Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Bryan Bulaga signs with Chargers, impacting Tristan Wirfs | Hawks get a 2021 commit | Luka Garza wins ESPN POY

Episode Date: March 18, 2020

NFL moves continue to change Tristan Wirfs draft projection starting with Bryan Bulaga signing with the Chargers. We've got recruiting updates, and some news on Luka Garza's bid for Naismith Player of the Year as well as some Hawkeye football March Madness bracket talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thank God I was born on the good arms of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of the U.S. It's a time of panic, and it's intercepted! It's picked off right away! Intercepted by Marty Hooker! Pick six! Eight seconds into the game! Buffen sets up deep in the pocket, goes down the field for Smith!

Oh! He's got it! Smith! Touchdown. 85 yards. High on. Touchdown, 10. Taking a shot in the end zone.

It is caught. No offense. Touchdown. That's either one or you have it. Go ahead and three. Yes. Two-point lead for the Hawkeyes. Welcome to a Wednesday morning episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast,

your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. As always, as every single day, I am your host, Andrew Wade, and we have another great episode coming at you today. Sorry for the delay. I do apologize for that. I was planning on recording early in the morning to make sure you got this before you went to work or, I guess, walked to your home office at this point. But I'm having some computer issues. Basically, my computer doesn't charge anymore, but it maintains life. I don't know what the hell is going on, to be honest. I think the battery might be broken. I guess that's the only thing I could possibly gather from this situation.

But I decided to try to get an episode out anyways, even with some of the computer issues. So hopefully you are listening to this full episode and not some partially reduced episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. and not some partially reduced episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. If you are tuning in for the first time, make sure to like, review, and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at, whether that is Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or the brand new Himalaya Podcast app. And make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you are not, you are missing out on a fun March Madness bracket between all the Iowa Hawkeye football teams. Right now, we are going through the first round of games, the round of 64.

We've already completed two matchups. We've got the voting in, and we're going to be talking about that on today's show. We've started the voting for two other matchups, and one is a nail-biter. So make sure you're getting your votes in there. And one is a nail-biter. So make sure you're getting your votes in there. As we get through the round of 64 and into some of the more closely contested games, hoping to get some guests on the show from those teams to talk about those teams.

So reaching out to those guys. Also looking to get a few other guests on in general. Had some contact with a few former Iowa Hawkeye football players and Iowa Hawkeye basketball players to hopefully get on the show. So despite not having sports really going on, we're still looking to provide you a ton of great content right here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. So that being said, let me jump in and talk a little bit about this March Madness bracket. You've heard me talk about it if you've been listening to the show, but essentially I took

every single Iowa Hawkeye football team, I put them in order of winning percentage and I put them in a seed one through 64 and put them in a March madness bracket. There were a few tiebreakers, right? So towards the end of the list with the, you know, bottom, you know, 12, 13 teams, I took some of the newer teams as opposed to the older teams just to make it a little bit more spicy. I feel like what's going to happen is ultimately these newer teams, the teams that are more relevant in fans' minds, are likely going to have an edge simply for that reason. So I want to make sure I'm making it a little bit interesting, and we're actually seeing that in a contest today. But let me talk about yesterday's matchups. Kind of happened as I expected. Wasn't really expecting much less from yesterday. We had the number nine seeded 2018 Hawks who blew out the number eight seed 1910 Hawks. And again, no surprise here. The number nine seeded

the 2018 team. I figured when teams are evenly matched when it comes to records and whatnot, that it's going to be a little bit easier to pick the more recent team. And that's exactly what happened here with the Iowa Hawkeyes from 2018, the Nate Stanley-led squad, that won the Outback Bowl against Mississippi State, taking down the 1910 Hawks. But I don't think I was expecting it to be such a blowout. You guys did not care at all about this 1910 Hawkeye team that went 5-2 in seven games. This 1910 Hawkeye team only allowed 15 points,

and those were in the two losses, but they also only scored 94. Their points per game was 13.4, and their points against was 2.1 so pretty pretty absurd however that 2018 team i think we all can remember since it was so close you know so recent ago that was a team that had a lot of potential and was in every single game in the fourth quarter outside of the wisconsin game which was probably the game they were most likely to win out of their four losses, that was a team that really should have, could have won. And they were really in, like I said, every single game.

