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Instant analysis of Detroit Lions selecting Iowa LB Jack Campbell

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Instant analysis of Detroit Lions selecting Iowa LB Jack Campbell


The Detroit Lions continued to throw off draft consultants on the opening evening of the 2023 NFL Draft by choosing Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell with the 18th general decide. Campbell was the primary linebacker off the board, and plenty of analysts had him as the very best prospect at his place. Others argue that linebacker isn’t a high-value place and the Lions may have had an opportunity at Campbell later within the draft—maybe with the group’s newly-acquired thirty fourth general decide.

Let’s dig a bit of deeper into this decide with some instantaneous evaluation.

Brad Holmes doesn’t care about your mocks, nor your positional worth

Working again and linebacker weren’t excessive on the Lions’ wants board. These positions aren’t seen as very priceless by the analytics neighborhood. However Lions basic supervisor Brad Holmes made an announcement on Thursday evening: I don’t care.

In fact, this shouldn’t be an entire shock. Holmes stated final week that he wasn’t afraid to take the backlash simply because his decide doesn’t line up with among the mock drafts on the market.

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“You’ve simply obtained to make the very best decide you could and be assured with it,” Holmes stated. “Publish-draft and rapid draft grades, when the decide didn’t line up with these mocks, you’ve obtained to be keen and comfy to take the beating as a result of they didn’t line up with the mock.”

Nonetheless, this can be a fairly large departure from earlier drafts. The Lions focused high-value positions at edge defender, offensive sort out, and large receiver with their earlier first-round picks. Now, they’ve taken two positions that many think about the lowest-value within the NFL, in need of particular groups.

Jack “Dan” Campbell

Kudos to MLive’s Ben Raven for pulling this quote from Jack Campbell on the NFL Mix:

There is probably not a extra Dan Campbell soccer character man than Jack Campbell. Not solely was he a two-time captain at Iowa, however he was clearly beloved by the teaching workers there, too. Watch Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz react to a query about Campbell:

For those who occurred to observe the most recent episode of “Contained in the Den,” you possibly can actually see how vital character is to this group.

Do-it-all linebacker

Lions followers have lamented on the group’s lack of a protection linebacker. Properly, they’ve a succesful participant there now. Campbell earned a 92.9 protection grade from PFF final yr—the very best within the nation—and tallied 11 passes defended and 4 interceptions prior to now two seasons.

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However his worth doesn’t cease there. His 87.0 PFF run protection grade ranked ninth in school soccer, and with ridiculous dimension (6-foot-5, 249 kilos), he’ll be a troublesome second-level block for any offensive lineman.

In different phrases, the Lions obtained themselves a real three-down linebacker to pair with Alex Anzalone—one thing they had been doubtless lacking.

However what about Malcolm?

The Lions simply handed Alex Anzalone a three-year, $18.75 million contract. He isn’t going wherever and can doubtless begin alongside Campbell. It is going to be attention-grabbing to see if Campbell takes the inexperienced dot or if Anzalone will keep it. Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard indicated that he plans to cross-train Campbell—as he does everybody in his room.

However with the Lions taking part in principally in two-linebacker units, it seems that Malcolm Rodriguez may see his taking part in time take a big nosedive in his second season. Rodriguez was a nice shock as a sixth-round decide final yr, however his dimension limitations (5-foot-11, 232) could cap his ceiling.





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Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video

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Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan discusses eating disorder in video


Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.

Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.

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“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.

Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.

Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.

Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”

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During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.

“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.

How to get help

For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.



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Latest Iowa high school volleyball rankings reveal regional pairings

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Latest Iowa high school volleyball rankings reveal regional pairings


It was an important date around the state for volleyball teams in Iowa, as the latest rankings were released and regional pairings in all five classes were revealed.

The two come into play once regionals reach the championship round, as the higher-ranked team will serve as the host for those games.

All five No. 1 squads remained the same, as Ankeny Centennial (Class 5A), Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), Denver (2A) and Ankeny Christian (1A) held serve.

New teams to the Top-15 include Iowa City West in 5A, Ballard in 4A, Wapsie Valley in 2A and Stanton in 1A. The entire 3A poll remained the same while Sidney made one of the biggest climbs, moving to ninth from 12th in 1A.

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Regional play for 1A and 2A begins Oct. 21 with 3A, 4A and 5A starting Oct. 22. The state tournament is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Coralville from the Xtream Arena. Complete regional pairings can be found on Bound.

Class 5A

1. Ankeny Centennial; 2. Pleasant Valley; 3. Ankeny; 4. West Des Moines Dowling; 5. Indianola; 6. Waukee Northwest; 7. Cedar Falls; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 9. Waukee; 10. Iowa City Liberty; 11. West Des Moines Valley; 12. Sioux City East; 13. Iowa City West; 14. Iowa City High; 15. Linn-Mar.

Class 4A

1. Cedar Rapids Xavier; 2. Sioux City Bishop Heelan; 3. North Scott; 4. Clear Creek-Amana; 5. Lewis Central; 6. Pella; 7. Glenwood; 8. Carlisle; 9. Marion; 10. Adel-ADM; 11. Norwalk; 12. Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 13. MOC-Floyd Valley; 14. Ballard; 15. Grinnell.

Class 3A

1. Mount Vernon; 2. Western Christian; 3. West Delaware; 4. Dubuque Wahlert; 5. Davenport Assumption; 6. Sioux Center; 7. Carroll Kuemper; 8. Mid-Prairie; 9. Cherokee; 10. Wilton; 11. Solon; 12. Anamosa; 13. Roland-Story; 14. Clarinda; 15. Nevada.

Class 2A

1. Denver; 2. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont; 3. Dyersville Beckman; 4. Dike-New Hartford; 5. Aplington-Parkersburg; 6. South Hardin; 7. Boyden-Hull; 8. Pella Christian; 9. Iowa City Regina; 10. Hinton; 11. Grundy Center; 12. Sumner-Fredericksburg; 13. Wapsie Valley; 14. West Burlington; 15. Shenandoah.

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Class 1A

1. Ankeny Christian; 2. Holy Trinity; 3. Saint Ansgar; 4. Riverside; 5. BCLUW; 6. Janesville; 7. North Tama; 8. Don Bosco; 9. Sidney; 10. River Valley; 11. Akron-Westfield; 12. Stanton; 13. Fremont-Mills; 14. Southwest Valley; 15. Gladbrook-Reinbeck.



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Iowa high school football computer rankings (10/10/2024)

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Iowa high school football computer rankings (10/10/2024)


Week 6 of the 2024 Iowa high school football season has wrapped up, and High School on SI is continuing its weekly computer rankings for the season.

The Dowling Maroons kept their top five placing in this week’s 5A Iowa computer rankings after a thrilling 41-35 victory over Ankeny Centennial. They face a strong Urbandale team on Friday, to keep their momentum going.

The top of the 5A computer rankings stay the same this week as the Bettendorf Bulldogs take home another win, this time defeating Kennedy 33-14. The Bulldogs look forward to Friday, where they will travel to Davenport Central in hopes to hold their place in the standings.

SBLive’s formula was created using its linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.

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  • FAQ: SBLive High School Football Computer Rankings

Here are SBLive’s latest Iowa football computer rankings, as of Oct. 7, 2024:

IOWA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS

CLASS 5A | CLASS 4A

CLASS 3A | CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A | CLASS A

CLASS 8 MAN

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To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

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— Ben Dagg | @sblivesports



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