Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: 2025 recruiting, another Epenesa, Quarterback Transfer Shopping

Starting point is 00:00:00 The transfer portal is closed, but that doesn't mean we don't have Iowa football to talk about. How is Iowa going to find a quarterback? We'll break it down. Plus, a look at 2025 and the first commitment for 2026 for Iowa football. All today, Locked on Hawkeyes. You are Locked on Hawkeyes. Your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:33 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 find us on YouTube. Make sure you hit the subscribe button while you're there. It helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:00:52 Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 with any winning $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn to get started. Well, it's that time once again to talk recruiting. And when we do, we welcome in our recruiting analyst here on LockedOn. He is Brian Smith. Brian, as always, good catching up with you.

Starting point is 00:01:16 Good to see that face again. How are things down in Florida? Doing well, man. Everything's going well. Just getting ready with May evaluation period just starting. Big tournaments going on. There's plenty of recruiting going on. And, of course, the portal. Everybody's waiting to see how that shakes out with it just closing. So we have that going on. There might be a name or two that trickles out here.

Starting point is 00:01:37 Maybe in the next day that entered and it's still waiting for the paperwork to go through. But for the most part, it's finished. And here in Iowa, what we're looking at more than anything is a backup quarterback. The injury history of Cade McNamara comes into last season, gets injured during August camp. The one open practice we get, we see him go down to the ground

Starting point is 00:01:56 and had a pretty substantial quad injury that had him limited even when he was playing. Then in game number five against Michigan State, he tears the ACL. Had a knee injury the year previous in Michigan that saw his season come to a close. So this is a guy with a lot of miles on him. Not much tread left on that tire. Deacon Hill departs.

Starting point is 00:02:13 Marco Lioness certainly doesn't look like he's ready as a thrower to be a quarterback. The other guy that's on scholarship isn't even here yet. And that's James Rezar, a guy that you saw a ton down there. And you've told us before, probably a long ways to go for him to be ready to play, certainly at a Power Five Conference level at the quarterback spot. So at minimum, I would need some backup. I maintain they need somebody to push McNamara. Feelings aside, you got to bring in somebody that's going to be able to compete. And if he doesn't win the job, somebody that's going to be there, at least be a competent backup to Cade McNamara. The problem is I've been looking through it. There is nobody out there. I want to start right there.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Your quarterbacks, it feels like they kind of know where they're going before they even enter the portal. At least a lot of the guys, there's those winking and nod deals that are already there. The no contact order that some people put when they go into the portal with those things, Brian, let's just go right there first, you just the limited number of quarterbacks that are still in the portal, and it certainly feels lower than I thought it would be here during the spring period. The number is not necessarily the issue. It's like a lot of them were very low-ranked kids, walk-ons, FCS kids that think they can play at Iowa, and they can't. Let's be honest.

Starting point is 00:03:28 It's the hardest position that I know of in sport. There just aren't going to be a lot of them. And when you're trying to sell Iowa's recent offense, it's probably not the easiest thing to do anyway. So, I mean, Ferentz is a great coach and all that, but you got to have somebody be a trigger man. And you made a great point. The tread's been pretty thin from what I can tell.

Starting point is 00:03:48 McNair's a good player, but do you really trust somebody that's constantly hurt? The answer is no, but they might just be in a spot where they are where they are because you don't just take a guy that is holding a clipboard and give him a, I mean, either you could throw or you can't. And then he's also, he misses spring ball coming. I mean, that is could throw or you can't. And then he's also, he misses spring ball.

Starting point is 00:04:06 I mean, that is not friendly. So they're probably going to end up trying to take a D3 kid that's got big upside or something would be my guess. Because I don't know of a quarterback out there they'd be like, oh, yeah, that's a good fit. Let's just take it. Because most kids, either they're going to start or not going there. That's the other problem. So there was a really good one most kids, either they're going to start or not going there. That's the other problem.

Starting point is 00:04:25 So there was a really good one. Like, even if there was one, would he come to compete or would he come into a situation he knows, barring something unforeseen, he's going to be the guy. So Iowa is behind the eight ball in multiple different ways, and it's just the nature of it. Because a lot of schools are similar to Iowa. There's only a few quarterback depth charts in college football

Starting point is 00:04:42 that are worth a darn because kids will not wait. They just won't. So I don't know if you can do anything about it, Trent, but I'm sure the staff in Iowa City is trying. So you just kind of have to wait and see how it goes. Right now I wouldn't have warm and fuzzies, though. Yeah, it definitely is a scary situation. If McNamara's healthy all season long, I mean, you feel good at minimum about that.

