Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Hawkeye Highlights: Key Takeaways from Big Ten Media Days 2024 with Tom Kakert
Episode Date: July 27, 2024Welcome to the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast, your daily dive into all things Iowa Hawkeyes! I'm your host, Trent Condon, and today we’re breaking down the latest from Big Ten Football Media Days with ...special guest Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report.Join us as we analyze the pressing issues for the Hawkeyes, including the concerns surrounding defensive line depth, why the offensive line might be poised for a breakout season, and the potential excitement surrounding wide receiver Jarriet Buie. We’ll also discuss the standout moments from Media Days featuring Quinn Schulte, Luke Lachey, and Jay Higgins. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just curious about the upcoming season, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.Tune in and get ready for a season of Hawkeye football!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM and add a big win to your summer bucket list!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)
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The biggest takeaways from Big Ten football media days,
what you need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes with the man that was there,
Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report today, Locked on Hawkeye.
You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day.
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Tom Kakert from HawkeyeReport.com joins us.
Tom, Indianapolis, another one in the books.
Football season in the air.
We're getting closer and closer.
Appreciate it as always.
How was Indianapolis for you, Tom?
Indy's always nice. I mean, it's a great town. It's so easy
to get around in Indy. But, you know,
three days of the Big Ten is just, I mean, it's the SEC, the same thing.
Three days of SEC. Just, it doesn't,
you know, I'm old enough to remember when it was just a two-day event
and everybody talked on this one, and then we had the round tables, the next with the players.
And that was it.
I had a luncheon in Chicago.
And that was it.
And now those days are long, long gone.
You know, I remember the first time I went to Media Days probably, I don't know, almost 15 years ago, I guess it is now.
And sitting at a table inside, what was the McCormick place?
I think maybe it was at that time.
And just sitting at a table, going up and talking to Joe Paterno.
I mean, it was very intimate, very familiar.
And yeah, we're talking about a different era.
We're talking about a different time.
I think Nebraska was just getting ready to join or just joined whatever it was.
But a completely different environment.
With 18 teams, it's more difficult.
You're putting it on the big stage.
You're putting it on the field in Indianapolis.
But those moments are gone.
And for somebody like you that just covers Iowa football,
is there anything that you really get out of anything else
outside of maybe what Tony Battini, the commissioner, has to say?
Yeah, that's why I just kind of limited myself to one day.
I'm like, well, what am I going to do on these other days?
Am I going to go talk to Jed Fish about playing in Iowa?
Is that really going to be interesting?
Is it worth spending another extra night at a hotel to do that?
I don't think so.
So it's, you know, back in the day that would have been something to
talk about you know you bounce around table to table talking to you know guys like joe paterno
or whoever and now you just yeah it's just it's different it's lost come kind of kind of some of
the the fun of it that you know john bonenkamp and I were talking as we were leaving. I remember those days
in Chicago. We're at the
Fugitive Hotel, as we call
it, the Hilton where the
end of the Fugitive was shot.
And
walking out of there with those
duffel bags full of
media guides. Now we don't even get
a media guide. We don't get any media guides
now. Everything's online. It's a sign guide. We don't get any media guides now.
Everything's online. It's a sign of the times. It really is, and a really good point of just how different things are, how different we are when we're talking about this. Yeah, very interesting,
Tom. Tom Kickert, HawkeyeReport.com, joining us here. You got to stop at the Beef House,
though. Is that the picture that I saw? That was, yeah, John and I stopped at the beef house on the way back, so
got that in, got the rolls,
little steak, little potato.
Yeah, it was delicious, as
always. Yeah, exactly what you're looking for.
No doubt about it. All right, Tom, let's
get into what we learned, and the
depth chart comes out. We overreact, as we always
do to the depth chart, and I'm okay with
that. I like to overreact to the depth chart.
It's one of those other checkpoints of the season for me
that I absolutely enjoy.
A couple of things that I thought jumped off.
Three wide receivers listed,
and all the defensive linemen that are listed.
I want to go this direction with you with that defensive line.
I've told you before, this is my biggest concern.
If this defense is not going to play at an elite level,
it's because of the lack of depth of defensive line.
2005, expectations.
They were really young up front on the defensive line,
and they struggled that season.
2010, the lack of depth there.
That has been the reason many times that Iowa seasons have disappointed.
Are there any youngsters, guys that aren't even listed in that two deep?
That freshman class of defensive linemen,
I'm excited about all four of those guys.
Is there anybody that can help
right away, though?
There's nobody on that group that
I don't think can
help right away. I think those guys
all got to fill out
a little bit.
