Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Hawks show improvement despite big loss to Michigan State | Nick Kendell is back to talk about Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds

Episode Date: January 25, 2019

We've got to give you our breakdown of last night's disappointing loss to the Michigan State Spartans. Outside of the score, Iowa played a pretty solid basketball game throughout the night. Defensive energy was great and the big men were taking care of business down low. Unfortunately, a lack of fouls being called against Michigan State, some cold shooting by Iowa's guards, and Michigan State's hot start in the second half were enough to bring down Iowa at home. After covering that game we hop right back into our draft analysis with NFL Draft Analyst from 247sports Nick Kendell. On today's show we are giving the breakdown of the draft prospects for Outback Bowl MVP Nick Easley and interior offensive lineman Keegan Render and Ross Reynolds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. The Locked On Hawkeyes podcast is delivering you daily podcasts all about your favorite college team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. We are also one of the most recent additions to the Locked On Sports Network's growing lineup of college podcasts. I am your host, Andrew Wade, editor over at DearOldGold.com, where you can find analysis pieces on all things black and yellow. And we have a good episode for you today. We're continuing our discussion with Nick Kendall, NFL draft analyst, about some of the prospects of the Iowa Hawkeyes football team and where they may be able to go in the NFL draft in 2019.

But before we do that, on segment number one, we're actually going to be covering last night's disappointing game against Michigan State. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, Iowa lost to Michigan State. Tough game. Iowa was up for a while. Thought there was really a chance they were going to be able to pull off a big win against the number 16 of the nation. Obviously didn't turn out that way.

So we want to cover that on segment number one. And then finally, on segment two and three, we're going to be having our conversation with Nick Kendall about Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds, and where they may be able to go in the NFL draft and kind of what their hopes are for the NFL, right? Could they find their way on a practice squad? Could they find their way on an active roster? What type of talent do they bring to the NFL? So we'll be talking a lot about that just as we have the last couple days. If you haven't seen the last couple episodes or haven't listened to the last couple episodes,

make sure you're checking that out. We've had Nick Kendall on most of the week. We had him talking about Noah Fant and Anthony Nelson on Wednesday. Yesterday, we had him talking about TJ Hawkinson and Imani Hooker. Today, we have Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds. And we're going to continue this discussion throughout next week. We talked about every eligible Iowa Hawkeye, and we talked about some of the Iowa Hawkeyes who could be eligible next year

who may be going to the NFL Draft next year and what they need to do to improve their draft stock. So don't miss these episodes. It's a fantastic opportunity to kind of dive into the mind of an NFL Draft analyst who loves the Hawks but isn't biased to the Hawks. So you know what I'm saying? He obviously would love to see all these guys succeed, but he's not going to be biased as to, you know,

these guys are going to be great just because he's an Iowa fan. So again, fantastic stuff that you don't want to miss. Before I jump in, though, talking about the Iowa vs. Michigan State game, make sure you are subscribing to our podcast on Stitcher, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts at. And if you have a smart speaker at home, it's really easy to listen to the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. All you need to do is tell Siri, Google, or Alexa to play podcast Locked On Hawkeyes. It's that easy to listen to one of the most recent additions to the Locked On Sports Network's

growing lineup of college podcasts. Let's jump right into it though, since we have a pretty action-packed episode for you today on this Friday morning. The Michigan State vs. Iowa game. Now, I wanted to record this yesterday, but I just couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was a little bit tough for me. I was couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was a little bit tough for me. I was obviously upset.

I think it's easy to be upset about the game last night, especially because there were such high hopes as we were watching the game. I really felt like Iowa had a chance to really close it out. They had a chance to go on a run and solidify that win. Obviously, that's not how things fell, though. Iowa lost 82-67 despite possessing a 4-point lead going into the second half. And at one point, they were beating Michigan State 50-42. They had an 8-point lead in the second half.

