Tag: Iowa

Ravens select Iowa S Geno Stone with No. 219 after Vikings trade

The Baltimore Ravens use their second pick from the Vikings trade to get a depth safety in Iowa’s Geno Stone in the seventh round.

After trading up into the sixth round with the Minnesota Vikings and taking SMU wide receiver James Proche, the Baltimore Ravens used their second pick acquired to get Iowa safety Geno Stone at No. 219 in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

In three seasons at Iowa, Stone played in 32 games, getting six interceptions and returning one for a touchdown. He also made 126 combined tackles, including four for a loss and had one sack to go with four forced fumbles.

Stone lacks the ideal size and speed for a typical free safety. But he’s made up for that with good football intelligence and by reading the quarterback to put himself around the ball. Despite his smaller size, he isn’t afraid of coming up in run support but could improve his technique a little bit. With the Ravens, he can play a little of both strong and free safety, which Baltimore tends to merge together at times anyway.

Safety wasn’t one of Baltimore’s immediate needs but it was a long-term one we identified earlier. With Earl Thomas getting older, getting some immediate depth and a potential heir was something that could keep the position from becoming a much more pressing need as early as next season.

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Coronavirus: Iowa’s golf courses a haven for out-of-state players during pandemic

While officials opted to close golf courses in states on Iowa’s borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa opted to keep its courses open. So, naturally, out-of-staters came flocking in. Three of Iowa’s six border states – Illinois, Minnesota and …

While officials opted to close golf courses in states on Iowa’s borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa opted to keep its courses open.

So, naturally, out-of-staters came flocking in.

Three of Iowa’s six border states — Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin — had implemented or are currently enforcing no-golf policies under stay-at-home mandates. With many of Iowa’s 400-plus golf facilities located near state lines, countless golfers have hopped borders for a day of normalcy on the greens.

“It’s been a marked increase (in out-of-state golfers), so the golf is actually up as compared to a year ago,” said Rustic Ridge Golf Course owner and manager Kevin Wohlford, whose Eldridge property resides about 18 miles from the Illinois border. “I get golfers from Wisconsin. I’ve got golfers from as far away as Chicago.

“They’re loving it.”

The joy and gratitude permeating Iowa’s links at least provides one sliver of good during a time of uncertainty.

Rustic Ridge Golf Course in Eldridge (pictured here) sits about 18 miles from the Illinois border. It’s one of Iowa’s many courses that’s seen an uptick in out-of-state golfers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rustic Ridge Golf Course in Eldridge (pictured here) sits about 18 miles from the Illinois border. It’s one of Iowa’s many courses that’s seen an uptick in out-of-state golfers during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Courtesy of Rustic Ridge Golf Course)

Essentially, all courses have closed everything outside of the fairways and greens — that’s pro shops, restaurants, bars and other moneymakers — resulting in financial hardships across the board. Staffs have been reduced. Leagues are in jeopardy. Pair those with the numerous course restrictions installed to follow social distancing recommendations, and there’s little that resembles a typical golf outing.

But none of that seems to matter to golfers.

“Tons of positive response,” said Rice Lake Golf & Country Club manager Travis Laudner, whose Lake Mills course sits roughly 15 minutes from the Minnesota state line. “Frustration on their end that they couldn’t play at their normal facilities, but (our out-of-state golfers were) very excited to be able to get out, come down and still get a little bit of activity outside.

“… Fortunately, for us, we had a vendor booth at the Minnesota golf expo at the Minneapolis Convention Center downtown back in late January. This was our first time up there, and we were just trying to cast a wider net to see if we could get some early-season and late-season revenue from that area. And then you parlay that with the restrictions going into place, and we were in front of a lot of those residents a couple weeks to a month prior to everything getting shut down.”

The bulk of Laudner’s out-of-state traffic, as well as Iowa’s other northern courses, came in the immediate days and weeks after March 16, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz halted play with a stay-at-home order. A follow-up executive order issued on April 17 allowed for several outdoor activities, including the opening of Minnesota’s public and private golf courses.

Wisconsin isn’t far behind. Gov. Tony Evers recently extended the state’s safer-at-home order until at least May 26, but he included some flexibly for a handful of businesses — including golf courses — to re-open with restrictions. Wisconsin golf was allowed to reopen on April 24.

