Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Depth Chart released, Week 0 reactions

Episode Date: August 29, 2022

Trent Condon is back for a full week of Iowa Football talk on the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast. A look at the new depth chart that was released today. No surprise, but Spencer Petras is listed as the starter at the quarterback position. Some changes along the offensive line and what that means for the Hawkeyes depth up front. And the wide receiver position continues to have some huge concerns going into the season.Next, a look through the defensive side of the football that seems to have a lot less questions for Kirk Ferentz, Phil Parker and the rest of the Hawkeye coaching staff. An incredibly deep defensive line and some thoughts on where Cooper DeJean will find himself.Trent finishes up with some thoughts on Week 0 in the Big Ten from Bret Bielema and Illinois football making a statement to Nebraska once again finding a way to lose against Northwestern.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.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.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coming up on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, Trent Condon with you today. As the depth chart is out, what does it mean for Iowa football? And a couple of additions and subtractions that may surprise you. Nebraska falls to Northwestern. Illinois rolls week zero in the books in the Big Ten. And it's game week. We get ready for South Dakota State. All coming up on today's Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Trey Connan with you. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen each and every day. Available wherever podcasts are. You can also find us on YouTube. Would really appreciate if you could give us a follow over there and subscribe to our YouTube page,

Locked on Hawkeyes, where you can see myself, LaShawn Daniels, Jace, my buddy, with us throughout the week as we get ready for it. We have made it, folks. It is game week. Finally, we are here. Football is upon us. Week zero in the books. How much fun was that? We're going to talk about that one here today.

But thanks for having us here with you during Lockdown Hawkeyes. It is always great talking Hawkeyes with you, and certainly now that we have made it officially to game week. Well, the depth chart was released today, so that is where we are going to begin our conversation. A depth chart that certainly in the grand scheme of things doesn't mean a whole lot. We have heard Kirk Ferentz plenty of times in the past talk about just that, that the depth chart, it's more for us media members. It's more

for the people that want a talking point, right? Something to talk about, something to look at when you're talking about the Hawkeyes and trying to figure out where this team is. It doesn't officially mean that this guy is in front of that guy. It doesn't mean that they're going to get the first opportunity, but it's at least a launching point and not a whole lot of changes from the one that was released back in July during Big Ten football media days. That was the summer one that we have overall, but definitely something that, again, another one of those jumping off points. So let's just go through it and start with the most important position

that is the quarterback spot. And no surprise, it is Spencer Petras. This is something that we speculated about going back all the way through the summer that he was going to be the guy that was going to get the job. And he certainly does. It's not a slash. It's not an either or at the quarterback position. It is, frankly, he is going to be your starter.

He's going to get the first opportunity. It is not a surprise, certainly, I don't think, to anybody that Spencer Petras is going to be your starter. He's going to get the first opportunity and is not a surprise. Certainly, I don't think to anybody that Spencer Petras is going to get the football to start the ball game. Right behind him is, of course, the other guy that we anticipated was going to be there. It is Alex Padilla that is your backup at that spot. So very easy at the quarterback spot. Also, no change at the running back position. You're running back.

The starter is listed as Gavin Williams, LaShawn Williams as his backup. As we reported here on Locked On Hawkeyes a few weeks back, there is an injury, a hamstring injury that was being dealt with by Gavin Williams. He is now back at practice and making it a go, but it's a hamstring, something you always do have to be a little bit concerned about, a hamstring injury that can always linger, and certainly with the running back, with all the cutting, the stopping and going, something to keep your eye on this season.

Gavin Williams, big physical running back, loved what we saw out of him, and LaShawn Williams going back to the bowl game against Kentucky last season. You feel confident with that, and both freshmen, with what we saw from Caleb Johnson at Kids Day, along with Jazz Patterson, two guys, young guys, I think they're going to be pushing for playing time. They're also excited about Hilson, the young man that will be a sophomore out of Des Moines North and an opportunity for him. So five running backs that they really feel confident about coming into the season.

That's all well and good. Let's go next to maybe one of the surprises. Fullback, you got Monty Pottybaum. He's your starter right behind him. Turner Palisard, we saw both those guys. Pottybaum, more athletic than maybe your standard Iowa fullback in the past, can do some different things. Of course, we saw the hat-back pass to him in the Big Ten championship game

against Michigan just over his hands. Oh, boy, they had that one set up incredibly well. And a great what-if if that one would have ended up into his arms for a touchdown. But that aside, we know what he is going to do. And he's going to be opening up some holes out there at the fullback position. Here's the first big surprise. And it comes at the kicker spot. First of all, who won the job?