I had Kelvin Bell on our podcast
a little
while ago, and we talked
about that.
He's comfortable if it's only you know six guys that you trust but I talked to Kirk about it in Indianapolis
and he was like it's one of the things we've got to do in campus we got to develop some
depth but you like the top four I mean mean, those guys, you know, two starters back,
plus Graves and Hercut, both solid players.
But, you know, when Jeremiah Pittman was in there last year,
it wasn't great.
You know, he struggled.
So he's got to take a leap,
and that's just your third guy at defensive tackle.
And that's just your third guy at defensive tackle.
I think Max Llewellyn is really solid as a third defensive end.
I really do.
I think he's got a potential.
Maybe the lead, I went sacks this year.
This thing, I think he's pretty good.
Brian Allen, ton of potential, but it's a consistency.
If he can get the consistency down, defensive end is solved. But they've got to, in my opinion, they've got to find another defensive tackle.
Now Jeff Bowie is listed as the backup to Graves.
And then after that, it's Will Herbert, a walk-on,
and Luke Gaffney, another walk-on from Linmar.
So they've got to find some
help. I think they would have loved to have went in the portal and
maybe got a Jack Heflin kind of addition
for that defensive tackle position. As you saw,
as the portal developed this year, boy, the defensive
line, the defensive line,
the defensive tackles were just like the great white Buffalo.
They were, I mean, I think, I think the kid ended up at USC or Oregon.
Maybe it was Oregon kid.
It was just like fairly average kid from Wyoming.
Yep.
I remember that. He ended up getting, man, he ended up getting almost like a million dollars.
You know, just an average guy that just tells you how high the demand was for that position difficult for iowa to swim in those waters and though they're in good shape compared to a lot
of programs out there they're not at a level that they can pay a million dollars for a backup
defensive tackle and uh that certainly looks to be the case there. Another component that I wanted to get into,
you mentioned Brian Allen.
We saw him two springs ago, looked good.
Last spring, looked good.
Last kid's day, looked really good.
So what's keeping him off the field
when we see him in these practices?
At minimum, a guy that can get to the quarterback.
Why didn't we see more reps out of him at least a year ago?
Yeah, it's the consistency factor.
That's what Kelvin Bell will tell you, that he's just got to –
can't just do it in flashes, can't just do it on game day.
You've got to do it in practice to show him that you can do it in practice too.
And once he gets that consistency and that light bulb comes on,
I think he's – and I think that's going to happen this year.
I really do. and seeing that light bulb comes on, I think he's, and I think that's going to happen this year.
I really do. And we may see him, because they kind of tinkered with this a little bit
from time to time, where they move him when they go to that Raider package
or the Rush package, they move him down to defensive tackle.
And maybe that's a place where you can maneuver him down that way
and see what he can do that he could potentially
kind of float between the two positions to give them a little added depth at both spots.
Like to see that. Speaking of depth at the offensive line position, let's go to the other
side. They feel good about seven guys. I've got this question, Tom. I'm sure you have as well.
Why is it going to be different with this offensive line? They've been around for a long time. They all got a lot of starts between
them. We see seven guys with starting experience. Why is this year going to be a big jump forward
when we just haven't seen it throughout the course of all these guys' career?
And it's a totally fair question, and I think it has to do with health
more than anything else, because the second half of last year
mason richmond was not healthy and he was not moving well at all and and you know he was still
out there playing and and bless him for going out there and doing it but he probably shouldn't have
been playing yeah um somebody should probably sat him down he just wasn't moving well bo stevens
i mean i think he had three different injuries last year.
One in camp, and then in the Northwestern game, he got hurt again.
Logan Jones was banged up.
Dunker, at the end of the year, was banged up.
Had his shoulder worked on after the year.
Really, the only guy that was healthy out of that starting group was Connor Colby.
And so all those guys are healthy
right now. And if they can stay healthy, then the feeling is that that group can really excel
if they're healthy and they've got two quality backup Salisbury, uh, I thought did a terrific
job at center when it was called upon and, upon and has done a great job at guard too.
And he can switch between those two positions and Nick beyond garden tackle. I mean, he's
serviceable, but Kirk said he wants more depth at that, those positions. So, and I think
what he was talking about there was developing guys like Trevor Lauk, who's listed as a backup
right tackle right now. And Cade Pieper, uh, who's listed as a backup right tackle right now, and Cade Pieper, who's listed as a backup guard.
And I think he's high on both those guys,
but he wants to get to the position where he can play those guys
and feel comfortable about it.
Right now, he just feels comfortable with seven.
