Iowa City Stellar Prep QB A.J. Derby Not U of Iowa-Bound … Yet

A.J. Derby is also a handful in basketball (Photo by Jonathan D. Woods/The Gazette)

A guy has a very nice football career at the University of Iowa. He raises his family in Iowa City. He has a son who is a big-time football prospect.

That kid will automatically be a Hawkeye, too, right?

Maybe. Probably. But not automatically.

A.J. Derby is a junior at Iowa City High. He is a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder. He finished last season with 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns passing, 1,065 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing.

Have fun dealing with him in the fall of 2009, Mississippi Valley Conference defenses.

John Derby played linebacker for Iowa a generation ago for Hayden Fry. He was a good one. His son has received scholarship offers from Iowa, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Stanford, Florida State, Kansas and Alabama.

Wow.

Check out this story, which originally was on SuperPrep.com: http://is.gd/leom

Nothing in the article leads one to think he’ll flee Iowa for other pastures. But nothing in it leads one to believe he will choose the Hawkeyes solely because they’re the Hawkeyes, either.

Then again …

“(His father) told me to take my official visits,” A.J. said. “He said that I’ll get that gut feeling and that I’ll just know. He says that it really shouldn’t be too hard a decision.”

Because of population and geography, Iowa doesn’t have too many recruiting advantages. But the in-state talent was pretty good in 2009 with Keenan Davis of Cedar Rapids, Brandon Wegher of Sioux City and Jordan Cotton of Mount Pleasant leading the way.

It may not be a one-year wonder.

Andre Dawson of Cedar Rapids Washington (holding helmet) celebrates a 2007 state playoff win with teammates (Photo by Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

 

Besides Derby, there’s a running back in Cedar Rapids named Andre Dawson who is a big-time talent. Dawson has offers from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Kansas.

He had 28 touchdowns and almost 1,800 yards of offense last season.

He, too, is going to keep his eyes and ears open entering his senior year.

“I plan to take my time (in the recruiting process).” Dawson told HawkeyeNation.com last month. “I am just going to keep my options open. I am not ready to settle down with anything quite yet.”

For more from that story: http://iowa.scout.com/2/838110.html

 

 

 

 

http://nebraska.scout.com/a.z?s=204&p=2&c=842912

But … “I have always been a Hawkeye fan. Being that close to home would be great. My friends and family would have the chance to see me play. That is a big plus.”

Iowa State Football Taketh, Now It May Giveth Away … and News and Views on Two Ex-Cyclones

ISU assistant football coach Chris Ash: filling a South Florida void that a co-worker caused?

 

Last week, Iowa State plucked defensive coordinator Wally Burnham from the winning South Florida program to take the same job for Paul Rhoads’ ISU football team.

Now comes this item from Brett McMurphy, who does a stellar job covering USF and other sports for the Tampa Tribune:

In ironies, of all ironies, the University of South Florida could be looking for its next defensive coordinator from the Big 12 and, you guessed it, Iowa State.

Nope, Wally Burnham is not returning to Tampa from Ames, Iowa, but Iowa State secondary coach Chris Ash has emerged as a distinct possibility. Rumblings throughout the coaching ranks indicate that Leavitt has been asking individuals for their opinions about the 35-year old Ash.

Ash could not be reached for comment.

Ash was hired at Iowa State in December after a two-year stint as secondary coach at San Diego State. Before that he was at Iowa State from 2000-2006, serving as ISU’s recruiting coordinator his final season. He worked with former USF defensive line coach Dan McCarney at Iowa State and went to San Diego State after McCarney was fired at ISU.

In Ash’s first stint at Iowa State, he recruited the Tampa Bay area and was instrumental in getting USF LB Tyrone McKenzie to ISU from Michigan State.

McMurphy’s complete blog item on the topic:  http://tinyurl.com/bp5bpf

Larry Eustachy: Winning's tough in Hattiesburg

Meanwhile, former Iowa State men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy hasn’t taken Southern Mississippi to anywhere special in his five years as USM’s coach. His record at the school is 74-76, not really comparable to his 101-59 mark over five years with the Cyclones.

