Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - How Iowa Hoops' injuries could impact their Big Ten start & Cade McNamara's reception on Senior Day

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

Can the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team maintain their momentum despite mounting injuries? As the Iowa Hawkeyes gear up for a crucial matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, fans are buzzing with anticipation. This episode dives into the latest Iowa basketball triumphs, spotlighting standout performances from players like Josh Dix and Brock Harding, while addressing injury concerns for Cooper Koch and Seydou Traore. The discussion shifts to the football field, where quarterback Jackson Stratton's confidence and Drew Stevens' potential game-winning kick are hot topics. Guest Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report offers insider insights on the team's strategies and challenges. With the cold weather looming, how will the Hawkeyes adapt to secure victory? Tune in for an engaging analysis of Iowa's path to success and discover what lies ahead for the Hawkeyes in both basketball and football.Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondonLISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyesFor your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.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. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.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)

Iowa hoops goes over 100 for the first time this year, but injury concerns starting to pile up for the Hawkeyes. Plus, we talk Black Friday as Iowa prepares for Nebraska at Kinnick Stadium. What kind of reception are we going to see for Cade McNamara? All 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. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button as we try to get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. You can kick off the basketball season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers, place a $5 bet.

You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. So we start today with some basketball. Yes, we got football to get into. We're going to be talking a little bit about the Black Friday matchup and some potential spots where Iowa very well could have an advantage in the matchup against Nebraska. We'll also be joined by Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report, his thoughts on Iowa basketball and football. But a look back at what we saw on the hardwood Tuesday night

as Iowa gets the win for the first time this season, going over 100 points in the dominating win against USC Upstate. Yeah, it was as ugly as you would anticipate. And this was men amongst boys. Just a dominating performance out of the Hawkeyes as they get the win, 110-77. Iowa jumps out to a 14-0 lead. They were doing it again with injury.

So we find out before the game that Cooper Koch, the talented freshman, was not going to be able to make it a go. Also, Evan Bronze, backup big man, he was out of the game. So you're starting with a couple of big guys down. All right, a little bit of concern there. Iowa goes with the same starting five. Josh Dix back in the lineup. Peyton Sanford still out there playing with his bad wrist.

Overall, though, both those guys played relatively well. Sanford didn't shoot it a whole lot. In fact, just seven field goal attempts, two of seven from the floor in the game, missed his only three-pointer. I think there was a concerted effort. Hey, let's dribble it a little bit more. Josh Dix, though, he got going.

Great to see and definitely needed to see that out of the struggles we've seen recently from Josh Dix dealing with that wrist injury. 14 points for him, 20 points out of Brock Harding. Maybe his most complete game in a Hawkeye uniform. He did it against USC Upstate. And we know Brock Harding can do it against these type of opponents. This has never been a question for him and what he's able to do against overmatch opponents. The question is always with him against more physical teams,

more defensive presence, what he's going to be able to do. Still, he continues to knock down shots at a high level. And if he can knock down shots from the outside, that is going to change because the quickness is there. He's not a great finisher because he's not a big guy and certainly against some of the bigs that he's going to see across the Big Ten landscape. But 20 points, 10 assists, four steals in the game. That was another eye-opener. Drew Thelwell also with four steals in the game. That was another eye-opener. Drew Thelwell also with four steals

in the game. Look, if their backcourt is able to produce like that, 35 points, 13 assists, and eight steals, that's something. Now, again, opponent, you have to put that caveat in there when you're talking about that. This is not a good team. This is a dreadful team, and of these bye games, this is one of the worst. Now, Iowa had a hand in that, no doubt. Iowa overall for the game shoots 60% from the floor, 12 to 26 from behind the three-point arc. The Cooper-Kotch injury, though, it looks like that is going to be maybe something pretty substantial.

This is just unverified rumors, but people are saying maybe a shoulder injury. Didn't sound like a knee or anything like that. I did see a shoulder injury at least was sound like a knee or anything like that. I did see a shoulder injury, at least was mentioned out there, the possibility of that. And then say to Traore, he goes down with an ankle injury and that was a bad turned ankle.

