Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: Former 5 * QB visiting, new OC rumblings, Hawkeye Hoops with David Eickholt

Episode Date: January 4, 2024

Trent Condon is joined by Hawkeye Insider's David Eickholt on the latest edition of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast.Opening with some thoughts on the news that former 5 * quarterback Ty Thompson will be visiting Iowa City starting on Friday.Then a look at the offensive coordinator job including some names including Paul Chryst and Joe Moorhead. A look at the return of Jermari Harris and some of the other possibilities for the Hawkeye football team.Finally some thoughts on men's and women's basketball as they prepare to continue in the Big Ten.Join Hawkeye Insider: https://247sports.com/college/iowa/join/?promo=JOINSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tons of news going on in the world of Hawkeye athletics. We break it down. We go to the main source. He is David Eicholdt from Hawkeye Insider. He joins us today. We're talking recruiting a five-star, former five-star, making his way to Iowa City. The potential for the new offensive coordinator. A little hoops as well.

It's a busy one today, Lockdown Hawkeyes. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, joined today by David Eichold of 247sportshawkeyeinsider.com, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts, and you can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit that subscribe button. Helps us get in front of

more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by the GameTime app. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. David, good to see you again. Good to talk to you again. And I know a busy day for you, Manning. A lot going on in the world of Hawkeye athletics as we await the decision of an offensive coordinator. We will get into that certainly today. A little basketball talk a little bit later with you, but we open things up in the world of the transfer portal. You know, we've been talking for the last month plus, Iowa doesn't have a whole lot of flexibility. We see the returns of Luke Lachey coming back

and Jay Higgins yesterday, Jamari Harris, making his decision to come back. We know there's not a ton of scholarships, but that doesn't mean that Iowa's not being active right now in the portal. Yeah, Trent, good to be joining you. If I would have known you were going to wear all this Chicago Bears stuff, I don't know if I would have hopped in, especially given my Packers this weekend. But you're right. Iowa really doesn't have a lot of flexibility right now, but if a scholarship situation doesn't work for a Power 5 conference or now a Power 2 conference, it'd be the first time it's ever not worked, right?

And I think right now when you look at this Iowa quarterback room specifically, you've got to upgrade the talent. I mean, Cade McNamara, with all due respect to what he's accomplished in his career at Michigan, coming to Iowa, kind of reigniting the fan base after the year prior to that, getting some big-time playmakers to Iowa, you really can't just put all your eggs in one basket at this point. With all due respect to Deacon Hill and Marco Lainez, right now it just doesn't look like those guys are right for the primetime stage.

So you bring in a guy on a visit like Ty Thompson, with Kirk Ferens bringing in a potential new OC, I know we'll get into that later, it has to be an open competition. And I don't think, you know, Ken McNamara is going to be exactly enthusiastic about it. But it's college football. This is a, you know, it's a cold world. It's a business at this point, especially with NIL and everything else. If Iowa's trying to set itself up for the best possible success,

you bring in the best players. And Ty Thompson is certainly no slouch of a prospect. I know Oregon probably didn't feel like he was going to be ready to take the next step, but you know, they also have the capability to bring in a guy like Dylan Gabriel. But Ty Thompson, I think would really, really be an excellent fit for Kirk Ferentz in whatever way the offense wants to go. Take us back a little bit in his recruitment. I know Iowa was involved when he was being recruited a couple years back. Five-star, there was the hope and the belief maybe, hey, he can make his way to Iowa City along with Kyler Casper.

Both those guys eventually end up at Oregon. But some family connections, if memory serves, back to the state of Iowa and where the recruitment went. What kind of chance at the time Iowa had to get him, and what kind of reignited this conversation? Before he took the Oregon visit, I had Iowa as a favorite, and that's why I was told by people close in his circle. I mean, Iowa did an excellent job in the recruitment, but I mean, when Oregon calls and you look at the eye-popping statistics that they put up, it's hard to say no. So Ty Thompson actually had a great relationship with Ken O'Keefe. I mean, he really praised Ken O'Keefe and his ability to coach and those two had a really good connection. And you're right, he does have some family in the Midwest and in Iowa. I believe his grandparents are just about an hour