Rick Cleveland of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger sounds none too optimistic about the way things are going.

Wrote Cleveland:

So here we are five years later, and the USM basketball record is 14-13, with three of those wins coming against NAIA competition. I tuned in to the Tulane game Tuesday night and saw entire sections of Reed Green Coliseum without a single butt in the seats.

Any initial boost in attendance from the coaching change has long since fizzled.

In many, many ways, USM is back to square one, only paying more for it – against lesser competition.

Cleveland’s column:  http://tinyurl.com/b5e5be

Something that’s a little more upbeat for Cyclone fans: Former ISU quarterback Sage Rosenfels is officially headed to the Minnesota Vikings in a trade from the Houston Texans.

Few Cyclone quarterbacks have been as good as Rosenfels. He’s a good guy, and here’s hoping he makes a really good impact for the Vikings.

 

 

 

McMurphy’s full blog item: http://tinyurl.com/bp5bp

Is This Funny? Is This Entertaining?

Now it’s your turn to go to the polls. This isn’t as serious as a local option sales tax, but vote anyway. It’s not like you have to burn gas to get to your polling place.

And yes, the word “be” in the second poll should instead be “been.” Darn pollsters, with their fractured grammar.

As Bob Bowlsby Can Tell You, Things Are Tough All Over

Bob Bowlsby, Stanford athletic director

 

Stanford University’s athletic department budget is over $75 million. The school has 35 varsity teams, and they perform quite well.

Last year Stanford won the United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup for the 14th-straight year. That honor goes to a school from each NCAA division (and the NAIA) to recognize the most successful overall athletics programs, with points based on a school’s success in NCAA championship events.

But Bob Bowlsby, who left the job as Iowa’s athletics director to take a similar post at Iowa, is finding money isn’t exactly growing on the Stanford Tree.

Stanford Tree in happier times

Because of the bad economy, Bowlsby and his school have cut 21 positions in the athletics department.

That’s 13 percent of the department’s 163 administrative and service positions. As someone who works at Gazette Communications, that hits pretty close to home this week. Heck, it hits close to home just because it’s in this country in this sad, disturbing time.

Here’s a passage from the San Francisco Chronicle’s story on the cuts:

Part of Stanford’s problem has been the football program’s inability to fill Stanford Stadium.

“If we could consistently draw bigger crowds, we could solve a lot of our problems,” Bowlsby said. Coach Jim Harbaugh “has done a great job, we had a great recruiting class, and we think we’ll be a fun team to watch. But you can’t bank on those revenues, especially in a soft economy.”

The following isn’t anywhere near as serious a problem for Bowlsby, but it’s not good. He is catching fire for selling student-section seats for the Stanford men’s basketballl team’s home games this week against UCLA and USC.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News wrote these passages in his blog at  http://tinyurl.com/dmy2ca:

Part of the problem is that the people responsible for this decision, athletic director Bob Bowlsby and (senior associate athletic director) Hutchins, aren’t Stanford alums, are relative newcomers to The Farm and have little appreciation for what the Sixth Man Club has meant to Cardinal basketball since its creation in 1993-94.

The athletic department does a poor job reaching out to students and puts a mediocre product on the floor, and after less than one season of lagging turnout decides a tradition that began in 15 years ago — and is so central to the success of Stanford basketball — is worth selling off.

A thousand miles from the situation, I sure don’t know if Bowlsby and his associate are tone-deaf to Stanford tradition or if their economic situation is suddenly forcing their hands.

I always side with the students over the suits and the fat cats, though, so I declare this a bonehead move.

But none of Stanford’s sports have been cut, yet. Which is more than you can say for Northern Iowa unless a king-sized fundraising effort prevails in a tough time to raise funds.

If Stanford is struggling, what’s going to happen to your favorite athletic department?

Stanford has the third largest endowment of any university in the country. As of last fall, Stanford’s  endowment was $17.2 billion. However, that has decreased by $4 billion to $5 billion, and all campus units are cutting their budgets by 15 percent.

