Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football adds 2 running backs, how good is the Hawkeyes tight end room?

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

Trent Condon is back for another week of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.Iowa Football adds 2 running backs in Xavier Williams out of Indianapolis along with Brevin Doll from ADM. A breakdown of the postition and if Iowa is done at that postition and how they fit into what Iowa is trying to do.How good is the Hawkeyes tight end room? Our 3rd position group breakdown looks at the tight ends for the Hawkeyes.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I was running back room got a lot better as they picked up a couple of commitments over the weekend. We break things down as I was working hard in the class of 2024. And we continue our deep dive through each of the position groups. We finally get to an offensive position group as we count it down today. Lockdown Hawkeyes. Lockdown Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit that subscribe button. If you're on the podcast side, five-star reviews. That's what we're looking for. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, official sportsbook of Locked

On. Make every moment more. Visit FanDuel.com slash Locked On today to get started. Well, as we start today, it is a busy time in the world of Hawkeye football. They count down the day's final practices this week before the open practice on Saturday as we will get our first snapshot at this football team and changes hopeful improvements offensively many of the things that we talked about we're going to get into our continued breakdown of each of the position groups today

we are number three on the list is it offense is a defense you have to stay right there but kick things off here today with a little talk in the recruiting realm and two running backs off the board for Iowa football for the class of 2024. On Saturday, it was announced that Xavier Williams, a three-star running back out of Indiana, has made his verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes. And then on Sunday, it was Brevendahl from ADM right here in the state of Iowa, Central Iowa, kid that made his commitment to the Hawkeyes. Now, coming into the 2024 class, there were many people that believed that Iowa was looking at probably bringing in just two running backs.

Well, the big news is that there were three that appeared pretty high on their board. The two aforementioned, Xavier Williams got his offer a couple weeks back. Brevin Dahl, he has had an offer now for a number of months. And the other one, another local kid here from Central Iowa for me, Titus Cram of Bondurant-Farrar. So with him, it's interesting because a lot of people believe maybe his next position, his best position at the next level is not going to be a running back. It's going to be as a defensive player, maybe as a safety, something like that,

or even bulk his way up and become a linebacker. So there's a lot of people that think that. In fact, there's some people in the recruiting realm that tell you that his offer is not for running. His offer is actually defensively for Iowa. So one to keep an eye on there, but it does appear that they're still looking at Titus. The guys and what we've seen, starting with the first commitment that became official, at least out in the social media landscape.

We'll get into the other one here momentarily. Xavier Williams, bigger running back, 6'2", 25. It was fun. I was reading a few people that were coming up with some comps. Marcus Coker, looking at his film. I think that one made a whole lot of sense. I could definitely see where people went that direction. Co-host here on Locked On Hawkeyes, LaShawn Daniels.

Also another one that was brought up, and I could definitely see that. Kind of that bigger running back, that big size physical kind of guy between the tackles. And I think that's something you definitely see, at least when you watch the tape of Xavier Williams. And then on the other side, Brevin Dahl. So if you've been listening to us for a while here in the RVDairs, I think you're going to know certainly about this. And I have a personal connection to the Dahl family. I grew up with his mom. We were in the same grade, went to grade school together, went to middle school, high school together, still friends in college. And here we are, well, a long

time later and still good friends with his mom. His dad, a couple of years older than me at Osage, really good basketball player. He led our high school to a state championship his senior year and then went on and became an All-American playing at Simpson. Really good athlete. Dad much bigger than Brevin is, 6'5", 6'6", for Adam, his dad. So a lot of people wondering, you know, is there a little bit more height maybe that could grow?

Could he grow into maybe a bigger body wide receiver? If you watch Brevin Dahl play at ADM, they used him in a multitude of different ways. They'd spread him out, they'd get him in space, and that's where he's at his best. He kind of burst onto the scene a lot of people in the realm

of high school athletics, what he did his freshman campaign at track, at state track, and even back to the Drake relays, but he ended up winning the 200 as a freshman really opened a lot of people's eyes he has elite track speed he is one of the best track runners that we have in the state of Iowa and it translates to the football field you know people that understand kind of gate the way people run a little bit better than I do can tell you a little bit the difference in the football speed and the track speed.