or so outside of Iowa City. His mother is from around Iowa as well. So he's not unfamiliar to, you know, Iowa and kind of the way Iowans live their life and, you know, the Iowa football program in general, despite, you know, graduating high school from a warm and sunny Arizona, which I kind of jealous of that weather now. But no, Iowa did a fantastic job in that recruitment. But again, Oregon is just great at getting those caliber of athletes. So, you know, I think this also serves well

and preaches well to what Iowa wants to do. You don't burn bridges with top prospects when you go through the recruiting process, because if Iowa hadn't had the sort of connection to him that they did, I don't even think they get this visit. That's supposed to start tomorrow. When you really think about,

especially after what I was done the past three years, right? Offensively. I mean, it's kind of amazing that we're talking about a high four star, you know, five star by one outlet, you know,

quarterback coming to visit Iowa. And he's got good mobility, throws a very smooth ball. I'd describe him as a crisp quarterback. He has some mobility, not fast, but he can extend plays, and I think that's what you kind of want to look at too. So, yeah, I'm intrigued. Boise State was looking like it was going to be a factor, but now it looks like Boise State is going to land Malachi Nelson,

the five-star quarterback out of USC. They've emerged as the favorite. You know, K.J. Jefferson, I believe, is now at UCF. UCF was also involved. They'll look at Ty Thompson for a while. So there's still some programs looking around, but if Iowa really sells him a good pitch, you know, maybe throws a little NIL money his way,

you know, assuming he makes it to Iowa City, I think Iowa has at least somewhat of a chance. That's good, and good information certainly there. Now, one thing that Iowa's going to be selling when he makes his way there to Iowa City tomorrow, they don't have an offensive coordinator. I mean, how does Kurt Ferentz sell that? After what we've seen in the cratering of the offense

the last two years, not having anything official or probably anything buttoned up. I mean, there's people out there that believe that the decision has been made. I think you've made it known that it's certainly not the case at this point in time. But how does Iowa sell this to a Ty Thompson? How do you sell without an offensive coordinator there? Hey, this is going to be different. We're going to do things a different way.

How do you sell that? Yeah, I'm not jealous of him about how you sell it, right? I mean, it's got to be opportunity. And Ty Thompson left Oregon because he thought he was going to be the next starter and he didn't do it. Right. So I don't think he needs a guarantee of a starting job. I think he says, look, like this is the direction we're trending. And for the offensive coordinator, no, there's been no decision made. There's a list of a couple of finalists that I think are pretty public at this point. But there's been no decision that's been made. I still think we're a week or two away from getting anything finalized,

maybe even two weeks. You know, I hope Kirk Ferentz and, you know, his recruiting staff watch Wolf of Wall Street 30 times about, you know, sell me this pencil. I think that's the way you kind of have to go about it, right? You just have to find a way to get these top players there. And I've always said it, dudes recruit dudes. Once one domino falls, everything sort of falls back into place. I think you can point to, okay, look, Luke Lachey is going to be here, right? I think he's an All-American if he stays healthy this upcoming season. I think he'll be a future first-round

draft pick. We saw what Caleb Brown can do. Yeah, I know we had a couple sloppy drops in the bowl game, but if people are really pointing to Caleb Brown as a big issue on this offense going forward, I think they're crazy because there's a lot of other issues that need to be addressed. I've always said Iowa has playmakers available, but can they be coached and schemed the right way to best be utilized? Because I don't think it's a talent issue on Iowa. I think wide receiver, I think that's probably where they need the most. But as far as tight end goes, as far as running back goes, I think they're in a decent spot. So that's kind of the way I'd phrase it. I think you just sell opportunity more than anything else. And at least you give, you know, Ty Thompson, the direction of the style that you kind of want

to go. Because if there's anything Kirk probably knows at this point, Trent, he knows what style of football they're going to play. But there has to be some new wrinkles with this new offense. Because if my sister can tell you what play is coming next and she hasn't watched football, the offense is too damn simple, right? So I'd say opportunity more than anything else. One other connection that people are trying to connect some dots here is Joe Moorhead, who's currently the head coach at Akron. He's not gone well with the Zips 2-10 in both of his seasons, but as an offensive coordinator, he has been very good, both at Oregon and before that at Penn State.

Franklin's two best years came with Joe Moorhead as his offensive coordinator. Is there anything to people connecting those dots, or is it maybe more wishful thinking? I'd say it's more wishful thinking, and I'm only saying it from this standpoint, Trent, and I have not dove too much into Moorhead because I've been focused on some of the other candidates that are well-known. But Moorhead is a guy that I know Kirk and him have a decent relationship.

