Undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes: Q&A with Austin Bramley

The Iowa Hawkeyes are undefeated this year, which has a really nice ring to it if you’re part of the Hawkeye faithful. It’s been a long time since Iowa had a team this good, or at least it feels like it. They are putting up a lot of points offensively while the defense is playing lights out as well.

It’s a rare combination of things clicking in every phase of the game for the Hawkeyes, even though they are always well-coached across the board by Kirk Ferentz and his staff.

It seems that Ferentz has turned over a new leaf this year. He’s been much more loose on gamedays and has given Hawkeye fans reason to believe things are changing by opening up the playbook a little bit and taking some bigger risks than he has in recent years. Who knows what someone stirred in his coffee this year, but Ferentz has been reborn with Iowa this year, and the team is 7-0 heading into their bye week.

Iowa is fresh off of a huge road win against a top 20 team in Northwestern, and they absolutely embarrassed them. I thought now was as good a time as any to consult my most trusted Hawkeyes expert in the land, Austin Bramley, for a little Q&A session.

Oct 10, 2015; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Desmond King (14) signals for the first down late in the fourth quarter after Iowa recovered a fumble against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa beat Illinois 29-20. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Bramley, who is an alum of NFL Mocks, now covers the team and resides in Iowa City, where he’s been going to school. My first question to Bramley had to do — of course — with the NFL draft. What of Desmond King, the undisputed best prospect on the Hawkeyes right now? Is he staying or going next year (one year of eligibility left in 2016)?

“Desmond King has clearly been the MVP for this Hawkeye defense. He leads the Big Ten and is second nationally in interceptions. He has that big play ability and has the ability to change momentum of a football game with one play. We haven’t even talked about his ability on special teams. He’s Iowa’s number one kick and punt returner. He’s second in the Big Ten averaging just over 15 yards per punt return. Although Desmond King has said that he hasn’t thought about the NFL, the Hawkeye fans here in Iowa City and around the state of Iowa are expecting King to be playing on Sundays next fall.”

The Hawkeyes have always done a great job of sending NFL-ready linemen to the next level. That’s not going to change with both Kirk Ferentz (former NFL OL coach) and his son Brian (former Iowa OL, NFL OL, and OL coach) helping get these players ready. Who is the next one we’ll see playing on Sundays?

“Other than Austin Blythe, who’s been starting at Iowa for what seems like eight years, you have to look at James Daniels. The 6-4 285 pound true freshman from Warren, Ohio has received some significant playing time this fall with a beaten up Iowa offensive line. Daniels has stepped in an hasn’t missed a beat. It’s not often you see true freshman start on an Iowa offensive line, but when it happens, it leads to a bright future. Remember Bryan Bulaga?”

Bulaga, of course, was a first round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, and is now a key piece of an offense that is one of the best in the NFL today.

Speaking of Bulaga, who had a torn ACL a couple of years ago and missed the entire season, there was a really unfortunate situation this year when senior defensive end Drew Ott — the team’s leader up front — went down with the same injury, and was lost for the season.

With Ott down and out this year, his Iowa career over, what are the chances this injury derails his NFL hopes?

“It really is unfortunate that Drew has lost the rest of his senior season due to a torn ACL. It clearly will affect his draft stock, but luckily he has enough film out there and has shown his ability to be an aggressive pass rusher. Plus, Kirk Ferentz has a multitude of NFL connections, which will help him.”

Going back to the college side of things, how about the injury to Jordan Canzeri? It looked horrible on the field as he was unable to put an ounce of pressure on his leg, and when you see guys getting carted off the field and unable to walk off in their own power, it’s obviously reason for concern. Where are the Hawkeyes at with their star senior running back?

Oct 17, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes running back Jordan Canzeri (33) is helped off the field after an injury against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

“After the Northwestern game Kirk Ferentz said that Canzeri’s injury is a high ankle sprain. He’ll likely be out until mid November. But don’t forget about LeShun Daniels. He was off to a hot start before injuring his ankle during the Iowa State game. Ferentz said Daniels could have played last week at Northwestern, but they made the decision two weeks ago to keep Daniels out until after the bye week to get him back to 100%. Daniels, Wadley and Mitchell should be able to handle the load until Canzeri is able to return.”

There are going to be varying opinions on this, and there’s obviously a TON of time left, but if Iowa runs the table and wins the Big Ten championship game, they’ve got to be in the CFB playoff, right?

“If, and it’s a very big IF, Iowa runs the table and wins the Big Ten championship, I don’t see how the CFB Playoff committee keeps an undefeated Big Ten champion out of the Playoff. Iowa would have wins over (now ranked) Pitt, and wins over ranked Wisconsin and (was ranked) Northwestern, both coming on the road. They would also have a win over Nebraska (down or not, it’s not easy to win in Lincoln), and a win over likely Ohio State or Michigan State.”

Make sure you all follow Austin on Twitter @AustinBramley for some of the best Hawkeye coverage around!

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