Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: Building the new offense with former Hawkeye running back LeShun Daniels

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

Trent Condon and LeShun Daniels get together to talk about the hiring of Tim Lester as the new offensive coordinator and how his style can work for Iowa football. Thoughts on Kirk Ferentz evolving, ne...w offensive schemes, off season conditioning and much more.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.eBay MotorsWith all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.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

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today we have former Hawkeye running back LaShawn Daniels back with us as we break down the hiring of Tim Lester. How do we fix this Hawkeye offense and what kind of change do we anticipate to see? The offseason is here. What are workouts like for a Hawkeye? And we will talk a little women's basketball as they prepare for a big one on the road to Maryland. 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. Hey, welcome in.
Starting point is 00:00:43 I'm Trent Condon. He's LaShawn Daniels. 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. And you can also watch us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans.
Starting point is 00:01:00 Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. New customers join today and you'll get $200 in bonus bets if your first bet of $5 or more wins. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. LaShawn, good to see you again. Got the new gig, but the still same place that you've been doing the podcast here outside of our live appearance in Wrigleyville back before
Starting point is 00:01:25 the Iowa Northwestern game. Speaking of that, Iowa was in town women's basketball against Northwestern earlier in the week. Did you make it over to Evanston and watch the ladies in action? Yeah, you know, I definitely wanted to head out there, but when I was looking at the ticket prices, they were astronomically high. And yeah i could afford it but i wasn't going to pay that type of money for uh you know basketball game on a weekday even though you know caitlin clark is worth the price of admission but yeah uh it was crazy i mean like there was like the lines just to get into the stadium for you know northwestern women uh basketball game was insane so it really just tells you the kind of effect that you know caitlin clark and you know, Northwestern women basketball games. So it really just tells you the kind of effect that, you know,
Starting point is 00:02:06 Caitlin Clark and, you know, the I-Women's basketball team has on the sport. It's incredible. We'll talk a little bit more about that. Get the scene set for the weekend in hoops, but a lot of football talk here and we open things up. So our first time conversing since it became official, Tim Lester is the new offensive coordinator for Iowa. A lot of different directions to go with this one on the surface.
Starting point is 00:02:29 And one thing that I've talked about quite a bit this week, LaShawn, is I called it an uninspiring hire. And it's not to say that it's a bad hire or that he's going to be bad or anything like that. It just was not the splash that maybe I hoped for. This was not the splash that maybe I hoped for. And again, the likelihood of Kirk Ferentz going out there and hiring a guy like a young guy like Tommy Reese or the UNLV offensive coordinator that we talked about, you know, it's not likely. And that's what sometimes you got to remind yourself. We've got to live in reality, something like that.
Starting point is 00:02:57 But when your final two at a program like Iowa are two guys that are out of work. Tim Lester had an offensive coordinator job set up at Troy. Kevin Johns still doesn't have a job that we know about at this point in time. And because of that, I just, I wonder, I wanted Iowa to, I don't know, try for more. And maybe they did, and they just didn't get the pushback or the fit wasn't there. But that was kind of the thing that maybe has bothered me most. It's not about Tim Lester him on alone it's just I thought that there would be maybe more traction more people interested in the Iowa offensive coordinator job you know uh that's
Starting point is 00:03:37 a very interesting take and I definitely agree like yeah I think it presents the ioc job presented a unique opportunity for uh you know an exciting coach to come in here and really you know transform what the iowa offense looked at because i mean especially the way you've seen it over the past few years it has been good like this has been an excellent opportunity because that could mean if you're even marginally better right it's gonna make it seem like you're an absolute rock star um opportunity wise but i think something that probably played a part in both uh the candidates they attracted and the candidates that they essentially went after i think coach ference and the iowa staff just based on how they're built you look at the staff right now a lot of of the staff has been with Coach Ferentz
Starting point is 00:04:28 in some way, shape, or fashion for a very, very long time. And I think when it came to looking for an offensive coordinator spot, and I think they're looking for someone who's going to be able to provide stability for, I think, an extended period of time, not a person who's going to come in here, essentially transform the offense, and then maybe after three years of good offensive play, then go ahead and take a job.
