Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Endangered? Hawkeyes’ Cy-Hawk Future THREATENED as Big 12 Eyes 10-Game Schedule? Myslinski Gets 6th Year

Episode Date: May 30, 2026

Cy-Hawk football rivalry faces uncertainty as the Big 12 eyes a 10-game conference schedule. Could Iowa vs. Iowa State soon disappear from college football calendars? Host Trent Condon breaks down the contract complications, fan perspectives, and the looming impact of expanded College Football Playoff formats on both programs’ non-conference scheduling options. Special guest Tom Kakert (HawkeyeReport.com) joins to discuss Jamie Pollard’s Cy-Hawk extension comments, the influence of TV networks like Fox and ESPN, and why Iowa’s season ticket base may shape the rivalry’s future. The episode also covers the Big Ten’s postseason aspirations, Nebraska’s playoff drought, and breaking news: Michael Myslinski earns a sixth year of eligibility, solidifying Iowa’s offensive line. Can Ben McCollum’s point guard recruiting strategy bolster Hawkeye basketball? Get expert insight on Iowa athletics’ most pressing questions. Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondon LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240 SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyes Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Could the Sihawk football rivalry be headed for the end zone for good? With the Big 12 considering a 10-game conference schedule, the future of Iowa versus Iowa State suddenly is in question. You are Locked-on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen. every day. Some big news for Iowa football announced today as Michael Metzlinski has been awarded his six year of eligibility to help out on the offensive line. We'll break down what that means for

the Hawkeyes up front. We'll be joined by Tom Kakert from hawkireport.com. We'll talk to him a little bit about the future of the Sighawk and what's happening with point guard recruiting as he has seen a number of the prospects here over the last couple of weeks. But we begin today with a story that becomes a bigger story potentially down the line. The Iowa-Iwa-Iwa State rivalry game that has been played year-in and year out outside of a couple of weird circumstances all the way back to the late 1970s when the rivalry was renewed in 1977 in Iowa City. In fact, the first four games were played in Iowa City with the larger capacity of Kinnick Stadium compared to Jack Trice before the alternating series between Ames and Iowa City. The one year that the game was

was not played back in 2020, and we know with the pandemic how that played out. So this is the reason that we're getting to this point. First, it's incredibly odd. This series has been usually extended in four-year gaps recently, and we've seen that happen four or five years out. Well, we are down to now just two games left scheduled between Iowa and Iowa State. The contract comes an end after the 2007 game. That one is scheduled for Jack Trice.

Of course, this year, it's going to be in Kinnick Stadium. game 630 kickoff at Kinnick. NBC will have the coverage for that one as Jimmy Rogers first Iowa State squad will come to Iowa City. But there are so many different circumstances that are out there. Recently at one of the Iowa State gatherings that they had during the spring, Jamie Pollard was asked this very question. And this is what Jamie Pollard had to say at that time. Beth Gats and I have talked about a Sighawk extension. We're waiting to see how the new football oversight committee decides about week zero because that could determine whether we traditionally have always played that in week two. And if we now have a week zero, are we all going to have

to rearrange all of our schedules? So we had an initial discussion about it and just kind of waited just to see how that gets decided here this summer about when and if they go to week zero. Definitely makes a whole lot of sense. Understand the perspective on that front. One thing that I do know is there's going to have to be some extra parameters that are put in there if we do get a contract extension for the Iowa, Iowa State football game with the changing of landscape of college athletics. And what happens, you need to have some outs. If there's expansion from conferences, how that could change. The potential and maybe the biggest one going to 10 conference games, both the Big 10 and the Big 12 have talked about it. And Brett Yormark, the commissioner of

the Big 12, he mentioned during their spring meetings that if we are going to a 24 team college football playoff, he is going to push his conference to move to 10 conference games. That means five at home, five on the road, and only two non-conference games that you're able to schedule every single year. And wouldn't it be crazy? After years and years of plenty of Hawkeye fans, this game means nothing for us. It doesn't help us. We can only lose.