However, Michigan State went on an absolutely incredible run. I believe it was a 24-2 run to turn their 8-point deficit into a 12, 13, 14-point lead against the Hawks. And there was just nothing Iowa could do about it. I think, obviously, on Twitter, people are really upset about the game and the outcome of it. But I think there's a lot of positives to take away from this game. I'm disappointed as well. I mean, that's why I didn't want to record yesterday. I didn't want to give any inappropriate live reactions to the game. These are just kids playing basketball,

so it's frustrating to watch. It's frustrating to watch the game go that way, but I think, again, there's a lot of positives to take away from this, and it's something that I wrote about on dearoldgold.com is just that this is a really interesting situation Iowa's in. Unlike 2016, where they were starting all seniors except for Peter Jock, this year, they have two juniors who are starting. And outside of that, they have a lot of potential. They have a lot of guys who are going to be sticking around. Tyler Cook may be going to the NBA, but I still haven't seen him on many draft stocks or many big boards. So, you know, there's an opportunity that they could have this team together next year, most of this team.

And also, clarification too, Isaiah Moss is also a junior, so they're starting three juniors. But either way, Tyler Cook's really the only one that I think could truly depart for the NBA. But if you see kind of how Luka Garza's playing, you know the guys that are coming up. Iowa has Patrick McCaffrey coming in. They already have Connery's doing really well. There's just a lot of young talent here. And so to be able to compete with a team like Michigan State is still impressive nonetheless. I mean, Michigan State, let's not take anything away from them.

This team is very talented. They're 18-2. They haven't lost a Big Ten game yet. They're number six in the nation for a reason. This is something they do to teams on a nightly basis. It's not just Iowa. And the fact that Iowa was winning for three-fourths of the game is pretty impressive. So again, let's not take that away from Michigan State. Let's also not take away what Iowa was doing all over the floor and on the night. The defensive energy was outstanding.

I mean, let's talk about the first five minutes. They led Michigan State into four turnovers on the first five possessions in the first couple minutes. Additionally, they were, the intensity on defense, I mean, you had guys diving all over the place. I mean, I remember there was one scrum where I think every single Hawk probably touched the ball trying to just get it, get that loose ball. There's a couple really good defensive plays.

I know Joe Wieskamp had a good opportunity where, I can't remember the offensive player on Michigan State, but he was down in the corner and Wieskamp read his eyes, jumped up, tipped the ball to himself and stole it. Luka Garza had a fantastic steal, just jumping right in front of the post player and stealing the ball and trying to run down the court. So I mean, there are a lot of really positive things I saw, especially on the defensive side of the ball from the Hawks last night that makes me excited about their potential in the NCAA tournament.

I do think a lot of fans are looking at this as, oh my gosh, this team's done. There's no way. I think they're absolutely right to an extent. A loss like this can be devastating, right? You don't want this kind of loss to play over into the game against Minnesota this weekend. You don't want this loss to play over into Michigan or going to Indiana in the next couple games. So they need to get back on the winning track. And I think Iowa has shown that they can do that. They got blown out by Michigan State last time.

They came back and beat Iowa State. So they've shown the ability to come back. I think it's really important that Fran delivers that message in that way to the Hawks because they can't afford to go and get their butts kicked over the next couple weeks. They're only putting themselves in a position where they're actually on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. This is still a very talented team that can do a lot of damage in the Big Ten. So just keep that in mind as you're looking at this game through unbiased lenses. On that, I thought a couple things were interesting.

And one of the things I actually posted on my personal Twitter, Wade underscore Andrew, is that I really felt like this game was a lot like the Iowa versus Wisconsin football game. A game where Iowa did all the right things and still managed to lose the game. Let's look at a couple of the things. They were winning the turnover battle 19-7. I honestly don't know the last time that was such a big margin for the Hawks. 19-7 is fantastic.

They also won the battle of the big men, 40-28. That's something that I talked about on Daryl Gold and we talked about on yesterday's podcast is that Iowa needed to win the battle down low, and they did. Unfortunately, what they didn't win was the area where Iowa always wins at, and that's fouls. And I think there's obviously some opinions on this. Fran had some very interesting comments to say.

