By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Below is a combo of brief videos shot during the 15 minutes of Iowa’s practice Wednesday afternoon that was open to the media. Highlighted in this video are the defensive line, offensive line, first-string offense, first-string defense and tackling drills.

The Hawkeyes hold their open practice/scrimmage on April 14 at Kinnick Stadium. Gates open to the public at 11 a.m. Central, and the practice portion begins at 12 p.m. Central.

Iowa running backs coach Lester Erb discusses his group of running backs for spring football during a press conference with the local media held Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at the Hayden Fry Football Complex in Iowa City.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lester Erb was one of two assistants on Iowa’s 2011 staff not to leave or change roles this offseason.

Sitting at a podium in front of a throng of reporters Wednesday, Erb admitted the transition for him hasn’t been easy even though he remains at running backs coach, a position he took over in 2008 to make way for wide receivers coach Erik Campbell. Coincidentally, Campbell is the other assistant still around from last season not to change roles.

“I’m probably the one having the most trouble with the transition,” Erb said. “I was in the same terminology, the same system for really about 15 straight years.

“The concepts haven’t changed a whole lot. But our players have really taken to it and a couple of the players might even be a little bit ahead of me, just to be honest.”

While change has taken place everywhere around him, nothing has changed for Erb, at least from a personal standpoint. From a personnel standpoint, however, the story is quite different.

The Hawkeyes return a bevy of running backs for 2012, but the group of backs lacks experience. The three names listed on Iowa’s depth chart this spring are all sophomores, with two having been redshirt freshmen last season. Sophomore back Jordan Canzeri is the expected leader of this group after rushing for a team-high 58 yards on 22 carries in the Hawkeyes’ 31-14 loss to Oklahoma in the 2011 Insight Bowl.

“I think it just comes down to consistency,” Erb said regarding Canzeri. “He demonstrated a little bit of durability there for not being the biggest back out there. But he has got to improve on some things, pass protection and some of those other areas. That’s what we are looking for.”

Iowa defensive backs coach Darrell Wilson discusses his group of defensive backs for spring football during a press conference with the local media held Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at the Hayden Fry Football Complex in Iowa City.

New, but familiar feeling for Wilson

While Darrell Wilson finds himself in a new position this spring, it’s one he’s at least familiar with.

After coaching the linebacking corps since joining head coach Kirk Ferentz’s staff in 2003, Wilson is now in charge of the defensive backs, a position he filled following the promotion of former defensive backs coach Phil Parker to defensive coordinator. As a player, Wilson played defensive back at Connecticut back when it was still a Division-II program. He also coached defensive backs during a three-year stint as an assistant at Rhode Island.

“Things are going well and Phil is doing a great job of putting it all together,” Wilson said. “We are really blending very well back there.

“In this business, nothing really surprises you. There’s an ultimate plan and right now, that’s what it is.”

One emotion that could easily be sensed with Wilson as he spoke Wednesday was excitement. Whether it was talking about the leadership of players such as senior cornerback Micah Hyde and junior free safety Tanner Miller, or talking about the potential of players such as junior cornerback B.J. Lowery and sophomore strong safety Nico Law, the joy on Wilson’s face couldn’t appear more obvious.

When talking about both Lowery and Law, Wilson gave them glowing praise. He described Lowery as having great feet and hips to play the cornerback position. As for Law, the praise was such that would remind Hawkeye fans of a Bob Sanders, Matt Roth or Pat Angerer.

“He’s extremely physical,” Wilson said about Law, who currently sits atop the 2-deep at strong safety this spring after he was mainly used on special teams as a true freshman in 2011. “Out of control a little bit, but he’s physical.”

Coaching staff finalized

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz made one final announcement regarding his 2012 coaching staff Wednesday, and once again, there is a coaching position shuffle taking place.

Eric Johnson, who had been coaching the tight ends group, will now help assist Reese Morgan with coaching the defensive line while continuing what has become a more prominent role within the football program as Iowa’s recruiting coordinator. Taking Johnson’s place with coaching the tight ends is graduate assistant David Raih.