Starting point is 00:05:04 A guy that obviously can pick up the new offensive scheme of Tim Lester. It's not going to be any concern there. If the health is there, you're fine. But the realistic scenario is quarterbacks get injured, and it happens a lot. And with an offensive line that returns a lot of guys, but certainly has not been very good the last couple of years, that's a concerning part along with it. The portal recruiting just as a whole here this spring.

Starting point is 00:05:27 Iowa, not heavily involved. They were two years ago, bringing in McNamara and Nick Jackson for Virginia and a bunch of dudes that season. We just don't have the scholarships this year. What has changed this spring? It's been kind of full recruiting. It feels like everybody's got a wish list, but is it better to make less quality in their division?

Starting point is 00:05:51 Sometimes it's better with less than more. I talked about this on a couple other podcasts. Iowa's not going to be the upfront NIL school. Most of the schools that win big, though, are not. There's more culture there at Iowa. I think it's pretty safe. Iowa's culture is good. Anybody disputes that, they probably don't know what they're talking about.

Starting point is 00:06:11 I think they're just being selective with numbers, and I think they're kind of happy with their roster in general, minus maybe a couple spots. Like, you're not going to replace a certain corner that just went in the second round. He was a great player. You're not going to replace a certain corner that just went in the second round. He was a great player. You're not going to replace that. And there were very few corners. But I don't think it's surprising that they went this way because from looking

Starting point is 00:06:34 at it, from talking to a few people, different staffs, different recruiting guys, there are only a handful of schools that really just went all in. And it's because they got like a fifth-year senior that might be an nfl guy or like ohio state their fan base so mad michigan won it they've spent like 30 million dollars allegedly on the portal like if they don't win it this year and i don't think they will because i don't think they got the quarterback to do it you know that's going to be hell to pay for that is that fair no but it's ohio state's fan which is a cult so i i think that's part of it.

Starting point is 00:07:06 Iowa fans are a little more realistic, and I think it's basic. And Gartner's staff are too. They're going to take kids that fit them. They don't find the exact right fits. They're just going to develop, and they do as good a job of it as any school in the country, in my opinion. So I'm not too worried about how much they're using the portal. That part, I would trust that staff very, very much.

Starting point is 00:07:26 It's funny you bring up Ohio State. I heard an interview with Brad Heinrichs, a guy from your deck of the woods down there in Florida that runs our collective here for the University of Iowa for the Swarm, is what it's called. He mentioned in an interview yesterday that what he has heard, the Ohio State quarterback room is getting more money than the whole Iowa roster from their collective.

Starting point is 00:07:47 And that just shows you, and we're talking about completely different levels here. That's their choice. It's an open market, and there is no cap. And even if there was, you couldn't, you can't police it. So they're mad Michigan won it. It's the beginning and end of conversation. And I got news for them based on me seeing their spring game. Ohio State is not winning it.

Starting point is 00:08:07 They don't have a starting quarterback that's ready. The kid from Kansas State's good. He ain't going to win your national title. Well, Will Howard making his way there. And I really liked Will Howard. I thought he had kind of a disappointing year this past season for Kansas State. You know, we're at the crossroads here with Big 10 and Big 12 with Iowa State and Iowa.

Starting point is 00:08:23 I watched a lot of K-State football a year ago and certainly left me disappointed, and I think I'd go the same direction as you. Well, let's get into the recruiting. We're joined by Brian Smith, our scout here for Locked On. You can find him on Twitter at FBScout underscore Florida. Brian, we're going to talk about the first commitment of 2026 for Iowa, an in-state kid that had some big-time offers already just as a sophomore in high school. Plus, some of the prospects in 2025.

Starting point is 00:08:48 And I've got to ask you a punter question. This is an Iowa podcast, by the way, so we have to do that. I think we're contractually obligated to do that. We'll do that as we continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by Monopoly Go all right game off we got to pause here to talk more about Monopoly Go I know what you're saying flag on the play Condon you already talked about that but there's just so much good stuff in this game

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Starting point is 00:10:18 We're talking recruiting. Before we get into the guys we're going to see committing here probably in the coming weeks and months, let's talk about Iowa's first commitment for the class of 2025. Nielsen, who's from Waterloo West, a young man that, boy, watching a little bit of tape of him at the high school level, talking to a couple of coaches here, just a sophomore. He's big, all right, but it's not just a big dude. This guy can move. It's not very often that you get Penn State and Tennessee offering sophomores from the state of Iowa.

