Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: Noah Shannon suspended for season, Cade McNamara injury update

Episode Date: August 24, 2023

Kirk Ferentz talked with the media today about a myriad of topics as it pertains to Iowa football including the gambling investigation, Noah Shannon being out for the year with a suspension handed down from the NCAA, his appeal process, an injury update to Cade McNamara, the offensive line and a new scholarship player plus plenty more.Trent Condon gives a recap and his thoughts on everything that was said by the Hawkeye football Head Coach Kirk Ferentz.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterhelpThis podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedoncollege today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl Winner, you can GET BONUS BETS EVERY TIME THEY WIN IN THE REGULAR SEASON! FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noah Shannon has been suspended by the NCAA for a year. Did the NCAA get it right? And another day, another Cade McNamara injury update, this time from the head Hawk, Kirk Ferentz. His thoughts on when we can see McNamara back 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.

I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit that subscribe button. It helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. As we talked about in yesterday's program, it feels like we are nearing a conclusion with the NCAA and what they are going to lay out as it pertains to the sports gambling investigation for the University of Iowa and the student

athletes. 11 student athletes that are still on campus are looking at some kind of suspension, maybe completely out of the college game. And we heard today from Kirk Ferentz and really, I think, solidified a lot of our thoughts. We also got the news item and the headline of this one is Noah Sheenan has been suspended for the year. That is the top line item as it comes to this. Noah Sheenan, a guy that made the decision to come back for his sixth season. Also, I think of something that played a part in his decision to come back is he had significant shoulder surgery this offseason. In fact, he is still working his way back to 100% on the football field. So a guy that would have

got a shot at the next level, probably an undrafted free agent. We know how many guys in the University of Iowa program under Kirk Ferentz have been able to hit and stick around for a couple of years, but that was going to be incredibly difficult for Noah Shannon with the injury that he had, not the ability to get there on the field and do the work. So it made the decision pretty easy to come back for that sixth year, to go through and give it one more go. He comes back for another year. You got Evans, you got Ragaini.

Those three guys come back for a sixth season. And it kind of was part of the blueprint here of setting up what is one of the more anticipated Iowa football seasons in a really long time. And then this. So a couple other nuggets from this. The NCAA has come back to the University of Iowa with their decision what these suspensions are going to be. And Kirk Ferentz had this to say about the situation. First, he mentioned that there's three levels that we're talking about here. You have the guys that have serious consequences. Their collegiate eligibility is over. That's Aaron Blum. A guy that bet on Iowa, even in a game that he didn't play,

it's over. You're not coming back from that. And I have absolutely no problem with that. You bet on your own team, even if you're betting on them to win, that is the ultimate no-no. That is passing, yes, things you're not supposed to do, things maybe you can think you can get away with, and that's taking it to another level. That's certainly the case here with Aaron Blum. He then mentioned that there's a couple of guys looking at suspensions. We have speculated about some of the names and the rumblings that are out there. Told you defensive back would be a place maybe to look. At least that's the rumors that are out there at this point in time. Also heard that maybe the tight end position could be a possibility of the couple guys that are looking at suspensions. That was new to me today. We will see on that

front again that it's just part of the rumor mill. And then finally, he talked about Noah Shannon and the year-long suspension. That is something that they are going to appeal. Look, the thresholds are pretty simple, and we've talked about these. You go over $800, it is a 30% loss of your season and can go even up to 50% of your season. We're talking four or six games for those guys. If you're under the $800 threshold, maybe talking about a couple of games,

that's kind of what we're looking at with what sounds like two other players that we still have not heard named that are part of the football program. For Noah Shannon, though, to go through, come back, and then have this be his swan song, to be the lasting memory for a lot of people in Noah Shannon, a guy that put a lot into this football program, a guy that started 27 consecutive games, a guy that was a run stuffer and a guy that had eight and a half tackles for a loss last year. This impactful guy. Yes, it's very easy to say I was deep at defensive tackle and they are. And I guess that is the positive side of this is I was incredibly deep up front. That will help out in trying to replace Noah Shannon.