Starting point is 00:04:55 I think we're really looking for someone who's had the stability in the past and then was planning on keeping that stability at the University of Iowa for quite some time. And I think when you look at some of those more exciting candidates, like you mentioned, like a guy like Tommy Reese, I'm sure he's got lots of aspiration. The fact that he's gone from Notre Dame to Bama, that he's been multiple places in a short period of time,
Starting point is 00:05:21 I think something like that wasn't something that Coach Ferentz and the staff, I think, were looking for when it comes to offensive coordinator, although it would have been super exciting for us. I think he was really trying to find some potential long-term stability, and I think that's really what attracted them to Tim Wester and bringing him on. You know, one of the names that was thrown out right away after the firing of Brian back in October was Ryan Grubb.
Starting point is 00:05:46 His connections to the state of Iowa was doing great jobs and eventually helping lead Washington to the national championship game. I do know that conversations were had that there was a contact there. But the way that I understand it, and I don't know exactly the validity to this, is at minimum there had to be kind of a wink and a nod. Hey, if you get this thing turned around, you're going to be almost the acting head coach and knowing Kirk Ferentz for an outsider to get that kind of role. It just didn't seem like you understand Ryan Grubb. I mean, this is a guy that continues to ascend. Heck, he might be on his way back to Seattle right now and become the Seahawks offensive coordinator. So, you know, this is a guy that continues to build his resume. And if he's going to make this kind of leap and take on the kind of endeavor that it is to fix the Iowa offense,
Starting point is 00:06:29 you knew that was going to be something there and culture fit. My buddy biz yesterday, he was on the pod with me. And one thing you talked about is this Iowa football culture. You can speak to it as well as anybody finding that right fit. Everybody says that it doesn't matter what you're hiring for you know what kind of position it is you know whatever you're doing everybody always says you got to have the right fit it's got to fit our culture it feels like at least for me as an outsider culture fit those kind of things is more important to Iowa football than almost any other endeavor out there yeah I would agree with that like um you think, when you look at all the staff at Iowa, I mean, even back when I was playing, you look at them now, like, everyone on the staff kind of has the same mentality, so to speak, where, hey, like, we, since we've been underdogs our entire life, we're going to take the players who fit the things that that we love to do and that's being tough being smart
Starting point is 00:07:26 being physical football players and then helping develop these guys into um essentially you know really really good close football players and a great young man and i think that's like probably the biggest thing when you look at the the coaches the staff, like those, like those have been their goals as, as a unit, ever since I've been there, since before I've been there. And as it's been currently, I mean, all the guys you look at your, when people talk about the Iowa roster, they're like, man, these guys play smart. They play tough. They play physical every single week that they're out there. And then, you know,
Starting point is 00:08:02 you guys get to the NFL and people happen to say the same things, right? Like those are things that have been ingrained into the Iowa football players. And that obviously starts from up top with Coach Ferentz through the rest of it, through the rest of the assistant coaches, all the way down to the players. And that's the biggest thing, I think, when it comes to looking at the culture of the of the Iowa football um building like those are the things that they're that they're really looking for and um you know who knows maybe some of the other candidates that they that they talked with you know maybe it just didn't quite fit maybe it didn't work that way or hey maybe they just you know were interested in some other things but um culture fit I felt like something that's going to be was a pretty big deal
Starting point is 00:08:44 um when it comes to when it came to Coach Ferentz, looking for additional coaches to bring in. It's going to be the same deal with bringing in a receiver coach as well. Like how are these guys going to fit in the culture here that we have at Iowa? Because you know you're not going to get as well, as great as recruits as we can get. We're not going to get five- um you know in and out on a weekend weekend basis like a like alabama like ohio state doesn't happen but these guys they they believe in
Starting point is 00:09:12 the guys they do bring in and they're going ahead and they're going to develop these guys into really really good football players um from you know just kind of just the bare bones that they got with them so when it comes to having that culture fit, I think that developmental piece and making sure that they can bring that smart, tough, physical Iowa football play to the players that they're dealing with, I think is a pretty big deal when it comes to the culture within the Iowa football.
Starting point is 00:09:39 Well, they did get a five-star. Caden Proctor out of the transfer portal, comes back home. And now there's some violations to go along with it. We'll talk about that. And how do we get this offense fixed? What is Tim Lester going to do? Does the RPO scheme work with what Kirk Ferentz wants to do?