I mean, I think there's at least a respectful relationship there. But what does Kirk value almost above anything else, Trent? It's loyalty and stability, right? Look at Joe Moorhead's journey through college football, how many times he's hopped around at the first next opportunity I don't think Kirk wants to bring in offensive coordinator that you know let's say they have a great year in one year and then he's looking to go off back into being a head coach Kirk's gonna want a guy that's gonna want this position for three or four years as long as Kirk wants to stay and then the way Iowa's probably gonna have to sell them the opportunity is hey you have a shot at being the next Iowa head coach.

We're not going to give you a guarantee. But if you put yourself in a position, maybe you can be the next Iowa head coach. And contrary to Outsider's popular belief trend, being a head coach at Iowa is probably a top 15 job in the country, if not higher. I mean, I think people don't understand how good of a job it is. It's got great athletic funding. think people don't understand how good of a job it is it's got great athletic funding it's stable as any it's probably the most stable on the country as long as you don't completely nosedive right so i was gonna have you know it's pretty good picks whenever kirk ferris decides to hang it up and that's why i think you know kirk won't be able to promise it uh to anyone as well so

morehead i still say is wishful thinking but i'm not gonna you know sit there and be like oh he's completely out of left field. There's no chance. We'll dive a little bit more into the offensive coordinator position as we continue here. Locked on Hawkeyes. We'll also talk about the return of Jamari Harris, what that means to the defense. Jay Higgins coming back. Luke Lachey and a whole lot more.

Plenty of Iowa football as we continue. This is the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. Today's episode of Locked on Hawkeyes is brought to you by GameTime. You shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets for your next big event. GameTime is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy, and theater events near you. With killer last-minute deals, all-in prices, views from your seat, and their best price guarantee, GameTime takes the guesswork out of buying tickets. I love the option, seeing the view from your seat. Use it a bunch of different times with the game time app, knowing exactly where

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Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, Lowest price guaranteed. Trey Connick back with you once again alongside David Eichold here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. A busy one as we make our way through the transfer portal with the visit of Ty Thompson.

We talked a little bit about a connection. A lot of people are making that with Joe Moorhead, obviously, who recruited Thompson to Oregon and putting those pieces together. Paul Crist has been a name that's been bandied about. For me, out of a lot of the options that are out there, it's the one that I might be highest on just because of his background as a quarterback, a quarterback coach, and knowing that going forward, Iowa needs to improve at that level so much.

And regardless of who it is, I think what he does philosophically works incredibly well with Iowa. It's just one that makes a whole lot of sense there. Is he kind of boring, kind of mundane? Yeah. Was he a great recruiter as a head coach? Not really, but as an OC, I think he would just be a great fit for Iowa. How about you, David? No, I'm with you. I think it's a home run higher. I mean, because look, Paul Chris, number one, he knows how to develop quarterbacks. Two, he's a proven play caller. With all the Chris's, my Brian Ferentz, the thing that drove me nuts is play calling. He just never got better. There was just some mind-blowing calls. Paul Chris, here's the thing about Paul Chris too. What has Kurt Ferentz always done over the last decade plus?

They've strived to be Wisconsin. And who was the head man there? It was Paul Chris. Who was calling the plays? It was Paul Chris. He knows how to run plays. He knows how to run a well-oiled machine on offense. He knows how to run a better version of what Iowa wants to be. And that's why it makes a lot of sense. But the big for Kirk more even not just as probably just as important as hiring the right person whoever it is can Kirk give them the keys to the offense and take his hands off it I don't know I I you know with all again with all due respect to Brian I don't think it was solely Brian Ferentz's offense it was Kirk Ferentz's offense and I'm not saying Brian will blip the world on fire.

If he had full creative ability at all. I'm not saying that based on what we've seen, you can't say that. But Kirk has to keep his hands off the offense. He has to trust the offensive coordinator. Like he trusts Phil Parker. And I don't know if he's going to be able to do that, but Paul Crist,

you know, for all the options I've heard, I think it's the one that makes the most sense. I think it would have the biggest immediate impact as well. Because let me put it this way, Trent, if you get a big group, right, where you change up the style of the offense, the style of the offense doesn't matter if you don't have the players to run that style of the offense.

