This is a list we have compiled every year about this time, just in front of the Big Ten Kickoff event in Chicago. Each year I say something along these lines: I appreciate the hard work, effort and commitment that every member of the football team puts forth for his career, whether or not he starts or even plays. You can’t have a scout team without kids who just love the game and want to wear the black and gold, even if it is just a practice jersey. They help the entire team, so thanks for the effort.

That being said, it’s a fact of life that certain players are better than others and you cannot afford to lose some of those players. The late and legendary John Wooden used to say that not all players are created equal, and he didn’t even treat every player equally.

So without further adieu, here is my list for Iowa’s Most Indispensable Players for 2010, which means the players Iowa can least afford to lose to any factor this year:

#5 Derrell Johnson-Koulianos: DJK is on the verge of being Iowa’s most decorated wide receiver, ever. By the time Iowa gets to or leaves Michigan, barring any unforseen events, DJK should have more career yards and receptions than any other player to come before him. That’s an amazing accomplishment for a player that has seemingly spent more time in the unofficial doghouse than he has out of it. To whom much is given, much is also expected and I believe that has been on of the issues at play with DJK. He has a million dollar personality and a world of talent; perhaps the coaches have been trying to encourage him to get every last ounce of production out of his talents. I don’t think we have seen his best football and if we see it this year, you will understand why I have been saying for the last two years that he is the most explosive, dynamic, whatever adjective you want to insert, offensive player since Tim Dwight. Yes, I realize Keenan Davis might be on the verge of a breakout, but given what DJK can bring to the kickoff return game, which could also be the best since Dwight, Iowa cannot afford to see lose him for any length of time this year.

#4 Allen Reisner: Some of you may be saying ‘what?’  Well, he is Iowa’s only proven commodity at a position it places as much importance on as any team in the Big Ten, along with Wisconsin.  Every starting tight end in the Kirk Ferentz era has been drafted; ponder that a bit longer.  Reisner is going into his senior year, and at this stage of Brandon Myers career I was convinced that he was going to play in the NFL.  I am not so certain about Reisner, but that is only because he has played in the shadow of Tony Moeaki, when #81 was healthy.  When Reisner has been called into action, he has shown some of the best hands on the team.  He knows the system well and while there is young talent at the position, it’s very green.

#3 Rick Stanzi: Some of you may put Stanzi higher on the list and I wouldn’t spend much time debating you on that front.  The simple fact is he is 18-4 as a starting quarterback.  No, he hasn’t played anywhere near a 1st team All Big Ten level, but he has shown that ability.  If he can put things together and play consistent football this year, he could wind up earning that honor.  However, we saw what Iowa looked like without Stanzi, one year ago at the Horseshoe.  While James Vandenberg made some predictable mistakes throwing the ball across the middle, he also showed us his amazing set of skills.  I recently watched some footage of a young Matt Rogers, and Vandenberg’s skill set makes him look like a JV quarterback suiting up for the varsity.  Rogers was a very mature player and that allowed him to do things some others couldn’t have done with his average arm.  I think you have to go back to Chuck Hartlieb, or even Chuck Long, to find an Iowa quarterback with the raw overall package of attributes that Vandenberg has.  That’s no guarantee that he will ever bring the mental aspects of the position on par with those two, but he has the physical gifts to do it and we saw that on display at the toughest venue to play at in the Big Ten.  If Rick goes down, Vandenberg should be even better this year, but I don’t want to see Rick go down because he has proven to have that innate ability to put one bad play behind him and come out swinging the next time he is under center.

#2 Riley Reiff:  He is Iowa’s best offensive lineman by a landslide and will be a mainstay at left tackle the next two years.  He is Iowa’s next high NFL draft pick at offensive line, that is assured, as long as he stays healthy.  I don’t even want to imagine what life without Reiff would look like this year.  He has the chance to make an average line better than average, or a below average line average…or if Kirk Ferentz can work his magic, make a good offensive line very good.  Without him, the best Iowa’s offensive line can hope to be is average, in my opinion.

#1 Adrian Clayborn: I tried like heck to move AC down the order here, somewhat to be a contrarian.  But in the end, I have to be true to the evidence.  He is a potential Top 10 draft pick, a potential Outland Award winner, a potential 1st team All American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.  So yeah, he is good.  His line mates are also good, but I think Karl Klug is getting a lot of the preseason pub because of the attention Clayborn attracts.  That sounds disrespectful to Karl, and I don’t mean to be that way; he has a great motor and I love that he is a Hawkeye.  However, he plays right beside someone that cannot be blocked by one person.  That will leave Karl one on one with guards most of the time, a battle he will win because he is quicker than they are.  The same can be said for Jonathon Babineaux and Broderick Binns on the opposite side; they are aided by the attention Clayborn will attract, and their tackle totals will be padded because people don’t want to run at #94.  Clayborn makes the field less wide, because you may have to abandon running to his side of the field; just ask Georgia Tech, one of the best rushing teams in the nation last year.  They chose not to attack Clayborn’s side of the field for most of the second half of the Orange Bowl, and the Hawks could funnel linebackers and safeties to the others side of the field.  Iowa has some talent at defensive end behind Clayborn, but if he had not returned, Iowa might be ranked somewhere between 15-20 preseason this year, not in the discussion as a dark horse national title contender.

So he winds up as the clear cut #1….perhaps a better question would be this:  who was the last Hawkeye to be THIS important to his football team as Clayborn appears to be for this year’s Iowa team?  Drew Tate in 2006?  Bob Sanders or Robert Gallery in 2003?

Also, here are some lists that Hawkeye fans have put together on the message board:  CLICK HERE

Tags: Adrian Clayborn, hawkeye football, Hawkeye Nation, hawkeyenation.com, Iowa football, Rick Stanzi