Starting point is 00:10:47 That's the case there. Locking a kid up like that, it's incredibly important, obviously, for Iowa. And to get that to kick off your 2026 class, pretty good start there. It's ironic. The state of Iowa always seems to have at least one good lineman in each class. Obviously, Brooks, this kid we'll talk about in a minute, it's in the current class, but every year there's a guy that, you know, go down and play for Texas A&M or Georgia or Florida State or whatever.

Starting point is 00:11:13 And this is the guy. Watching his film, the only thing, you know, his stance is a little unusual, but hands are good. He gets out in space. He's very aggressive. He's got wide shoulders. He's a kid that can wait 320 and play tackle for the Hawks. So, yeah, I think Iowa fans should be excited.

Starting point is 00:11:30 It's hard to get tackles to begin with. And if there's one in your own state, it's really important that you get them because not only does it hurt to lose them, but you're probably going to play against them at some point. Yeah, absolutely. To see him, yeah, being at Penn State, that would have been a difficult one to swallow. And it feels like talking to some of the family connections and things, this is not a Caden Proctor situation. This is a kid that grew up in Iowa fan. His dream was to be

Starting point is 00:11:56 a Hawkeye. It feels like that this is one of those commitments and none of them are solid, but it feels pretty good on that front. That's an important part too. Certainly when you're that first guy in the class, Brian, you've seen it happen a ton where that guy becomes a recruiter in his own right. If you get an elite player in state, any school, that's going to help you because everybody knows who that young man is. Nielsen's a really good football player. He's ranked by everybody. That's a guy that you're probably going to have the opportunity to bring him to campus numerous times. He doesn't live that far away. He can help you with every kid they bring in on an unofficial or official visit for two years.

Starting point is 00:12:31 That's going to pay benefits. It's just the way it is. So I don't know how much the kids are personable and go out on Twitter and post things and all that. But at the very least, he can help on campus. So that's a bonus for the Hawkeyes. that but at the very least he can help on campus so that's a that's a bonus for the hawkeyes you mentioned nick brooks the class of 2025 as we shift over to the upcoming uh recruiting class and uh nick brooks was committed to iowa alabama georgia involved then all of a sudden he's taking a visit to texas tech yeah you can understand a and m you can understand texas why is he going

Starting point is 00:12:59 to texas tech apparently some kind of connection there regardless of that he's decommitted from iowa i was still involved in him what do you you look at Nick Brooks just as a prospect, though? What do you see from the big man? He's a pretty good athlete for his size. He needs to reshape his body. He is just massive. I'd imagine he'll be a right tackle at the college level, but I think the height and the length is what everybody sees. He's going to streamline his body. He'll get him in shape, but he can't teach the length, man. They're looking for those long arms, and he's got them. I've stood next to him before.

Starting point is 00:13:31 That's a massive human being. I think that he just needs refinement. His technique is very far away from playing at the major level of college football, but you can't pass up. I mean, look at the schools recruiting. There's a reason. The frame is what you're looking for. And he's definitely got that. He'll play coming up this next fall. This will be his final season at Cedar Rapids Kennedy with the Cougars over just north of

Starting point is 00:13:55 Iowa City, about a half hour away. All right, let's continue. Class of 2025. Now, this one's a little interesting, and Brian, I'll fill you in with a little background information. So Mason Woods, really talented athlete, multi-sport athlete. His dad is LeVar Woods, the special teams coordinator at Iowa. There's some speculation here. So this offseason, I don't know if you saw it, one of the coaches became the assistant head coach. That is Seth Wallace, great recruiter in his own right and a very good linebackers coach. Some people believe that maybe LeVar was passed over for that job or thought maybe he would be the guy that got that title as assistant head coach to Kirk Ferentz and with it maybe becomes

Starting point is 00:14:33 the heir apparent when Kirk decides to hang it up. And then LeVar, he actually interviewed for the special teams coordinator job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So could that be a reason that we haven't seen a commitment for Mason Woods? Like his dad played at Iowa, his dad's coached at Iowa for a decade now. You think this is a slam dunk and it hasn't happened. Am I connecting some dots that make sense from obviously some things that you've seen in the past in recruiting? I think a lot of coaches, not just this young man, but a lot of coaches just want to coach in the NFL if they can, because of the portal stuff and all that. So any guy, I don't care how much they are attracted to a school because it's the alma mater, it's where they've lived, whatever.