I think some of the Iowa players had some very diplomatic responses, but let's call a spade a spade. Michigan State doesn't get the fouls that they should be getting called for. Iowa got creamed in the foul area, and it's not, you know, and this is the team that has led the nation in getting to the foul line. And against Michigan State both times, they have some of their lowest totals in terms of foul shots. And that's, I don't want to get into too much conspiracies

or what you have it, but Michigan State, somehow, some way, despite playing the way they play basketball, still doesn't get in foul trouble. It's interesting they're not getting those calls. Iowa, I thought, was still very aggressive. Fran said as much as well. He thought this team was, you know,

the Hawkeyes were very aggressive down low and still weren't getting the foul calls that they should have. I mean, I can just think of one example. Early in the first half, Ryan Creener was tangled up with Michigan State. Michigan State was one of the team who caused the initial foul. However, the refs instead called a double foul, including on Ryan Creener. So just stuff like that is a little bit ridiculous, but neither here nor there. In the NCAA tournament, that kind of stuff is going to get called. Also, it's tough to beat a team when you let them shoot 66.7% in the second half.

Iowa shot just 36%. And, you know, their guards, Wieskamp, Moss, Bohannon, combined for 10 points. So the battle of the big men was won by Iowa, but Iowa needed a lot more from their guard play. I mean, Bohannon looked pretty good early. I mean, he was missing a lot of deep shots, but they were going in and out of the rim. Towards the end of the game, though, it just basically started missing entirely.

So, unfortunate all around. I do think this team is very strong, but I do think there's a lot of positives you can take away from this game. Obviously frustrating for Iowa fans, but don't give up hope. You know, we still have an opportunity to play Michigan. We have a couple games here

that are going to be really important and crucial for the run. Iowa still needs to get that 20-win threshold. You beat Minnesota. You beat Indiana. I consider that a pretty solid four-game stretch for the Hawks. I mean, not a lot of teams can beat Michigan State or Michigan. So coming away, almost beating Michigan State, if you look at it from the first three-fourths of the game,

if they can play a strong game against Michigan, that's not a bad outcome. We'll talk a little bit more about Iowa basketball on Monday's episode. We're going to be covering the recap of Iowa versus Minnesota. We're likely not going to have a preview of Iowa versus Minnesota on the podcast, so make sure you're checking out Dear Old Gold, where you can get our full preview of what to expect for Iowa versus Minnesota. That being said, though, we do have a lot of stuff to talk about with Nick Kendall, and we have that coming up very soon. But before we talk about some of the draft prospects,

including Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds, I do have a message for you, the listener. Because if you're like me, you hate to miss your favorite team play, regardless of who they are playing. And that's where Sling TV comes in. Now I never have to miss a football or a basketball game. And the best part is, I no longer have to pay for a bunch of channels I don't even watch with a typical cable package. For just $30 a month, you get access

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And as I've been talking to you about, we're going to be having Nick Kendall come on for the next couple minutes to talk about Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds. So stay tuned. You do not want to miss this part of the conversation. And if you love these segments, let us know. Feel free to leave that as a review

in our iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify know. Feel free to leave that as a review in our iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify accounts. Feel free to tweet at us. Let us know what your thoughts are of the analysis, having Nick Kendall on and whatnot. If it's something you love, and I'm hoping you do, I think you will, then let us know. We would love to have Nick back on, and I think the support and messages from you

will only strengthen that as an approach going forward, especially as we get further into NFL draft season and covering some of the Iowa Hawkeyes who are looking at their potential NFL futures. So let's go right into it right now. Let's talk about Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds. So there's a big, I mean, a decent sized list of seniors. I think personally, and correct me if I'm wrong, a lot of these guys are going to be late day three draft picks, potentially priority undrafted free agents.

I think Iowa gets a lot of love in the later rounds and as undrafted free agents just because you get quality character guys, hardworking guys who are going to be in there who could be solid special teams performers. There's a large list of seniors who are draft eligible. I wanted to kind of run down the list. Or maybe if you want, do you want to just kind of give your top three seniors to look for?