But for a young man that made a mistake, and he bet on the Hawkeyes, but not the football team. Maybe it's the women's basketball team, maybe the men's team, whatever it is. A lot of speculation, bet on the game against South Carolina in the Final Four. And bet on them to win. Did he have inside information? is. A lot of speculation. Bet on the game against South Carolina in the Final Four. And bet on them to win. Did he have inside information? We can argue that until we're blue in the face. It's a no-no from the NCAA. But as Kirk Ferentz said today, maybe this is something that needs to be rethought. He's not committed a crime. Kirk mentioned he thought it was very harsh and punitive a year-long suspension for him. So they're going to appeal. Beth Goetz, this is kind of the first

major hurdle that she's going to come across as the athletic director in the interim role that she's in right now. This is a big one here. Kirk believes that the suspension should be reduced, This is a big one here. Kirk believes that the suspension should be reduced, that there should be an ability for Noah Shannon to come back and play. Maybe it's the last half of the season. Maybe it's the final four games. It's an eight-game suspension or a nine-game suspension,

and he'd get them at some point back in November. Whatever it proves to be, this is something that Beth gets and the rest of the athletic department needs to have all their ducks in a row and get this one right. That's what we have. We also got Salty Kirk. And Kirk was, he was fired up today. We've heard this now a couple of different times. Now, it's very simple.

He says, well, why us? And kind of that bunker mentality that you get a lot from not just football, just teams in general. You go with that old school thinking, the bunker mentality that you get a lot from not just football, just teams in general. You go with that old school thinking, the bunker mentality, it's us against the world. And I think we saw a little bit of that and heard a little bit of that from Kurt today. Is also the, what was me? Why us? Well, the why us is very simple. It's because the investigation started with the Iowa DCI.

They don't have jurisdiction in other states. And right now, the other states are not willing to do what happened here in the state of Iowa. The DCI got information. They got information, and they had to act on it. And when they found out that their first tip was a student athlete, they had to investigate. That's their job. And they had a new piece of information.

They had new technology that was able for them to monitor. Look, if the Iowa DCI overlooked this and it ever came out, everybody in that department would be fired. From the people that were supposed to be investigating to the people that make those decisions, they would be fired. They would lose their jobs. This is their job.

Their job is to investigate these things. You can't overlook sports wagering from athletes. You have to find out if there was game fixing and point shaving. That's what it's all about. That's what their job is. So I can't go down the path of the woe is me. Oh, we're poor Iowa. Yes, we know what's happening across the country. Get it.

And does it suck for Iowa? Absolutely. Does it suck for Iowa State? No doubt. But the reality is it happened here. The reality is this happened. Yes, it's happening elsewhere. I get that. But the Iowa DCI can't go up to Wisconsin and look at the Badgers or go look at the Gophers or go over to Nebraska. And guess what? If they went to all those other places, they'd probably find athletes that have been gambling on sports.

But they can't. And until we see those other states go that route, nothing's going to happen. It sucks for Iowa. They're going to be a test case and they're going to also be something that they're going to be in every one of the conversations that is happening

as everybody fills out their compliance forms and talks about gambling, they're going to be talking about what happens in Iowa. But the woe is me, I can't quite go there. I feel bad for Noah Shannon. I feel bad for a guy that everybody says is a great kid, a great young man. Made a mistake. I think a year is too long. I think that the NCAA has not gone far enough in the way that they are administering these penalties. I think some common sense needs to be made. It's not about Noah Shannon.