Ferentz cited the ever-changing world of recruiting in college football as playing a big factor in making this decision.

“I just think the demands of that segment of our organization are so, so strong,” Ferentz said. “My goal was to get Eric in a position where he could dedicate more time to that area. He’s doing a lot of work for us in regards to our personnel.”

TRANSCRIPT: Ferentz/Erb/Wilson transcript (March 28, 2012) (Courtesy: UI Sports Info.)

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On Wednesday, four members of the Iowa football team spoke to the local media to discuss how things have gone one week into spring practices.

Below is audio from the following players — senior wide receiver Keenan Davis, senior cornerback Micah Hyde, senior quarterback James Vandenberg and junior linebacker James Morris:

Keenan Davis, March 28, 2012

Keenan Davis, senior wide receiver

Micah Hyde, March 28, 2012

Micah Hyde, senior cornerback

James Vandenberg, March 28, 2012

James Vandenberg, senior quarterback

James Morris, March 28, 2012

James Morris, junior linebacker

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Iowa Hawkeyes during the spring football period is how things turn out at the running back position. Yes, this is something that will be heavily dissected again later in August, but head coach Kirk Ferentz didn’t rule out the possibility of someone emerging as the top back in Iowa’s offense by the time spring ball concludes.

Two reasons exist for why this is such a significant situation. First, there’s the departure of leading rusher Marcus Coker, who transferred to Stony Brook last winter. Coker’s decision to transfer came after he was suspended from last season’s Insight Bowl for being found in violation of the UI’s Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. His absence was felt in the 31-14 Insight Bowl loss to Oklahoma as the Hawkeyes only had 76 yards rushing on 37 carries.

What makes Coker’s absence even more alarming though is that he accounted for over 80 percent of Iowa’s rushing in 2011, tallying 1,384 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground last season. It should also be mentioned that Iowa no longer has Mika’il McCall either, who only played two games during an injury-shortened/suspension-riddled 2011 season before leaving the program for good.

Now the other reason running back is significant right now stems back to Greg Davis coming in as the new offensive coordinator. Davis stressed before how he’ll call plays based on how much play-making ability Iowa has at given positions, so how much running backs will be utilized still remains to be seen.

Here’s what is known right now: There are three realistic options at running back (four, depending on how much junior fullback Brad Rogers gets utilized in Davis’ offense), plus two more running backs will be on campus later this summer in incoming freshmen Greg Garmon and Barkley Hill. Garmon is a four-star recruit out of Erie, Pa., and one of the most prized recruits from Iowa’s 2012 class. Hill originally committed to Iowa State, but the Cedar Falls native switched commitments and signed with Iowa.

If there is a leader in the clubhouse, one would think it’d be sophomore running back Jordan Canzeri. The Hawkeyes went running back by committee against Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl, but Canzeri rushed for 58 yards on 22 carries and got the start. He also scored one of Iowa’s two touchdowns in that game, catching a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback James Vandenberg.

Canzeri has competition right now, however, from a pair of sophomores — Damon Bullock and De’Andre Johnson. Bullock, like Canzeri, was used as a true freshman last year and actually played at both wide receiver and running back in 2011. As for Johnson, he comes in as the most experienced of the running backs with this being his third year in the program. As a redshirt freshman, he rushed for 79 yards on 18 carries.

Rogers should also be in the discussion, but again, a lot of it will depend on how often the Hawkeyes elect to use the fullback under Davis. After coming back from a heart condition that sidelined him for nearly an entire calendar year, Rogers was used primarily as a fullback in 2011, but did get the first Iowa carry in the Insight Bowl against Oklahoma, rushing for three yards on the Hawkeyes’ opening play from scrimmage.

Again, running back is something that will likely be re-examined again in August as Garmon could very well be in position to get carries right away as a true freshman. But for now, during this spring period, four players have an opportunity to distinguish themselves from the rest and possibly be in position to become the No. 1 back regardless of what transpires during fall camp later this year.