Because I'm looking through the list. I'm thinking of Nick Easley, Keegan Render, Ross Reynolds, Matt Nelson, Parker Hesse, Sam Brinks, Jake Gervais, Jack Hockaday, who I don't think actually really has an NFL career. But he's a senior. I wanted to give him the love. And then Miguel Racino as probably just a training camp kicker to keep the starters legs a little bit fresh. So out of those guys, which ones would you kind of want to talk about?

Who do you think has kind of the best NFL prospects out of those guys? And then even if you don't choose Nick easily, we're going to have to talk about him just because being from Newton, I root for the kid, you know, know his brother really excited about just the fact that he made it to Iowa. So we're going to talk about him regardless, just as a forewarning. Totally fine. Yeah, no, I mean, we can talk about it. Let's just start with Nick Easley because we're going to talk about him. Perfect. So what are your thoughts on Nick Easley? I know

I even posed the question to you before Iowa season even began. And then I think we conveniently got a reply from his brother kind of posting some of his quick and quickness and speed you know drill times in iowa spring training or you know spring practices and they seem to be pretty pretty solid when i look at neek easily it's very easy to make a comparison that you're probably gonna either roll your eyes at but he fits a patriots wide receiver bill the short white quick um slot type of receiver the you know Wes Welker Julian Edelman type of guy who can um be sort of a kind of a running back in the sense you're going to get six seven yards you're going to be dependable and

catch that ball he's going to work hard he'll do whatever you need to on special teams what are your thoughts though am I even am I off base am I even close on that one? Obviously I know I'm extremely biased about him, so I could be completely off on that. No, I don't think you're wrong. I mean, the classic slot kind of wide receiver, the guy that's not going to really going to be pushing teams vertically, you know, you're not going to really win too many contested catch situations down the field that like a, say a Brandon Smith, and he's not going to be winning with pure speed like an imir smith merced but as far as a slot guy i think easily is going to find a niche is he going to be in the nfl maybe i think he will find his way on a practice squad i think he does offer that so that's that's an upside but at the very worst

he's going to be on a 90 man roster in the summer and get a chance to compete for the compete for a spot in the NFL I'm it's really too bad that the he's graduating this year because a lot of those intermediate over the middle kind of passes when you have guys like Noah Fant and TJ Hawkinson a lot of those passes are going to go there and rightfully so I mean those are day one NFL starters but easily man if he would have stuck around another year with these tight end, the tight end turnover, I could have seen his numbers just explode next season just because of a, the reliability factor with him and the familiarity factor with him and Stanley. As far as the NFL, I don't think he's going to be a guy.

I mean, he obviously didn't get a senior bull in by it, a shine bull in by that kind of thing. He probably won't be tested at the NFL combine. It'll be interesting to see what he does at the, the Iowa pro day. But I think that there'll be some teams that look into him. I mean, we're seeing more and more teams use more and more wide receiver packages in the NFL and the wide receivers are getting more specialized. You know, the X type is totally different than the Z is totally different than your slot. You have some guys who can do a little bit of both,

but still it's becoming more and more specialized with the skill set. So I think he's going to have a fit in the NFL. I'm going to be interested to see what he times. I remember his brother tagging us on Twitter with some numbers as far as 40 times and whatnot, which were rather eye-popping. I always want to see the electric standardized time before I trust anybody telling me what their time was. were rather eye-popping and you know i always want to see the the electric standardized time before i trust anybody telling me what their time was i mean i saw andy isabella today was saying he was saying he was running a 428 i'll believe it when i see it it's that kind of thing you know yep

absolutely yeah i know those numbers were both like wow those are those are pretty good uh those weren't bad at all but i know actually kind of funny you bring that up i was talking to i had troy hyde he's a reporter for the Newton Daily News on the podcast a couple days ago and he you know close with Easley's talks Nick's dad a little bit and it sounds like he's getting some calls from some NFL teams so

looks like they're already kind of looking into what he could potentially do for them and obviously we're going to be paying attention very close attention to the pro day and what he does there. So I'm hoping I can make it out there and get a chance to watch him. Yeah, no, I'm very excited to follow him going forward and he'll get a chance. That's the best I can say. He'll definitely get a chance.