Starting point is 00:15:13 NFL is an easier gig now. And it pays more. I mean, I have not met a single college coach that likes the portal or NIL. Not one. So it's a problem. Like college coaching is getting bad because it's more money in the NFL anyway, but now it's more convenient. Like you kind of know your schedule, you know where you're going to be. You can see your family more. So if he took off, I think I would look at it from that perspective first. But if he thinks he got passed over, then that's another story. I do know multiple coaches

Starting point is 00:15:46 that thought they got passed over and they moved on. This is not just an Iowa thing, but schools around the country over the last 25 years. So that's part of it too. But maybe he does want to be the Iowa guy. Maybe the offer they would make him would be something else. There's all kinds of titles and different ways to do it. When Kirk hangs Kirk hangs it up and I assume it'd be this year or next, I mean, it'd be pretty soon, I would assume, but they got to have something kind of ready, at least as an option. And he would be one. So if they let him walk out the door, that's a whole nother can of worms. I'm sure we'll talk about then, but it may happen. Two guys in the class of 2025 from the state of Illinois. Now, here's one that everybody knows, certainly the last name, Epinesa.

Starting point is 00:16:29 This is Jose, who is a really talented guy in his own right. So we saw AJ have a great career at Iowa, go on and has played well in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Younger brother, the middle son, if you will, he walked on here, just doesn't have the same frame as the other two, which is kind of crazy. The run of the litter, I guess, if you will, for him. And he's a walk-on here. And here comes Yose. Now, carve your own path. We hear that from time to time. His dad played at Iowa. Hayden Fry called him Repeat. His name was Epinesa Epinesa. A huge Hawkeye fan,

Starting point is 00:17:00 still wears his Tiger Hots. You see him on Twitter twitter all the time he's always out there doing his thing you'll say i've heard miami is uh maybe if there is a second choice after i after i well miami would be the one first let's talk about him as a prospect and we'll kind of get into the recruiting side of jose epinesa he could probably play multiple spots depends on how big he wants to get but for his length and like you, he's different than the middle brother. He's got the natural size you want with the length. Can play probably either D-end spot, at least initially, could grow into a strong side end and at least a situational interior pass rusher. But the arm length, the ability to get off the snap, all those things,

Starting point is 00:17:41 you say, okay, I can see why he's A.J.'s brother. So, yeah, Miami wants that kid. And they recruit D-line as hard as any school in the country, and it's for a reason. They're not going to random spots in Illinois just for fun. You know what I mean? Like, they don't have to. They're in Florida.

Starting point is 00:17:57 So that should also give credence to why this young man is so heavily coveted because he's in the middle of nowhere, Illinois, and he's getting this. So what would he be if he lived in Orlando or if he lived in Houston or something? So yeah, it's a great prospect. One more from the state of Illinois. It's a wide receiver atop, I think, I can think it was maybe on three has him as a top 250 player. And that is Terrence Smith. I was involved. Now his offer list doesn't exactly marry with some of the recruiting rankings. What can you tell us about Terrence Smith? He's a, I guess, kind of an under the radar guy that at least one of the recruiting services really likes. Well, I mean, it's interesting because

Starting point is 00:18:35 I thought his film was pretty good. And I looked at his list of offers and stuff like that. And I'm like, well, I'm not sure what the deal is here. You know, I agree that it's not necessarily a quote unquote match, but he can run and he can change directions and he'll make some plays that are 50, 50 kind of deals and has a sense of the sideline and all that. He's got some instinct. I think he's better than what the offer list is for whatever that's worth. Now I watching highlights is not the same.

Starting point is 00:19:02 And maybe his grades aren't good or something. I don't know, but I thought he was pretty good And maybe his grades aren't good or something. I don't know. But I thought he was pretty good. Yeah. This just in, Iowa needs receivers. Yes. Breaking news. So there's plenty of playing time available for this young man

Starting point is 00:19:16 if he goes to Iowa City. Yeah, no doubt about it. All right, finally for you, one look we've taken a peek at of most of the 2024 kids. One that we haven't talked about. I don't know how much film you get from Australia, we've taken a peek at most of the 2024 kids. One that we haven't talked about, I don't know how much film you get from Australia, but Rhys Dakin. He's the heir apparent now to Tory Taylor. As we saw him go to the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Another guy from the Kicking Academy over there in Australia. Kind of hearing a few things from