Aaron Blom is listed as the starter. Now we're going to get more information tomorrow when Kirk Ferentz talks to the media. We'll have a recap of that one coming up in tomorrow's Lockdown Hawkeye. But a lot of people anticipated that the freshman, Drew Stevens, was going to be the guy that was going to win the job. Not the case here. It is Aaron Blom, the sophomore, that'll get the first opportunity at the kicking spot. How close was the competition? We will see on that one. Stevens is listed as the backup. Blom, at least according to the depth chart, he is the winner at place kick. He wears number one.

Stevens, the freshman, wears number 18. It'll be a new look out there at the kicker position. Let's go next to the offensive line. Let's take a look at what they have up here. The biggest change, David Davidoff, who came in with a lot of accolades a season ago.

But it was not him. It was Connor Colby that was listed as the guy that got out there and was able to see playing time a season ago as a true freshman. Davidoff, he had more accolades. He had bigger offers. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan were all sniffing around on him. He ultimately chose the Hawkeyes, but injuries derailed his freshman campaign and derailed here his redshirt freshman season.

A lot of people thought when you look at his accolades coming out that this was going to be a guy that had a chance to be an early helper. Not only that, not only is he not listed on the depth chart, a lot of speculation about his football future. David Davidoff, if he is going to be a guy that is going to be there in the future, something to keep anoff, if he is going to be a guy that is going to be there in the future, something to keep an eye on is he is no longer listed. So it is Mason

Richmond listed as the left tackle. Jack Plum is his backup, but Jack Plum is also listed as a starter at the right tackle position. Your starters listed at guard. Left guard, Tyler Ellsbury, a new guy, 6'5", 300, 8 pounds, a sophomore at right guard, a guy we do know about, another sophomore new guy, 6'5", 308 pounds, a sophomore at right guard,

a guy we do know about, another sophomore in Connor Colby. And then in the middle, no surprise here, Logan Jones, he made the move from defensive tackle over to the center spot. He did it for a reason. They thought this guy had a big-time chance to be the heir apparent to Tyler Linderbaum. He wins that job over Michael Molesky and an opportunity for him to get the start there. A couple other names, Matt Fagan, he is listed as a backup at the left guard spot, and Bo Stevens listed as a backup at right guard.

We wonder about the health of Mason Richmond. Is he going to be ready to go? Apparently, according to this depth chart, he will be ready at that left tackle spot. He is so important for this offensive line and the continuity that they're certainly going to lead. And as we go through the offensive depth chart, last but not least, it is wide receiver. This is something that has been a huge talking point for us the last couple

of weeks. If I was going to implement the wrinkles, the changes you have for this offense, that we're going to see more, that Brian Ferentz is going to install more into this offense. Well, it's going to start, obviously, at the wide receiver spot, getting these guys an ability to make some plays up the field. The Keegan Johnsons of the world to do those things. Arlen Bruce to be involved more, not just as a slot receiver, but find different and innovative ways to get him the football in space.

Well, they've been so banged up. Of course, the defections, right? You lose Charlie Jones, you lose Tyrone Tracy. All right, there's a couple of blows. Now coupled with Keegan Johnson. Is he back 100% of practice? I continue to hear that that is not the case. Though he's out there, he's going through some work.

He is not close to 100% and a guy that you could expect to go out there and play 65, 70 snaps. That's just not realistic right now with Keegan Johnson. We'll see as we're now five days away from kickoff. That's going to change. I'm going to anticipate that is not the case. He is listed though as a starter. His backup is a walk-on, Alec Wick.

He was also listed as the backup going back to that summer depth chart. He is the same here. Over at the other wide receiver spot, Arlen Bruce IV. No surprise. He was also listed as the backup going back to that summer depth chart. He is the same here. Over at the other wide receiver spot, Arlen Bruce IV. No surprise. He is your starter. The backup, another walk-on. Jack Johnson is the backup from West

Des Moines Valley. I called a lot of Jack's games back in his high school career. He was a good CIML wide receiver. Good Big Ten receiver. That is to be seen. But some of the other scholarship guys that you're wondering about. I think that tells you, obviously, Nico Regani. That foot injury is pretty significant.