Every Monday, we will be running a weekly series titled “State of the Big Ten,” which will be made available to all members of HawkeyeDrive.com. This series of columns will focus on one major headline regarding the conference and go in-depth on the subject at hand.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Over the weekend, good news came the direction of the Minnesota men’s basketball program after senior forward Trevor Mbakwe was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Mbakwe, who missed the majority of the 2011-12 season with a torn ACL suffered during the Old Spice Classic last November, hasn’t made a decision yet as to whether or not the he will use that extra year that was granted to him.

If he returns, the Golden Gophers will be a formidable contender in the Big Ten next season. This team has re-discovered itself here in March, playing a pair of games to overtime at the Big Ten Tournament, followed by winning three road games in the NIT en route to this week’s semifinals and championship being held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Mbakwe averaged a double-double in points and rebounds in 2010-11, the only Big Ten player that season to do so.

A nucleus of him, junior forward Rodney Williams and freshman guard Andre Hollins gives head coach Tubby Smith something to build around next season. Whether Minnesota would’ve made the NCAA tournament with a healthy Mbakwe this season is unknown, but his absence from the court had an impact on this team.

But the interesting aspect here is that Minnesota is the third school Mbakwe has been at. His career began at Marquette, where he played for current Indiana head coach Tom Crean. Mbakwe transferred to Miami Dade Community College in 2008 and after playing a season there, he transferred to Minnesota in 2009.

However, Mbakwe redshirted during the 2009-10 season as the result of felony charges of alleged assault towards a female in Miami.

Now here’s where the NCAA’s decision gets tricky. Most medical hardships, which is what Mbakwe was given, are granted to players like Mbakwe as the result of multiple injuries derailing two separate seasons. For example, former Iowa forward Jess Settles missed two seasons due to injury and received a sixth year.

That’s not the case with Mbakwe though. His redshirt came as the result of legal issues needing to work themselves out. Those that are wondering how he could be granted this have a fair gripe since some student-athletes in other sports who do have injury-plagued playing careers aren’t always as fortunate.

Since this was granted to him, Mbakwe would be wise in taking advantage of the opportunity. It would be of benefit to him because NBA teams are going to have even more concern over the injured knee if he leaves now than they will a year from now. It would also benefit his coaches and teammates at Minnesota because they’re willing to make room for him and let him be the type of leader Smith envisioned him being at the start of the season before Mbakwe’s injury occurred.

He now has until next month to decided whether to come back to Minnesota or go straight to the NBA. In terms of pro potential, there may be cons to him returning to school, but given his situation, they don’t really outweigh the pros.

Again, the Golden Gophers have a chance to realistically compete for a Big Ten crown next season if Mbakwe sticks around. If he doesn’t, that’s his decision. But it would call into question how he was granted the extra year of eligibility in the first place.

It would also blur the line as to what’s required for receiving a medical hardship from the NCAA. Don’t think for a second coaches aren’t taking notice of this, because they are. Every Big Ten coach is watching this closely — not only because of the basketball ramifications at play, but the impact it has going forward if other coaches eventually find themselves in Smith’s shoes with a player wanting to seek a hardship waiver.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

In terms of player personnel, there isn’t major change among the group of quarterbacks Iowa possesses this spring and entering the 2012 season. But even with guys returning, this position is one that will be closely monitored this spring now thanks to changes in coaching.

Gone is Ken O’Keefe, who not only was Iowa’s offensive coordinator for 13 years under head coach Kirk Ferentz, but also handled duties as the team’s quarterbacks coach. Filling both coaching positions now is Greg Davis, a man who spent 13 seasons at Texas working with the likes of players such as Major Applewhite, Vince Young and Colt McCoy.

With the changes in philosophy and scheme that are expected to be taking place right now, how the Hawkeye signal-callers handle the transition is going to dictate a ton both this season and beyond.

Returning is James Vandenberg, who will enter his senior season as the guy once again. In terms of leadership on the team and how he fared on the field last season, Vandenberg hasn’t done anything that warrants him being benched. The Keokuk native threw for 3,022 yards and had 25 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions.