And they need guys like Trevor Lauk to hit
because you look at what's happened over the last half decade,
the David Davidoffs of the world, the guys that they thought were going to be impactful,
not just players, impactful tackles.
And it hasn't been there.
And Caden Proctor, obviously not being here.
And there's a long list now of the reasons I think that this offensive line has struggled
recruiting misses injuries and just missing out on some prospects that they normally got
in the past, I think has led to kind of where they are right now.
Hey, Tom, another direction for you.
Mentioned the three wide receivers listed, had some fun with that after the depth chart
came out on Wednesday, going through just the names.
But I think maybe something that we should have maybe caught on to a week ago is when
you guys had the opportunity to talk to some of the players and they had Jared Bowie that
was out there talking to you guys.
And then he shows up as the third starting wide receiver on the depth chart comes out here.
We got Tim Lester.
Has he got a little crush on Bowie?
It feels like maybe we got a chance for a wide receiver to actually pop here.
Yeah, he has done well.
And I know they're very high on him.
Kirk was very high on him at media day this past week.
Just think he's got a chance to be really good.
The other development I thought at wide receiver was, and not a surprise to our Washington
junior jumping in and now list as a full-time wide receiver. He could still kind of find
his way to the backfield at times, but I think he's going to be a guy who's spending most of his time at the slot uh and
you know i think louie's going to probably start the opener with with caleb brown yeah i'd be him
and seth anderson i would imagine get the get the start and maybe they come out in three wide and
it's uh it's washington or somebody like that but uh the other guy to watch her, I know had a really good spring and I know that,
um, uh, Tim Lester is really high on is, uh, Caden Witchen is, is, um, just, he, Lester
just loves the guy just catches everything and good route runner.
Um, you know, I know that one excite Iowa fans a whole lot, but, uh, you know, it's
the Nick Easley story all over again, or Riley McCarron or somebody like that.
Yeah. But he's, Hey,
there's one guy who can catch the ball and get downfield.
We're coming up with Tom Caker from Hawkeye report.com.
As we deep dive into football media days,
and there is a lot to get into Luke Lachey was there. Jay Higgins was there.
Hawk, Hawk, Hawk, Hawk.
He was there with Jay
Higgins and we also saw from
Quinn Schulte. We'll get some thoughts on those guys
and their appearance at Big Ten football media
days. A football heavy Friday.
Ooh, I love a football Friday. We continue
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Bowie, take us back to his recruitment.
I mean, what was it?
I think Boston College and South Florida were kind of his other major offers.
We're not talking about a big-time prospect here.
Can you kind of remember the recruiting profile and Iowa position that's difficult to recruit?
These are the kind of guys that they probably have to go after.
Yeah, Dan was an NFL guy, too,
and you thought maybe we'd get some more attention there, and he just never did.
But I think he just liked what he saw from Iowa, liked the opportunity to come in and play wide receiver.
And they've been raving about it ever since he got on campus that he was just kind of different.
on campus that he was just kind of different.
He was really solid and able to make plays and just kind of took to it naturally.
And it's interesting, Dayton Howard's kind of moving up there a little bit.
We haven't seen much from Alex Moda.
Every time I see Alex Moda, he's in a walking boot.
So you wonder if he's just been kind of cursed early in his career with the injury bug.
Because seriously, every time I've seen him, he's been in a walking boot of some sort.
And it's just it's frustrating because you'd like to see that kid get out there and see what he can do.
Let's jump to the three players that were in Indianapolis with you, Tom.
Jay Higgins, Luke Lachey and Quinn Schulte. Higgins, Lachey, returning for the second year
in a row to media days. And let's start with Quinn Schulte. Maybe your top takeaway talking
with him, the quarterback of the defense. We know how important that free
safety position is in the Iowa scheme and what they have to do with the defensive backfield.
Phil Parker puts a lot of trust in that free safety, and Quinn Schulte's done
a nice job throughout his career.
He has.
And the affection that guys like tells you just how much,
how good Quinn Schulte is because Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson essentially
kind of said they weren't going to come back unless Quinn Schulte was coming
back because they just rely on him so much because he makes sure they're in the
right spot so they can go make a play. And, um, he is the essentially the quarterback of the defense
and makes everything go and makes all the right calls. And, uh, there's a funny story that Kirk
shared about Quinn where, uh, for like the first two years or so, Phil didn't even say his name or anything.
And that's how you could kind of tell that he really liked him because he was
kind of ignoring him.
It's like junior high.
Yeah.