 When athletic directors’ salaries are cut, then you know the bottom has fallen out.

UPDATE: Zach Will Play Mickelson in Round 2 on Thursday

Foes on Thursday: Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson

Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson, with a combined three Masters wins, will battle each other Thursday.

They posted first-round wins Wednesday in the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Ariz.

Cedar Rapids native Johnson eliminated Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, 3 and 1, ending the match with a birdie on the 17th hole. Johnson had seven birdies, an eagle and two bogeys.

Two-time Masters winner Mickelson put on a performance that was similar to his effort in winning the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open Sunday. He blew a nice lead (three holes), but pulled out the win.

Angel Cabrera rallied to push Mickelson into extra holes, but Lefty birdied the first extra hole and 2007 U.S. Open winner Cabrera managed only a par.

Johnson improved his career record in this event to 6-3. Mickelson is 14-9. Johnson finished third in 2006. Mickelson’s best finish is a tie for fifth in 2004.

Mickelson is the No. 5 seed in the 64-player event. Johnson, who won the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in January, is the No. 28 seed.

The tee time for Thursday’s matches hadn’t been set as of mid-afternoon Wednesday. The Golf Channel’s telecast of Thursday’s play runs from 1 to 5 p.m., Iowa time, with a replay from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Zach vs. Mickelson in Round 2?

Sunday at the 2007 Masters, '06 winner Phil Mickelson and '07 champ Zach Johnson (AP photo)

 

Oh, wouldn’t golf fans in Cedar Rapids and across Iowa have some spice in their Thursday afternoon if things work out today (Wednesday).

If Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson win their opening-round matches in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson, they’ll meet Thursday in the Round of 32.

The world — at least the fraction of the world that cares — would love a Mickelson-Tiger Woods semifinal on Saturday. Iowa would prefer its best golf product, Mr. Johnson, dispose of Lefty tomorrow.

The snag is that Johnson has to defeat Graeme McDowell today, and Mickelson has to do likewise against 2007 U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera.

Both were doing their best as of 11 a.m., Iowa time. Mickelson was 2-up on Cabrera through five holes. Johnson was 1-up on McDowell through four, having birdied three of those holes.

McDowell matched Johnson’s birdies on the first two, but couldn’t counter on No. 4.

Lots of holes left. To watch updates for the entire bracket, including Tiger Woods’ return to competitive golf, go to http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r470/index.html

I’ll update the Hlog this afternoon after Johnson’s round is over.

Vintage Tom Davis and Current Keno Davis Prevail in the Same Night

Tom Davis, back in the day as Iowa's coach (AP photo)

The Big Ten Network did Iowa Hawkeyes fans a favor Tuesday night.

The BTN aired a replay of the 1987 NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinal between Iowa and Oklahoma from the Kingdome in Seattle.

The Hawkeyes won the game in overtime, 93-91. It was magnificent basketball played by two teams full of magnificent players. It was decided on Kevin Gamble’s 3-point swish for Iowa with one second left in overtime.

That was Iowa’s 30th and last win of the 1986-87 season. Their fifth and final loss came two days later to UNLV in the West final, a game that is still nothing but scar tissue to Hawkeye fans with long memories.

But let me repeat: That was fantastic ball, relentlessly attacking ball by two teams with future NBA players. Iowa had B.J. Armstrong, Brad Lohaus, Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Gamble.

Al Lorenzen of Cedar Rapids, the ninth man on that Iowa team, gave the Hawkeyes some major production.

Oklahoma had Stacey King and Harvey Grant, two front-line players who went on to prosper in the NBA themselves.

This was how good college basketball could be. I covered that game way back when, and it was truly a shame someone had to lose.

(By the way, I saw myself at courtside on the BTN replay Tuesday, and it appears my white hair isn’t a recent phenomenon.)

This isn’t just a trip down Memory Lane, however. Tuesday night in real time, Providence upset top-ranked Pittsburgh, 81-73.