I thought there was an opportunity. At one point, they could have gone to the national championship, or sorry, the college football playoffs, just because of how well they were playing. Nate Stanley was having an outstanding season. Dropping that game to Wisconsin was huge, especially given how it happened with a couple fumbles. But then losing to Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern in three games in a row was tough. But ultimately, they ended on a positive note. And in the round of 64, they took down the 2010 Hawks. The other game that happened yesterday, the results are in as well, and as expected, when you have

a number one seed versus a number 16 seed, you typically expect that number one seed to win. The 1956 Hawkeyes, the team that won the first Rose Bowl in Iowa Hawkeye history, they easily, easily took care of the 1993

squad that went 6-6 and lost in the Alamo Bowl. That 6-6 squad, not a better team, not a good team from the Hayden Fry era. A team that struggled initially, started off with two wins against Tulsa and Iowa State, lost five straight before winning four straight to qualify for a bowl game, and then got smoked in the Alamo Bowl. So really no surprise here that 1956 squad is probably one of the best squads in iowa football history and we're going to find that out through the course of this little bracket we are doing but again no surprise there when you win the first rose bowl ever go nine and one and are ranked

third at the end of the season it's kind of tough to not count you in that round of 64. What's going to be interesting is when this number one team, the 1956 squad, takes on the 2018 squad to see what people think of this 2018 squad and what is really valued when doing these brackets. So some fun stuff there. Coming up on today's matchups, you've probably already seen our Twitter account and our Instagram account. Didn't get as much love on the Facebook account, so I didn't post it there just to see kind of what happens. I want to see what the voting looks like, if it's skewed at all.

So just did it on Twitter and Instagram for yesterday. Those posts are going up around 5, 6 p.m., closing around 5, 6 p.m. the following day. So today you can go vote on the number nine, or sorry, excuse me, the number four seeded 1985 10-2 Rose Bowl losing Hawks over the 13 seed 1953 7-1 Hawks. So that is the first matchup. That 1985 team, very strong team that did lose in the Rose Bowl, but did feature, obviously, Chuck Long, Hayden Frye team, ranked as high as first in the nation, finished at 10th in the nation after starting at fourth over the preseason.

This team had a lot of potential, got kind of blown out in Pasadena by number 13 UCLA, 45-28. out in Pasadena by number 13 UCLA 45 to 28 their lone loss earlier in the season was to Ohio State at Ohio State 22 to 13 but really just an incredible season for this team again I think a team that this is a seed that could go far this is one of those four seeds I think could go pretty far in the tournament just because of the memories that this team had obviously being ranked for five straight weeks in a row is something that not a lot of football teams have done in Iowa Hawkeye history. The other matchup in this one, I kind of expected to happen, but we have a 5-12 seed. And every time you get a 5-12 seed in the NCAA tournament, you always got to worry. There's always that thing of a 12 seed always beats a 5 seed. And this is no different.

Right now, this is a very, very, very tight contest between the 1957 Hawks that went 7-1-1 to the 2010 Hawks that went 8-5. And I think the big thing to remind people here is that 2010 Hawkeye team is led by Ricky Stanzi and was a team that barely lost five games. They lost five games by 18 points combined, I believe. And that was a team that was coming off that Orange Bowl victory, a team that people thought was going to have national title aspirations. So where is that valued in the grand scheme of these things?

How are we evaluating that versus a team that went 7-1-1 in 1957? So right now it's a very tightly contested battle. I believe as of right now, as I'm recording this, the 2010 Hawks have a slight edge. So something to keep in mind. Make sure to go vote whatever you think on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I'm going to be dropping the new polls later today. And then tomorrow is our, so in the next two days will be our final polls of this round of, or this side of the bracket.

And then we'll let you know kind of where things stand. We're going to continue to go through the round of 64 games, though, over the next 16 days as we get through those doing two games at a time before jumping into the round of 32. So make sure to tune into the Locked on Hawkeyes Twitter account, Facebook account, and Instagram account so you can participate in some of this stuff. And maybe we'll do some sort of fun contest to see who can actually predict what's going to happen with the round of 32 teams once it gets a little bit more difficult,

more to come on that. Coming up, though, I want to talk a bit about the NFL draft and college football recruiting, so stay tuned for that after a few messages from our sponsors. So stay tuned for that after a few messages from our sponsors. We are back with segment number two of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. And as I said, there is some NFL talk to talk about. That is about the only thing going on in the sports world. Thank the Lord for free agency and NFL draft time. Otherwise, what else would we have for new news to talk about?

We also have some recruiting news as well. People forget that there is still recruiting happening. People can make phone calls, right? So, cool opportunity to potentially see that recruiting class continue to develop for the class of 2021. But NFL news, first and foremost, Brian Bulaga has left the Green Bay Packers and has signed with the Chargers for just 10 million dollars a year on a three-year deal and if I had to pick a good spot that'd probably be it the only concern I have is the fact that the Chargers don't have a quarterback

right now so after getting rid of Phillip Rivers who I think was not playing very well last year right now they currently have Tyrod Taylor and a top 10 draft pick. I think, first off, this does actually impact Tristan Wirfs because the tackle was a huge, huge need for this team after trading away Russell Okung to get Trey Turner from the Panthers. So they built up that interior offensive line, lost some depth in the tackle position. Got a little younger, though, by signing Brian Belaga, a 30-year-old who's coming off a very good depth in the tackle position. Got a little younger though by signing Brian Belaga, a 30-year-old who's coming off a very good season for the Packers. I think this

