Hank wins his first road start; the final pass was a great one; how would you grade him

[uihawk82]

I give him 4.3 out of 5, maybe 4.5. He was throwing a real good ball. Only 2 sacks.

You can see how well he scans the field and goes through his progressions on many plays. That last TD back shoulder throw was super.

He did miss Diaz on a throw for what would have been a TD but iirc I think we got a td on that drive.

My question is why are we not throwing the ball a little deeper early in games to back off the defense? just bugs me as sometimes it just sends a message

 

[BunchofAholes]

He's far from perfect, but he plays with confidence. The step forward to clear the pressure on that throw to Ostrenga on the next to last play was good stuff. He got away from the rush, knew where he was and kept his eyes downfield. That's good QB play.

 

[uihawk82]

He's far from perfect, but he plays with confidence. The step forward to clear the pressure on that throw to Ostrenga on the next to last play was good stuff. He got away from the rush, knew where he was and kept his eyes downfield. That's good QB play.

I noticed his movement in the pocket on that play, good call.

 

[BlIIlken2]

The whole last drive his pocket presence was great. I know he got taken down with a hand on the potential scramble but even that was the right read. He throws a good ball more often than not and really makes good reads. I think that’s definitely the factor in him winning the job.

 

[Jonesy5960]

He's far from perfect, but he plays with confidence. The step forward to clear the pressure on that throw to Ostrenga on the next to last play was good stuff. He got away from the rush, knew where he was and kept his eyes downfield. That's good QB play.

That throw to Ostrenga was outstanding. I mistook him for RSV in another thread where someone commented that it was a horrible throw. Stepping up under pressure like that and making that 30 yard throw high between 3 defenders where only Ostrenga could get a hand on it was phenomenal. Really high level stuff on those last 2 plays.

 

[Hawkfan_08*]

The passing game was not the problem. He threw for over 220. That has to soften for the run game.

 

[Wobmam Rulez!]

Solid B+ game. Borderline A-. 2 TDS and no TOs. That was not an easy environment. We are watching him improve while gaining valuable experience. The 2 TOs were the difference (int and the 4th down stop for the turnover on downs).

 

[HawksRule73]

He had never thrown a pass in a road game…ever. He had never been sacked before…ever.
He went to the big house and beat the sport’s winningest team and biggest brand on a 91 yd drive and a perfect back shoulder throw on the game’s final play (1 of only like 7 wins in Ann Arbor in program history). Dude gets an A+ from me.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

 

[AFM22]

A-. Had some passes tipped and dropped by defenders. Maybe missed the open guy. No turnovers, solid rating, got Iowa back into in the 4th and delivered the game winner, which carries a lot of his grade.

 

[im4hawks50595]

Missed some throws but play calling sure does not help at times , last throw was great with a nfl caliber catch, I would say 4 out of 5

 

[eyesofhawk]

W

 

[AFM22]

W

4-0

 

[Hawksfor3]

Threw a perfect strike for the game winner under pressure with 2 seconds left.. He gets an A from me.

 

[Hawkfan_08*]

I think a B+ is good. Had some not great throws and got really lucky on a few (Vonnamme on the tip, Ostrenga on a tip).

 

[HawksRule73]

I think a B+ is good. Had some not great throws and got really lucky on a few (Vonnamme on the tip, Ostrenga on a tip).

I’ll give you the luck factor on DJV catch. But the one to Ostrenga was perfect. Threw a high ball for his taller receiver to get. The fact he bobbled it wasn’t because of a bad/ errant throw. He threw it right where it needed to go. And if you watch, Hank got absolutely crushed as he released it. Dude is one tough SOB!

 

[WDSMHawk]

A- is a fair grade IMO. He missed a few throws to Diaz and got lucky with a couple tipped balls getting caught.

He also showed a ton of grit by having his two best plays of the day after getting absolutely smoked on the play Michigan got the personal foul.

He wasn't perfect but Michigan has the exact type defense that has given Iowa fits and he lead a 90 yard game winning drive.

 

[Rob260door655]

He looked like a young Tom Brady on that game winning drive.

 

[Hawkit]

I rewatched the 4th quarter. He dang near gave the game away a few times. We got the bounces. Any of those go the other way and we are having difficult conversations. I say 3/5 stars, 2.5 of those stars came from the last two plays. Gritty performance though. Something to build on.

 

[UndercoverHawk]

Yea some of you guys are grading him on an Iowa QB curve. I think he was a B which is to say he was above average. Some of you are really overlooking the 2nd and 3rd quarters where he was not very good. But huge props to him for not crumbling under the pressure and finding a way to win it at the end. As was pointed out in other threads he took some licks in the final drive and kept coming back for more. You could talk me into a B+.

 

[RuggieC]

I give him 4.3 out of 5, maybe 4.5. He was throwing a real good ball. Only 2 sacks.

You can see how well he scans the field and goes through his progressions on many plays. That last TD back shoulder throw was super.