That was not just one, you know, a little tweak. That thing was significant. Hoping for no break, no structural damage in there. But that kind of ankle turn, when you're talking about that significant, that's not, hey, let's hope he's ready next Tuesday

against Northwestern. We're likely talking weeks before he's going to be able to get out there if it turns out to be as bad as it looked in the instance when he's turned his ankle. So the injuries are piling up, and this is a team that's played a bunch of guys. Freya mentioned after the game,

you know, he's happy with 13, right? He's happy with the 13 guys that they can play out there riley mulvey gave them minutes this was an outmatched opponent as an opponent that is very small but the dominating performance still riley movie he still shows me that there's something there not a ton but something there good to see chris tajo also out there he knocks down a three-pointer he knocks down a couple of free throws. He scores five points in the game. Tajoh maybe gets going a little bit too quick, but you can see the athleticism and certainly the skill set

that made him a prospect that a lot of people liked coming out of the academy that he played with. It was a get-right game, but the injuries are going to be the big one. Here's the biggest thing. They got a week off. Don't play again until next Tuesday in the Big Ten opener against Northwestern. There's no such thing as a must win in December.

It feels like a must win in December, though. Michigan on the road after that, then the matchup against Iowa State on December 12th. Iowa has to get a win. And not only that, Iowa has struggled so much in these games. We mentioned the number. Every day, as you know,

the number two and 11 for Anne McCaffrey in early Big Ten games since they started this a little less than a decade ago. He has struggled mightily. And not just losses. Losses to some of the worst teams that they have faced. One of the worst Wisconsin teams. They took an L there. Just at the times that they can't afford to dig a hole,

they always are digging a hole. And in this year's Big Ten, as stacked as it is in terms of the width of it, it's not a conference that's going to have likely a Final Four team, a national championship team, but there are realistically 14, 15 teams that feel like they can be an NCAA tournament team this year. And it's not a stretch for any of them.

It is going to be a conference where every win is going to matter. The difference between being like a 12 seed in the Big Ten tournament and a 6 seed very well could come down to a game. You have to win home games against teams like Northwestern to move yourself up in the pecking order. Brayen, unfortunately, has struggled in these games. Get healthy, get right, and get a win.

We'll talk a little more Iowa basketball. Tom Kuecher, he was at Carver Hockey Arena for the matchup against USC Upstate, and he'll be there next week for the matchup against Northwestern. Plus, a lot of Iowa football. What kind of reception is Cade McNamara going to get? An absolutely crazy thought.

When Spencer Petras hung it up and moved on to think that his legacy is going to be better than Cade McNamara. Yet here we are. Cade McNamara is going to be amongst the seniors going through it. Black Friday. We talk Iowa football. Black Friday matchup against Nebraska with Tom Kakert. We continue.

This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Get ready to tackle NFL action all season long with FanDuel. It's America's number one sportsbook because right now new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. The FanDuel Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So you get a hunch in the middle of the game.

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an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Let's talk Hawks. Tom Kakert, HawkeyeReport.com. He joins as part of On3 Media. Hello, Tom Kakert. Happy Thanksgiving.com. Uh, he joins as part of on three media. Hello, Tom Caker. Happy Thanksgiving. How are you, Tom?

Yeah. Happy Thanksgiving to you guys and all your listeners. So I guess we should start with the basketball, uh, from last night. Not that the game was worth a damn, but other than the fact that just Traore, any update,

boy, it looked bad, Tom. It really did, uh, that they rolled completely over. Um, I'm,

I would be shocked if he's's if he's good to go next week any updates when will we hear um you know i was off for a week so i don't think we're gonna we won't get fran until next week so i i don't think we're gonna get any updates and um i think supercotch is gonna be out for a while okay so So I think that's going to be, I guess what I would call probably longer term. I don't know the specifics, but I just know that it's going to be. Did it happen in the Utah State game or when did it happen? No, I don't think so. Okay.

I think it may be in practice, but I'm not sure. I don't think so. I think it may be in practice, but I'm not sure. They're being very quiet about it, but it's just, what I was told was it's going to sideline him for a significant amount of time. So it's not a knee injury or anything like that either. So it's something else. So I don't know. But anyway, he's going to be out.

And, boy, honestly, the way that Traore rolled that, I just think in like three, four weeks, probably. That looked bad. Significant. And we know that Fran McCaffrey in these games has struggled. These early Big Ten Conference games, 2-11 all time in these games, taking out the weird 2020 season. So this is a spot they struggle.

And you can't afford a home loss against an average, maybe a tick below average Northwestern team. You can't afford that. With this 20-game slate, you have to get off to a 1-0 start. Fran historically, though, has struggled. Pretty concerning going into next Tuesday. Yeah, and that three-game stretch, because I feel like they've got to go 2-3 in that stretch.