It's not about the woe is me. That's the part that I just can't get to that point. We got to see Salty Kirk here today. We also got to hear about Cade Bactamara, an injury update from him. We will get into that. The latest, Kirk Ferentz, hopeful that he's going to be back soon. We will continue to tackle one of the biggest questions leading into this season, the quad injury for Cade McNamara and the impact coming up. Will he be back for Utah State? Is he

going to be back on the practice field? We'll do that as we continue. This is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. For a championship team, it's all about making sure every player is a perfect fit. It's the same when it comes to your vehicle. Every part needs to fit just right. So the next time you need parts and accessories, head to eBay Motors. With eBay Guaranteed Fit, you can be sure every part you need fits right the first time around. Just add your ride to my Garage and look for the green check to know that the part will fit or your money back. Because just like in sports, confidence is

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As always, thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. As we continue the conversation, we get back into the injury front. We've been on this one since last week, the quad injury to Kate McNamara. How significant is it? I've continued to tell you, I think more significant than people initially

were letting on. And that's definitely played out throughout this week. So back to Kirk Ferentz and what we heard from him today over in iowa city um you have to read kirk and it's funny because listen to the beat guys the guys that are there with him every single time now i list or listen or read to every one of his press conferences but because of job, I'm not there every single week. In fact, I rarely make it to a game in that kind of fashion. I go as a fan, but I also do things in a different way. That aside, this, when it comes to Kirk, you have to read him a little bit more.

So the first time that Cade McNamara's name came up, he was very dodgy. He was dodgy about it. And as he was talking about what was happening with him, what was happening with the injury and really didn't answer it right away. That was a big takeaway for me right away with McNamara is he wasn't willing to go there. Didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to definitely look at this squad, what they were and what Cade McNamara's injury is. He said hopeful. That hopeful word is important. Hopeful to have him back by the end of the week or early next week. Hopeful. Again, you can read this a lot of different ways. And this is like trying to speak a different language,

the Kirk Ferentz language. The way that I heard it, he's still questionable. Hopeful that he'll be back. He also said optimistic, but he's normally a pretty optimistic guy. And I think optimistic is a term that he uses quite often. And we've heard him say that he's been optimistic before as it pertains to injuries,

and the guy doesn't eventually play. As I told you last week, I believe Cade McNamara is going to try to go. Even if he's at 60, 70%, if he can go out there, he can throw. There's not going to be any more damage done to the quad. Not going to be a chance of re-aggravation. If that's the case,

he can get some practice time out there. He wants to be on the field for the first game just to get reps. You've got to roll game to Iowa State. And though Iowa State certainly looks like they're going to have issues this year, that defense is still really good. You want to go through these reps. Cade McNamara was not able to go through spring practice. Cade McNamara now has been limited and is going to miss at least a week and a half,

maybe a couple weeks of camp here in August. Even if he comes back next week and he's good to go on Tuesday and he's as close to full board as he can be with that quad injury. Optimistic. Get it. That's Kirk. Also a little bit cagey as it came to that. There's another piece to this story and this comes today from KCCI. That is the CBS affiliate here in Des Moines, if you're from outside the area. And one of their sports reporters, Shannon Earhart, she had to sit down with Cade McNamara and ask the question about his rehab. Cade McNamara, smooth dude, right? Good in front of a microphone, great leader.

We hear about the leadership qualities, the guy that just has everybody that surrounds him. Cade McNamara was about as nervous answering that question as I've ever seen him before. He was out of sorts. He was fumbling over his words. Just search KCCI, Shannon Earhart. It'll come up.

I retweeted it. And listen to his response. He said, quote, I'm progressing and that's all I want to say about that. While also kind of fumbling over his words. That's not something we've heard from Cade McNamara before. That's not the guy that we've seen. Again, it's more than tweak. Is everybody now fine

saying that? It was more than the tweak that some people wanted us to believe after the injury at Kids Day. There's more to it. This is more significant than some people were letting on early on. Can he play against Utah State? Absolutely. We'll see how rehab goes. We'll see how the end of the week goes. And he play against Utah State? Absolutely. We'll see how rehab goes.

We'll see how the end of the week goes. And he's going to try to play. But that's where we are. I thought that was a big, big piece, though, of Cade McNamara and the way that he answered that question. A little bit fumbly there. A little bit fumbly. Need to be concerned. Now, a question that I pose to you, and hit me up on the comments section if you're watching on YouTube, hit me up on Twitter at Trent Condon, is this. Game one, Utah State. Look, Deacon Hill can take all the snaps, and they should be able to run the football. If the offensive line's even average, run the football enough and get out of there with like a 24-3 win, right? 24-10, something like that.