We saw what happened with Luke Fickle this year at Wisconsin, right? I expect them to be a lot better next year because they're going to have more pieces to run the style that they want. Iowa cannot run a five wide air raid offense with what it has in place. I don't even know if they have five wide receivers they can put on the field at this point, right? It's a serious thing. But no, I think Paul Chris makes a lot of sense on a lot of fronts. He'd be my pick at this point. But I'm very curious if there's other names that kind of trickle out over the next two weeks or so. Keep an eye on that one and keep an eye out. Hawkeyeinsider.com.

David and Sean do a great job over there, keeping you up to date on everything going on inside the world of Hawkeye athletics and their message board. Always a very intriguing information over there each and every time. And it's a new year. That means I got to get my subscription updated over there and see the latest rumblings happening over on the message boards. A couple more things for you on the football front.

Jamari Harris coming back. I thought this one was huge. Jay Higgins, that's great, right? Luke Lachey, we know, has a chance to have an outstanding final campaign in a Hawkeye uniform. But just because of the lack of depth at the cornerback spot, that was something that was very concerning. We know last summer they were still trying all the way through the summer to find another portal entry to help them out at the cornerback spot. That was something that was very concerning. We know last summer they were still trying all the way through the summer to find another portal entry to help them out at the cornerback spot. TJ Hall banged up all season long. That injury obviously was incredibly impactful, and the likelihood that Cooper Dejean comes back just doesn't seem very high from the outside

looking in. So getting Jamari Harris back, a big one. We have a little smirk on your face there when I brought that up, David. I mean, I'm not saying Cooper's going yet. No. And that continues to be out there. It's just so difficult. I think he goes, okay, at this point. My prediction is he leaves. But I'm telling you, man, between people I've talked to that are directly connected to Iowa football, there's some cautious optimism that Cooper is going to come back.

Like, I don't think it's out the window. I dropped a note on our VIP board yesterday, and I just said, look, they're not wavering in confidence. They think they have a lot to sell Cooper. And, you know, I think Cooper right now, my prediction would be it's going to be a TJ Hawkinson situation. He would come back, but there's so much money on the table. I think if Cooper is 100 hundred percent healthy all season,

I don't think he comes back, but Cooper is a very prideful kid. I think if it was directly up to him and his heart, I think he'd come back for one more year, but $9 million signing bonus, you know, going top 20 really can't turn that down, but I'm not, I'm not closing the door on Cooper to come back yet. I'm not, I'm just, I'm throwing that out there. As far as Jamari Harris goes, yeah, I was a little bit surprised by it, Trent, from this standpoint.

I was talking to some people close to Jamari's camp prior to this season, and they all thought he was going to go to the NFL after this year. That was the plan. So I think the Iowa swarm is a big reason why he's returning. I thought Jamari played well. I don't think he played great, but I also think he was kind of the victim of the senior year Desmond King campaign, right, where they just never threw him the ball,

so they just picked on Mabin the entire time. I think that was sort of what happened with him, and I still think Jamari had a good year. But I think him returning, he's a potential all-Big Ten cornerback. I think he has a high upside, and I think he knows he can really put an NFL draft stock and kind of increase them put more tape up for the NFL draft next year so I you're right given the depth that corner at least proven depth that corner I think it's a massive return Cooper Dajin I still think people should expect

him to go but again I'm not saying the door's closed on that by any means from what I heard as of last night so there's there's that little any means. From what I heard as of last night. So there's that little tidbit for you. So we got Sebastian Castro still waiting the decision. It feels like many people believe, more likely than not, that he's going to return for another season. And the other guy's already announcing that they're coming back. I mean, that can't hurt.

Now, there's not a finite amount of money in the NIL and what Swarm Collective and Brad and company are doing over there. But Castro, better chance than not that he comes back. Is that a fair characterization? I've said it's a coin flip. I've leaned toward him returning because I'll tell you, based on talking to some people that are connected to Iowa football, the energy has been infectious as far as how closely knit the group is. And as far as one guy says, oh, guess what? I'm coming back. I think that really does trickle down and i've said too if jay was coming back i thought castro was coming back and i'm not closing the door on nick jackson i think nick jackson all like i i think nick jackson's a coin flip as well

i know there's some people that think he's gonna go to the nfl in my opinion he probably should just given his age and how much wear and tears on that body and how important it is to get that second contract as a linebacker. But, you know, Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson are very, very close friends. Iowa's worked hard to kind of retain him. So I would give the edge for Iowa for Sebastian Castro. I'd give the slightest of edges to the NFL for Nick Jackson. And like you said, we're still waiting on Quinn Schulte.