I really do. And because two of the games are home. So you would think that they could get a couple wins. But, you know, Iowa State's good. But, you know, it's not like... I don't know that Iowa State's good, but, you know, it's not like, I don't know that Iowa State's a world leader. I know some Cyclone folks might disagree with me, but I just think they're a very good team,

but I think they're also a very beatable team, especially on the road. So, you know, they've got to figure out how to win two or three on that stretch. Yeah, going to be tough, but I don't disagree with your premise. So let's get to Black Friday, 6.30, going to be a little chill in the air. No doubt about that. So the Big Ten Network, did you see their tweet from within the last half hour sometime? So this is what this Nebraska-Iowa game in the last six matchups, 2018 walk-off field goal, 2019 walk-off field goal,

2020 game-sealing strip sack, 21 game-sealing INT, 22 game-sealing INT, last year walk-off field goal. It is unbelievable how close these two teams seem to play each other, and it's always, in the last six years, come down to the final seconds, Tom Kakert. Does it again on Friday night? I think so. I think it's prime to just do the same thing. And the amazing thing is, although one of those, Iowa has won.

That's the even more amazing thing. They just have found a way to win those games. And Nebraska, particularly I think of the 21 game, finds ways to collapse and lose games. And I just suspect that this one's, you know, my prediction is 17-14, Iowa wins. But I just don't think there's going to be a heck of a lot of offense. I think they'll be two pretty good fired-up defenses on a cold day, and it's just going to be tough to move the ball in the air. One of the things that Sean Callahan, who runs our Nebraska site,

told me is he's not sure Dylan Riala has ever played in a cold environment. And how's he going to handle that? And will he just behave like Patrick Mahomes does in cold environments? I don't know. He mimics everything that Patrick Mahomes does. I wonder if that's what he'll just do, is just behave like Mahomes. Who knows?

It looks like he's adding a couple extra layers to get ready for this cold weather, and that's something different than Mahomes, the way he is around the middle. Speaking of quarterbacks, let's go to Iowa quarterbacks. Jackson Stratton is the guy. He'll get the start. However, Kirk pushed back when the question was asked

about Sullivan, who's back practicing the question was asked about Sullivan, who's back practicing, red zone package, things like that. The intention, at least he says, is Jackson Stratton from start to finish. Do you believe that? If Sullivan's good enough to go, that they're going to completely go away from that red zone package that has been so good throughout the course of the season? The $64,000 question is,

while Sully is back at practice, is he good enough and ready enough to play and be used in the game? And that's going to be the big question. I would think they would kind of look to potentially use him simply because they're going to have, you know, a month at least off and he could get healed up in that period of time. Uh, if he reoccurs with the, an ankle injury, that, um, is what he, they said he has. Cade McNamara is back at practice, too.

I do not anticipate him taking a snap. Just don't. Just don't think he's going to take a snap. He's been away enough. There's no way he could be up to speed where I would feel comfortable putting him out there. But he's going to be in uniform. I would assume on, on, uh,

on Friday night and we'll see what that reception looks like. And, and Jamari Harris is not going to be in uniform, but he'll be there for, for senior day. So, um, we'll see what that reception looks like. I think I'd be a little more forgiving for one than the other. But, yeah, it's just the drama never ends, folks. Hey, how did Ferentz phrase it? Because we figured out Matt Campbell.

Practicing or his back at practice are entirely different when it comes to Matt Campbell. If he's back at practice, entirely different when it comes to Matt Campbell. If he's back at practice, he's not playing. How did Ferentz phrase it? I think he said they were practicing. Practicing. Okay.

Yeah. I think he's the, or the, I can't remember exactly how, but I understand they've been out there practicing. So that's what I've been told is both guys are doing things. Now, I don't know what doing things means, but they're at least active. And, you know, Kirk joking that Max White's now not the backup.

I mean, last week, the backup quarterback was Mark Olenez, who had a freaking cast on his hands. Yes. His left hand. I saw your picture. Yes. I left hand. I saw your picture. Yes. I was just like, this is incredible. I can't believe this is a backup quarterback. But he couldn't take snaps under center.

