With no glaring holes to fill off its Orange Bowl championship team, Iowa began planning for the future. In that regard, the Hawkeyes did well to land five recruits along the defensive line to prepare for 2011, when Iowa will lose three starters from that line.

The same is true at linebacker, where Iowa has already lost A.J. Edds and Pat Angerer and will lose Jeremiha Hunter and Jeff Tarpinian after next season. It explains why eight of Iowa's 21 signed recruits play in the front seven.

"There aren't too many guys we're counting on to save our team next year," coach Kirk Ferentz said. "But they're really going to be important in our future."

The one exception to that could be tight end C.J. ...More