There is no winning even with the victory in this game. It doesn't help the program. It's Iowa State Super Bowl. Look, we've heard it all throughout the years. And suddenly, it very well could be Iowa State. that makes the decision not to extend the contract. Now, I don't believe from a cyclone perspective that makes a whole lot of sense. And I think a big reason for that is their season ticket base.

A huge lifeblood of all college football programs that are out there is your season ticket base and having those sold tickets every single time regardless of opponent. And what do you look through this new Big 12 with no Texas, no Oklahoma. Of course, Nebraska has been out for the better part of 15 years. you look through the schedule, and now Kansas State is not even an annual rival for Iowa State that they're not going to play every year, which is a huge swing and a miss by the Big 12, but that's a conversation for a different show. That aside, though, when you look at that, and from Iowa State's perspective,

yes, scheduling a couple of cupcakes, if you only have two non-conference games, definitely makes sense, but can they afford it? Can they afford it from their season ticket package when your home slate has two buy games against Southeast Missouri State and a MAC team. You play West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Utah. Is that selling 35, 40, 40, 45,000 season tickets? I don't think so. That is the perspective that I think from Iowa State side,

they have to keep this game going. You go the other way on the Iowa side of things and looking at this new landscape. And one thing that we definitely have to look at is if we do go to a 2014 playoff, off. And if the committee continues to just basically look at win-loss record, and that's it, there is no strength of schedule component that has been utilized at an over part. And one thing that came out of the SEC meetings that I thought was interesting is the coaches were upset.

Coaches were upset when they were brought in somebody from the college football playoff explaining the formula how they select teams, and two teams were brought up. Texas Tech, who made the college football playoff, had a buy, got blown out in their first game against Texas Tech, who played a joke of a non-conference schedule that season, coupled with BYU, who was just on the outside looking in, but is incredibly close. Another team that didn't exactly play a gauntlet of his schedule during the course of that season. Now, the SEC coaches going to nine conference games finally, they're upset about that, knowing that streak of the schedule should matter more.

And from a big 10 perspective, you definitely think it should be more. But if we're not going to have these games really matter, if scheduling difficult games in the non-conference is not going to matter for inclusion in a 2014 playoff, then from an Iowa perspective, doesn't make sense. Or is it just easier? You know what? We're going to go out there. We're going to schedule

an easy game, an extra easy game in our non-conference. We'll play an FCS team. We'll play a MAC team. And we'll take on a conference USA team. We'll call it good. And we'll schedule three victories and we'll go from there and we'll play our Big Ten gauntlet with the nine games that we're going to play. And with the bigger, deeper

league that the Big Ten now is, maybe that's something from an Iowa's perspective. That definitely makes sense. Now, I've been a long-time proponent when the Big Ten moved to nine conference games, the flexibility that they had going from the Fordon conference games that they had previously, now down to three. With the Iowa State game locked in, I was ready for a change, ready at least for a hiatus in this series, where maybe it takes two years off. And it gives Iowa an ability to go out and schedule Notre Dame and Soldier Field like they tried to do. But Iowa State wouldn't take a year off in the contract.

If they wanted to go out there and schedule a home and home with a big time program or just even a middle of the road SEC program, something different. Now, I have relented a little bit on that. I pulled back the reins just a little bit because with the new additions of the Big Ten and with the addition specifically of the four schools from the West Coast, we do have more variety in this schedule. I was going out to Washington. They went out to USC last year. They got a trip coming up out to Oregon. that kind of variety, something that's fun. And the non-conference scheduling, going to the Arizona schools,

going to Syracuse, going to Pitt. Those were fun, different things. And that variety was lost. We get a little bit of that spice and that variety that is coming back now in the Big Ten. And because of that, I'm definitely hopeful that this is something that can continue. But there are parameters. And when the contract extension is put in, I think Beth Getz definitely needs to make sure that there are some outs in this contract.

And if the Big Ten changes, if conference games changes those kind of things, that is going to be a big part of what it is. Only two games left on the schedule. Currently, that very well could change. We'll get Tom Caker's perspective on this. Plus, we'll get a deeper insight into Ben McCollum's point guard recruiting. We'll do that next as we continue. Stay right there.

