Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football Quarterback play, Offensive Positional Battles for the Hawkeyes

Episode Date: August 4, 2022

Trent Condon is back for a solo edition of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast with a look at some Iowa football positional battles.At the top is the continued conversation at the quarterback spot. Spencer Petras was named the starter on the two deeps that were released last week. How big of a lead does he have over Alex Padilla going into the year.Then a look at the center spot. If Logan Jones has the center position locked in for the the Hawkeyes, what does that mean for redshirt freshman Michael Myslinski? Can a youngster like David Davidkov make a push?Iowa football is predicated on having a strong running game. After the return of Gavin & Leshon Williams, who else can get some carries for the Hawkeyes? And it is Iowa football, so special teams and especially kicker deserve a mention.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 “LOCKED15,” 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 today, we're talking position battles. We do a deep dive into the quarterback numbers from a year ago as Iowa football kicks off in 30 days. All today on the 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. Back with you another edition of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for joining us once again here today.

I'm Trent Condon. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're free and available wherever you get podcasts. Let's get into it today as we got a busy show. Tomorrow, LaShawn Daniels will be back with us. We will get into a whole lot going on as camp has begun. Some of the big things that these guys are going through at this point in time as we get ready for the Hawkeye football season. But I want to kick things off here a couple of different directions.

Today we're going to talk about some of the position battles that are in front of us. What is out there? Yesterday we broke down the depth chart that we saw a week ago at Big Ten Football Media Days and what that meant and some of the positions. We're going to go a little bit deeper here of what we expect to see, what positions are still up for grabs as we go into August camp. Of course, it's a mantra. It's a conversation that happens every year.

Nobody has a lock on a job. Everybody is out there competing to win. We know that that's not true, right? Jack Campbell is not going to be beat out. Just not going to happen. Last year, Tyler Linderbaum, it didn't matter what happened in August camp. He was going to be your starting center, short of an injury. And the same thing here.

But there are some battles that we have to look at. And of course, the biggest one, and it's going to dominate these conversations for the next 30 days, it's the quarterback spot. So last night I went back doing a little bit of work, and one thing that I came across is just some numbers. There's numbers that I've talked about a little bit before. They have come up certainly in conversations. But one of the things that you look at is those numbers from a year ago

from Spencer Petras, and they weren't good. With Spencer Petras a year ago, it was a disappointment. There was absolutely no way that you can look at the production that he had a season ago, even in a year where Iowa was winning football games, and you can walk away saying that he was good last season. There's just no way to do it. You can play the game of the quarterback's only good is his win-loss record. I don't buy it.

I just don't. I think it's a fair thing to say. In certain circumstances, the game is dictated that way. I get it from time to time, but you can't just overall just look at win-loss record. You can't do that in baseball anymore, and you certainly can't do it in football. Iowa gets off to the great start last year. They're 6-0. They beat Penn State.

They're ranked second in the country. Everything is all well and good. And then, for all intents and purposes, the wheels fell off. After that Penn State game, this is what we saw from Spencer Petras. One touchdown pass. One. He played in six more games last season. Now, didn't play much with the injury against Northwestern.

Came in against Nebraska in the second half and was at least on the field in the comeback. It's not like he led the comeback. It was the special teams that won that football game. But these are the kind of conversations that we have. After that one, he threw one touchdown pass in six games. I don't care what you're doing, what your system is. You could be running the veer. You could be going triple option.

You're going Army-Navy. Bring me the flex bone. You throw one touchdown in six. That's not good. And this is a pro-style offense. But it goes deeper than just touchdown passes. And that one touchdown, by the way, that was on a screen pass that Sam Laporta ran in. But going deeper, you look at the Purdue game,

four interceptions. He was brutal. He was sacked four times. The offensive line was not good. Seven runs for minus 24 yards, sacks are a part of that. A week later against Wisconsin, after going 7-32 for 195 yards and four interceptions, he goes 9-19 at Wisconsin. Hawkeyes get blown out 27-7. Sacked five times at the game. It runs minus 21 yards. It was brutal. Heard after that, Northwestern, we know what happened. It was Padilla.