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Starting point is 00:11:21 Make every moment more with FanDueluel an official sportsbook partner of the NFL Trent LaShawn back with you again on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day your team every day that's what we do here on the Locked On Network LaShawn let's jump into what this is going to look like in implementing a new offense. Now, when you arrived on campus at Iowa, it was going into year number two of Greg Davis. The first season as you were as high school senior was a disaster. It was trying to marry the zone blocking scheme with his horizontal passing game. It was brutal. I've told the story before. I looked over my buddy at halftime at Soldier Field, Northern Illinois game, and I said, I hate the Greg Davis offense. And it was awful in that first year. Now, you guys improved and made a lot of improvements, and I think it was more kind of a mirroring of the two different styles and schemes. But after that first year, Kirk said something to the lines of, I think Greg's understanding now how to be an Iowa coach.
Starting point is 00:12:22 I think Greg's understanding now how to be an Iowa coach. I do wonder with this now in this transition, you have to anticipate it's certainly going to be more smooth than what we saw back then. Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, Coach Ferentz has been through, I guess, now multiple offensive coordinators trying to, you know, do their system. So is it really going to be like this second main switch of an offensive system that you're going to be bringing here? Because you have, you know, Coach Davis back in 2012. And, yeah, had a lot of rough patches for sure, especially with the things that Coach Davis was doing prior to his time at
Starting point is 00:13:02 Iowa. You look at some of his offenses, it is very vastly different than what Iowa has traditionally done. The thing with Tim Lester, one big deal that he's, you know, has been doing through his time as an offensive coach has been the fact that it's been a lot of zone blocking. It's been a lot of running the ball in general. So that's going to be i feel like a much easy
Starting point is 00:13:26 uh marriage uh for the football offense um but obviously adding some adding in some new new wrinkles so um we have the the post snap rpos i think that's been like really one of his one of his big things uh when you look at all this all the offenses that he's helped coach, and especially at Western Michigan, the RPO system was something that was very, very big with him. And it will be very interesting, I think, to see. I will implement that because we had RPOs with the Greg Davis offense, but it wasn't like a post-snap RPO where it's like you're essentially running an option play. It was more like a pre-snap RPO where it was, hey, depending on like we have, say we have like an inside zone called one way and we have, you know, maybe like twins to the field side.
Starting point is 00:14:17 So you got two receivers and, you know, we'll have like maybe we'll have like a bubble call to that side. And, you know, they're playing way off or, you know, if they bring a blitz that we can't pick up, hey, you can kind of tell with the pre-snap look. CJ snapped the ball, tossed it out there. This is going to be a little bit different in the fact where it's going to be like if they go ahead and go with this route with, you know, Tim Lester and things that he's done where it's like, hey, you snapped the ball and now you're reading it as you're going through it.
Starting point is 00:14:47 So now you have to, there's some different things you kind of have to coach. You have to watch for a legal man downfield. So our offensive line can't get too far afield. And then you obviously have to be able to read, read it out as a quarterback. Like, okay, this is, this person I'm keying on, depending upon what he does will be if i if i give it or pull it and run it or pull it and throw it out there so i think it'll be it'll be super interesting uh watch but i feel like this is going to be overall as a whole
Starting point is 00:15:17 is going to be a little bit a little bit more similar to kind of what iowa has done in the past just adding you know maybe you know one or two more steps to bring it more into the year 2024. We've seen so many teams that implement the RPO-based system. And one thing that I've talked about a lot this week, I think some people misconstrue when they hear an RPO and they think of a running quarterback and they think of, you know, you got to be a Lamar Jackson to do those kinds of things. I go back to 2019 and what Minnesota did with Tanner Morgan at the quarterback, not a runner by any means, but it was an RPO based system and it was great running backs. Iowa definitely, we feel like has that, the stable of running backs that they have.
Starting point is 00:15:57 And then very simple looks. I mean, how many slant routes did, you know, Otman Bell have that year and Rashawn Bateman? It just felt like they get eight yards anytime they want it on of those slant routes if if they got the right key in that read there and with Cade McNamara at the quarterback position if he's back healthy it feels like something that would go very well with his strengths I mean just what a cerebral player that he is the accuracy in those short and intermediate throws I think is something very good and that's where my excitement level goes is I think this is something that works. The big question, though, LaShawn, you were inside the building.
