Hawkeyes Have Been Up And Down After Big Draft Classes
Iowa's five-player NFL Draft class over the weekend was one of seven times during Kirk Ferentz's 21 seasons as coach that the Hawkeyes had five or more players selected.
This class was impressive, especially at the top — offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs went in the first round to Tampa Bay, and defensive end A.J. Epenesa went in the second round to Buffalo. Cornerback Michael Ojemudia was selected in the third round by Denver, safety Geno Stone went to Baltimore in the seventh round, and quarterback Nate Stanley was picked by Minnesota in the seventh round.
This class was similar to other big draft classes the Hawkeyes have had.
Consecutive classes from 2010-12 had six players selected, and four classes — 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2020 — had five players picked.
So how did the Hawkeyes do in the season after those classes were picked?
It's been a mixed bag of success:
• Two teams — 2003 and 2004 — won 10 games and won their bowl games.
• Three teams — 2005, 2010, 2011 — made it to bowl games, but won a combined 22 games.
• The 2012 team went 4-8.
A look at those draft classes, and the season that followed.
2003
Drafted: Dallas Clark (TE, Round 1, Indianapolis), Eric Steinbach (OL, Round 2, Cincinnati), Bruce Nelson (C, Round 2, Carolina), Derek Pagel (DB, Round 5, New York Jets), Ben Sobieski (OL, Round 5, Buffalo)
The next season: The Hawkeyes were coming off a share of the Big Ten title the previous season, and had a strong showing the following season despite the loss of Clark and Steinbach.
Iowa won five of its first six games, including wins over ranked teams Arizona State and Michigan, but losses to Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue hurt the Hawkeyes in conference play. They won their last two games, then pounded Florida, 37-17, in the Outback Bowl, to finish the season 10-3.
2004
Drafted: Robert Gallery (OL, Round 1, Oakland), Bob Sanders (DB, Round 2, Indianapolis), Nate Kaeding (K, Round 3, San Diego), Jared Clauss (DL, Round 7, Tennessee), Erik Jensen (TE, Round 7, St. Louis)
The season: The Hawkeyes started 2-2, including a loss to Michigan in the Big Ten opener. They then won their last seven regular-season games, including that 6-4 victory at Penn State, then won the Capital One Bowl, 30-25, over LSU on the legendary Drew Tate-to-Warren Holloway touchdown pass as time expired.
2005
Drafted: Matt Roth (DE, Round 2, Miami), Jonathan Babineaux (DL, Round 2, Atlanta), Sean Considine (DB, Round 4, Philadelphia), Tony Jackson (TE, Round 6, Seattle), Pete McMahon (OL, Round 6, Oakland).
The season: The Hawkeyes went 7-5 overall, 5-3 in the Big Ten. It wasn't a good start — they lost 23-3 at Iowa State and 31-6 at Ohio State — but seemed to have momentum after a three-game winning streak over Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. But a 23-20 overtime loss at Michigan followed by a 28-27 road defeat to Northwestern took that away. A bitter 31-24 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl ended the season.
2010
Drafted: Bryan Bulaga (OL, Round 1, Green Bay), Pat Angerer (LB, Round 2, Indianapolis), Amari Spievey (DB, Round 3, Detroit), Tony Moeaki (TE, Round 3, Kansas City), A.J. Edds (LB, Round 4, Miami), Kyle Calloway (OL, Round 6, Buffalo).
The season: This was the biggest draft class under Ferentz at the time, starting a run of 18 players drafted over the next three seasons. The brilliant 2009 season that started with nine consecutive wins finished with 11-2 record, 6-2 in the Big Ten, and an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech.
The 2010 season had a strong start — five wins in the first six games — but the Hawkeyes suffered a three-game losing streak to end the season before a 27-24 win over Missouri in the Insight Bowl. The Hawkeyes finished 8-5 overall, 4-4 in the Big Ten.
2011
Drafted: Adrian Clayborn (DE, Round 1, Tampa Bay), Christian Ballard (DL, Round 4, Minnesota), Ricky Stanzi (QB, Round 5, Kansas City), Karl Klug (DL, Round 5, Tennessee), Julian Vandervelde (OL, Round 5, Philadelphia), Tyler Sash (DB, Round 6, New York Giants)
The season: The Hawkeyes could never get anything going. They won three of their first four games, but only won consecutive games once the rest of the season. A 31-14 loss to Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl capped the 7-6 season.
2012
Drafted: Riley Reiff (OL, Round 1, Detroit), Mike Daniels (DL, Round 4, Green Bay), Adam Gettis (OL, Round 5, Washington), Shaun Prater (DB, Round 5, Cincinnati), Marvin McNutt (WR, Round 6, Philadelphia), Jordan Bernstine (DB, Round 7, Washington)
The season: To date, this is the last losing season under Ferentz, and it was ugly. It started with an 18-17 win over Northern Illinois, followed by a 9-6 home loss to Iowa State. The Hawkeyes were 4-2 after an overtime win at Michigan State, then they lost their final six games. Only one player off this team — defensive back Micah Hyde — was drafted in 2013.
