(Please welcome guest blogger, Arrend Jelsma. Arrend lives in Florida with his wife Nicole and newborn baby girl, Claire. Arrend is my cousin and is a passionate sports fan just like myself. Unlike myself, Arrend is a HUGE Hawkeye fan, and should add some balance to the Sports Caffeine site! Welcome Arrend!)
By Arrend Jelsma
It was February 1, 2008 when Adam Robinson first visited Iowa City with dreams of playing for the black and gold. Not highly recruited out of Lincoln High School in Des Moines IA, the 2 star recruit didn’t know if Iowa would call his name or if he would be overlooked and maybe have to settle at the “Sister School” Iowa State. In May he got the offer and his chance at stardom in Iowa City.
No one thought he would see the field as quickly as he did, but a rash of injuries gave him an opportunity and he capitalized. Racking up nearly 1800 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2 seasons, Robinson filled a key role in the Iowa running game. While Robinson was never accused of being a speed burner, his versatility and constant motor enabled him to place the team on his shoulders. I still remember the Saturday in Ann Arbor where he made a crucial shoe string catch and willed our team to victory over the “Maze and Blue”. Adam Robinson was a on his way to becoming an Iowa homegrown legend until it all came unraveled…
December 27, 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Iowa State Patrol, Robinson was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for not having front license plates. Police say a trooper detected a marijuana odor from the vehicle, and then found marijuana after a search. Robinson, with rumors flying that he was involved in the D.J.K. drug ring, couldn’t help himself from hanging with the wrong crowd while his team was out in Arizona getting ready for a talented Mizzou team. (Heck Robinson and D.J.K. IS the wrong crowd and who knows how long they have been under the radar.)
With how far A-Rob had come to becoming the starter at Iowa, how could he just spit in the face of Kirk Ferentz and the rest of Hawkeye Nation? The team had been through more turmoil than any team I can remember and he selfishly got into trouble the night before the bowl game. While I hate to lose A-rob’s talent, he has to be removed from the team.
With Robinson potentially being off the team permanently, all 3 of the top young running backs (Wegher and Hampton being the others) to begin the season may now be off the team before next year. When you think about the talent that all 3 of these guys had you would think it could be the end of the powerful Hawkeye running game. But in the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!”
When Marcus Coker was trying to pick a school he could go pretty much anywhere he wanted as a 4 star recruit. He saw the stardom that Shonn Greene achieved shortly after getting off of the furniture truck and imagined what he could accomplish running behind the Hogmalies that Kirk Ferentz recruits year after year, and chose Iowa.
Coker's size and speed remind me a lot of ex-Iowa running back Nick Bell. On Monday, ESPN Classic replayed the 1991 Rose Bowl where Iowa faced Washington and it was neat to look back at the talent of Bell and compare him to Coker. Little did I know how true the comparison was and that Tuesday night I would get to see the birth of a new super-star. Coker rattled off over 200 yards and set an all-time Iowa bowl rushing record as he led the underdog Hawks to a victory over the #12 ranked Missouri Tigers. I truly feel that with Coker and the incoming 6-4, 240 pound 4 star Rodney Coe coming in, we are going to see an Iowa backfield that will rival the John Clay and Dontee Ball backfield at Wisconsin. So no reason to be worried Hawkeye fans we have many more glory years to come!
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