This is Locked on Hawkeyes. The NHL playoffs are here where every shift matters. Every moment is intense and the pressure is at its highest. Now, it's been too high for my team because the wild are out. But looking forward to this Stanley Cup final should be a great one. The surprise of Vegas thereafter the sweep of Colorado, the action on the ice. It has been great. And performance matters on the ice.

It also matters off the ice. That's where Ruggiat comes in. Ruggiat offers treatments designed to help you get ready and stay ready when it matters. Their top option, Rougiottiott ready, combines clinically proven ingredients in a simple mint that dissolves under your tongue. It works fast, often in about 15 minutes, and can last up to 30. hours. They also offer go long, designed to help with both performance and control. It's all about confidence and feeling like yourself again. Head to Ruggiat.com slash locked on NHL and get 15% off your ED treatment.

That's Ruggiat, RU-G-I-T dot com slash locked on NHL for 15% off. Roo-Giott, Performance Medicine for Men. Trent, kind of back with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Before we bring in Tom Kaker, I want to remind you once again, if you are an everyday listener here of Lockdown Hawkeyes, we got a great opportunity for you to get Lockdown Hawkeyes daily completely ad-free by joining the Everydayer Club today.

Start your seven-day free trial right now and get closer to the Hawkeyes without the interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to Lockdownhawkeyes. That's Lockdownhawkeyes.com. That's lockdown hawkeyes. That supercast.com to claim your free trial. Now, here he is. Tom Kekert from Hawkeye Report. Talk Hawks with Tom Kekard, Big Ten,

college football and sports topics. And Tom joins us. Tom Trent and Ken, thanks for coming on. Just had Eugene repay from the register. We're talking about the Big 12 and their potential that they may go to a 10 game schedule. And if that's the case, it may not be Iowa who has to play the role. of the villain when it comes to ending

the SciHawk game, right? I mean, that's on the table. And it makes perfect sense for Jamie Pollard if that's the way they end up going seven home games, etc. But it might be the Big 12 in their decision, potentially to go 10 games that might be the end, bring the end to SciHawk.

LinkedIn is pretty great at a lot of things, like helping you tap into the latest trends and insights in your field. We cannot stop your co-worker from tapping her pencil. LinkedIn can help you find new jobs that align with your career goals. We cannot help you find the source of that weird smell in the office fridge. And while we can't stop your coworkers from bringing their hobbies into the office,

LinkedIn can help you bring your career to the next level. LinkedIn is the network that works for you. You said this place was steps from the water. We just haven't found the steps yet. How much did we save? Enough. Enough to get lost. Or you could book a stay with Hilton.

Welcome to your ocean front room. Just steps from the water. The Hilton sale is on now. Book on Hilton.com or the Hilton app and save up to 20% to get the stay you expected. When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton for the stay.

Wouldn't that be funny? Ironical, yes. It would be wild. It would just be so funny to me that Iowa states the one that ends. I think if you, and Trent, you can probably back me up on this. If you pulled Iowa fans, I think it's probably like 70, 30 that Iowa fans would want it to end anyway. That feels about right.

I'm with you. You know, I was a longtime proponent of at least a pause in the series, or not every single year back when it was the move to nine conference games to the Big Ten and the no flexibility that they had. But with the additions to the four-pack 12 schools, now there's more travel opportunities. There's more variety to the schedule. I'm not as a staunch as at least some kind of hiatus with the series. But looking towards the future, looking to the future of the Big 12 and the Big 10,

who also is talking about going to 10 as well. We don't know. And the contracts come to an end in two years. Tom, do you think we're going to hear an extension here sometime this summer? Are we going to go into Kinnick Stadium coming up in September? And that will be the last scheduled game for the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones at Kinnick? Why, that's a really good question. I think Jamie hinted that they were talking at least.

So I would anticipate they'll probably go along with it. But, you know, I think as we're what the TV partners, if they go to the 2014 playoff and such, I think some of the TV partners are getting kind of frustrated with some of the bad games that they're scheduling. You know, look at Indiana's three non-con games this year. you just like what are you doing and uh i i think those tv partners fox and the spian are going to say hey you guys got to give us a better inventory if you want more money out of us and that means you're not going to go out and schedule each other in these marquee non-con games like

ohio state texas very often anymore so uh just do another conference game and we'll take that because that that's fine for us and that's probably fine for you guys and it makes sense because it's always struck me as odd that, you know, one year you got five conference games, the next year you got four. It's just, I think 10 games makes sense. Yep, I do too. Going forward, Iowa, after 27, in 27, they got Ball State at Iowa State, North Dakota. And then 28, the only game scheduled non-conference is Western Michigan, 29.