But I'll tell you, watch him on the football field. You can see why he's great at track. You can see why he's also an excellent athlete on the football field. Running back in high school, that's what Iowa has also been recruiting him as. But a lot of people looked like Adam just as an athlete, a guy you get on the bus and you kind of figure it out

a little bit later on. Hasn't played a ton in defense. Maybe that's something down the road. Is it a wide receiver that he grows into? Well, in fact, we're hoping to get Brevin here on the show, and we'll talk a little bit about what the future holds for him. He was, though, recruited as a running back. Will he grow a little bit more?

Talking to the family, not sure. Don't know if those growth pits are open anymore, if he's going to add a couple of more inches to his height, but an excellent athlete, a great kid, a great family. And I'll be honest, it's going to be difficult for me to look at this and try to take off, you know, the tainted glasses that sometimes you wear. It's going to be different. I've known since he was a little kid, going to be completely different watching somebody that I watched grow up in that capacity, go on and play in the black and gold. But you might have to call me out a little bit if I'm going a little bit too deep

in my love of Brevin and what he's going to be for Iowa Hawkeye. But incredible, exciting news. A great family. Easy to root for. I know Kansas State was somebody that they really, really liked. Brevin enjoyed the coaching staff there. Coach Kleiman and company did a really good job of recruiting him. Oklahoma State took a couple of visits down to Stillwater.

Iowa State was involved. He had Ivy League offers. I mean, there was a lot going on and a lot of different opportunities for him. But ultimately, he's going to stay home and go to the team that he grew up rooting for. Better games with Brev and it'll be cool. It definitely is from this perspective. And we'll hope to have him a little bit later on. That's coming up for you every day.

We'll have Brevin Dahl hopefully later this week. We're working to get our schedules aligned. More football talk as we continue. We're going to continue our breakdown of each of the position groups. We're going to go through and take a look at everything going on in each of the positions. So we're too deep. We start with defensive line. I said it, and I don't think it's hyperbolic.

The deepest position group that I certainly can remember in my 43 years, an individual that has that kind of depth that the defensive line does. Then number two, well, it was right back to the defensive backfield and how good they're going to be. Still searching for depth, absolutely. Number three, we'll get to it next. Do we do offense? Is it linebackers? That's as we continue on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Grand slams,

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Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So we go from recruiting and we continue our breakdown. So this is a tough one. And I went back and forth. The first two I thought were pretty easy. When we're talking about the best position groups for the 2023 Hawkeyes, I thought it was pretty easy.

Defensive line, no brainer at number one. Number two, defensive backfield. Maybe not the depth that you're hoping for. You start at cornerback, though. Cooper though cooper to gene on one side potential all-american on the other side jamari harris remember as a backup he had four interceptions a couple years back before he said had to sit out in 2022 i'd like to see more depth absolutely the safety position you got savior wamp on one side you got quinn schulte on the other they are absolutely locked and loaded in the defensive backfield and set up there so it it came down to this and I'll be honest, it was splitting hairs, the next position group, but I went tight end. I did go tight end with the next one there

and a couple of reasons for it. And one of the biggest ones was what Iowa has to do the way that they're built, right? The way this Iowa football team is still with the absolutely rough, we'll say, wide receiver room. The departure of Brody Brecht deciding to concentrate on baseball. I mean, that's a blow. Any way that you slice it up, that is an absolute blow to lose a guy that at minimum was going to be a player that could go out there and help you out a little bit. Be your number three, your number four receiver, something like that.

So you have that angle. Seth Anderson comes in, and you're excited about him, put up good numbers at Charleston Southern. Well, he's taking a step up, going from the FCS level up to the FBS level, and he's also going to the Big Ten. I mean, that's going to be a big step up for him. So you have that component of it. And tight ends are so important just in general for Iowa. Now you have two.

I mean, you have two guys right now that you feel great about. And hearing the reports from spring practice, we know Luke Lachey. And I think we saw his ascension this past season. We saw Lachey. He was the backup piece to Sam Laporta. We saw Lachey. He was the backup piece to Sam Laporta. We saw plenty of two tight end sites from him, but you saw what kind of playmaker he can be. First, the size. At six foot six, 252 pounds, he can run well. We're not talking about some kind of stiff out there. Absolutely can run well. He can do a lot of good things.