He should benefit from Davis being in charge now. But with that being said, no player is going to have more pressure on him to perform than Vandenberg, especially now with Marvin McNutt no longer around to haul in catches and with the amount of shake-up taking place on the offensive line. Vandenberg will be expected to improve on the numbers he posted last season — not only in terms of statistical categories used to measure quarterbacks, but also in the number of games the Hawkeyes win in 2012.

Now where it gets interesting is with what’s behind Vandenberg in terms of depth. John Wienke is also a fifth-year senior, but the odds of him seeing the field under center in 2012 are rare. Which leads to Jake Rudock, who redshirted last year and will have three years of remaining eligibility after Vandenberg moves on.

Rudock might be the biggest beneficiary to Davis’ arrival in Iowa City. He’s in a position where he can observe how Vandenberg fits into Davis’ scheme. He also has an advantage down the road in the sense that Davis will have this entire year to learn Rudock’s skill set and put him in a position where by the time he likely becomes Iowa’s starting quarterback, any weaknesses in his game can be masked by the talent around him along the rest of the offense.

The Hawkeyes also have a junior college transfer on campus in Cody Sokol, who comes in after playing at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. Sokol last season threw for 3,087 yards and 43 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Ferentz has hinted at possibly having Sokol redshirt in 2012, with the opportunity to compete with Rudock and incoming freshman C.J. Beathard in 2013 with two years of eligibility still to his name.

As far as the spring goes, the one thing that needs to be made clear is Vandenberg is the guy. Barring injury, Vandenberg will get the first crack at drills with the first-team offense every chance he gets and will enter the fall as the starter. Ferentz and Davis have both given their endorsements to Vandenberg. If Rudock, Sokol or anyone else ends up emerging, it’s because either Vandenberg got hurt or because it will be more of a testament to their work ethic than anything else.

If Sokol does redshirt, then the development of Rudock while he’s still the back-up is going to be worth keeping an eye on in 2012. Even if Sokol doesn’t redshirt, there’s no reason to think right now that Rudock won’t still be the No. 2 signal-caller by the end of spring practice. Yes, both will be on an even playing field now that O’Keefe is gone, but at the same time, Ferentz and other members of the coaching staff have a year’s worth of tape already on Rudock with what he showed in practice since arriving on campus last summer. Not to mention that with A.J. Derby no longer in the mix for Iowa, there’s no reason at this time to think Sokol could move ahead of Rudock on the depth chart.

The question this spring isn’t really who the quarterbacks are, but rather how they fit into what Iowa wants to do going forward as an offense.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz discusses the start of spring practices with the local media during a press conference held Tuesday, March 20, 2012, at the Hayden Fry Football Complex in Iowa City.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On multiple occasions Tuesday, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz drew parallels between where the Iowa Hawkeyes are as they begin spring practices Wednesday and where they were at this time four years ago.

One coincidence between 2008 and now is coaching transition. Prior to the revamping of the coaching staff last month, the most recent coaching changes made at Iowa came after the 2007 season when wide receivers coach Erik Campbell was brought on board from Michigan and Lester Erb switched from coaching receivers to coaching running backs following Carl Jackson’s retirement.

The other notable coincidence between the two seasons is youth. Not necessarily at the same positions, but in general.

“It was where we were developmentally as a team,” Ferentz said about the parallels. “We had a young team that year that went through some changes. At that time, [Pat] Angerer and [Ricky] Stanzi were second team players all spring and in September and ended up emerging.

“We could see those stories.”

One area where youth is quite noticeable is with the defensive line. The spring 2-deep released Tuesday featured four redshirt freshmen along the defensive line, with three of those four being listed first-string.

Darian Cooper was listed at defensive tackle alongside senior Steve Bigach, while the two defensive end spots were occupied by Dean Tsopanides and Riley McMinn.

“Now it’s a chance for them to learn what we’re doing in our scheme, putting some things to use,” Ferentz said.

On the offensive side of the ball, the group of running backs listed have small bits of experience from last season, but all three backs — Jordan Canzeri, Damon Bullock and De’Andre Johnson — are sophomores. Canzeri looks to be the early favorite to start after he led the Hawkeyes with 58 yards rushing on 22 carries against Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl.