Nobody's really talking about Eric Aul. I, you know, without speaking out of turn here, I think people within the program and outside the program think Eric All is going to the next level at this point. And I think that's probably the correct decision. Again, that's not official. That's just my feeling looking from the outside. But, yeah, it's certainly going to be very interesting to see what they do. And I think Castro, if he comes back, whether regardless if Cooper Dijon comes back or not Castro's probably gonna be my pick for

defensive back of the year in the conference because I think he is poised to just absolutely explode after what we saw this past season absolutely exciting times for the Hawkeye football team now just fix that offense and we're gonna be pretty much yeah it's as that well there's some fixing to be done on the men's basketball team. We'll talk about that when we come back as they fall to Owen three with their loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday night, bounce back on Saturday, an opportunity against Rutgers. And if they want to get any kind of conversation or even getting onto the

bubble, they're going to have to pile up a whole bunch of wins in a hurry. We'll talk about that. And the women's basketball team and other buzzer beater for Kaitlyn Clark. They got one against Rutgers coming up on the road on Friday night. A little Hawkeyes hoops as we continue. This is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by the FanDuel Sportsbook. The NFL regular season is wrapping up, but there's still time to get in

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Visit FanDuel.com slash LockedOn and make your first bet an easy one. That's FanDuel.com slash LockedOn. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Trent Conant back with you one final time alongside David Eicholdt here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast your team every day that's what we do here on the Lockdown Network if you're on YouTube hit subscribe get a little better look here with David the young strapping fellow over there and don't have to look at my ugly mug every single day Eicholdt hoops uh boy what a contrast

it was on Tuesday night right from the men team, get off to a nice start. Wisconsin comes back, opportunities. And boy, 53-52, felt like maybe they can steal. And then the wheels just fell off. A couple of bad turnovers there. And Wisconsin ran away and controlled it from there. On the other side, Iowa jumps out to an early lead in the women's game, then just hit a cold streak.

It was ugly there. That second quarter, about as bad offensively as we've seen this Ivo women's team play all season long. But then Kaitlyn Clark with another buzzer beater. Let's start with the men first. Let's go there. I mentioned it. If they have any hope of getting back into the mix here,

they got to get a bunch of wins here in a hurry, and it's got to start against Rutgers. 0-3 hole. The Big Ten is down this year from past seasons. I don't even think 10 and 10 is going to get you a tournament bid this year unless you have wins against like Purdue Illinois Wisconsin something like that so you got to start doing it here it just it's a down year for this Iowa team I don't have much hope of a comeback out of this squad what about you you? I don't either, but I've also, you know, that first half against Wisconsin, I was very impressed because I just thought they looked a

lot better defensively than I think we've seen them all season long. And, you know, Owen Freeman, man, he played all 20 minutes of that first half. Like nobody was talking about it. And I'm sitting here looking at, you know, down at the stat sheet, looking on TV. I'm like, why is nobody acknowledging this? This kid averages 16 minutes a game, which, by the way, we all knew it was going to continue to go up. I mean, I would argue right now he is the best player on Iowa's team. I don't think it's close. I think Tony Perkins has started to really kind of regain that stride,

but we need to continue to see that consistency. That effort in the second half was tremendous. Owen Freeman, you you know I'm really excited about but Iowa needs to find a true point guard quick I think that's a big problem defensively obviously there are enough problems and I like Ben Crickey a lot offensively but he didn't grab a rebound for the first 18 minutes of the game he's a bucket getter but like you're six foot nine you have to grab a rebound and I it just they they just continue to get out tough they get out hustled and that's

what happened that second half run Wisconsin they just started to bully Iowa and that's been the common theme when Iowa loses they get in the paint and they just flat out bully Iowa and there was so much pressure put on Owen Freeman in that game because Ben Crick used ball and foul trouble and he had two stupid fouls in the second half frustration fouls frustration fouls after you've been sitting on the bench for the final 10 minutes of the first half it just it was not pretty iowa needs to find a way to just and i've said before and i've taken a lot of flack for it but i'm gonna stand by it because that's just what i do they miss connor mccaffrey connor mccaffrey would get after people connor mccaffrey was the defensive anchor he would guard anybody from one to five he would grab those tough rebounds forget the shot making