Not listed here on this depth chart. Coupled with Jacob Bostic, the other guy, a true freshman. He is not listed in the two deep here. He appears ready to go. But how much of the offense does he know? How ready is he going to be? That remains the question with Bostic. Another name that I think we were certainly speculating about,

about him, one that we thought we were going to see out there, is Brody Brecht. He is not out there. He has been dealing also with a couple of injuries of his own. This wide receiver group, it is scary. That is the offense. We'll come back and talk about the defense. Maybe not as many question marks over on that side of things.

The defense, boy, absolutely loaded. Some surprises, some changes. We'll get into that when we come back. You're listening to the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Are you one of those people who thinks it's okay to drive stoned? What's the worst that could happen? You end up driving below the speed limit. No big deal, right? Wrong. Are you one of those people who thinks it's okay to drive stoned? What's the worst that could happen? You end up driving below the speed limit.

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Drive high. Get a DUI. From NHTSA. Trent Cotter back with you here again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown. We keep asking you here as we get closer and closer to kickoff. Go to our YouTube page. Even if you're just an audio listener and you're still going to continue

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Get to 1,000. Locked on Hawkeyes on YouTube. Give us a subscribe. We would greatly appreciate it. We continue with our depth chart conversation. So we go from the offensive side of the football to the defense. And a couple of changes there, a couple of

tweaks on the defense. Not a whole lot different over there. So here are your starters up front. Let's start at left defensive end. John Waggoner, he gets the starting nod. The senior wearing number 92, three-year letter winner. We've seen him get to the quarterback. He is a big defensive end, 6'5", 267 pounds.

He's listed at the starter. The backup, though, made me feel happy. Ethan Hurkett, who we saw a year ago, I thought really popped as a freshman. He was a guy that went in there a little bit undersized, but he just kept making plays. He's got that relentless motor that you love to see out of a defensive lineman, and after the injury that he sustained a year ago, very happy to see him out there enlisted as the backup at left defensive end. Left defensive tackle inside Noah Shannon. No surprise. He's a guy, boy, we've seen so many of these stories, right,

of Kirk Ferrett's football teams, guys that make that leap their senior year. You see them a little bit. They get some playing time. They're out there. And then their senior year, they go from a good player to a star, to an all Big Ten type of performer. Noah Shannon, boy, if he can make that kind of leap, how good would that be for the Iowa defense?

His backup, though, he's being pushed, is Lucas Van Ness, and you know Van Ness, he's going to be out there a whole bunch this season. We're also going to see him not just inside, he'll bounce outside and play some defensive end. The other starter is Logan Lee. Finally healthy, Logan Lee. Finally healthy Logan Lee. And with him out there, big frame, 6'5", 275, got to be excited to know this is a guy that started at tight end.

They've been excited about his development, and the hope is that he can be a guy that can be out there and play both on third down situations and get to the quarterback, but also be a run stuffer in the middle. The other guy that's going to be a run stuffer, Y.A. Black. 6'5", 306. He just continues to get bigger and bigger. Pad level continues to be the

question about him. He's got the size. He has the physicality. Now he needs to put it all together in his sophomore campaign. Y.A. Black. And finally, over at the other defensive end spot on the right side, Joe Evans. He's been banged up a little bit. Joey the Bull, though, at 6'2". You know how relentless he is.

He is more now, though, than just a guy that comes off the edge and is a third-down-only type of player. He can play all four downs. He's that kind of defensive end for you. And Deontay Craig is his backup. He is a big-time athlete. He's a guy that can get to the quarterback, and he's getting bigger now, up to.266 at that other defensive end position.

So that's up front. The eight guys listed. They're going to play more. They have that much depth at defensive line. That's the exciting part. You're going to see Aaron Graves out there, the true freshman, the Army All-American. He's going to be making plays.

They are deep up front. Next, we go to linebacker. In the middle is Jack Campbell, Seth Benson, along with Justin Jacobs. We knew the starters. Your backups, Jay Higgins is the backup at middle linebacker. Love is dead. The play that we've certainly seen special teams-wise out of Jay Fisher is the backside behind.