He did miss Diaz on a throw for what would have been a TD but iirc I think we got a td on that drive.

My question is why are we not throwing the ball a little deeper early in games to back off the defense? just bugs me as sometimes it just sends a message

Given the circumstances I think he did pretty damn well. Kept his crap together. Got a break and took advantage of it. Under duress much of the day and not much of a running game. Might be the best defense he will see this season. Michigan did some bonehead stuff on offense based on how well their defense was playing. Our defense came through in some big moments and Hank came thru when we really needed him. Happy for him and it's a great Sunday morning! Go Hawks.....Iowa City will be LIT on Saturday.

 

[oldxbbc]

I mentioned this in another thread about Brown. He really got his bell rung on the next to last play. Hope he is ok.

 

[DukeSlater]

I rewatched the 4th quarter. He dang near gave the game away a few times. We got the bounces. Any of those go the other way and we are having difficult conversations. I say 3/5 stars, 2.5 of those stars came from the last two plays. Gritty performance though. Something to build on.

Go back and look at what happened to Iowa last season:

* ISU winning FG set up by a pass tipped by Iowa that went directly to an ISU receiver
* Indiana scores a cheap TD in the first few minutes after intercepting a pass that deflects off an Iowa receiver
* Iowa is driving for a second-half TD when TWO egregious face mask penalties are NOT called, then an Iowa pass deflects off an Iowa receiver directly into the hands of USC. And to top it off, Iowa completes a pass around the USC 10 that would set up a game-winning TD, but the receiver is ruled to have skidded out of bounds on the soaked field by a fraction of an inch.
* And Oregon--Iowa drives 93 yards for a touchdown to take the lead, but the defense gives up a game-winning FG on the final play.

Don't talk to Iowa about luck. With any luck at all, Iowa would have been 12-0, 11-1 at worst, and in the CFP last season, and Indiana may not have won the national title. Those are the facts. You can look them up. The bounce of the ball has always been part of football. Sometimes you get the bounces, sometimes you don't. Iowa paid its dues last season. The Hawkeyes are long overdue for some good bounces. Yesterday was a good start. And, of course, nobody--and I mean nobody--makes the CFP or wins a national title without some bounces going their way. You can look that up too.

 

[NoPuntsNoPeace]

He is slowly winning me over. He just misses some real head scratcher throws sometimes, like not even in the right zip code. But then he makes throws like he made on final drive.

Playcalling doesn’t always help either. For a while yesterday it felt like Brian snuck back into the box.

 

[HawksRule73]

Yea some of you guys are grading him on an Iowa QB curve. I think he was a B which is to say he was above average. Some of you are really overlooking the 2nd and 3rd quarters where he was not very good. But huge props to him for not crumbling under the pressure and finding a way to win it at the end. As was pointed out in other threads he took some licks in the final drive and kept coming back for more. You could talk me into a B+.

Some of you are grading him as if he’s been a multi year starter which he’s not or as if he’s played on the road before, which he hasn’t, or as if we’ve regularly won at the Big House, which we haven’t. Stellar play by him given his lack of experience and honestly the overall lack of experience of the team (least returning snaps in all of P4).

 

[AndreTheHawk]

He delivered when it mattered the most. That's an A+ for me.

His brain was probably exploding under that helmet, but he managed the chaos and got it done. You need an element of luck in tight games like these, and Hank and the Hawks got some and made it pay off.

Gronowski was real solid, especially down the stretch last year for the Hawks, but the QB play has been so putrid for the Hawks for so long it really doesn't take much to be declared competent. Hank appears to be that at least. Great win.

 

[Max Rebo]

Hank is far from perfect, but he is making some throws that no Iowa QB in some time could have made.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

He is slowly winning me over. He just misses some real head scratcher throws sometimes, like not even in the right zip code. But then he makes throws like he made on final drive.

I feel he will become more consistent with more experience. He's gotten some pretty darn important experience early this season.

He is slowly winning me over. He just misses some real head scratcher throws sometimes, like not even in the right zip code. But then he makes throws like he made on final drive.

Playcalling doesn’t always help either. For a while yesterday it felt like Brian snuck back into the box.

Michigan's defense is pretty frickin' good. 20 points is the most points Michigan has given up this year, and 13 offensive points is the most they've given up in their competitive games. They'll make a lot of offenses look like the Iowa BF/Petras/Deacon era. Our offense is not like that now.

 

[uihawk82]

Go back and look at what happened to Iowa last season:

* ISU winning FG set up by a pass tipped by Iowa that went directly to an ISU receiver
* Indiana scores a cheap TD in the first few minutes after intercepting a pass that deflects off an Iowa receiver
* Iowa is driving for a second-half TD when TWO egregious face mask penalties are NOT called, then an Iowa pass deflects off an Iowa receiver directly into the hands of USC. And to top it off, Iowa completes a pass around the USC 10 that would set up a game-winning TD, but the receiver is ruled to have skidded out of bounds on the soaked field by a fraction of an inch.
* And Oregon--Iowa drives 93 yards for a touchdown to take the lead, but the defense gives up a game-winning FG on the final play.