They've got Northern Iowa and Northern Illinois. And then 2030, Florida Atlantic shows up on the schedule. So we'll see where it goes. As Trent mentioned in the last segment, if there is a contract that's signed between the two schools, there'd be a lot of outs. You mean, a lot of provisions will be in there that if we go to a 10 game or if, you know, that either school can get out based on a changing landscape of scheduling, I would assume that that would be in there.

Don't you think, Tom? I would think so. I just think we're kind of barreling towards some sort of events here pretty soon. It just seems like the status quo can't continue much longer. So something's going to shake loose here with one thing or another. And I'm not sure that the federal government's going to help them either. So, you know, it's just so weird. College athletics is always looking for somebody else to solve their problems for them.

And it just, it leads no good. outcomes come from it. You know, to the courts deciding things for them and they throw their hands up said, you guys do what you want and or now trying to get the federal government to solve all of their issues. And it doesn't seem like that's going to do well, especially that they want to try, basically trying to force the Big Ten and the FCC to give up super conference. Yeah. Well, and pool the meteorites. They're not going to do that. No, give up money. would the SEC in the Big Ten do give it and give up all that money?

Nope. There's no, why would you do that? It makes no sense. Yep. So I just don't think it's going to happen. Nope, nor do I. We'll see where it goes, but I don't think it's going to go anywhere, no doubt about that. Tom Kekert is our guest.

Tom, why is, other than I guess TV, why is Sankey? So bound to determine against, well, yeah, we'll expand, but we're not going to 24. 16 is our number. All this coach is won 24. wants 24 seemingly except the commissioner of the SEC and the president of ESPN. I think that's your answer. It's the president of ESPN, as TV partners. That's probably why Tony Petitie's been for 24 because Fox would like to get into that

business. Yeah. It's TV run. The two TV giants run everything. And that's kind of where, if you want to look at where this all, the genesis of all this, that probably has as much to do with TV as anything. Comes down to that money, money, money, but for a program like Iowa and their brethren,

that middle, meaty part of the Big Ten, I can see why all of them want this. It's an opportunity to get in there, and it's an opportunity for the Arkansases of the world, and the Wisconsin's, and the Iowa's, and good programs, good solid programs, but you saw it last year, how many Hawkeye fans were there in Tampa for the Outback Bowl,

compared to what it was when you went for the first, time in 2003. How different was it 23 years later? Yeah, it's, I remember that first one and there was probably 30,000 Iowa fans at that first Outback Bowl. Now for LiQuest, it's probably less than half that that were there. It's just, you know, and part of that is Tampa fatigue. I mean, an orange bowl, then for Rose Bowl, you're, you're going to get a ton more fans. But yeah, the, you know what I found interesting was that I think it was the athletic that put that out about that Iowa would have been in like six times since the college football playoffs started if that was what was going on and that's you flash that in front of an Iowa fan and they're like okay let's do the 24 you know it's just like let's do that that's perfect and you know in Nebraska by the way no time that's unbelievable to me which is unwel real. Yeah.

I wonder if that God brought up on Sipple's show in Lincoln when that when that list came up. It's Rutgers, what was it, Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, and Nebraska. It's just unfathomable to me when you think back to where they were and where they are. Just stunning. Just the precipitous fault that this program is gone and finds itself still in. Yeah. Yeah. And if you would have told somebody that, you know, in 1990, by the way, they're going to go to this 24,

team playoff right out of the gate and this college football play and Nebraska would make it zero time. They would have told you to you're going to, you might need to get committed to an insane asylum. It is just, it's crazy. But, you know, we'll see what happens this year. So what to jump over to little basketball because this point guard recruiting, it is hard to wrap my mind around.