Starting point is 00:19:39 Dakin, it's funny. They basically told him, you're going to Iowa. And the kicking camp over there also said, we're going to take our the kicking camp over there also said we're going to take our best prospect and after what happened with Tori Taylor we're going to send him to Iowa because they punted a whole lot and he got a full chance to show kind of your full repertoire so it sounds like from the outside this is the best of the group coming over from Australia at this point in time that's exciting uh he was here for the spring game. He was bombing some absolute monsters, had a 70-yard punt into a little bit of a breeze, had some beauties. And though he's not at the same stage, obviously, as Torrey Taylor in terms of pinning guys inside the five, I heard a lot of

Starting point is 00:20:16 good things about his ability to also do the directional kick. It's important for Iowa. We know that and the way and the style that they play. But have you seen anything at all? Do you get anything at all? And have you ever had a punter question as you've talked to all the different ones? 70 channels here on Locked On. Is this your first punter question? It is. And I don't know when I'm going to get another one, but if a guy's the best of the best,

Starting point is 00:20:37 it does matter. Iowa plays field position football, and I have my entire life. I don't think that's going to change, especially when you're in a state that has a lot of wind, a lot of rain, et cetera. When you get into mid-October and on, punter is sometimes the most valuable player on the field on a given Saturday. So if he kicked a 70-yarder in the spring, I don't need to scout him. I mean, that's the first thing. He's got a cannon for a leg. But I find it interesting that Iowa has found an in outside of their own state, but they went all the way to Australia for it.

Starting point is 00:21:08 That is bizarre. I've never heard that before in my life. I don't know what to say to that. Yeah, it's crazy. You know, they had the number one kid in the country for this class 2024, the number one punter by a couple of the recruiting services just down the road to Mediapolis, and he's going to the number one punter by a couple of the recruiting services just down the road to Mediapolis. And he's going to Georgia as a punter.

Starting point is 00:21:28 And they, I don't want to say they passed on him, but they had some other prospects that they were interested in. Yep, with that, here we are, a punting talk with Brian Smith. Hey, Brian, appreciate your time as always. Always good to catch up with you. We'll do it again here down the line

Starting point is 00:21:43 and hopefully we'll have some 2025 commits to talk about here in the coming weeks thanks so much for your time today brian thank you much sir i appreciate it that's brian smith joining us here as we talk a little football recruiting as we continue lockdown hawkeyes we got much more coming your way including the iowa baseball team we talked about the importance of these final two series of the big 10 slate well there was a midweek of these final two series of the Big Ten slate. Well, there was a midweek game. There were two of them. One did not go very well.

Starting point is 00:22:09 We'll break it down as we continue. And a few more nuggets as we roll through. It's the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. The Game Time app. That's what you're looking for right now. It's an authorized ticket marketplace of the NBA, and it makes getting playoff tickets even faster and easier. Prices on the Game Time app actually go down the closer you get to tip off.

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Starting point is 00:23:23 That's going to get you $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONCOllege, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-C-O-L-L-E-G-E for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. As always, thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. It was a disaster last night for Iowa baseball and a season that very well could go down

Starting point is 00:23:59 as one of the most disappointing seasons in Hawkeyes sports history. I don't think it's hyperbolic to say if this team continues this trend after giving up 21 runs to North Dakota State, a team that came in with 16 home runs on the year, hit four. Four more in Dwayne Banks' field. The bullpen, though we've seen improvements, has not been good. The rotation has been a disaster. The bats now,

Starting point is 00:24:32 they're a little bit more banged up. It's just on and on and on. Iowa was a preseason top 20 team, not from Trent Condon, not from the Iowa media. Nationally, they were looked at as a top 20 team. We were talking about the potential for Iowa to host a regional for the first time, certainly in the modern era of college baseball. We're talking about even potentially Iowa hosting a super regional to get to Omaha in a college world series. And here they are, an RPI deep in the 100s. No opportunity to get an at-large bed

Starting point is 00:24:57 to the NCAA tournament. Northwestern is terrible, and yet you have concerns going into the series this weekend. And then you wrap up against Illinois, who sits in first place with Purdue in the Big Ten. Excuse me. It is incredibly scary, incredibly frustrating, and you're just left wondering at this point in time, can they pull themselves? Oh, allergies are getting me. Sorry again. You just wonder about this team and their ability to put it all together. Before we sneeze more, let's get out of here. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes

Starting point is 00:25:29 your first listen every day. We'll come up with a Friday edition tomorrow. Got me again. Go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: 2025 recruiting, another Epenesa, Quarterback Transfer Shopping

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