That is a huge, huge component to what they're doing here. So you have that. Your guy that can go up the seam, make the plays, do a lot of the things that we saw over the last couple of seasons with Sam Laporta. I think that's a huge part. And then you bring in Eric Hall, another huge tight end, but not just a big tight end, not just a blocker. This is a guy that also is going to go out there and he can make plays in the passing game. He did it at Michigan. You couple that obviously with his understanding of Cade McNamara, the time that those guys play together, the amount of practice, the amount of reps that they have. You put those two together. I don't know if you're going to find a better one-two combination in college football. And I understand what Georgia's got going on there. I understand there's a lot of great tight ends out there. But when you're talking one and two,

we're at minimum, I believe, talking about two of the top 30 tight ends in all of college football. They're on one roster. That's a pretty good starting point. Then you go a little bit deeper at this position group, at the tight end position for Iowa. And you go deeper. Another guy I think you have to be excited about is Addison Estrenga. So we saw him a year ago during his freshman campaign. Young man out of Wisconsin, went out there, did a really good job, I think, of finding a role. Didn't play a ton. You know, it might've been five, eight, 10, 12 snaps a game, something like that. But he was a guy that opened eyes, a big time athlete. In fact, he was a guy that I believe was committed to play baseball in Iowa before the football

offer came his way. Still six foot four, got the big frame, has some athletic ability to him. He coupled that then with a couple of other players that I think very well could be exciting, maybe just as blockers. First, a guy that came in a year ago from the transfer portal, and that was Steven Solano. So he comes in, kind of a blocker, bigger frame, 265 pounds, and we were talking about a big body. We did see him a little bit. And also Hayden Large. Hayden Large played at Dort. And Dort, small NAIA school up in northwest Iowa.

They didn't throw the ball a whole lot. That's being generous. They didn't throw it at all. For all intents and purposes. You kind of see his numbers and you're like, okay. You hear about what kind of blocker he was. Different level. Yes. But those receiving numbers maybe don't tell the whole story. So we're talking four deep here. Okay, you hear about what kind of blocker he was. Different level, yes. But those receiving numbers maybe don't tell the whole story.

So we're talking four deep here, five deep, that you're feeling pretty good. And then he got some young guys. Maybe one of these guys is going to hit a redshirt freshman, 6'4", still got to add some size in Cale Vanderbush. He's coming in. Andrew Lynch, I saw a ton of him at Dowling Catholic. He's a walk-on, big frame to him. Really liked him as an athlete during his days with the Maroons. You got that.

Then you look at the incoming class and another tight end coming in, in Zach Orwell. So there's tight. I mean, I understand. There's a lot more tight ends than most teams have. That's the way that Iowa's built. But there's depth there. There's exciting young guys.

There's guys that have already proved it at the collegiate level. We're now going to also see the potential of an even bigger step forward this year, I believe for LeShay, a couple that are called there. My number three best position group. Yeah, we finally got to offense, folks.

It is the wide receivers. We continue here on Locked On Hawkeyes. Still a lot more going on. The transfer portal, it is open for both football and basketball. More as we continue on Locked On Hawkeyes. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Every day is tomorrow on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Every day or tomorrow on the show, hope to have Brevin Dahl,

the latest commitment for the class of 2024, the Swarm, and get some of the perspective of him going through the recruiting process and a whole lot more that's coming your way for you. Every day or tomorrow, your team every day. That's what we do on the Lockdown Network. As we continue here, the team every day. That's what we do on the Lockdown Network. As we continue here, the portal's open. So,

you look and you watch the coaches, right? And you look at Tyler Barnes, the recruiting coordinator, and see, alright, who's he following? And that's kind of an everyday occurrence. There's, in fact, trackers out there on Twitter right now that alerts you right away when he follows somebody. There's going to be wide receivers that are going to be entering the portal,

and that's where the conversation starts for Iowa football. They got Seth Anderson. They need more. They need to get at minimum one, I believe, two more wide receivers to come in there and hopefully make this even a competent wide receiver room. And that's not to disparage the guys that are out there. That's not to run them down.

