Iowa football is slowly turning into one of college football's best pipelines for professional talent.
ESPN 's Mark Schlabach wrote an article titled "SEC not alone in elite NFL talent ," in which he mentions that the SEC had 49 players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.
That fact prompted a crew of ESPN writers to find out which college football team produced the best NFL pipeline over the past three decades.
The writers conducted a survey of NFL drafts from 1979 to 2009 to find the most prolific teams sending talent to the pros. The survey "awarded one point for each player who was named NFL most valuable player, defensive player of the year, offensive player of the year, or All-Pro (first- or second-team), and one point for each Pro Bowl appearance."
The SEC found six of its members among the top 25 teams on ESPN 's survey results. The Big Ten was not far behind with five teams in the top 25 result set.
Schwab reportedly offered UNI wrestling job [WCF Courier] - It appears an offer has been extended to [U of Iowa Assistant Coach] Doug Schwab to become the University of Northern Iowa's new head wrestling coach.
MSU, Iowa, Purdue also in NFL pipeline mix [ESPN] - Iowa is tied with Michigan State at No. 23 in the standings. The Hawkeyes produced 10 first-team All-Pros, 10 second-team All-Pros and 27 Pro Bowl appearances. Iowa's top players during the last three decades included linebacker Andre Tippett, safety Merton Hanks (love the funky chicken dance!), punter Reggie Roby, safety Bob Sanders, defensive end Aaron Kampman and kicker Nate Kaeding.
Copycat Recruiting [Hawkeye Nation] - "An article in the Grand Island (Nebraska) Independent newspaper ‘verbalizes’ what Iowa fans have come to learn through the years; when Iowa offers an offensive line prospect, other offers are going to follow…and soon."
Academia turning to social networks like Twitter [Daily Iowan] - In fact, 80 percent of college and university instructors maintain a social presence online. More than half of the nearly 1,000 surveyed use Twitter, Facebook, or similar services in their classes, according to the study.
If you haven't noticed, I have been covering the NFL draft pretty heavily this year. That might have something to do with the fact that six Hawkeyes were predicted to be drafted into the pros.
That prediction came true, and the content has been flowing ever since.
Here are some links to some of those stories:
Miami Dolphins Trade Up for Iowa's A.J. Edds
KC Moves Up to Select Iowa's Moeaki at No. 93
Detroit Lions Snag Iowa Hawkeye Amari Spievey with No. 66 Pick
Colts Use No. 63 on Iowa's Pat Angerer
Iowa's Bulaga Falls To No. 23, Much To Packers' Surprise
Monday Morning Hawkeye News - Iowa Owns 2010 NFL Draft
Iowa basketball: McCaffery adds recruit from Massachusetts [DMR] - With his first recruit in the bank at Iowa, Hawkeye basketball coach Fran McCaffery hopes to add to his roster again before the spring signing period ends May 19.
Miami Dolphins linebacker A.J. Edds expects success [Miami Herald] - A.J. Edds doesn't fit the physical profile of a pass-coverage linebacker, but he gets the job done with mind and muscle.
Transition To Pro Game Underway For Bulaga [Packers.com] - Rookie offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga knows the speed and intensity in practice will be turned up a notch later this month when the entire team begins OTAs, but for now, his focus is on learning as much about Green Bay's offensive system as he can.
Lions rookie Amari Spievey made most of his second chance - He said Spievey was tough, physical and fast, even if he lacked elite speed. He praised his instincts and ball skills. He also said the Lions "liked the track record of Iowa corners."
International man of mystery [Marc Morehouse] - Mullings grew up in Bristol, England, moved to Australia after high school, was a foreign exchange student in Ottumwa, a ski instructor in France and now has a shot to be a kickoff specialist in Iowa City.
Wisconsin appeals Big Ten ruling on ex-Iowa recruit [Scott Dochterman] - Wisconsin’s athletics department has appealed a Big Ten ruling that denied former Iowa men’s basketball recruit Ben Brust a chance to earn a basketball scholarship at a league school other than Iowa this year.
Three Big Ten players in 2011 mock draft - The Big Ten had three players selected in the first round of last week's NFL draft. According to Todd McShay, the same thing will take place next April.
Hawkeye Expressionism for charity [Marc Morehouse]
Hawks' Moore back in action [Press Citizen] - UI wrestler wins freestyle title at junior nationals
Bulaga Perhaps Clifton's Heir Apparent At LT [Packers.com] - There weren't many mock drafts that had Iowa left tackle Bryan Bulaga falling to the Green Bay Packers at the 23rd overall pick in the first round.