He had to take them shotgun. That's incredible. That's where we are. That's where we are. You know, I saw this tweet on Saturday, and looking to what it's going to be on Black Friday, Cade McNamara is going to have his name called. If you would have told me Spencer Petras was going to have a better Iowa

legacy than what we saw 23 months ago after the commitment of Cade McNamara, you'd been called crazy. Spencer Petras got a nice ovation on senior day. I don't think the Cade McNamara is going to. I don't think he is either. I just, boy, never seen somebody burn through the currency of goodwill quicker than Cade McNamara has in the last year. But, yeah, he is not, I wouldn't say public enemy, number one, but he's just not left a good taste in the mouths of Iowa fans.

And not just fans, Tom, to be fair. Not just fans. Is that fair to say? Yeah, I think that's probably fair. Football office personnel trenches. Is that what you're saying? I'm leaning that direction. Yeah, I would think that there's, you know,

I don't suspect that Cade's going to be with them for the bowl game, but who knows? Yeah, I'd be shocked. We'll see. Jackson Stratton will be. What does Lester – I mean, he spoke glowingly about him after the UCLA game. He did.

I look forward to working with him. What did he see in the Maryland game that gives him hope that this guy is at least a factor, not only this year, not saying he's going to be the starter next year, but certainly something to work with next year. I'll tell you who thinks they might be the starter next year, Jackson Stratton. Yeah, does he?

Confident young man. Good for him. He is very confident in his abilities. I was struck by that. You know, he was sort of aw shucks kind of in the moment after UCLA, but boy, this week he was like, yeah, I feel like I could, I should be starting. And he's just, you know, Shaggy is ready to go.

I mean, he is, he is not lacking confidence. The thing that Tim Lester loves about him is his arm strength. He has got the best arm strength on the team. Just does. He can make throws that nobody else can make with velocity. The big thing that he did is, in talking to some of the guys on the team who were on the offensive huddles, he was just really calm in the huddle. Just ran things, made them get up there on time and ran the plays on time.

And then when he had to throw the ball, he made those throws. There weren't any adventures. And the one play got blown up where he was kind of trying to roll out, and they just picked it apart and got him and sacked him. But other than that, he didn't really have any negative plays. Tom, you love stories. You write stories at HawkeyeReport.com. We love telling stories.

I think this would be a great full-circle moment for Drew Stevens after being benched a year ago, not getting the opportunity for the game winner. His meter even on the roster. That was his eligibility. That was it. He just could come in, hang out, and I was saved first.

Saved the best for last. And in his only kick, he knocks it in. I think Drew Stevens hits a walk-off. How about 1917, down by a point, walk-off winner. Iowa does it again. What a story. And Drew Stevens to bounce back because it was never a physical thing. It was a mental thing.

Not easy to do for a character. Yeah, it's not. And that was the first time he's really kind of had one of those experiences and he had to learn. And frankly, he was pretty cocky and he had to humble himself a little bit. And, and, uh, I think he's done that. And, um, you know, a little dose of failure and adversity has made him better. And he was terrific at Maryland. He even had a tackle. And in the postgame, that was the thing he was most proud of,

was his tackle. Because he had a tackle. I can't remember who it was against the year before. And he said he didn't do very well. And this time, that was really a good one. He got the guy pretty good and knocked him out of bounds. So good for Drew. And yeah, I think he's going to win the game for him.

I really do. I think, boy, he's hit that 54 yarder. Unbelievable. Plenty of distance. 70. That was 70. Well up the net. He did have a nice breeze behind him.

I will say that. He just crushed it. He walloped it. Especially from last year. Iowa lost a five-star kicker. Rumor is Michigan bought a five-star kicker that was committed to Iowa. Trent, nice start of the week. I threw this at Trent.

Will Drew Stevens have a decision to make after this year? I don't think so. I think he'll just stick around and continue on. It'll be interesting to see what Iowa does. There's a Bettendorf kicker that hit a 56-yarder this

year that's got big legs. They've started following on social media. The other thought I had was, um, Drew Stevens brothers up at like, I think that's the SU and he's a kicker and maybe, you know, they get interested in him.

Um, you know, he's, I don't think he's as good as Drew, but he's, you know, by trade, they know what they're getting with him.

So, um, I, I, maybe he's a possibility. I don't know. They're going to probably try and get somebody in the pipeline. But, yeah, Michigan picking up the number one recruit in the country

and now the number one kicker. Larry Ellison spreading money everywhere in Dayton, Fort Knox. Drink up, Hawkeye fans. Buy that Iowa Swarm beer. Good stuff. Hey, Tom, happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. We appreciate what you do for

us. Really do. We'll talk to you next Friday. Thank you, Tom. Absolutely. Thanks, guys, and happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Tom Kakert, HawkeyeReport.com.