Providence is coached by Keno Davis, who led Drake to its terrific 28-5 season a year ago.

The Friars are 17-11 overall, 9-7 in the rugged Big East. They are on that proverbial NCAA tourney bubble, though they certainly bounced upward with the win over Pitt.

I love this paragraph from Associated Press’ story on the game, played at Providence:

The fans in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center crowded around the courtside press tables for the final minutes. Twice, the public address announcer begged the fans to stay off the court following the game; twice the crowd responded by laughing.

Keno was an adolescent that Friday night in Seattle when his dad’s team found a way to beat that fabulous Oklahoma squad of Billy Tubbs. Twenty-two years later, he made his biggest mark to date in the Big East.

So far.

I’m not the only to say this, but I’ll say it again: The more time passes, the more you realize what Iowa had in Tom Davis. His only child can coach a little bit, too.

Sage Rosenfels Close to Being a Viking, and Perhaps a Starter

Sage Rosenfels, possibly winging his way to Minnesota

It appears imminent Sage Rosenfels, of Maquoketa, Iowa and Iowa State, is going to get the best chance of his NFL career to be a full-time starter.

A copyrighted story in the Houston Chronicle by John McClain says the Houston Texans are nearing a deal that would sent Rosenfels to the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings’ incumbent quarterbacks are Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte.

Rosenfels started five games in each of the previous two seasons for the Texans, but those were in relief of injured Matt Schaub. He has never played more than nine games in an NFL season in his eight years in the league. He has 30 career touchdown passes and 29 interceptions.

The Vikings still haven’t found what they’re looking for at quarterback to complement the terrific running of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Rosenfels, who will be 31 next month, could be a really nice fit.

If it makes this deal, Minnesota obviously agrees.

The Chronicle’s story: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/6276358.html

Rosenfels quarterbacked Iowa State to their Insight.com Bowl win in 2000. He spent a year with the Washington Redskins, four with the Miami Dolphins, and the last three with the Texans.

In 2005, Rosenfels led Miami’s biggest comeback in 31 years, when he entered their Week 13 game against the Buffalo Bills after Frerotte was sidelined by a concussion in the third quarter. The Dolphins had been down 23-3, but Rosenfels led the team on three fourth-quarter scoring drives for a 24-23 win.

I haven’t seen or spoken to Rosenfels since the night of that Insight.com Bowl win over eight years ago. He was a likeable young fellow, and he sure played some nice quarterback that night and that season, when ISU went 9-3.

Here’s to Sage becoming the rage in the Twin Cities.

Sage in his Iowa State days

Ed Hightower: The Big Ten Legend

Ed Hightower: The Man

What two words stir more emotion from Iowa basketball fans than “Ed Hightower?”

OK, “Steve Alford.”

But Hightower is the one Big Ten basketball official that seems to be more of a lightning rod for fans than any other. Why does Ed Hightower hate the Hawkeyes? I’ve heard that question more than once.

Fans of many other teams have asked the same thing, only they substituted “Buckeyes” or “Jayhawks” or someone else for “Hawkeyes.”

I suspect that’s primarily because of Hightower’s longevity in the sport, the fact he continues to work about as many games as anyone else, and his rather theatrical way of calling a game.

But this is a fellow who has worked 11 Final Fours, and they don’t give those assignments to just anyone who owns a black-and-white striped shirt.

I like Hightower. He brings his own energy to a game, and he is quick with a smile (more officials should understand an occasional smile can be a powerful asset).

But he calls a lot of fouls and always has. Statistics show games involving Hightower’s crews mean more personal fouls than most other games. Fans and teams, I believe, would prefer a few less fouls in their basketball diets.

The site http://statsheet.com/mcb/conferences/big-ten/referees tells us that, through Sunday, Hightower and Ted Hillary were tied for the most Big Ten conference games worked at 19.

But 724 fouls were called in Hightower’s 19 games compared to 611 in Hillary’s.