Ex-Hawk Dan Doering earns an NFL tryout [Gazette] - Former Iowa offensive lineman Dan Doering struggled to get on the field during his tenure with the Hawkeyes, but he’ll still get a shot at playing in the NFL.
Two more Hawkeyes sign deals [QC Times] - Oft-injured Iowa linemen Dace Richardson, a first team All-Big Ten pick last season despite missing the last four games of the regular season with a broken leg, agreed to a tryout with the New York Giants.
UI law students get political tips from Grassley [Gazette] - Sen. Chuck Grassley spent an hour on Friday talking to a UI Law School class about their year-long project about about transparency and conflicts of interest in the medical field.
BT talk back: Should Iowa-PSU wrap up year? [ESPN]
NFL draft links on former Hawkeyes; still waiting on Dace Richardson [Gazette] - Former Iowa offensive lineman Dace Richardson was still sifting through free-agent offers as of late Saturday, but likely will agree to terms today.
Q&A with former Hawkeye and new Chiefs TE Tony Moeaki [Gazette] - The Kansas City Chiefs drafted former Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki in the third round Friday night. Here is a transcript of his teleconference call with Kansas City-area reporters.
Six Hawkeyes drafted, two get tryouts [Daily Iowan] - Starting with Bryan Bulaga’s NFL draft to Green Bay in the first round and continuing with five other successful former Hawkeye picks, the number of athletes chosen in this year’s event is the most Iowa has produced since the process was reduced to seven rounds in 1994.
Edds, Calloway selected in NFL draft [Press Citizen] - Although he wasn't known as an edgy sort during his career at Iowa, Edds had watched 15 linebackers disappear from the board during the first two days of the draft, and four more went Saturday morning before his phone rang and the anxiety ended.
Hawks pick up 2 receiver recruits [Hawk Central] - The receiver position is somewhere near the top of Iowa's priority list this year in recruiting.
Hawks have 6 players drafted [QC Times] - The Iowa football program, coming off a landmark season, reached another pinnacle Saturday in the NFL Draft.
With their fourth-round pick (No. 119) in the 2010 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins selected another Iowa Hawkeye.
The Dolphins traded their No. 126 to the Cowboys to move up to No. 119 to get Iowa's outside linebacker A.J. Edds.
Don't be fooled by the fact that he looks like a young Dr. Emmett Brown from the movie Back to the Future . Edds is athletic and intelligent linebacker who had more than a few NFL teams foaming at the mouth for a chance to pick him up.
Edds is a run-stuffing, pass-intercepting machine. At 6-foot-3 and 246 pounds, the second-team all-Big Ten selection can jam running backs and hold up tight ends.
Along with Pat Angerer, who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts, Edds was part of a linebacker corps at Iowa that combined for 312 tackles.
In his 13 games this past season, he totaled 77 tackles (four for a loss), five interceptions and four pass breakups. He totaled seven career interceptions at Iowa.
It's been said many times before, but it bears repeating: Kirk Ferentz knows how to pick NFL-caliber tight ends.
Prior to this year, every starting tight end coached by Ferentz at Iowa has gone on to the NFL. That trend continues this year as the Kansas City Chiefs used the No. 93 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to select Iowa's Tony Moeaki.
Moeaki is a complete, every-down-type tight end with tremendous upside, something the Chiefs are sorely in need of. He should get a chance for immediate playing time, as neither Brad Cottam or Leonard Pope distinguished themselves this past season.
At 6'4'', 250 lbs, the all-Big Ten first-team selection has the size it takes to make it as a starter in the NFL. And that size doesn't slow him down at all, either.
Because of several injuries at Iowa, his durability was in question. At the NFL combine and Iowa pro day performances, he attempted to answer those questions.
Moeaki recorded one of the top four fastest times by a tight end this year at the combine. His 4.69 40-yard dash was tied for fourth fastest among tight ends and his 9'5'' broad jump was tied for fifth best.
Iowa's Amari Spievey continues the trend of successful Hawkeye cornerbacks drafted in the third round of the NFL draft.
Like Charles Godfrey and Brad Fletcher in the previous two years before him, Spievey was selected in the third round of the draft this year.
With the No. 66 pick, the Detroit Lions added "The Glove" to their arsenal.
Spievey will join Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and California running back Jahvid Best in Detroit. He will likely see immediate playing time on special teams, but has an excellent chance to win a starting job at cornerback.
His two-year career at Iowa included six interceptions, 14 pass break-ups and 124 tackles. He started all 13 games in 2009/2010 and recorded 56 tackles (42 solo), eight pass breakups and two interceptions.