He just liked pretending that he doesn't, doesn't like him,
but he knew he liked him because he wasn't talking about him and he just
wanted to keep it to himself.
So yeah, and he just wanted to keep it to himself. So, yeah, Quincy's a really solid, solid football player.
Luke Lachey, back for the second year.
Honors are going to come his way and anticipate with a healthy season.
One thing, listening to Luke a little bit in a couple of the snippets that I saw,
that injury that he sustained, yeah, it looked gross on the field,
but we've seen guys bounce back.
I think that was much more significant
than was kind of let on, at least in our circles.
Yeah, it was.
And here's the interesting thing,
because he didn't have a great spring.
And he was coming back from a very serious ankle injury.
I mean, it was bad.
It was grotesque.. It was grotesque.
The injury was grotesque.
And, you know, he was having a tough time kind of just feeling normal.
And it was showing up.
And, you know, the coaches were a little concerned about it.
But just in June, he kind of had a breakthrough.
And it's just one of those moments
where it just kind of started feeling right again. And he started moving the way he was,
he was used to moving. And, um, and that's massive for the Iowa offense, because now you've got
a fully healthy Luke O'Shea, not a limited Luke O'Shea to go with Addison Strangun. We saw what he could do last year. I think
Zach Ortworth is going to be pretty good too.
They've got him on the rise.
It's good options for Iowa at tight end
to go with the wide receivers and then some of
the running backs they're going to throw to this year.
Were you there by Jay Higgins when he came up to ask Kirk a question
when he was on that side panel?
I was. I was. It was funny. It was so funny.
He had literally, before Jay had walked up there,
he had just spent like two minutes just praising the heck out of Jay Higgins.
Oh, yeah.
I looked over and then Jay was walking over and I was like,
oh, he's going to ask him a question.
A good time there.
Jay Higgins, dad kind of gets the headlines.
I mean, hawk, hawk, hawk, hawk, hawk, hawk. How many hawks are going at this point?
I don't know, but he is just one of a kind.
He loves the Hawkeyes.
He obviously loves his son.
That was pretty fun to see.
Jay Higgins, though, because of his dad.
I mean, in a way he's almost overshadowed at times, but just a good dude.
And for me, he's one of the embodiments of Iowa football.
Saw him a little bit at times early in his career.
He just kind of looked like a guy, right?
He's going to be an average linebacker.
He waited his turn.
He waited for Campbell to move on to the NFL and then just absolutely hits the ground running. That shows me, I mean,
this is one of those backbone kind of guys in your football program, Jay Higgins,
at the Mount Rushmore, if you will, of guys that stick it out and see what
happens if you do it the right way. Yeah, because I kind of thought he'd
just be a guy that would start for one year and have an okay
year and just be moving guy that start for one year and have, you know, okay. You're moving on.
And way exceeded my expectations.
And that's a credit to Jay,
but also credit to Seth Wallace who coaches that position group to get him
ready. And, and Seth would tell you that, you know, he was like, Hey,
Jay's really good. Jay's going to be good. Just watch. He's,
he's ready to go.
And, you know, as that season went on,
you could just see the chemistry grow between Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson back there.
It was kind of choppy out of the gate a little bit,
especially for Nick.
But by the end of the year,
they were just clicking on all cylinders,
and that's a good sign for this year. And I think they've got... The other thing that's
been remarkable to me, besides all the running backs staying, is all the
linebackers staying. I mean, with Jaden Harrell and Carson Shire
and guys like that are sticking around and not complaining
about, oh, why are these six-year guys sticking around
here?
I think that tells you about the chemistry of the team.
Does. It says a lot.
Another angle to go with you, haven't got to defensive backfield,
Jon Nestor listed as a starter.
For the people that say, well, you know, he's incumbent,
nobody ever loses their job in Iowa football. Here's Dushan Lee, who was thrust into a difficult spot last year,
goes in there at the beginning of the year for Jamari Harris
during the suspension for sports wagering.
Then at the end of the year for Cooper DeGene,
started a lot of games, did a lot of good things for him a year ago.
But here's Jon Nestor listed as a starter.
Yeah, and I've been singing Jon Nestor's praises for a while.
So I'm patting myself on the back with this one
because you just could see it coming.
He's like a Phil Parker kind of guy.
Coaches kid, but just makes all the smart plays.
You know, just kind of hyper, but in a good way
and high energy.
And I'm anxious to see him out there.
I think Jamari and Sean Lee is going to be an interesting battle.
You know, you got Castro, too, at the cash.
I mean, just how good he was the second half of the year.