Illinois, meanwhile, is looking at a re-opening strategy but hasn’t locked anything in yet. With the state’s stay-at-home order extended until the end of May, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is allowing golf courses to open on May 1.

The chatter for such a move is growing. Seeing places like Iowa open amid modifications will amplify the noise.

“We feel like it’s been really good,” said Chad Pitts, executive director of the Iowa Golf Association. “It’s hard because we’ve only been in this for a month, so it’s not like you can take some big survey and have a bunch of data to back up (the positive elements of Iowa keeping golf courses open). You just go by conversations that you’ve had with people — golf course operators and things like that. Some of those places around the border have definitely seen a lot of people come in from out of state.”

Even with no blanket ruling to do so, a handful of Iowa’s courses have put out-of-state restrictions in motion.

Out east, courses owned by the city of Davenport and Scott County are respecting Illinois’ stay-at-home order and limiting golf to only Iowa residents. The same goes for many courses located in northeast Iowa’s RMCC Region Six, which recently reached a 10 on a 12-point scale that Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Public Health are using to weigh mitigation efforts. That prompted Reynolds to issue an activity limit there, including keeping visits to only immediate family members.

Among those with stipulations is Dubuque’s Meadows Golf Club — owned by the city of Asbury and run by general manager and head golf professional Jeremy Hawkins. As an extra precaution, the course has been open solely to Dubuque County residents since April 1. That stretch covers the entire time Meadows has been open this spring, aside from two days.

Those final 48 hours of March, though? Hawkins was engulfed with out-of-staters looking to squeeze in one more round.

“We had probably half of our available tee times for those couple of days we were open taken from out-of-staters,” Hawkins said. “We had Chicago, Milwaukee, a ton of play from Madison. We had play from Rockford (Illinois). They were coming from all over. For them to make the effort — in some cases, you’re looking at a three-hour drive or more — they were just happy to be able to get out and go somewhere. We were basically selling out.”

The trend will likely slow as neighboring states loosen limitations in the coming days. While Iowa’s lack of an official stay-at-home order has drawn criticism, that decision has inadvertently provided other states with a blueprint on how to run golf courses in a COVID-19 world.

“The feedback from everyone has been super positive,” Wohlford said. “I’m hearing about people getting back in the game who haven’t golfed for years.”

Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen —all part of the USA Today Network. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

Notre Dame Offers Elite ’22 Defensive Tackle

Schrauth checks in at a massive 6-5, 265 pounds and has the biggest powerhouses in the mid-west in pursuit of his talent.  Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Western Michigan and Wisconsin have already extended offers and you’d assume with a list like that, more blue-bloods won’t be too far behind.

As the watch continues as to where the nation’s best high school football talents in the 2021 recruiting class will commit the push is already well-underway for the 2022 classes as well.  Today Notre Dame made an offer to a big-time ’22 prospect from the mid-west.

Billy Schrauth of St. Mary’s Springs in Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin is rated as the sixth best defensive tackle prospect in the nation from the early rankings 247Sports has given.  Their composite rankings grade him as a four-star talent early on.

Schrauth checks in at a massive 6-5, 265 pounds and has the biggest powerhouses in the mid-west in pursuit of his talent.  Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Western Michigan and Wisconsin have already extended offers and you’d assume with a list like that, more blue-bloods won’t be too far behind.

Enjoy his sophomore year highlight tape below.  He’s being recruited nationally as a defensive tackle and you can see why but some of the most fun on his tape is him mauling young men as an offensive guard.

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Draft expert believes Patriots should take DE A.J. Epenesa with No. 23 pick

“All this seemed like this guy was meant to be a New England Patriot. It just makes too much sense.”

With a laundry list of needs, who does the New England Patriots pick with at No. 23 overall?

Quarterback, linebacker and tight end are the most pressing positions of need, but NFL media’s Daniel Jeremiah believes the Patriots should go for a defensive end. Appearing on a conference call on Thursday, Jeremiah explained how Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa would be the perfect fit for Bill Belichick.

“For me it’s A.J. Epenesa,” Jeremiah said. “I went back and I’ve posted some of it, but I went back and looked at a lot of the notes that I had been given when I was with the Baltimore Ravens from one of our scouts who had been with Coach Belichick, and it was a presentation from 1991 on what Coach values at every position, and when it talked about edge rushers, it talked about his preference for size over speed out there and guys that can hold the point of attack in the run game and they can collapse the pocket, they’re power players, and that to me, if you’re drawing up a description of A.J. Epenesa that’s who they were looking for.