Does that mean one is doing a better or worse job than the other? I don’t think so. But it’s six more fouls per game, which means coaches and players are getting a different game when Hillary is the official as they are when it’s Hightower.

Hightower has worked 64 games this season, in 22 different states. Those of us in the Iowa media will see him working a 3 p.m. game in Iowa City and joke he has a 7 p.m. game that same day in Texas or someplace.

From last Monday to yesterday, Sunday Feb. 22, Hightower worked games at Connecticut, Purdue, Louisville, Michigan, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis.

There are airline pilots and truck drivers who would read that and shake their heads in amazement.

Do people treat you like this at your job?

But Tom O’Neill, another Big Ten ref, has officiated 82 games this season, through Sunday. Other Big Ten officials, J.D. Collins and Rick Hartzell, have done 76 and 73, respectively.

However, no regular Big Ten official one has quite the number of foul-calls in their games that Hightower has.  Since the 1996-97 season, his games have averaged 39 fouls. Maybe he has a keener eye than most and sees fouls others miss. Maybe he simply feels rules are to be enforced as strictly as possible.

Sunday, Hightower reffed the Northwestern-Minnesota game. Forty-two fouls were called.

It drives some a little crazy.

Still, only 12 technical fouls have been called in Hightower’s 64 games, while 29 were whistled in O’Neill’s 82 games. That would make me more suspicious of O’Neill’s work, not Hightower’s.

Not that there’s any cause to be suspicious of any of these gents. Many jobs are a whole lot harder than they look, and officiating high-level basketbal is certainly among them.

I figure if the NCAA thought highly enough of Hightower to have him work 11 Final Fours, he’s plenty good enough for the Big Ten.

Slivers About Hawkeyes At the NFL Combine

No, not this kind of combine

Mitch King to fullback in the NFL?

OK, this is the only place I’ve seen or heard this so far about the Iowa defensive tackle at this weekend’s NFL Scouting Combine. it needs more verification than this excerpt from http://cle.scout.com/2/841197.html

FYI, Mitch King has also been asked to work out as a FB here

When King is mentioned as a defensive tackle now, some form of the term “undersized” often is used. This is from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock is not a big fan of Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson.

“He’s 6-7, 260. He’s going to run like a wide receiver. He’s going to jump like a running back,” Mayock said. “Everybody is going to fall in love with him. But there is way too much bad [game] tape of him for me to even like him a little bit. I don’t like him at all.”

“If you take that little nose tackle at Iowa, Mitch King, and put his heart in Michael Johnson’s body, you’d have a Hall of Fame player,” Mayock said. “I just think Michael Johnson is so talented, but he’s wasting it.”

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/02/21/combinenot0221.html

Mayock was also quoted in a sportingnews.com story about running backs. I’m guessing very few actual NFL team executives speak on the record at this thing, so NFL Network folks fill in the gaps. Based on the decreased number of media members at this year’s Super Bowl (I got in the main press box for the game for the first time in my four Super Bowls.), the NFL Network and ESPN will be all the media covering the game in a few years.

Anyway, the Sportingnews.com item — http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=519969 — on the running backs:

The NFL people know Knowshon

Pitt’s LeSean McCoy and Iowa’s Shonn Greene have first-round potential, but Wells (Ohio State) and Moreno (Georgia) are the first names mentioned when you ask most scouts to rate the backs. Both Moreno and Wells are entering the draft as underclassmen, and they have very different styles. Wells (6-1, 235 pounds) runs with more power while Moreno (5-10, 217) is more elusive and has superior pass-catching ability.

“Moreno is my No. 1 tailback,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. “His lateral quickness and explosion are amazing. I’ve never seen a guy in the last 10 years who finishes every run the way he does: dropping the shoulder, not running out of bounds. I love the kid’s toughness.”

I’m pandering to the Iowa folks on this, maybe, but doesn’t that also describe Greene to a ‘G.”

And for a good, fresh story on offensive lineman Seth Olsen, another Hawkeye at the Combine, check out this effort by the Daily Iowan’s Amie Kiehn:

http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/02/19/Sports/10141.html