You get the victory, you move on, you're 1-0. I don't think there's any doubt they'll be able to do that with Deacon Hill. It's not a very good Utah State team. Is it more important for Cade McNamara to get some snaps? Is it more important for Cade McNamara to get those reps? Going into a road trip to Iowa State, working with the new receivers, working with the new offense. Is it important, even if he's 60, 70 percent, for him to do that? Or if this is something that can linger, and if the doctors believe that another week of rest

and rehab is going to be something that in the long run is going to be better for him, what's more important? I think you can argue both sides. I mean, this is one that I can't take a hard stand. He has to play. He's got to get those reps. Or the other side, he's got to rest. He's got to be full bore for Iowa State. I don't think there's a completely right answer, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on that one.

If the doctors say, hey, no chance of re-aggravation, it's not going to get worse if he goes out there, is that more important, him getting the reps, or trying to be at least as close to healthy for Iowa State if it plays out that way? That is kind of that dichotomy, that back and forth that we have at this point in time. It's nervous, man. Finally get a quarterback, and here we are battling a weird quad injury. Kirk Ferentz had a whole lot more to say. The offensive line, do they have five yet? That doesn't sound that way. We got a new scholarship player and a whole lot more and more news and notes from Iowa football as we get ready for football season. Week zero is upon us.

Oh boy, it is a great, great time to be a college football fan and we will get things kicked off on Saturday. Notre Dame Navy. How about San Diego State, Ohio? I'm looking forward to that one. Your ESPN game. How ridiculous is this? UMass making its way to New Mexico State. Oh, that's a barn burner on big ESPN. But it's football.

It's going to be back. Real football will be played before the Hawkeyes the week after that. We'll get going against Utah State. We'll get into those news and notes, some thoughts on the offensive line, new scholarship player, few others, including the youngsters in the defensive backfield as we continue on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. There's times where you just don't feel right.

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That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash LockedOnCollege. Trent Conant back with you again on the LockedOnHawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making LockedOnHawkeyes your first listen every day. So Kirk had a little bit more to say. Mentioned we heard from salty Kirk Ferentz today in his press conference, and getting to hear from that makes you chuckle from time to time. He gets some quips in there, right? He gets some one-liners that makes you laugh.

Nico Raggini talked about him being 28 years old as they hope to get him back out on the field. So a couple of other things. Outside of the gambling, outside of what we heard about Cade McNamara and also from Cade McNamara in that little clip that we got from KCCI. Kirk Ferentz hates 7-on-7. Now, as an offensive line coach, that's not a surprise, right? 7-on-7, you don't get those offensive linemen. So you can definitely understand why Kirk, that is not his favorite thing to be going

through and some salty comments on that one. A big one, though, and something that every day, as you know, something that I harp on a lot, and that is offensive line play. So important. The way that this offense has cratered the last two years, we can blame Spencer Petras. We can blame the lack of wide receivers, but more than anything, the blame needs to go.

And we certainly can blame Brian Ferentz, but if he can't block, it's not going to matter. It doesn't matter if it's Kyle Shanahan. It doesn't matter if it's Cliff Kingsbury. It doesn't matter if it's Graham Harrell. Name whatever offensive mind you want. If you can't block, your offense is going to stink. And they couldn't block, certainly last year.

And the year before wasn't very good either. Have they settled on a five? Not yet. Still searching, trying to find those right combinations. And that's something that we anticipated. This is something that pretty much every single year, Kirk Ferentz does. He's still tinkering with that line, trying to find the right combinations. He'll get out there in game experience. One thing he did say is they want to cut that number down to seven or eight guys that are going to be part of the main rotation here.