“Now, that was 1991, a long time ago, but those Patriot defenses all seem to feature this type of a player, and then you add in to the fact that he played for Kirk Ferentz and Kirk Ferentz having a relationship with Coach Belichick, all this seemed like this guy was meant to be a New England Patriot. It just makes too much sense.”

The Patriots lost Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy, who accounted for 13.5 of the team’s sacks. Epenesa is a 6-foot-6, 280 pound edge player who fully utilizes his size and strength on the field. He recorded 49 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and a career-high 11.5 sacks last season.

New England doesn’t have a second-round pick, so they’ll have to choose wisely in the first round — and Epenesa is a guy who could be an extremely smart long-term choice.

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Poll: If Jags select an OT with No. 9 pick, who should it be?

The Jags could have their pick of the litter when it comes to the top OTs in the 2020 NFL Draft but who would be the best choice at No. 9.

The good thing about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ ninth overall pick is that it’s so early in the draft where they will have the option to choose from various offensive tackles if they want to address the perimeter of their offensive line. However, the top-4 names in the class are Andrew Thomas from Georgia, Tristian Wirfs from Iowa, Jedrick Wills from Alabama and Mekhi Becton of Louisville.

While some of the aforementioned names have some similarities, each also brings something different to the table and could help bolster the Jags’ offensive line that will have a second-year player in Gardner Minshew behind it. Our own Daniel Griffis ranked the group earlier in the week (check that out here), however, we now want to hear from you all at home.

If you were Dave Caldwell and the decision was to take an offensive tackle ninth overall, who would it be between the four top guys?

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Greatest NFL Draft Picks of All-Time From Every Big Ten School

Who are the best NFL Draft picks from each of the Big Ten programs. Which players turned into the greatest stars at the next level?

Who are the best NFL Draft picks from each of the Big Ten programs. Which players turned into the greatest stars at the next level?

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

With the history of the Big Ten, there are loads and loads of Hall of Famers and all-time great NFL draft picks to choose from. So who are the best of all-time?

This isn’t a list of the top pro players to come from the Big Ten schools – these are the best draft picks.

That means that guys who had great careers for someone other than the teams that drafted them get knocked down a peg, or aren’t on the list at all.

The goal for any draft pick is to get a player who performs at a high level for a long period of time, so longevity matters over one short burst of greatness.

CFN in 60: Why You Don’t Take A QB Early

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CFN 2020 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
from the college perspective …
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG & C
DE | DT | LB | CB | Safeties

BIG TEN EAST

Indiana Greatest NFL Draft Picks

DE Pete Pihos
1945, 5th round, 41st pick overall, Philadelphia

Silver: DE Earl Faison, 1961, 1st round, 7th pick overall, San Diego
Bronze: C Bob DeMarco, 1960, 14th round, 157th pick overall, St. Louis

Pete Pihos is the lone Hall of Famer, playing nine years for Philadelphia and turning out to be way ahead of his time. He caught 373 passes over his career, finishing with spots on four straight All-Pro teams and with seven Pro Bowls.

Earl Faison only played five years for San Diego, but he made his era count going to the Pro Bowl each season and earning All-Pro honors four times.

Center Bob DeMarco had a 15-year career, doing most of his big things with St. Louis, going to three Pro Bowls and getting on two All-Pro teams in his nine years.

Maryland Greatest NFL Draft Picks

DT Randy White
1975, 1st round, 2nd pick overall, Dallas

Silver: DT/OG Stan Jones, 1953, 5th round, 54th pick overall, Chicago
Bronze: QB Boomer Esiason, 1984, 2nd round, 38th pick overall, Cincinnati

Dallas tried to make Randy White an outside linebacker. That didn’t really work, so he was moved to defensive tackle and he became one of the greatest linemen of all-time, being named to seven All-Pro teams, winning a Super Bowl, and getting into the Hall of Fame.

Stan Jones was a Hall of Famer for the Bears, going to seven Pro Bowls and getting on three All-Pro teams in his 12 years. Boomer Esiason became an MVP in 1988 and took Cincinnati to the Super Bowl. After famously having to wait too long and dropping in the draft, he went on to throw for over 27,000 yards with 187 touchdowns for the Bengals.

