If You Build It, They Will Come

Profile Merton Hanks was an All-Pro safety with the San Francisco 49ers who played nine years* in the NFL.  Hanks was a All-Pro twice, and won the Super Bowl with the 49ers.  He played corner for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was drafted in 1991**, and now is a high level executive with the Pac-12. * 8 with SF, and one with Seattle.  I wonder if he has a Seattle card (scans...), nope.  But he does has a bunch of new cards from 2018-2020, all serial numbered below 100.   ** A fifth round pick as scouts thought he'd be too slow in the NFL Personal Notes Merton Hanks was a fun player.  Everyone who watched the NFL in the 90s probably remembers his chicken dance when he made a big play.  He falls into this category of random players (though pretty good) who play non-skill positions who normally get forgotten, but he'll be remembered because he played on those very important 49ers teams.  Fox showed the 49ers a lot, and we saw them in the playoffs a bunch...

  Profile Bryce Paup is a linebacker who played for Green Bay, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Minnesota in his NFL career.  A four time pro bowler and 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Paup played 11 years in the NFL.  Bryce was born in Jefferson* and played his college ball at the University of Northern Iowa**, where he now currently coaches. * Others from Jefferson: (NFL) Paup, Merv Krakau, Dave Long (NASA) Loren Shriver (Medal of Honor) Darrell R. Lindsey ** Panthers drafted in the 90s: Paup (6th 1990), James Jones (3rd 1991), Kenny Shedd (5th 1993), Dedric Ward (3rd 1997), and Ty Talton (5th 1999) Personal Notes So I love numbers and I love seeing the advanced stats that you can now access.  WAR is great for baseball, although never perfect, it does give a quick snapshot of value.  For football, that has to be way harder to determine though.  OL vs CB.  WR value dependent on QB?  RB value change over the years?  Well, pro football referen...

        Profile Dale Carter was an All-Pro defensive back* in the NFL playing 14 years.  He was drafted in the 1992 NFL draft out of Tennessee, but started his college career at Ellsworth College**.   * Other accolades: 4x Pro Bowler,  All-American, and Defensive Rookie of the Year ** Other NFLers from Ellsworth: Ken Bishop, Mistral Raymond, Andre Tippett, and Jaleel Scott  Personal Notes To be quite honest, Dale Carter is one of the better players to come from an Iowa college.  All-Pro, ROY, All-American and 4x Pro Bowler are accolades not many can match.  In his bio for the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame there is nothing but praise for his time at Ellsworth and the team's success. If you look at his Wikipedia page however, you see part of why his memory has faded.  Ejected for kicking Michael Irvin.  Suspended for a year for his 4th substance abuse violation.  These, and for whatever ...

        Profile George Kittle is a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, and is considered one of the best in the game.  He received a player of the year award for his record breaking 2019 season, leading his team to the Super Bowl.  He attended both Iowa City West and Cedar Falls before becoming an Iowa Hawkeye.  He was drafted in the 2017* draft **. * Iowa connections in this draft: Desmond King (UofI), Jaleel Johnson (UofI), C.J. Beatherd (UofI), Amara Darboh (Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines), Eric Saubert (Drake) ** Tight ends drafted before Kittle (146): O.J. Howard (19), Evan Engram (23), David Njoku (29), Gerald Everett (44), Adam Shaheen (45), Jonnu Smith (100), Michael Roberts (127), Jake Butt (145) Personal Notes Iowa has reputation for developing great tight ends (yes, I know how that sounds you 7 year old), and have been represented by a number in the pros. A short list of the most prominent, probably a few guys that you've had on a fant...

        Profile David Johnson is a running back from the University of Northern Iowa, arriving there from Clinton*, Iowa.  After a successful career at UNI, David was selected in the third round of the 2015 draft by the Arizona Cardinals and was an All-Pro** by his second year in the league.  He currently plays for the Houston Texans. * Other notables from Clinton: Duke Slater (UofI CFB HOF), George Stone (MLB), Lillian Russell (Actress), George Nelson (Astronaut), Peggy Moran (actress) ** Three All-Pros from UNI: David Johnson, Kurt Warner and Bryce Paup Personal Notes This isn't a collection story, but an economics note.  It's about diversification, and how I like to spread out my pain and joy evenly.  I am a Vikings fan, and in the early 2000s they drafted a running back named Michael Bennett in the 1st round.  I was big into fantasy football by then, and drafted him onto many of my teams.  Well, he was mediocre, which is not great fo...