Hawks’ first depth chart of season lists Nathan Stanley as starter.
By Courtney Baumann
CHICAGO — Just before the first day of Big Ten media days at McCormick Place started, the Iowa football team released its first depth chart of the 2017 season.
Most eyes went directly to quarterback. Listed at No. 1: sophomore Nathan Stanley.
Even after the five weeks of spring practice, questions have surrounded the position. Even now, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz continues to say that the competition is neck-and-neck between Stanley and Tyler Wiegers.
“Depth charts really are pretty meaningless almost everywhere this year,” Ferentz said on Monday afternoon.
“Don’t read into it, please … In our minds, we don’t really have a No. 1.”
Neither Wiegers nor Stanley have seen significant game time in their careers. The former played backup for now-49er C.J. Beathard in 2015, while the latter was pulled from redshirt to do the job last season.
Sean Welsh speaks out
Last week, Iowa released a heartfelt Op-Ed from senior offensive lineman Sean Welsh. In the article, he detailed his battle with depression, which began during the 2015 season.
Welsh first spoke about it with his teammates during a summer leadership meeting, in which he gave a talk about the hardships of the mental illness and the support he has received at Iowa. From there, he said, the idea to speak out publicly “snowballed.”
Many people have reached out to Welsh over the past week.
“It’s all been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “It’s really become a cathartic thing for me. I never thought in the beginning that it was going to be like. I’ve gotten messages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, random email messages from people telling me their stories. It’s incredible.”
The return of Matt VandeBerg
It’s been nearly 10 months since senior Matt VandeBerg has suited up in the black and gold.
The wide receiver missed a majority of the 2016 season after sustaining a foot injury. He was granted a medical redshirt and is anxious to get back on the field.
“The foot’s healthy. The only thing I’m really working on is conditioning, making sure I’m ready to go,” VandeBerg said. “It’s been a very long off-season … I’m excited. I’m champing at the bit.”
There is still time before he gets to see the field, though. Fall camp will start July 30, and a key component for the wide-receiver group will be watching practice film and critiquing each other.
VandeBerg sees the time in the film room as critical for two reasons.
“The eye in the sky never lies … Ultimately, what you put on tape is what you are. You can think you’re the guy who hustles all the time, but then we put on the tape, and you jogged three routes,” he said. “The other thing, too, is that it’s never as good as you think it was, but it’s never as bad as you think it was.”
Ferentz is not a curmudgeon
So he says when it comes to Iowa’s uniforms. When asked about the possibility for an alternative game uniform, the head coach said it is a possibility.
Ferentz said he is not completely sure for which game the special uniforms will be revealed.
“I’m not sure what game. I kind of know what it looks like, it’s alternative,” he said. “I like our uniforms but … I’m sure it will be well-received.”