does impact Tristan Wirfs as well. The fact that the Chargers were not able to sign a Tom Brady hurt. Where the Chargers might have been a landing spot for Tristan Wirfs before, I think at this point you have to consider that quarterback is almost guaranteedly on the table, maybe a Justin Herbert for the Los Angeles Chargers right now at that top 10 pick. Also, moving on to the

recruiting updates, as I said, there's a couple different updates that have kind of meandered over the last three days, and I haven't had an opportunity to talk about it yet. The first big one I want to touch on is Cooper Dejean, or Dejean. I need to figure out how to say that name has committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the class of 2021. The Odie Bull Arthur student as a junior led the team to a two-way state championship, had an outstanding season throwing for 42 touchdowns, running for 24 more and having multiple pick sixes on his five interceptions he's a four-sport athlete at six foot two 190 ish pounds he's a guy to me that projects to play safety I know right now he's listed as an athlete but a guy like that I think typically will play that

safety position Iowa does do some crazy things though with building players up and getting them stronger and bigger. So maybe they could move him to, gosh, I don't want to say tight end, but tight end or linebacker. I mean, those are the kind of guys, the small school kids with, you know, who are quarterbacks in high school. They build them up and put them in those other spots because they're athletes. But I think right now he projects a lot as a safety for me. So it kind of remains to be seen kind of where they expect him to go. I'll try to get him on the show and maybe see if he's interested

and have him on the show to talk a bit about what Iowa has seen in him and what they're looking to do with him. With his commitment, with that commitment of the 636th ranked player in the nation, Iowa now has eight commits in the class of 2021. That class ranks 10th, and in the Big Ten, it ranks third. Also in recruiting news, two other guys have listed Iowa in their frontrunners list. Tight end Thomas Vedom, the number one tight end in the nation according to 24-7 Sports. He is, right now, putting Iowa in his top six.

This guy is out of Council Bluffs, a guy who played with another Iowa recruit from the He is, right now, putting Iowa in his top six. This guy is out of Council Bluffs, a guy who played with another Iowa recruit from the class of 2020, four-star defensive tackle Logan Jones. So hopefully that connection might be able to help the Iowa Hawkeyes out when they get Thomas. Also, the fact that Iowa is undoubtedly tight end U, a program who develops tight ends better than any program in the nation. Hopefully that can also help him. Right now, according to 24-7 Sports, Thomas Fedone is leaning towards Nebraska. I don't mean to be biased here, but I don't understand how anyone, especially a tight end,

could pick Nebraska over Iowa at this point. Not only is the team success not there for Nebraska, but the development of tight ends is also not there, especially when compared to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Alongside Nebraska, though, in his top six was Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, and LSU. Now, those teams make sense. Penn State does do a pretty good job of developing tight ends. Michigan has developed a few nice tight ends. LSU has developed a few nice tight ends.

And Notre Dame is probably the team that competes most often with Iowa for tight end U. And depending on the year, could be, you know, could be the favorite for tight end U. So outside of Nebraska, the other ones make sense. Nebraska seems like a proximity choice to him. One that, you know, obviously I'm assuming he probably grew up rooting for Nebraska considering he lives just, you know, probably about an hour, hour and a half away from Lincoln. But nevertheless, a huge opportunity for the Hawks. Kind of a different profile of a guy. A guy who doesn't right now seem as developed as a blocker.

More of a slot kind of tight end. A guy who can split out wide. But I think with Iowa, with his size, they do a pretty good job of developing tight ends. But I think with Iowa, with his size, they do a pretty good job of developing tight ends. And at 6'4.5", 218 pounds, he definitely has a little bit more room to gain some weight on that frame of his. So more to come from that. I can't imagine this recruiting battle is going to finish anytime soon. He did say his recruitment is still open.

So I think still looking at other offers if things come in. But right now, those are his top six, and Iowa is in it. And finally, on the recruiting front, running back Ricky Parks, a four-star running back according to rivals, three-star according to 24-7 sports. Iowa is in his top five. He specifically made the quote, loves the environment and loves how everyone treats each other like family.

