationally in net punting. Iowa averaged 21.9 yards on KO returns, while allowing opponents 21.6 yards. Senior John Wienke (6-5, 220) and sophomore Jonny Mullings (63, 210) will battle incoming freshman Connor Kornbrath (6-6 215) for the punting duties. Neither Wienke nor Mullings have any career attempts. Junior Mike Meyer (6-2, 185) returns after handling all field goal and PAT attempts a year ago. Meyer connected on all 44 PAT attempts last season and has made 53 straight. He was 14-of-20 on field goal attempts and ranked second on the team with 86 points. Meyer ranks 14th in career scoring with 159 points and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award a year ago. He was named national Placekicker of the Week after making a career-best four field goals at Iowa State, including a career-long of 50 yards. Behind Meyer is redshirt freshman Marshall Koehn (6-0, 160). Iowa returns its long snapper in junior Casey Kreiter (6-3, 250), who was perfect on his PAT and field goal snaps a year ago. Wienke also returns as a holder. Hyde was the deep man on punt returns last season, averaging 8.2 yards on 13 returns. Among the returning players, Davis, MartinManley and Bullock have limited kickoff return experience, but none had more than four returns last season.
KIRK COMMENTS: “This spring Mike looked like an experienced, confident player. Behind him, I think Marshall has a bright upside. Casey did a nice job last year with the snaps, he is very dependable and a good team guy. He brings a positive energy to the field. The punting position is a real coin toss. Right now no one has established themselves, Connor will come in and compete for that job also. That will be a three-man competition from the start of camp. Micah will be returning punts, we can count on that. Kickoff return is wide open. We have several incoming players who in high school showed they can be returners. We’re wide open in the kick return aspect. Mike or Marshall could be the kickoff guy. We’ll be fine with those two guys. It might help if one guy settles in at each position. Our kickoff coverage has been feast or famine recently. At times we covered kicks like we used to and there have been times we didn’t. It all goes together, we have to kick it properly and guys cover like they are capable. It’s a real teamwork issue, and we’ve broken down too much at times in the last couple of years. We have been too inconsistent. If we are going to have a good football team, we are going to have to play really well on special teams. Consistency has been our biggest challenge. It all plays in; field position can be a real edge, or a real disadvantage, depending on how you play on special teams. It can really show up in a good way or a bad way.” THE SCHEDULE After opening the season against Northern Illinois in Chicago’s Soldier Field, the Hawkeyes will play four straight home games. In order, Iowa hosts Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Central Michigan and Minnesota during the month of September, prior to an open date. Iowa has not played four straight home games since 1980. The Hawkeyes travel to Michigan State and then host Penn State. Road games at Northwestern and Indiana are followed by a home date with Purdue. Iowa closes the season with a contest at Michigan before hosting Nebraska the day after Thanksgiving. Northern Illinois carries the longest winning streak in the nation (nine games) into the season. The Huskies and Hawkeyes played before a sellout crowd of over 60,000 in Soldier Field to open the 2007 season. Northern Illinois and Iowa State concluded the 2011 season in a bowl game, as did five of Iowa’s eight Big Ten opponents. Both Michigan (Sugar) and Michigan State (Outback) won January bowl games. The Hawkeyes have sold out Kinnick Stadium in 56 of the last 58 games. The 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011 home attendance average of 70,585 is an Iowa record. The Hawkeyes’ 36 straight home sellouts (2003-08) are a school record. Since 2002, the Hawkeyes have a 55-12 (.821) home record, a mark that ranks with the nation’s best. KIRK COMMENTS: “It’s really unique, playing four straight games in Kinnick. But before that, the opening game will be a real challenge for us in Chicago. Kinnick Stadium and our fans alone won’t win a game for us, but I think we all realize it’s advantageous to play at home if you make it that way. I’m hopeful, with our lack of experience, that maybe we can make that an advantage for us.”
Iowa Hawkeye Football
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