Don't talk to Iowa about luck. With any luck at all, Iowa would have been 12-0, 11-1 at worst, and in the CFP last season, and Indiana may not have won the national title. Those are the facts. You can look them up. The bounce of the ball has always been part of football. Sometimes you get the bounces, sometimes you don't. Iowa paid its dues last season. The Hawkeyes are long overdue for some good bounces. Yesterday was a good start. And, of course, nobody--and I mean nobody--makes the CFP or wins a national title without some bounces going their way. You can look that up too.

And Iowa made most of those good bounces themselves with a little help from a terribly stupid Mich defender pushing Diaz after the whistle why he was out of bounds.

Got to bench those types of players sometimes so they control their testosterone

 

[uihawk82]

Hank is far from perfect, but he is making some throws that no Iowa QB in some time could have made.

Yeah, just bit earlier in the 4th Hank threw a long ball to the hash mark as Diaz, who was wide open, was turning to the sidelines. They were not on the same page but if they were that was a TD

 

[HawkFan10]

I give him 4.3 out of 5, maybe 4.5. He was throwing a real good ball. Only 2 sacks.

You can see how well he scans the field and goes through his progressions on many plays. That last TD back shoulder throw was super.

He did miss Diaz on a throw for what would have been a TD but iirc I think we got a td on that drive.

My question is why are we not throwing the ball a little deeper early in games to back off the defense? just bugs me as sometimes it just sends a message

He got very lucky he wasn't picked off 3 times.....some really bad/dumb throws to...

 

[cfhawk22]

Every game should improve. Plays better when we go tempo. A good run game would do wonders. However we may need to pass in order to run the ball.

 

[Jonesy5960]

I rewatched the 4th quarter. He dang near gave the game away a few times. We got the bounces. Any of those go the other way and we are having difficult conversations. I say 3/5 stars, 2.5 of those stars came from the last two plays. Gritty performance though. Something to build on.

Geez. Talk about a tough grader. The dude threw for 173 yards and 2 TD'S IN THE 4TH QUARTER ALONE to give his team the lead and the win on the road at Michigan against one of the best defenses in the country.

 

[uihawk82]

Geez. Talk about a tough grader. The dude threw for 173 yards and 2 TD'S IN THE 4TH QUARTER ALONE to give his team the lead and the win on the road at Michigan against one of the best defenses in the country.

Yeah some critics forget that the opponent has a great defense with DBacks flying all over the place

 

[Palmerhawk]

A+

In the end, clutch over flash.
That last pass was absolutely perfect...he released it long before rvz cut and it was perfectly placed.

Michigans cornerback is considered a high draft pick and their defense is littered with 4 &5 star talent.
Hank came thru...A+.

 

[ItsinourTNA]

There were some low snaps that didnt help him out either

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

Anyone not giving Hank an excellent "grade" need to think about what would have happened in that game and/or on that final drive with Petras, Padilla, CMac, Deacon, BSully or Stratton at QB. It would have been another loss and probably an ugly one. And even if Iowa were by some miracle in position to have a 91-yard potential game winning drive with <2 min left, they don't get the ball beyond mid-field before turning it over or giving it up on downs.

 

[Jonesy5960]

Anyone not giving Hank an excellent "grade" need to think about what would have happened in that game and/or on that final drive with Petras, Padilla, CMac, Deacon, BSully or Stratton at QB. It would have been another loss and probably an ugly one. And even if Iowa were by some miracle in position to have a 91-yard potential game winning drive with <2 min left, they don't get the ball beyond mid-field before turning it over or giving it up on downs.

Throw Gronowski in there. He has nowhere near the arm talent that Hank has.

 

[Hawkit]

Geez. Talk about a tough grader. The dude threw for 173 yards and 2 TD'S IN THE 4TH QUARTER ALONE to give his team the lead and the win on the road at Michigan against one of the best defenses in the country.

There were 3 other quarters. He left clean pockets a few times in panic. We had the bounces late. Hank is growing on me, and I can see why he won the spot, but we were a hair away from the game ending on an int on the last drive. Somehow the defender let it bounce off his chest. I am just being real.

 

[Jonesy5960]

There were 3 other quarters. He left clean pockets a few times in panic. We had the bounces late. Hank is growing on me, and I can see why he won the spot, but we were a hair away from the game ending on an int on the last drive. Somehow the defender let it bounce off his chest. I am just being real.

No. You re not being real. You're being hyper-critical, using an almost interception as a rationale for your position. On that play you're referencing the tight end was being held as he came out of his break. That's why he couldn't reach it. Otherwise it's a reception. Another poster named Duke was doing the same thing as you prior to the game. He "almost fumbled" twice! He has zero turnovers through 4 games and guys like you are telling all of us he "should've" had more. It's just dumb.