aspect the three-point offense is what it is at this point i still think it's going to get better but connor mccaffrey if there's one thing that nobody could take away from him he was tough as hell and iowa just needs somebody to kind of get after one another beat that locker room leader communicate on the floor defensively, and be tough. And I'm not saying if they have Connor McCaffrey that they're, you know, two and one in the Big Ten or anything like that. But this team just kind of has that missing part of its identity

that they are right now. The defense is what it is at this point. It's gotten better since Owen Freeman's playing. I love Brock Harding. I think he's going to continue to get better and better. But there are some very glaring issues right now as far as defense communication and just getting out-toughed. You know, we've seen improvement from DeSante Bowen. You mentioned Harding there, and that's the thing that I just,

it's difficult to wrap my mind around. Tony Perkins is great in a pinch. Three minutes here, they're running the point. When they made another run in the Big Ten tournament, Bohannon was out there, but Perkins was running a lot of point during that tournament run that they made. He can do that when he's kind of a combo, but a starting point guard, that's not what he is.

You have two options, I think two incredibly intriguing ones. Maybe if this thing continues to crater, we will see. Hey, hand the keys off to Bowen for a game. Give him 28, 30 minutes, see what he can do. Same thing with Harding and see kind of which one of those guys run with the job. But that's one part of it. In order to do that, though, and insert them into the lineup. I mean, somebody needs to go to the bench.

And I think the easiest casualty, unfortunately, that is Patrick McCaffrey. Patrick just he looks so lethargic out there. Two offensive rebounds all season long, only five fouls. You feel bad because I know what he is going through, the anxiety. I've talked about this here, David. I can't imagine. You wake up and you're just not feeling right. What could be going on mentally in your head after dealing with cancer as he did and just all the different things that him and their family have gone through? I get all that, but he just looks so out of source right now. If you're going to make a move, that would be the most realistic, but we also know who the head guy

is. And that's also another difficult conversation. Yeah, no, and you're right. It's, it's a very interesting dynamic. And I know, you know, Iowa fans have really harped on Patrick McCaffrey and I know, you know, here's the thing. It's like, nobody can really defend the play right now that he has. And we've seen him flash. I mean, during the NCAA tournament loss to Richmond, I know people don't want to relive that. Patrick was a big reason why they were in the game at all. I mean, he was the only one hitting three-pointers. And I know how hard Patrick works, how important it is to him.

And I don't want to speculate mental health is an issue. I mean, obviously, like, he's come out publicly and he's stated that. But you're right. I mean, I do think that that could be at play in all that he's gone through. And you're right. I think he'd be the easiest one. You take him out, you move Tony Perkins back to two, you play either Josh Dix, Adesante Bowen, or Brock Harding at the starting one.

But you're right. I don't think that that's going to happen. I still think there's going to be a stretch this season where Patrick does get it back. But at some point, it's like, when is enough enough? And he just does not have it right now. And I think that's going to be the difficult conversation it is. And, you know, I would, as somebody who, you know,

really tries to become a mental health advocate and everything that Patrick's gone through, I would advise people just to be very careful about what they tweet, you know, and what they tweet about Patrick. You know, I also say he has a lot more to deal with on his mind because of how much criticism surrounding Fran, how much of a microscope his entire family is under, quite frankly. I can't imagine trying to deal with that. But, again, that's not dismissing the lack of productivity.

But you're right. I think there's a lot of different factors at play here. And I just want what's best for the kid. I've talked to him. He's a great, great kid. So I'm really hoping for the best for him, but you're right. I think it's definitely be something that, uh, it's definitely something that they'd have to, they have to address. We wrap up with a little women's talk, a fun game against Michigan state. They get it done. The Caitlin Clark walk-offoff buzzer-beater winner across national media. I'm just seeing all the people nationally talking about it

from Don Staley in a different sense to all the way through. Have you been blocked by her yet? No, I didn't even go there. I just retweeted somebody else that had it on the lockdown account. So it was interesting. But the great part of it is Caitlin Clark. My concern about this team though, is what we see Sharon Goodman, what played six minutes, five minutes out of Addison O'Grady,

no wonder what's looming around the corner with Indiana and McKenzie Holmes. I don't think you can get away played 11 minutes with them. Hannah Stolke is great and she's going to be great. And she very well could become an all American herself, but Kate Martin's not a great offensive player. She can knock down a shot. She can do some things off the bounce, but they just need to find more out there offensively. It needs to be Kylie Feerbach finally put it all together because I think

she has that kind of ability. Maybe it's McKay coming off the bench and, and giving her even eight minutes a game, you know, four minutes a half to come in there, hit some shots. I know she's a net negative defensively, but they need some more scoring out there. That's my concern right now with this team. They're putting so much on Kaitlin offensively right now.