Starting point is 00:16:30 Is Kirk willing to give the autonomy needed to make that kind of change? It's not immense. We're not talking about going the spread here and chucking around 60 times a game, but it is a change. Can you see Kirk at 68 years old saying, yes, we need to make these? Not wholesale changes, but we need to make certainly more than just a tweak. You know, it'd be interesting. Like if you asked me this, you know, coming out of Iowa back in 2017,
Starting point is 00:16:56 I'd have been like, absolutely no shot. No chance, no chance. But, you know, the year is 2024. chance no chance um but you know the year is 2024 um the way that the offenses are i mean even just from you know seven eight years ago it's it's tremendously different and the way that the way defense is played so it's a lot different nowadays than it was back then and i think you kind of have to give up a little bit of your control on that offense if you want it to be able to grow it and really take the next step. And the thing with that is you're going to have to get in the gun a little bit more and not just get in the gun to throw the ball, right? You have to
Starting point is 00:17:39 be able to get in the gun. You have to be able to run the ball consistently out of the gun. And that's something that Iowa hasn't done a ton of over the – since really since I've been, you know, involved with the program. It just hasn't been something that we've done. It's been a lot of, you know, under center runs when we do run the football. Or if we're in the gun run in the football, it's a lot of times it's some type of draw play or it's just some wide type of sweep. So it'll be interesting to see how much uh freedom that coach parents gives uh tim lester to be able to to do his thing because
Starting point is 00:18:15 um see he's offensive coordinator he's had he's ran systems before and although yeah they're not going to stray very far away from the traditional Iowa offense right as you mentioned it's not going to be an air raid offense you're not full spread going four wide every single play like that like that's not going to happen but you know there are things that they can do you know maybe out of out of the 12 personnel or even a 21 personnel out of the gun right and being able to improve the run game there to then help you open up those RPO opportunities and open up those quick game opportunities when you have them. Because, hey, as we've seen in the past, it hasn't been something that we've been very good at when it comes to the quick game on early down and distance. or, you know, being able to put ourselves in a position on third downs where we're in third and medium versus, you know, third and long
Starting point is 00:19:07 because we, you know, we get stuffed twice on two run plays and now we're in a tough spot. So, yeah, I think it'll be interesting to see how Coach Ferentz allows Tim Lester to really kind of do his thing. And I'm hoping that he does do it. I'm hoping that he gives an opportunity like, hey, this is where this is the things that we do and we can do it well because as you mentioned right like you you said the the quote about how coach says how uh coach davis learned how to be a coach at iowa you know who knows maybe if this gets off to a better start maybe it ends up being something
Starting point is 00:19:42 where you know he kind of lets him do his thing a little bit more versus him just having his entire constraint on Longman. Kirk's willing to adapt. We've seen that plenty of times. There has been adaptation. For some segment of the fan base, this combustion that's never going to change anything, but we've seen that. We've had historical evidence that he absolutely will. You brought upmudgeon that's never going to change anything. But we've seen that. We've had historical evidence that he absolutely will. You brought up one thing that's really interesting. You talked about 21 personnel.
Starting point is 00:20:09 I would love to see that. We know the depth of the running back spot. All right, you got three guys that all certainly showed high levels of play over the last year at the three guys. Two true freshmen that played this season with Washington and Moulton. You bring in Brevin Dahl. You bring in Xavier Williams. You bring in bothvin Dahl. You bring in Xavier Williams. You bring in both those guys.
Starting point is 00:20:26 So you got seven running backs here, and all of them on playing time, all of them, I think, are confident in their ability to be a Big Ten running back. You go with that 21 personnel, even 22 personnel. I think there's something there. I'm hopeful that Tim Lester kind of sold what you can do while coming into the 21st century offensively and what we see in college football.