I would not be shocked at all. If he was a priority undrafted free agent, you know, Philip Lindsay was this year. That doesn't mean he's a bad football player. It's just there's other needs, other baseline requirements that teams are looking for. How much is he going to offer in terms of special teams, et cetera, et cetera, that you're trying to fill out the roster there. But he's going to get a chance. It's too bad.

Like I said, it's too bad that he's graduating this year instead of next year, because there would have been a real chance for his niche to really be more showcased next year, given the, the Iowa's transitioning, they're going to have to transition their offensive scheme a little bit extra as far as a passing game. Yeah. I mean, they're, they're basically at the rile on Amir Smith, Marced and Brandon Smith. It'll be their time to shine at this point. And yeah, I mean, for, for a guy who walked on to Iowa as a JUCO All-American,

I think getting a shot in the NFL is pretty fantastic. So let's move on to Keegan Render and then Ross Reynolds. What are your thoughts on two first-year starters? They've obviously gotten some time on the line before that, but this is really their first years of full-time starting as Iowa linemen. Didn't get senior bowl invites as well. Didn't get shrine game invites. So not a lot of buzz around them, but they're Iowa offensive linemen.

And I think personally that has a lot of pull with NFL teams just because they're getting coached by Kirk and Brian, two of probably the best offensive linemen coaches in the NCAA coming from a school that's known for producing some of that solid talent. And then even this year we've seen Austin Blythe, who was an undrafted free agent, or I want to say maybe drafted in the seventh round by the Colts. I can't remember which one it was, but now he's performing pretty darn well for the Rams. So what are your thoughts on those two guys and what their NFL prospects are like?

All right, can you repeat that one more time? I got a text message, my bad. No worries at all. Yeah. So just talking about Keegan Render and Ross Reynolds kind of what are your thoughts for those two guys, especially considering the fact that they're coming from a school that is known for producing quality offensive linemen. And even if they aren't the most physically gifted, they are probably some of the most technically sound offensive linemen

considering they've been coached up by the Kirk and Brian parents. Yeah. Again, same boat as easily guys that are going to get a chance to make a roster. I wouldn't be surprised actually if one or two of those guys ended up being selected. I do think that they like many interior offensive linemen for the Hawkeyes are a little bit scheme dependent. I mean, these are guys that they're smaller, they're quicker where they're, I mean, obviously are guys that they're smaller, they're quicker,

where they're, I mean, obviously Iowa runs so much zone stretch and inside zone that that's just how they build their offensive linemen. So that limits them to what types of teams can take them. I mean, you saw Austin Blythe go from the Rams, or not the Rams, the Colts, who are now definitely a power scheme, a gap-blocking scheme, to the Rams, who are zone stretch. I mean, hopefully Brian Francis has taken someams who are zone zone stretch i mean hopefully brian francis taking some notes is what the zone stretch offense could be because the rams are have

perfected that i mean how many zone stretches and the play actions off of that that's that's what the hawkeye should be doing granted when you got wide receivers like robert woods and brandon cooks that that makes a difference but uh yeah no i think those are guys, they have upside as far as the blocking, but with how Iowa's offensive line this year struggled to really get a push up front, I do worry about their limitations when they go one-on-one to be able to uproot and move a guy when needed. You know, the defensive line or defensive linemen are getting bigger, faster, stronger every single week, every single year, it seems like. I mean, it's going to get worse this year because this might be one of the best defensive line classes in a long time. So there

are some questions about their upside and their schematic versatility, but given their, I mean, especially Keegan Remender, a guy who's played center, which Iowa puts a lot on those centers plates. And also the success of James Daniels, who's played center for Iowa in the NFL already. And Keegan Render and Ross Reynolds, there'll be some demand for them. Will they get drafted late sixth round, seventh round, undrafted free agent type, I would guess, just because the upside isn't tremendous. But again, you're getting a high floor. You're getting a guy who's going to come in he's going to pick up the scheme pretty quickly especially if you're running his own blocking scheme and he's been doing it you have to do it at iowa so those are guys i could see getting a chance there and

