Rating Iowa States needs by position

[cycloneworld]

We don't need a new kicker.

I would disagree.

It all starts with the O-line. They are the driving force for putting points on the board. They are also responsible for not giving the defense a short field which happens with 3 and outs.

[mj4cy]

I don't know....it would be nice to have a clutch kicker....shaggy has done great when it hasn't mattered....but how great would it be to not worry down the stretch in a big time game. A kicker can make your team go from average to close to great.

[St8Grad]

My thought is we will have to revert to a defensive team.

Yep, I agree. DEFENSE wins ballgames, & Chizik is a bigtime DEFENSIVE guy. He's probably hoping his defense will give them a chance each game, until the offense comes around...

[StLouisClone]

Something that people may not know about-sure this is a NFL stat but then again it makes sense

"No NFL team has ever won there game if leading after the third quarter with less then 4.0 avg. yards rushing".

While I think rushing efficiency is huge, I have my doubts about this stat. I've seen numerous games where teams did very little on the ground and still won the game.

[kurimski]

ISU'S NEEDS
1) O-Line that can block and not play like an anorexic high school girl
2) D-Line that can get to the QB by 3 Mississippi (i wish somebody would have told them that they can rush the QB before counting to 3 Mississippi)
3) D-Backs that can stick with and cover the reciever. They wouldn't have looked so bad if the d-line could have figured out the meaning of the word PRESSURE
4) RunningBack that can stay healthy, hold on to the ball, catch the ball, pass block, and rush the ball for over a 1,000 yards. (too much to ask?)
5) FG kicker that is clutch. Shaggy you've had about an entire year off from kicking anything that is considered a clutch field goal. Hopefully you can do it when it counts and the game isn't already decided.

[sdsmith4]

O-Line- I see Stephens as the only one that really seems to have the talent, we might have 1 or 2 young guys that can step in other than him, but we shall see, I would expect that we need 1 or 2 JUCOS here or a really really stud prospect, but we might figure out that some of the guys not playing was more about politics. From what I hear from a little birdie, the Fisher twins were not the most talented at their position but were given the upper hand a lot because they were recruited personally by Barney Cotton, this is the reason Fiacco left! So I am interested to see if we have some hidden talent! I honestly think that an answer to our problems might lie in Ben Lamaak if he has gained enough weight to be a lineman, he has the feet to be a good lineman, the kid played quarterback on a playoff team and was a good post player in basketball, his future his not as a tight end it is either on the o-line or d-tackle, if he keeps his act together I think he can be successful!

Running Back- We might have the talent there, but I am unsure, we need an O-Line, and need a little more athletic running back if we are gonna spread em out a little bit. I see Robinson as maybe that type of guy, but we will see.

Cornerback- I think Singleton is solid, beyond that, who knows, Tanner should help out and I think Williams and McDowell might be pretty talented, but we will see.

Safety- Smith is highly touted but unproven, Harris could be the man, Berg is a special teams guy and not a starting safety. Should be very interesting. Could see Banks suited for this, but I see him as a nickel back

Middle Linebacker- we do not have a middle linebacker, McKenzie is more suited for the outside and it will be interesting to see what we do here.

Outside Linebacker- we have one really good one, Banks showed some stuff with Bowen, but we will see if he stays around here because of his size. I would love to see McKenzie moved out here and Carper backing up, we need a nice rotation of players. Good defenses have deep talent and can rotate for specific circumstances, ISU hasn't succesfully done this since around 2000, 2001.

Defensive End- Taylor might be the answer, I think Parker prolly is, wouldn't be surprised if Braaksma spends some time splitting with those two guys, with someone like Bailey Johnson being the fourth, good defenses have 3 or 4 good ends, rush guys and run guys.

Defensive Tackle- I like Rubin as a run stopper, but not on the pass. Frere hasn't shown much yet. We will have to see what young talent shows, I think we need to recruit a JUCO here!!!!

Quarterback- we are pretty damn set here, especially if Bates shows up

Wide Receiver- don't think we will see much an addition here, seems to be set for a long time, I think we have some good talent coming up behind guys like Moses, Blythe, and Sumrall. I think Hamilton and Messiah are studs, and we will see if someone like Derron Montgomery has the skills, is the son of a former NFL running back! Houston Jones showed some stuff in the spring game!!

Tight End- I think Catlett and Barkema will prolly work out fine here, I could be wrong