Starting point is 00:20:48 I think there's something there. What would be the difficult nature, though, of going more 21, even 22 personnel? What would make that difficult to do with what Iowa wants to do? Or is that something, well, you're a running back. Of course you want to see that, I would guess. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I'd love to see it for sure. running back of course you want to see that i would guess yeah i mean yeah i'd love to see it for sure um you know doing it out of so what makes it a little bit different doing it out of out of the gun versus doing that type of thing like under center it's just really the location where you put
Starting point is 00:21:15 that that second running back whether it's running back or fullback how you how you actually you know use them and um to make it so where they just don't constrain the box and make it so you can't run the football at all so you have to be a little bit creative but you don't do anything you know to drastic teams run you know playing with personnel out of time pistol yep pistol is usually more common with it yeah they do it especially if you watch if you watch nfl you watch the ravens they do that a ton um they uh they didn't do it a ton this past sunday but that's a totally different conversation um but um but yeah i mean like you have to be a little bit creative with it but with that though you can get a little bit you can get a lot more creative with how you use those guys out of the backfield especially in the passing game now you can you can utilize
Starting point is 00:22:08 um you know both the running backs whether you you do it in pass protection or you use it with some type of option routes and give them more abilities there and you know running backs just like tight ends are easy for quarterbacks to get the ball out and get the ball to them and if you add a little bit more creative ability with that and having both running backs in the backfield, and I know Coach Bryant did that a little bit. If you go back probably like two or three years, you watch Iowa office, they did a little bit.
Starting point is 00:22:36 They haven't done as much recently, but there's just more variety that you can do. And say you bring 21 personnel, but you got a guy who's essentially like a third down running back that you can move to receiver. Because now a lot of times teams will will either try to match your personnel offensively. And if they don't match it now, you've got an advantage in the run game. And and then if they do try to match it, I mean, if they do try to match it, right, you got advantage in the running game and they don't have, they don't match, now you have advantage in the passing game where, hey, I can move these guys and put them, put one of the running backs in the slot. I can pull them out wide.
Starting point is 00:23:13 I can do all these different types of things with that. So I think it's really just how much autonomy that they get that Tim Lester is granted. much autonomy that they get that Tim Lester is granted. And if he's granted that autonomy, I think it really does open up a lot of the different things that Iowa can do offensively, especially because again, the amount of talented guys that we have in that running back room is going to be a big piece of the offense. And I think it's going to help open up more things,
Starting point is 00:23:39 more opportunities for, for the receivers. I think we're talking into ourselves into a little excitement here. We'll see if it happens, obviously. When we get to spring football, we'll know a little bit more, but I think we're getting there. We're going to talk a little bit more about the offseason as we ramp our way up to spring practice. What's it like for a football player inside the walls of Fort Kinnick
Starting point is 00:23:59 and getting ready during the cold winter months before spring football? We'll talk about that. Plus a little hoops talk as we continue. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Back with you one final time on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Trent Gondin, LaShawn Daniels with you. Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Offseason, LaShawn, I mean, it was bad, right?
Starting point is 00:24:26 I mean, getting up cold, 5 a.m., 4 a.m. I don't know how early you guys had to get up. It just sounds brutal. Yeah, it's not a fun time, especially like for your freshman year. You're always in that 6 a.m. group. And that's just not a good time. Not a good time. So I learned my lesson after you
Starting point is 00:24:45 know my my first year and i made sure that i was in uh either i think it was 7 30 or the 9 a.m groups because that early was not for me not at all um because and then especially like when you're a freshman uh so i didn't have a car or a moped and And so like I'm getting up 5 a.m. I'm making the trek, you know, through usually you walk through the hospital. Because usually it will be unlocked and you can cut through. But if you couldn't get in through there, then you had to walk all the way around because I see like the buses aren't running. And so it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't't a fun time was not a good time at all and then you get you get there and now your workouts so you got like at least like for the first two weeks
Starting point is 00:25:33 it's really the worst because um you you get there you do something you do a quick you do like a quick speed session um then you go in the weight room and you're lifting you're doing heavy cleans you're doing heavy squat heavy bench it's just not a fun time and then after that um you go into the conditioning part of it and now you're doing you're doing uh prowler pushes you're doing tire flips you know the the the cliche right uh yeah uh football stuff but it you're like gas doing it. Because again, you've been off for a couple weeks, and now you're trying to get back into that mode.
Starting point is 00:26:12 So it's not a great time. But we know it's all good fun. We know it's all part of the process, so you try to make the most of it. It's a lot of work, and going through that and getting yourself right and doing those things. And, oh, by the way, then after you do that, you got to go to class.
Starting point is 00:26:31 You got homework. You are still a student. Sometimes we forget about that part of it, that you still are going through all that on top of it and everything that goes along with it. Tough time, but eventually, I mean, that's kind of makes what Iowa football is, what it is, right. And the work that you guys do in the offseason to get to that point. Hey, before we let you go, LaShawn, obviously we talk a ton of football with you. But I know you've been watching the women's basketball team, men's team.