She needs more help. No, you're right. That's the crazy part. Kaitlin Martin will turn it up when the lights are brightest, though, and that's the thing. That's the thing that really intrigued me about this team if you think about the last big 10 tournament last run in march right gab they need gabby marshall that's who they need and you know gabby's hit over 200 threes in her career she deals the toughest assignment defensively

and i thought when she hit the three in transition the other day i thought she'd finally broken through the look on her face when that finally went through, you could see her mouth finally, because she's been getting good looks. And you're right. I don't know how Kaitlin does it night after night. She misses eight straight shots the other night against Michigan State, Trent. She's clearly really pissed off because she was forcing some shots out there. And then I think, you know, somebody hit a three in her face. And it's amazing every time that that happens, that Kaitlin just goes like, all right, you know, somebody hit a three in her face, and it's amazing every time that that happens that Kaitlin just goes like, all right, you know when she's going down the court, she's not passing the ball.

She's going to go launch a 30-footer and it's going in. That's just what she does. But you're right. I mean, I think when they go up against Indiana and Mackenzie Holmes, I think Sharon Goodman's a good option. I think she's going to get minutes. I think Asno Grady, I just don't know what's happened to her because we've seen her freshman year.

There were some stretches where you're thinking, oh, she's going to be up next. She has some great blocks, great finishes at the rim. She could do some of that stuff. She just doesn't seem to have a role, and I think the thing that really – I don't want to say makes her unplayable, Trent, but her and Kaitlyn just do not have that chemistry on the court. I've seen Asson drop passes that any other big has caught, and they know what to expect when they're on the court with Kaitlyn.

So I think that's a big thing. Hannah Stolke is tremendous. I just don't want to see her go up against a 6'5 girl every night because she gets in foul trouble. How's this team playing? But I'm with you. I think Taylor McCabe needs more minutes. I think Kylie Feerbach has made some, not eye-popping statistical jumps,

but you watch her on the court. One, she's a lot more comfortable. And two, she's making big plays to help turn the game, whether it be a deflection, whether it be a steal, whether it be hitting back-to-back threes. She's done some certain things. But the obvious candidate that needs to step up more than anything else, they need Gabby Marshall to get back to what

she was to end last year because if she can just average nine to ten points a game that opens up so many better shot opportunities for one Caitlin Clark and two it just takes less it just takes more pressure off her and then you can play Taylor McCabe who can also stretch the floor as well and the only person that might take more shots than Caitlin on a per minute basis is Taylor McCabe. And I'm all about it. I love it. I'm right there with you. It's going to be fun here. A fun stretch of Hawkeye hoops as Iowa still ranked in the top five on the women's side and the men looking for win number one in the big 10, 11 o'clock is the tip off in Carver on Saturday morning for that one. David Eicholt, 24-7, hawkeyeinsider.com. David, for people interested, getting involved with what you guys are doing, always done happening with the transfer

portal, new OC, a lot going on. What do you got going on right now over at Hawkeye Insider? Yeah, so stay locked into hawkeyeinsider.com. We have a 30% off annual subscription. Get a dollar for your first month. If you like what you see, feel free to upgrade that to a monthly or yearly subscription. But otherwise, just stay locked in at David Eichel at Hawkeyes on 247 on Twitter. I'm not calling it X. That just seems weird, Trent. I'm not saying I'm up. Let me upload this press conference to X.

I'm not going to upload an X video. It just makes no sense. So stay locked in to what we do at Hawkeye Insider. And I always appreciate the platform Trent, thanks Absolutely, love it David, we'll talk again soon We will have David Eichold in here And a whole lot more coming up on tomorrow's program LaShawn Daniels, former Hawkeye running back

Will stop in, we'll get his thoughts On what we saw in the Citrus Bowl And the changes that need to happen With the Hawkeye offense This is the Lockdown Hawkeyes Podcast Your team every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.