I believe that was from Hawkeye Nation, so thank you for that information. Obviously want to give the credit where credit is due. He is a 5'10", 192 pound back from Tampa. Guy who ran the 100 meter dash in 11.3 seconds. So a quick speedy guy. This is a guy who you don't typically see. You haven't seen Iowa go into Florida as much previously, but last year they started building that connection up even more. Seeing them get into the top five of Ricky Parks is huge and obviously the the running game of Iowa would be a huge draw for a guy like that and seeing what Tyler Goodson is what did as a true

freshman I can only imagine helps them out so more to come on that but listed his top five as I said with you know with Thomas Fedone I can only imagine this recruiting battle is going to go out for a bit more time. But more to come on that as well. Alright, so that does it for our football talk. Coming up on our third and final segment, I want to talk a bit about the news with Luka Garza and what that means for the junior big man for the Iowa Hawkeyes. for the junior big man for the Iowa Hawkeyes. All right, we are back for our third and final segment of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Quickly wanting to touch on Luka Garza. More fantastic news. He was named ESPN Player of the Year. So I think this is just one step in the right direction. I think he is going to ultimately be named the Naismith Player of the year. So I think this is just one step in the right direction. I think he is going to ultimately be named the Naismith player of the year. And if he is not, this just goes to show how much garbage that is. If he is not named the Naismith player of the year, I don't know how you could possibly not name him the Naismith player of the year.

But people seem to think for some reason that Dayton's Obi Toppin is a guy who should get it. Joining him on the Naismith Player of the Year list, which also announced their finalists yesterday, is Kansas' Yudoku Azubiki, Seton Hall's Miles Powell, Oregon's Peyton Pritchard, and Dayton's Obi Toppin. So, again, we've talked a bit about this on other shows. I've made my kind of argument for Luka Garza and I stand by that. I think Luka Garza is without a

doubt the top player for this. He is not only a fantastic player who's put up statistics that rivals these guys. He's did it with, he's done it with a team that really had to use him as the focal point of the offense and against competition that is the best in the nation. Seton Hall, Kansas, Oregon, Dayton, they're not playing the competition that Iowa played night in and night out in the Big Ten, without a doubt the toughest conference in the nation. So the fact that he's named as a finalist was no surprise to me. If he is not named the player of the year, I feel like Iowa Hawkeye fans are going to riot, especially with how much time we have on our hands right now.

This team is going to go, or this fan base is going to go absolutely insane if anyone else is named Naismith Player of the Year outside of Luka Garza. But again, getting named ESPN Player of the Year, a step in the right direction. Media is seeing how valuable Luka Garza is to the Iowa Hawkeyes. And again, it remains to be seen kind of what happens for this team. Can they keep Luka Garza next year? If so, as we talked about on yesterday's show, they should be a top 10 ranked Iowa Hawkeye football team. That's the only way I could see it happening.

Also in tournament news, if you are not following the NCAA Sim 2020 account on Twitter, make sure you do it. They are essentially creating the NCAA tournament with the old college basketball game and doing sims of it, putting out fake bets on it. Right now, the Iowa Hawkeyes have advanced to the Sweet 16, as we all kind of thought or hoped they would. As a sixth seed, they managed to beat Duke. So that was pretty awesome. Beat number three seed Duke, 75-73. Luka Garza had a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

They are taking on Kentucky in the sweet 16. Um, so, you know, obviously this is not real life. Um, this is not what we can do. You know, there's not, there's not NCAA tournament to actually watch. So this is the only thing we can really kind of, uh, enjoy a little bit. And for anyone who loved Iowa SIM, um, hosted by Cody Hills, a guy who we had on the show, uh, earlier in the year, probably about a month, month and a half ago. He was basically simming each and every Iowa football game

and kind of giving a projection of things based on what the sim was, going through the entire sim, saying, here's what's happened. People really seem to enjoy that. If you enjoyed that, I guarantee you're going to enjoy the NCAA Sim 2020, especially now that the Iowa Hawkeyes are still in the mix. They're the Sweet 16. If they can take down Kentucky, advance to the Elite Eight. Again, it's not nearly as good as the real NCAA tournament,

but it's something to do while we all stay here on our thumbs and just kind of wonder what's happening in the world with all this commotion and pandemonium going on. Like I said, some fun stuff to pay attention to. Make sure to follow them, NCAA Sim 2020. But that'll do it for our show today. More to come on tomorrow's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Again, I appreciate you all tuning in.

I hope I'm giving you some entertainment to get you through your day as the sports world has essentially stopped moving at all. So if you do like what you hear on our shows every single day, make sure to give us that five-star review, follow us on Spotify, Apple, Google, or wherever you can get a podcast at,

make sure to do that. And if you're not on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram following us already, make sure to do that as well. That's how you can participate in our fun March madness bracket. So that being said, thank you all for tuning in. If you do like some of the NFL talks,

some of the draft talk that we're doing on the show, make sure to also go follow the Draft Dudes podcast. They are another sister show on the Locked On Podcast Network. They host a fantastic episode with Joe Marino, Kyle Krabs, talking about the NFL draft. Both are analysts at the Draft Network. So great guys. Got to meet them down in Mobile, Alabama. You are really going to enjoy listening to them if you do like NFL draft talk. And if you like the show that we're hosting right here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast,

I highly recommend checking them out as well. That'll do it though. Thank you all for tuning in Hawkeye Nation. Have a fantastic day and let's go Hawks!