It's just a reality. I mean, they need to do a whole lot more work in this portal to get them at the level of their Big Ten brethren. And I'm not talking about Ohio State. We're not talking about Michigan. We're not talking about Penn State, their wide receiver rooms. I'm talking about Minnesota. I'm talking about Illinois. I'm talking about Purdue. When those programs have lapped you at any position, it's just unthinkable. So the work needs to be done to catch up to what they have done and at least become okay in that area. I think the offensive line is going to take a step forward. The upgrade at quarterback is so big.

I don't even know if it can be measurable. Running backs are going to be good. Caleb, he's got a chance to have a monster season this year. Again, as long as the offensive line develops in the way. The tight ends, we just talked about it. I put them ahead of one of the defensive position groups.

That's how good I think the tight end room is going to be for Iowa football this year. But the wide receiver stink, everything compresses, and it makes it difficult for everybody else. Go out there. What kind of receiver are you looking for? Well, you're looking for that big receiver on the outside. What they have big coming back, Nico Ragagini. We're going to see another year of him.

We know what he is. You want to see that 6'3 guy that's going to blaze. Well, those guys just don't exactly grow on trees, right? I mean, we're not talking about going out there and getting the easiest apple. A lot of people are going to want them. And trying to sell what Iowa does offensively, that's not an easy sell to some of these wide receivers in the portal. So you've got to sell.

This is what we're going to do. This is how we're going to evolve. This is going to be how it's going to change. And Cade McNamara, you know, he wants more weapons. That is a huge, huge point. Another thing I would love to see, if they do go to get the 6'3 guy, get a guy that could come in and step in right away and at minimum compete, and hopefully take a starting spot. And then just a speedster. Just a guy that can blow the top off. A DeMond Powell. And that's what we're talking about. Look, I was not going to go into the portal and get some guy that had 75 catches for 1,200 yards

and 18 touchdowns last year. They're not coming to Iowa. So we have to live in reality. But Powell's a guy with that elite speed that he had every once in a while he could blow the top off. Now you have a quarterback that can throw a deep ball. You have a quarterback that's not going to poop his pants in the pocket in McNamara, and that's a huge advantage

from what we've seen the last three seasons. So you put those kind of things together, a speedster and an X. That's what I'm looking for. And then depth pieces. And that's how deep and talented I think this roster is right now. We're not looking at this portal where it is a huge concern of what they are and what they're going to be.

One other thing in the portal right now, BJ Mack is on campus at the University of Iowa from the basketball transfer portal. Played at Wofford. We've talked about Mack a lot here on the program every day. As you've remembered our conversations about him under the radar, under the rim type of player. He'd fill it up at a big

time level. Good shooter from the outside. Him complimenting Ben Crickey, who they already got from the portal. I think those are two guys that can play together. I think he can do some different things with them, both offensive and defensively, to maybe negate some of the negatives that we've seen out of both of those guys on the defensive end of the floor. But more than anything, he's an offensive player. He was at Alabama last. He's taken visits to LSU. He's got four SEC programs on his list and just one outside of the SEC in the Big Ten. So what Iowa has to do, let's say their offer, the NIL offer is, I don't know, 200 grand. Just throwing it out. I have no clue. That is a from complete left field throw. I have no clue that that is a from complete left field throw.

Let's just say that's what it is. And Alabama can offer 400 and LSU is 500. Okay. Iowa can't compete at the financials. What Fran McCaffrey and the staff now need to sell him on is it's not just about what you're going to make here. It's what we can think. We believe we can turn you into. And with the success of the Murrays, with the success of Luka Garza,

even Joe Wieskamp, what Iowa's done recently, putting guys in the league and giving them an opportunity at the next level, and Tyler Cook's still cooking around. Guys are still making checks, playing hoops.

That's what you have to sell. And you're going to do it not by playing 18 minutes a game at Alabama, not playing 22 at LSU. You're going to do it playing 32 minutes a game here at Iowa. That has to be the selling point. We'll see if Fran and company can make that happen.

We'll keep you up to date on everything. Every day, we got Brevin Dahl, the latest Hawkeye commit coming your way later this week on Lockdown Hawkeye. Should be a lot of fun. Enjoyed it and enjoying to get another week started here on Lockdown Hawkeyes. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Hit that subscribe button if you're on YouTube.

Greatly appreciated. Five-star reviews on the podcast side. We'll talk to you again.