Listed as the Leo linebacker, that is because they have that listed as a backup with the cast position, and that's Cooper Dajin, much like we saw going back to spring. One change at the cornerback spot with the suspension in game number one for Jamari Harris. That means Terry Roberts is listed as a starter. Cooper Dajin, though, his backup. And I talked about this just a week ago. If you're listening to us here on Locked On Hawkeyes, I was telling you, don't be surprised if you're going to see more cornerback this

year from Cooper DeGene. He's still going to be the cash guy, but if they're able to go with the three linebackers a whole lot more because of Justin Jacobs and his ability to cover, just keep seeing more Cooper DeGene. But also at that corner, he wins the free safety job. I carry Kayvon Merriweather at

the strong safety spot. G. Bracey, he is the backup to Schulte at free safety, and Sebastian Torrey-Taylor is, of course, the punter. No backup listed in that one. So that's a run through the depth chart on the defensive side of the football. Again, not a whole lot of changes there. Not the same kind of intrigue that we have on the offensive side of the football. As you get a quick swig, get those vocal cords lubricated there.

But yeah, not a whole lot of intrigue in comparison to what we saw. That is the depth chart. Before we get out of here, let's take a look back at Week 0 and a look forward to Week 1. We will do that when we come back. You're listening to the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. I'm back with you one final time. Thanks for joining us on Locked On Hawkeyes.

Again, hit that subscribe button on YouTube and help us out just a little bit. So, on YouTube, we got a cool little new adventure that we are going through. We got a ticker here. It's going through listing all the Big Ten games of the weekend. Let me know in the comments. Let me know if you see the Big Ten games listed, top 25 games. Also put the point spread is always a big part of the

conversation for me. I love gambling. I do it every single week. I do it during baseball season. I am a daily gambler, so you're going to see those point spreads. Those are always going to be a big part of certainly what I do, but definitely some good information and some good news overall as we get before the week and taking a look back at week zero what we saw right week zero where Illinois does what they supposed are supposed to dominating performance against a Wyoming team

that lost a lot they only had eight starters coming back. Illinois and Brett Bielema, they know how to build a football team, right? They know what they're doing. Bielema knows how to win the Big Ten West. It can be annoying because Illinois is going to be relevant. Are they going to win a division title in the next couple years before divisions more than likely go away? I'm not sure to be there, but they're just going to be a pain in the butt. They're going to run the football.

They're going to play physics, a style that you see in the Big Ten West. They're going to be like Northwestern, like Wisconsin, like Minnesota, like Iowa. I mentioned one team I didn't mention. It's Nebraska. Good God. This Nebraska, talk about an unmitigated disaster. It's not a talent problem. It's never been an arrogance problem.

That's no doubt. This guy comes in here. He's talking about that the big have to change for him and what he's going to do. It's an absolute joke at his is in Nebraska. It's the same thing. You try an onside. Why? You're dominating the football game. You're winning. I know you can put it away with the kicker account. You go up 18. it's over for all intents and purposes. But this is Nebraska. This is not getting out of your own way. And Northwestern, just physically manhandling them at the point of attack and running the ball straight up the gut.

It's a trick play, I guess, to Scottie, the coach, man. It was working to perfection. Fitz in Ireland had the guys ready to go. They come back in the second half. They hang around and they get it done because they know how to build a football team to win. It's not all the pomp and circumstance that you get from there. And how does Nebraska? It's to be absolutely incredible.

I was of the opinion they were going to be better this year. I really did. I thought they were going to, at minimum, get back to a bowl game. I thought they were going to be better this year. I really did. I thought they were going to at minimum get back to a bowl game. I thought they were going to be 6-6, 7-5. I thought it was going to perhaps be difficult for Iowa. Instead, this is what we get. More of the same

from Nebraska. Hey, good news for us Hawkeye fans. If they continue to do that, keep stepping on themselves and just making bonehead plays, dumb decisions, Nebraska football. It's the gift that keeps on giving. The Hawkeyes are the gift that keeps on giving as the home opener comes up at 11 a.m. on Saturday against South Dakota State.

LaShawn was not able to join us here today. LaShawn, well, his power is out. Because of that, he's going to hope to join us on here Tuesday. On Thursday, we'll have a Friday show also with Sean as we preview South Dakota State. Gentlemen, ladies, we made it. Week zero is done. Week one is here. It is game week.

Thanks for joining us on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Hey, and you Big Ten fans out there, make sure to also listen to Nate Dickinson, Locked On Big Ten fans out there. Make sure to also listen to Nate Dickinson, Locked On Big Ten. Every day, local experts on Locked On will take you across the Big Ten in 30 minutes. Make Locked On Big Ten your second listen every day. Again, that's Locked On Big Ten. Nate does a great job with that.

We'll keep you going each and every day with the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. The depth chart is here. Tomorrow, we hear from the players and the coaches over in Iowa City. Game week, we made it.