Injury update

A pair of defensive linemen — junior Dominic Alvis and sophomore Carl Davis — are both unlikely to participate in spring practices due to knee injuries. Alvis’ injury occurred during the Hawkeyes’ 24-16 win over Michigan back on Nov. 5, while Ferentz said Davis had his knee injury addressed last January and would likely be ready in time for summer workouts.

Meanwhile, there are a handful of players that either are returning or might be returning from season-ending injuries that took place last year. Ferentz gave an optimistic report on junior linebacker Shane DiBona, who tore his Achille’s tendon last August during fall camp, saying he was back working out in January and was close to full speed.

One other significant injury of note from last year was that of junior offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan, who had a sports hernia injury that sidelined him for the entire 2011 season. Ferentz said he’s keeping his fingers crossed on how much MacMillan will be able to participate this spring, but he was listed on the spring 2-deep issued Tuesday as the back-up to junior Brett Van Sloten at right tackle. Prior to the injury, MacMillan had seen action at the guard positions as a redshirt freshman in 2010.

“He just had one of those years where nothing went right for him,” Ferentz said. “But he has had a good out-of-season. I think he’s really encouraged right now. I think we saw two years ago he’s really capable of being a good football player if he can stay healthy.

“I think he’s on the right path right now.”

Offensive changes

A heavy topic of discussion Tuesday was with regards to what types of changes could be taking place offensively during spring ball with first-year offensive coordinator Greg Davis in charge of the play-calling.

Ferentz made mention of how the two managed to “streamline” on various issues and that he feels comfortable with the path the Hawkeyes will attempt to take as an offense moving forward.

“There’s a lot of new nomenclature, terminology and we’re all learning right now,” Ferentz said. “Even the old dogs are trying to learn some new tricks.”

Ferentz made hint of not wanting to be two-back 100 percent of the time offensively and expressed how Davis had managed to use multiple types of personnel packages while working at Texas, from two-RB and two-TE sets to 3-4 WR sets.

The route Iowa ultimately goes remains to be seen. But like Davis, Ferentz stressed an importance of using packages that best fit the personnel already in place.

One possibility might be throwing the ball more given how senior quarterback James Vandenberg threw for over 3,000 yards in his first full season as a starter last year. But with that comes greater expectations placed on both the receiving and tight end corps.

“Bottom line, we’re going to throw it. We’re not going to turn it over. We’ve got to be smart about what we’re doing,” Ferentz said. “It’s not all just the quarterback. It’s protection. It’s guys doing the right things with routes, not tipping the ball up in the air and making catches. We have to get better at making catches.”

Very little set with special teams

Right now, the only certainty with special teams is that senior cornerback Micah Hyde will be the Hawkeyes’ top punt returner. Everything else remains unsettled.

That includes kicking duties. Ferentz said junior kicker Mike Meyer would start spring practices as the No. 1 kicker, but that senior Trent Mossbrucker and redshirt freshman Marshall Koehn would both have opportunities over the next five-and-a-half months to dethrone Meyer.

“We’ll take that probably right through the summer,” Ferentz said. “Mike comes in as the No. 1 guy, but we’ll let them compete.”

Meanwhile, senior John Wienke and junior Jonny Mullings will compete this spring at punter. However, a third punter will be added to the competition once incoming freshman Connor Kornbrath arrives on campus.

Finally, there’s kickoff return. Ferentz mentioned four players who all had experience returning kickoffs last season — Canzeri, Bullock and wide receivers Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley — that would be in the mix during spring practices, but that this could change in the fall once the incoming 2012 class gets added into the equation.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Below is a PDF from the Iowa sports information department featuring the complete transcript from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s spring football press conference on Tuesday in Iowa City:

Coach Ferentz – 03 20 12

OFFENSE:

WR 11 Martin-Manley, 17 Hillyer/83 Staggs

LT 68 Scherff/78 Donnal

LG 60 Tobin, 50 Clark

C 53 Ferentz, 59 Bofelli, 58 Simmons

RG 59 Bofelli/63 Blythe, 65 Walsh

RT 70 Van Sloten, 76 MacMillan

TE 86 Fiedorowicz, 85 Derby

QB 16 Vandenberg, 15 Rudock

WR 6 Davis, 8 Shumpert

RB 33 Canzeri, 32 Bullock, 30 Johnson

FB 38 Rogers, 92 Gimm

DEFENSE:

DE 75 Tsopanides, 49 Spears

DT 54 Bigach, 90 Trinca-Pasat

DT 97 Cooper, 99 Gaglione

DE 94 McMinn, 98 Hardy

OLB 20 Kirksey, 37 DiBona

MLB 44 Morris, 52 Alston

WLB 31 Hitchens, 55 Collins/36 Fisher

LCB 19 Lowery, 27 Lomax

SS 21 Law, 13 Donatell/10 Sleeper

FS 5 Miller, 48 Lowdermilk/40 Swanson

RCB 18 Hyde, 2 Castillo

SPECIAL TEAMS:

P 14 Wienke/15 Mullings

PK 96 Meyer, 1 Koehn, 8 Mossbrucker

LS 61 Kreiter

HOLDER 14 Wienke

Every Monday, we will be running a weekly series titled “State of the Big Ten,” which will be made available to all members of HawkeyeDrive.com. This series of columns will focus on one major headline regarding the conference and go in-depth on the subject at hand.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

To the surprise of no one earlier this month, Michigan State forward Draymond Green was named the Big Ten’s Player of the Year. He was clearly deserving of the honor, as he was the only player in the conference to average a double-double with points and rebounds and more importantly led his team to both regular season and tournament championships.

As the Spartans prepare to face Louisville in the Sweet 16 on March 22 in Phoenix, it’s easy to see why Green has become the player he is today in college basketball. No, his career isn’t over just yet. But his mark at Michigan State and on the Big Ten is worth showing appreciation for right now.

Playing against LIU-Brooklyn in the second round of the tournament March 16, Green posted a triple-double of 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The 6-7 forward has had a knack throughout his career for compiling triple-doubles, but his most recent feat made him the first player to ever record them in consecutive NCAA tournament games.

Then against Saint Louis two days, Green finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in what ended up being a four-point Spartan win.

But it’s not just Green’s play that makes him who he is.

Back in October, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo compared Green’s leadership traits to those of perhaps the two best players to ever wear Spartan uniforms — Magic Johnson and Mateen Cleaves. Maybe it wasn’t far-fetched for Izzo to say at the time, but what that did was put Green in a different light, one he has excelled in.

In fact, it might be fair to argue that Green could be considered the best to ever play for Michigan State if the Spartans go on to win their second national title like they did in both Johnson’s and Cleaves’ final seasons in East Lansing.

Two more victories would give Michigan State its third Final Four appearance in four seasons. Let that thought sink in for a second. Three Final Fours in four years. That also goes without mentioning that the one season there wasn’t a Final Four appearance was perhaps the most tumultuous season Michigan State has ever had under Izzo.

Sure, it’s one thing for Green to sit there and say by week’s end that he has played in three Final Fours. But it’s his role in helping resurrect Michigan State back to what it was during the early portion of his career that will ultimately define him in the eyes of Spartan fans (and Big Ten fans) everywhere.

After drawing the No. 7 seed in the 2011 Big Ten Tournament and just barely making the NCAA tournament field one year ago, no one thought the Spartans could win the Big Ten this season. Sure, maybe they’d compete for a league title, but not actually win it.

As it turned out, Michigan State rebounded two losses to North Carolina and Duke to start the season and didn’t look back. The Spartans ended up having to share the regular season crown with both Michigan and Ohio State, but they capitalized on the chance to distinguish themselves from everyone else at the Big Ten Tournament.

This doesn’t happen without Green. Not only because of his on-the-court production, but because of the leadership intangibles that separated him from just about everyone else in college basketball. Heck, if Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis didn’t burst on the scene like he did, a valid argument could be made for Green being National Player of the Year this season. He had that kind of year and that type of impact on Michigan State.

Players like him don’t come around often, which is why there’s no reason to wait in showing appreciation for a player like Green.