Michigan Greatest NFL Draft Picks

QB Tom Brady
2000, 6th round, 199th pick overall, New England

Silver: OL Dan Dierdorf, 1971, 2nd round, 43rd pick overall, St. Louis
Bronze: CB Charles Woodson, 1998, 1st round, 4th pick overall, Oakland

Good luck ever coming up with a better draft pick than New England taking Tom Brady in the sixth round in 2000. He turned out okay with a whopping 14 Pro Bowl honors, three All-Pro teams, and six Super Bowls.

Dan Dierdorf is in Canton after a brilliant 13-year career with the Cardinals, earning All-Pro honors three times as a tackle.

Charles Woodson was terrific for Oakland in both his stints to start and end his career, but he was at his best late with Green Bay. He still makes the cut after starting out with four Pro Bowls and a 1999 All-Pro season for the Raiders.

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Michigan State Greatest NFL Draft Picks

CB Herb Adderley
1961, 1st round, 12th pick overall, Green Bay

Silver: OG Joe DeLamielleure, 1st round, 26th pick overall, Buffalo
Bronze: OG Ed Budde, 1st round, 8th pick overall, Kansas City

Herb Adderley turned into the playmaking Hall of Fame defensive back the Green Bay secondary worked around in his nine years. He was named to four All-Pro teams as the premier corner of the 1960s.

Joe DeLamielleure played seven years for Buffalo before going to Cleveland, but the three-time All-Pro’s work for the Bills were enough to earn a Hall of Fame bust, helping to pave the way for O.J. Simpson.

WR Derrick Mason probably belongs on the list, but Ed Budde spent 14 years as a rock for the Kansas City offense, going to seven Pro Bowls and making two All-Pro teams.

Ohio State Greatest NFL Draft Picks

OT Jim Parker
1957, 1st round, 8th pick overall, Baltimore

Silver: OT Orlando Pace, 1997, 1st round, 1st pick overall, St. Louis
Bronze: LB Randy Gradishar, 1974, 1st round, 14th pick overall, Denver

Jim Parker was an all-timer of an All-Pro blocker, getting named to the team eight times at various spots for Baltimore. He was the anchor of some of the NFL’s greatest teams, and he helped keep Johnny Unitas upright.

Orlando Pace took a little while to warm up, and then he became a Hall of Fame blocker and one of the stars of the Greatest Show On Turf. He was a three-time All-Pro and went to seven Pro Bowls.

Randy Gradishar is on the short list of the greatest players to not be in the Hall of Fame despite going to seven Pro Bowls and being named to two All-Pro teams.

Penn State Greatest NFL Draft Picks

LB Jack Ham
1971, 2nd round, 34th pick overall, Pittsburgh

Silver: RB Franco Harris, 1972, 1st round, 13th pick overall, Pittsburgh
Bronze: RB Lenny Moore, 1956, 1st round, 9th pick overall, Baltimore

A standout even on a Pittsburgh defense full of all-timers, Jack Ham was a seven-time All-Pro on the way to a Hall of Fame career. Very consistent and very good for a very long time, he played 12 years for the Steelers at the highest of levels.

Franco Harris was the missing piece of the Pittsburgh Super Bowl puzzle, adding the rushing punch with close to 12,000 yards with 91 touchdowns in his Hall of Fame career. He started out going to nine straight Pro Bowls and was named a 1977 All-Pro.

Lenny Moore played 12 years for Baltimore earning five All-Pro honors in his Hall of Fame career.

Rutgers Greatest NFL Draft Picks

S Deron Cherry, 
1981, Undrafted, Kansas City

Silver: RB Ray Rice, 2008, 2nd round, 55th pick overall, 2008
Bronze: S Devin McCourty, 2010, 1st round, 27th pick overall, 2010

Rutgers has a horrible, horrible history of NFL draft prospects, so go ahead and put Deron Cherry in this even though he wasn’t drafted. Kansas City did just fine, getting a six-time Pro Bowl talent and three-time All-Pro with 50 picks in his 11-year career.

Ray Rice – up until it all went off the rails – was a terrific pro for six years, running for over 1,000 yards four times and going to three Pro Bowls.

Devin McCourty was only named to two Pro Bowls, but he became a huge part of the New England defense for over a decade.

NEXT: Big Ten West

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