i wouldn't be surprised if both of them were kicked around on some practice squads for a little bit you know those kind of guys because they're valuable there you got to have those bodies yeah like the james ferens type the kind of guy who's just been bouncing around he heck kicked around on some practice squads for a little bit, you know, those kinds of guys, cause they're valuable there. You got to have those bodies. Yeah. Like the James Ferens type, the kind of guy who's just been bouncing around. He, heck, he got a Superbowl ring with the Broncos now he's on the Patriots. So pretty, pretty cool stuff. The one thing you mentioned that I wanted to bring up is, you know,

getting pushed around and not, not getting that big push on the line. And I think we saw that against Mississippi state against some very NFL caliber type of defensive linemen they destroyed Iowa up the middle a few times Iowa I believe had negative 15 yards rushing or negative 11 yards rushing the offensive line could not do anything against them and it was it was not just edge pressure it was right up the middle I mean Nate Stanley God bless his soul was able to hang in the pocket and did a pretty solid job considering the amount of pressure that was in his face on a consistent basis. So, I mean,

you saw a very good example of them going up against NFL talent and not really, you know, performing at a very high level, but I think it, you know, that is really good comparison about just the idea of being able to get on a practice squad and kind of bounce around a little bit. Yeah, that's probably their upside. So, I mean, probably where they'll start at. But that being said, they went up against Mississippi State. Jeffrey Simmons is a top 10 level talent in the upcoming draft, and it showed.

So, not a surprise. He was insane. And that'll conclude our conversation with Nick Kendall for today. As we talked about, make sure you're checking out the last two episodes where we talked about Noah Fant and Anthony Nelson on Wednesday. We also talked about TJ Hawkinson and Imani Hooker on yesterday's show. We still have plenty of other players to cover. We got to Nick Easley, Keegan Render, and Ross Reynolds for today.

We still have Matt Nelson, Parker Hesse, AJ Epinesa, Nate Stanley, those type of guys coming up. We're going to be talking about, obviously, the seniors who are eligible for the draft this year. And like I said, Stanley and Epineza are guys who could be potentially going in the NFL draft next year. Stanley's definitely going to be there. Epineza likely will be there considering he's a top 15 prospect already just from a pass rushing standpoint. So make sure you're tuning in to our Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday episodes where we will cover that information in addition to giving you the recaps of all the other Iowa Hawkeye athletics that have taken place. Obviously a big game on Sunday for the men's

basketball team. They're taking on Minnesota on the road. A big game in the sense of they need to get back on the winning track. They can't let this loss to the Michigan State Spartans turn into a four-game losing streak. That puts them at 16-7. They need to win this loss to the Michigan State Spartans turn into a four-game losing streak that puts them at 16-7. They need to win these games that are winnable, like the Minnesota game, so they can get to that 20-win threshold and be NCAA tournament bound. If you like what we're giving you in terms of the NFL Draft, if you like some of these episodes, let us know though. We would love to hear from you. You can either tweet at us at LockedOnIowa. You can tweet at me at Wade underscore Andrew. You can email us at LockedOnHawkeyes at gmail.com.

Or what we'd really prefer is to provide a fantastic review and a comment on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify, or really wherever you get your podcasts at. Give us a review. And while you're at it, subscribe to our podcast. That'll give you every single episode that we give you on a daily basis. That means on our Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday episodes, when those are recorded and submitted, those will get downloaded to your phone for your listening pleasure. That way you don't have to miss out on any of this fantastic draft analysis from Nick Kendall.

With that though, we are going to close out the show. Thank you again for all your love and support. I appreciate you all who are listening to our podcast on a daily basis, and that support is allowing us to give you even better content in the coming days, weeks, and months. We're excited to have you on here. We're excited that you're tuning in to the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast,

and we promise to continue to give you fantastic stuff that you're going to love to listen to on your daily commutes, on your daily walks, wherever it may be that you listen to your podcast at. That being said, though, have a fantastic day, wherever it may be that you listen to your podcast at. That being said, though, have a fantastic day, Hawkeye Nation. Have a great weekend as well, and we'll be back on Monday.