Joining us, always appreciate our conversation with Tom. Getting you ready for Black Friday against Nebraska. Let's talk a little bit about the game, what we're actually going to see on the field, the players that are going to be on the field. We'll talk about that as we continue.

Take it in at Thanksgiving. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Trent Conner back with you one final time on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So we're going to come to you tomorrow with a little what to be thankful for. If you have any things that you are thankful for in the world of Hawkeyes, hit us up on social media. On X, you can find us at Trent Condon or at Lockdown Iowa.

Over on Blue Sky, you can find us over there, wherever you may be. We also got a Facebook page. Looking to start to build that thing up in 2025 as we make our way through the holidays and look forward. Then on Friday, I will be joined by Mitch Sherman from Locked On Nebraska. I've known Mitch for a very long time. He's now running things over on the Nebraska side of things. He's a longtime writer with The Athletic.

He's been all over the place covering Nebraska. And he's one of the good ones for Nebraska. We'll have a good conversation and get you ready. Leading into the 6.30 kickoff at Kinnick Stadium. So a couple of things. I do wonder, Tom just mentioned it, about Rayola playing in the elements in the environment. It's not for everybody. Now, you can say the same, admittedly, for Jackson Stratton.

So the California kid hasn't exactly gone through a lot of cold weather games. He was at Colorado State, didn't play a ton out there with Colorado State. But overall, I think both sides, that's something to keep an eye on because there are just certain quarterbacks. You can see they're not comfortable in the conditions. You hope that Jackson Stratton will be able to sling it through the air. Not going to be a concern. And another thing, you know, the weather is going to be cold, but by the time we get into the evening,

there's going to be some wind on Friday during the day, but it looks like that's going to be died down by the time the sun sets. Probably not going to have to worry about a whole lot of wind. It's going to be chilly, going to be cold. Put on those layers, have the receivers get the gloves. I mean, all those different things, but that's a component. I do want to see both these quarterbacks, though, and how they go in the elements. And for all the good vibes that Nebraska went through, finally getting bowl eligible this

week, I do believe this gives Iowa a pretty big advantage. Yeah, they're coming in with confidence. They don't have the lingering doubt. Iowa a year ago going through and leaving them disappointed the way that it ended. The Hawkeye players, as they were coming off the field, he had that component as well as they were telling them to enjoy their holidays at home. That may be a little extra motivation still. We've seen this game historically just

coming down to the wire and how Iowa seemingly almost every single time has been able to find a way to get the victory. So you got that component on top of it. I think there's an advantage for Iowa because this is a short week. There's going to be a quick turnaround for Nebraska. And yes, both teams are going through that. Iowa has the travel element coming back from Maryland. Nebraska is home now traveling over to Iowa City. I think those little advantages are going Iowa's way, and how great would it seem to see Caleb Johnson be able to go out a big winner, and we've seen Nebraska come into the pass with some pretty good rush defenses, and Iowa's been able to find cracks in them and be able to get it. It's a formidable front. They're going to be playing without Jennings Dunker again.

It'll be Nick DeYoung out at the right tackle position. Still, we've seen Caleb Johnson, and this is going to be another one for him to put on that NFL film. All right, you've done it a couple of times. You've done it throughout the course of this season. Did it early in your career. How do you do in the elements? And if you've got a team, cold weather team, that's looking to draft you. They look at this game, and what are they going to see for Caleb Johnson? Another one. I said it with Tom. I think Iowa wins this game. I think they find a way to find another pullout late victory and how cool it would be if Drew

Stevens is the one that gets it done. But we'll talk more about that on Friday's show with Drew Stevens. What to be thankful for. That will be your Thanksgiving show. Enjoy Thanksgiving. Enjoy all the mashed potatoes. Yes, mashed potatoes is number one. Turkey's not, turkey's fine.

Mashed potatoes are number one. Miss Grandma's mashed potatoes and gravy, not with us anymore, but always my favorite of this time of year. It's a great time. Football feast. Get ready for it. Enjoy it. Enjoy your friends.

Enjoy your family. If you're enjoying a Wednesday night, blackout night before we get to Black Friday, be responsible with that one. And thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody out there. And we'll talk to you again tomorrow.