You had Jamie from Rivals on with you earlier on your podcast this week. the dotry kid sounds like i mean you talk about instant dude number one comes in runs the runs the team for right away but there's so many other names out there kind of fill us in on the details here and is it a situation whoever wants to spot first is going to commit are they trying to slow play everybody else because they feel like they're in such good shape with dottery just help us out because point guard we know the importance of the class of 27 yeah and we know that that's the position they're going to, you know, we got some clarity on one of the guys that kind of popped up last week, and that's Davey on Thompson, who Fran offered when he was a freshman.

And there were some rumblings like last weekend when I was in KC that he was, you know, thinking about reclassifying. Iowa's name got brought up on, you know, the popular Trilly Donovan site that maybe Iowa was getting involved. But I talked to Ben last night. at the I Club in Muscatine and he was basically like, yeah, because I brought up like, hey, you've got a reclass last year, you know, in the month of June, July, you active in that area now. And he just kind of said, no, there really weren't.

And then it comes out today that Thompson is down to, was it, Michigan, Arkansas, Banderbilt, and Baylor. So he's going to make a decision. And he may reclassify too. So that will be interesting to see if he does end up reclassifying into another class. And it would be interesting if he goes to Michigan because Daughtry's top two right now are probably Iowa and Michigan, I think. Go Wolverines. Hope they get him. Yeah. Yeah, everybody hopes that he goes there.

I got to see Daughtry last weekend. He is the clear number one guy. I haven't seen those guys to me. he is he's just dynamite he just glides around the floor can score shoots finishes around the rim passes really well runs a team he is he's a total package and but the the problem for i will might be that um and jami brought this so jami shaw brought this up uh on the podcast that they might just have to hang on because kentucky's coming after him yukon's coming after him and all the all the the the blue bloods are Carr coming to knocking at his door.

Jackson Davis is a kid that I think they really like. He's more of a traditional kind of blue-collar, old-school point guard from the Chicago area. He actually plays A.A.U basketball with Davian Thompson. So he's really good, tough kid that I think would play well under Ben McCollum. I think he's kind of a Ben McCollum type guy. I got to see T.J. Jameson as well, a kid from Louisiana. I was a four-star. And he's kind of like, I guess I would describe him as Caden Daughtry Light,

kind of a scoring point guard finishes, really good leader. He's going to visit June 12th to the 14th, but he wants to take a bunch of visits. So I don't anticipate any news from him. But those are some of the guys, Jalen Davis, another kid, Antonio Pemberton, is another kid that they're involved with. So they've got lots of options. I think they'll get somebody on that list. I just don't know who it's going to be at this point.

Football question for me, Tom. We saw the leadership council came out. How rare is it to have two quarterbacks named? And then I'll assume that you saw the piece of on three, an anonymous Big Ten coach crapping on Hinklinsky. Yeah. I don't know what's behind that. Maybe he wants to, maybe he's going to face eye with this year

and hopes that his words will help Hank Brown get the job for whatever. But so how rare is it to have two quarterbacks on there? And if you had to, I've come full circle on this. I'm starting to think that maybe Hank Brown is the, at this point, leader in the clubhouse, if you will, as the starting quarterback job just because that Klinsky's a risk taker. You know how Kirk is. He wants the safe guy under there.

Your thoughts on those two, the leadership council. And do you think that there is a leader at this point? Yeah, I think that's probably like, is that the definition of what they're doing of hedging your bets? Yeah, right. Kind of get covered on both of them. Whoever wins is going to be on the leadership council, so you don't have to worry about one of them being left off. If you're starting quarterback left off, it probably is.

I still think right now it's Hank Brown, just based on how we know Kirk looked at the world. But it's close. It's extremely close. And I know the choice of the fans is probably Hicklandsky. Because of one pass. Yes. Yeah.

It's because one pass. It's truly. It is. Yeah. It's over one pass. But I think he's probably the fan favorite. Plus, you know, fans love the gunslinger. You throw a gun slinger with a man.

Like, I'm in. I'm in. You know, give me Kenny the snake stapler. Yeah. Give me the gunslinger. You know, give me Brett Farr, all those guys of the past. Give me Kyle McCannan, not Brad Banks. Yeah.