So kind of what does that mean? Dajon Parker, we're still waiting for him to get back to 100% and seeing what he can do. Is that a guy that can solidify the right tackle position? If that's the case, Jennings Dunker, does he move inside? What about the other transfer in Rusty Feth? He was a backup, at least getting things started. Last year, Mason Richmond, I thought, showed some promise and certainly some upside.

We saw a big step forward from what he was as a freshman. However, he was also playing intern. And what is a healthy Mason Richmond going to look this year? Connor Colby, not a tackle, but a guard. He's had his moments. And of course, Logan Jones in the middle at the center position. They continue to say that they anticipate some big ascension there. They got different parts moving around, figure it out. Can Dunker play

right tackle? Does he got the speed to get out to the edge? Does he have the punch that you need at the right tackle position? Is it Nick DeYoung, who sounds like he's had a really good camp, and though there's been some rough moments for DeYoung during his career at the University of Iowa, maybe he's a guy. And we see this happen quite a bit too. But that's another piece that we sometimes miss. You see a guy early in their career and they stink and you kind of, you throw them out, they can come back. There's been plenty of those guys as offensive linemen that all of a sudden by the time they become upperclassmen or even their final season, their senior year, and take a big step forward. Maybe that's the case with a guy like DeJong. We'll see how it comes out, but that is incredibly important there. He mentioned also depth at defensive back,

feeling good about the starters, but working Deshaun Lee in there along with TJ Hall. We got to see Hall a year ago a little bit, seeing more of him this season. He's another guy. I still like the upside from him. Sounds like Lee has had a really good camp and trying to build up that depth in the defensive backfield because the starters, you're elite. When you throw Sebastian Castro at the cash position, starting safeties with Quinn Schulte alongside, obviously, Xavier Wampa, the two cornerbacks in Cooper DeGene and Jamari Harris here, feeling great.

And then there's a lot of question marks. And maybe it's a young guy like a Cohen Edgar. I mentioned the two cornerbacks there. Finding those guys, finding the right spot for them, and giving them the ability to get some reps, this is going to be an important non-conference portion of the season too. Health, always something there. There's a suspension, that's going to be another one

that they're going to have to overcome. And be it two, four, six games, whatever it is, it's something that definitely is going to be impactful to this football season there. Let's see, what else in the it's something that definitely is going to be impactful to this football season there. Let's see, what else in the news and notes that we were going through here? Oh, the final one. Congratulations to Luke Elgin.

He's a long snapper. Now you hope you don't have to know the long snapper's name, unless you're a guy like Tyler Kluver, right? Young guy from the state of Iowa when he was doing his thing a few years back and now part of the Washtenaw Walk-Ons podcast and doing a great job over there. Now, you don't want to know their name. Just go in there, snap the ball, go down and cover a punt, and that's it.

Well, Kirk not only said that he's on scholarship now, as A.J. Lawson is going to be off football scholarship and just looking to complete his degree in the next year. So there's one open. They give it to the long snapper uh he talked about his ability to cover punts talked about his athleticism a little bit and then with a little smirk he said might throw it to him you never know all right i see you kirk i see you coach we haven't seen lavar woods woods uh trot out some of those gadget plays, the special teams, things that really made him a national name,

what they did against Ohio State, had that play against Minnesota on the two-point conversion. They've done a lot of different things, and that hasn't been there the last couple of seasons. Now with a couple of veterans at kicker and punter, remember Stevens was the kicker a year ago, but as a true freshman, you're feeling good. You're feeling experienced there. Maybe we will see a wrinkle or two, trying to pick up that extra first down, trying to put away a game, trying to get an extra score

on the board instead of a field goal or going with the fake punt. Whatever it is, we'll see, but something to just put in the back of your mind. Luke Elgin, a little better athlete than what you normally think about, maybe from a long snapper position. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're with you every single day as we get ready for kickoff here

of the Iowa football season. More information coming your way as we continue. We will hope to track down LaShawn Daniels here later in the week. Talk some football with him, and we will do that here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Your team every day. That's what we do on the Lockdown Network.

We will talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.