Starting point is 00:26:56 Boy, I let another one slip away earlier this week against Indiana. And there's been just too many of those. It looks like it's certainly a rebuilding year for the men's team. And they get ready for a matchup tonight against Ohio State. Got to get it. Just, it's sad. You know, seeing Carver for a men's game with, talked to my buddy yesterday that was at the Maryland game.
Starting point is 00:27:15 You know, the announce attendance was, I think, 8,500. I said, what, 6,000 in there? He said, not even that. It just, it's absolutely crazy. And France had a lot of success it just it feels like this fan base is out haven't got that run to the second weekend and people aren't showing up they're showing up for wrestling and women's basketball but not the men yeah yeah i mean it's super super frustrating um it's just super frustrating because again like they've had
Starting point is 00:27:42 the men's team has had some really good opportunities with you know superstar players that are you know playing professionally over the past what four five years now like you guys have they've had some really really good players and the fact that you haven't been able to make that jump right to the second round and there's been i think frustrating for the fan base um it doesn't help that you know the the times that the games are during the week right i heard that from i don't think randall i said that yesterday or a couple days ago um like i like i understand that for sure but you know if if the men's team were as as good as the women's team were as good as the women's team in terms of their conference, people would show up.
Starting point is 00:28:27 People would show up. And I think that's really the deal, man. And it's super frustrating for the players. I'm sure it's frustrating for the coaches. You wish that things were different. But, hey, the only way that you're going to be able to make that difference is if, you know, you check it up with the player on the court. So, you know, it's frustrating for them, but, hey, if you want people to show up, hey, you got to win and you got to win often.
Starting point is 00:28:55 So I think that's really the deal there. I mean, hey, you look at the Iowa football. I know Iowa's basically a football school now, but, hey, we win a lot, right? People show up. I think, you know, the Iowa wins show up and, you know, if the, we win a lot, right? People show up. The Iowans show up and if the men's team were better, people would come to me. Women, everybody's showing up there. Well, you save money not going to the Northwestern game. You save it up to go back home to Ohio. The women make a run to the Final Four and go to Cleveland.
Starting point is 00:29:20 I think I've told you, my sister lives in Cleveland now. Her husband, yeah, he's an Ohio State grad, so I've got you, my sister lives in Cleveland now. So her husband, yeah, he's an Ohio state grad. So I got to deal with that all the time. But that aside, uh, we're, yeah, we've already made plans. If it happens, we're going to go back out there. I was there with my daughter a year ago, down in, in Dallas. You have a chance to go back home. Then if that happens, start saving up that money, because I'll tell you the ticket prices, they're going to be pricey. Believe me, I'll be, yeah, I think I, I think I would definitely make the trip, you know, up there. I mean,
Starting point is 00:29:49 if they're there in there, like the way that, Hey, the way, and especially the way that they've been playing this year, especially the way that Caitlin's leading team and, you know, some of the other players are stepping up. Hey, they, they got it. They've got a really good opportunity. So yeah, they've been super fun to watch the entire season. Um, and yeah, hopefully they can go ahead and make that deep tournament run. That'll be exciting, exciting time.
Starting point is 00:30:13 They get a Maryland coming up. That'll be on big Fox, which is just absolutely crazy in its own right. Uh, we've seen that already this season with the Indiana game at Maryland, Brenda freeze and Iowa native coaching at a lot of success in Maryland. They're not quite as good as they've been some past years, but always a very physical team. They'll have certainly a different defensive game plan. They have some really good athletes that can try to slow down and double Caitlin and do those kind of things, but we're seeing something we likely will never see again, LaShawn, in the rest of our life with this
Starting point is 00:30:40 women's team and just the star power of Caitlin Clark. Hey, good stuff as always. Good catching up with you again. We'll get together again next week, and we'll get some Super Bowl picks. How about that? Let's do it. I'm excited for it. We'll continue breaking down what we like to see also. I think we talked ourselves into some positives with the hire of Tim Lester
Starting point is 00:30:59 and what this could be and could look like. Of course, next week we will hear from Tim Lester in the press conference. We're LaShawn Daniels. Trent Cotton with you. LaShawn, we'll talk to you again next week. Yes, sir. Sounds like a plan. Go Hawks.

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