Yeah. That's KF. I mean, I mean, he's going to take the safe choice nine times out of ten. But, Hank Glensky can come in in fall camp and have less turnovers and not make mistakes and run the team officially and win the job. Very easily. That's how I see. I mean, he won the backup. job during a buy week.

You know, he took over as a second string quarterback after that Indiana game and had a great week and took care of his business. So it's there for him. You just got to go out and take it. I think it's a courting flip. Some breaking news from our buddy Chad Lysdikawa of the Des Moines Register. Michael Messlinsky has been granted his six years of eligibility and will be eligible for this upcoming season.

I think he'll be the guard starter for this Iowa team. He's just got to be healthy. and Tom, you remember his recruitment. And this is a kid that had a Texas offer coming out has just never been able to be healthy. He felt like he was going to be a four-year starter looking at his recruiting profile at center. But great to see him get an opportunity. And now guard, right? Yes.

Now just get some help for this guy. But pretty big news there for Kirk Farrants, who was a little bit annoyed a couple weeks ago when I talked to him over at the Polk County Eye Club that Chambliss had got his eligibility determined and they were still waiting on Ms. Linsky. he actually Mike actually confirmed it to me about 20 minutes ago um this he he posted something on social media one uh basically one last run and I responded to it and just said it looks like Mike got his got his extra year of eligibility and then he responded to me I did so it played out on social media that's awesome I'm happy for him um I did an interview with him last year and he chronicled all of the things that he went through in his career and you know basically gotten some really dark places and um and with the help of his brother and

coach Barnett kind of kept battling and kept fighting and um got healthy and so i'm just hoping that kid gets healthy and gets an opportunity this year heck yeah happy for my i love stories like that And he's a great kid. So hopefully it all works out. Tom Kakert, hawkeye report.com, joining us here. We're going to talk a little bit about Michael Mislinski coming back and getting that six-year of eligibility. But it means for the Iowa offensive line that's next, Lockdown Hawkeyes. Trent, kind of back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast.

Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So the news, Michael Miss Lindelens. gets that six year of eligibility, definitely solidifying the middle part of that offensive line. There's been some talk, you know, youngster maybe being in there. Some guys that definitely do not have experience, Michael Benslinski, obviously has been along with the program for a number of years, knows what it takes. And now it's going to be about health for him. If you like the left tackle spot, obviously Trevor Loughback for another season, he's going to have that. Then you have the center, Cade Piper.

He's going to be your center. Right tackle Jack Donsler, who fought for that. left tackle job and was splitting time early in the season before Lauka obviously ran out and got that one done. And you put Ms. Linsky in there at one of the guard spots. You're feeling incredibly good about the potential that he has, obviously an ability for him to put together a healthy season because when he's had opportunities, he's looked pretty good. And also forgot to mention, obviously, the other starter at the guard position. And what we've seen out of Layton Jones came in with the injuries last year, Bo Stevens, and didn't miss a beat. and some very high praise also from Coach Barnett about him.

So a very solid starting five now you feel Trent Wilson comes in. He'll be fighting for playing time. The transfer from James Madison. We've heard a lot of good things about Lucas Allgaier. So there's plenty of options there. Kail Winter, he potentially could be the center if it just doesn't exactly click for Kade Piper. And obviously you'd have an all Big Ten guard if that was the case with Piper,

bouncing back out from the middle position. Kaden Leonard, there's been some good talk about him. at the tackle position and then obviously the huge group of freshman offense alignment. That'll all likely redshirt this year. But you get Owen Linder and Gene Rairden and Carson Nielsen and Hudson Parliament. That group getting their feet wet. That's going to be a big one, absolutely. But big news, Michael Metzlinsky back for his final season.

And let's hope another feel good story for Iowa football. Feels good to be with you each and every day, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Lockdown Hawkeyes again. If you are an everyday listener and you want to listen to the show each and every day, completely ad-free. Join the Every Dare Club today. You can start your seven-day free trial right now and get closer to the Hawkeyes without any interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to lockdown hawkeyes.

Dot supercast.com. Hope you have a great weekend. We'll talk to you again on Monday. Until then, go Hawks.