I mean, and Phil will even tell you that he's not Bob Sanders,
but he's the first guy that kind of makes you think about Bob Sanders in a while,
just the way he was playing with kind kind of the straight line speed and the
way he was just coming like a freight train downhill.
I keep an eye out too on Cohen and Tringer.
Now a little bit of a knee issue after the season,
but that's a guy that's on the rise.
And,
and Phil's been singing the praises of Zach Lutmer who backs up Quinn
Schulte.
So the,
that defensive backfield got some talent.
Even after next year when guys like Schulte and Harris are going to be gone,
there's still a bevy of talent back there on the back end of the Iowa defense.
So a question.
Tom Kaker, HawkeyeReport.com.
We're going to continue our conversation to wrap things up.
There's just so much football.
We just continue on and on and on.
Love the football talk with Tom Caker.
And we got a little bit more for you as we roll through on a football Friday.
Miller and Condon, 106.3 KXNO is where this was first heard, my radio show.
And we're bringing it to you here as well on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.
Back more with Tom Caker in a moment. heard my radio show and we're bringing it to you here as well on the lockdown Hawkeyes podcast back
more with Tom Caker in a moment look I love sports I think you know this at this time and I love them
so much I just I never want them to stop playoffs have finished up we got the spring and summer
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as we continue the conversation with Tom Cankert from HawkeyeReport.com.
Question for you here.
If there's an injury in the defensive backfield
and obviously if Castro's hurt, who would go to cash?
If a safety's hurt, we'd anticipate Castro would go back probably
to one of the safety positions and they'd slide that way.
Nestor was listed as the backup there.
Would that just, it's simply Nestor would move to cash
and then probably Deshaun Lee or TJ Hall then would come in at cornerback.
Is that the simplest equation if there is an injury in that defensive backfield?
Yeah, I would guess so.
I would guess so. I would guess so.
That would be what I would anticipate.
I'm not...
I'm going to have Phil on our podcast
on Monday.
But I want to ask him about Cohen Entringer too
because maybe he gets a look
at the quarterback.
Just to get him on the field, you've got to figure out
a way to get him on the field and maybe he's going figure out a way to get him on the field, and maybe
he's going to get a look there because
they're just super high on the kid
and the way he plays and the athleticism he has.
Finally for you,
the quarterback position. I think
some people were surprised by Brendan Sullivan being
listed third, not the backup. Remember,
he hasn't practiced. It shouldn't be a
surprise for that one.
Listening to Kirk, though, this isn't going to be a quarterback competition, right?
Cade McNamara is healthy.
His understanding of the offense, from what I have heard,
the gap between Cade as a thrower and Sullivan as a thrower
is pretty significant right now.
This is Cade McNamara's job.
It's Cade's job.
And I suspect that Sullivan's going to end up being the backup.
You know,
I think my nets will fight him for it,
but I think Sullivan ends up being the number two guy.
And,
and the thing that Cade will tell you is you guys haven't seen me fully
healthy.
Even last year when he was playing,
it wasn't fully healthy.
You know, he had the quad injury
in camp and even in those practice sessions we really wasn't letting it go the whole whole way
so now he feels like uh kate mcnamara of uh the the team that led michigan um you know to this
college football playoff so we'll get a look at that and see what he looks like and just keep him
healthy. Cause that's, if this offense can get from being, you know,
130th in the country or whatever it was, 131, like 80.
Oh boy.
It's a world of difference with this defense provided that line can,
you know, the thing to watch.
Last year, remember, they were having a tough time getting the quarterback early in the year.
Like, first four games, I don't think they had a sack.
And Phil had to dial up some more blitzes.
So, and they generated some more pressure.
So I'm curious to see if he ends up doing that this year, too.
Tom, going to be a fun season. Expectations are high and I think they're just going to continue
to grow as we make our way through August. Next time we'll have you on.
It will be August in football season around the corner, two weeks away
from Iowa Football Media Day over in Iowa City. Tom, we'll see you over there and
appreciate your time as always. Thank you. Absolutely. Thanks, Trent.
Tom Kakert, HawkeyeReport.com, part of the On3 Network,
and appreciate him jumping aboard with us here today.
Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.
We will be back with you over the weekend, a bonus episode,
another conversation with one of the beat writers, David Eicholdt,
had an opportunity to catch up with him.
We'll come back into your feed over the weekend.
A couple more to go as we set our sails for next week.
And yes, at the end of the week,
we'll be flipping that calendar to August.
Can't wait for that.
We'll talk to you then and talk to you over the weekend.
Locked on Hawkeyes.
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to you again soon. Go Hawks.