Nebraska, he comes back. Okay, all well and good. Here is where I continue to go with Spencer Petras. You're hoping, obviously, for a step forward. You hope that you're going to see a guy that can make that transformation. I don't want to be negative. And I see

it. I see. We're sold out for the whole season at Kinnick, right? We got seven games at home and they're already sold out here as of yesterday on August 3rd. The season's sold out. People are excited. This defense is going to be great. There's so many things to get excited about,

and I wish I could get there. I really do. I'm an optimistic guy. Sports, maybe not as optimistic as I am in my real life, but I am normally an optimistic guy, and I want to play that game with you. I want to be fired up about this season. I just, I'm at the point that it's difficult, and I want to get there, and that's why I

went into the numbers. What I was missing last night, and I flipped on the game, and I flipped on the Minnesota game from a year ago, and I went to the DVR, and I was watching that one, and that was Alex Padilla. I don't think Alex Padilla's great. I don't think he's the answer. I don't think that he is a guy that is going to transform this offense and make it something that it hasn't been over the last five years of Brian Ferentz at the helm. That's not what I'm saying.

But there's more hope for me with Alex Padilla. He can move. And most importantly, I don't think he's broken. Look, I don't have anything that I can quantify and look at this and say that Spencer Petras, there's no coming back. It's my eyes. It's what I see. It's going back and watching these games throughout this summer. And I see a guy that his confidence is shaken. Yes, he's got a great arm.

Yes, he can make all the throws. But I don't think he can unleash those throws in a real game anymore. I think that's gone. The pocket presence is too bad. I can't come back from that. I have to see it. And this was what this exercise was about, of trying to find a way to say, you know what, Trent, you're missing something. You're missing this.

You're not seeing that this is a guy that had other circumstances against him. And there were. Absolutely, there were. But as I've gone back, I come back to the same conclusion. Could Iowa still win 10 games again this year? Could they still win the Big Ten West with Spencer Petras?

Absolutely. Because the defense has a chance to be that good. The running game has a chance to be better. But I don't think this team can hit their ultimate ceiling. I don't think this team can hit their ultimate ceiling. I don't know if Alex Padilla is that guy. I don't know if it's one of the young quarterbacks coming in.

I don't know that, but I just know for Iowa to hit the best ceiling, where everything clicks right, where everything goes perfectly, where they play at their highest level, I can't see it happening with Spencer Petras. Doesn't mean they can't be good. Really good. We saw that a season ago. I just think he is too broken. I think that's the level that we sit at right now.

Some more numbers that come out just to pass along. The one touchdown in the six games. 11 of the 19 games that he has played, he has thrown for under 200 yards. This dates back. This goes back to 2020. When he first career. In fact, that first career start on the road, a loss to Purdue. He threw for 265 yards.

Not a bad debut. On the road, making his first start, it wasn't a great Purdue team, but still, circumstances, right? He hasn't thrown for more yards than that again. In 18 more games after that, he has not thrown for 265. Not only that, how about this? He has only thrown for over 250 yards one other time. That was last year

in the Friday night win against Maryland. Only two times in his career. For 19 games, he has played significant minutes 19 times. Only twice has he thrown for 225-plus. That is not a big number to target. 225 yards. That's what we're talking about here. Comparison? The quarterback that was before him, preceded him, Nate Stanley, had 16 games in his career where he threw for 225.

Well, he started more games, Trent. Yes, he did. 41% of the time, Nate Stanley threw for 225 plus. 41% of the time, Spencer Petras, 10%. That's where we are. The pocket presence, the inability to move, and the vapor lock that seems to have hit him. It's not just about getting the ball out quick. It seems like he has a mental block that he can't get past.

Can an offseason change that? I'm not so sure. That's where we are today. We've got to bring optimism. We've got to be more positive. I'm going to try to do that. We're going to talk position battles, though, that aren't the quarterback position.

We'll do that when we continue. Locked on Hawkeyes, I'm Trent to try to do that. We're going to talk position battles, though, that aren't the quarterback position. We'll do that when we continue. Locked on Hawkeyes, I'm Trent Condon. If you haven't tried Bilt Bar Puffs yet, you're depriving yourself of one of life's greatest joys. Guess what? There's a new flavor, delicious, indulgent cookie dough covered in chocolate. That's right, Bilt has done it again.

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We're going to continue to talk about quarterback. It is going to be the conversation piece that dominates because you look around and, you know, there just isn't a whole lot else out there to decipher, to break down, to really get deep into. That means as much as that position. But there are other jobs that are going to be available here. Yes, Spencer Petras, he's the starter.

Alex Padilla is the backup. We'll see if we can see a youngster make a push. But let's go to a couple other spots. And I want to go specifically today to some position battles at the line spot offensively. One that I think is going to be certainly an intriguing one is at that center position. We talked about it just a little bit yesterday about what that center position, how it's going to break down. Logan Jones, he got the call as the starter, at least when the

depth chart came out here a week ago. Now, Kirk Ferentz, he's going to laugh about the depth chart. It's just a spotlight in time. It doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's something. Logan Jones moving over from defense says a whole lot. That guy making that move, he was going to be a player that got rotational pieces and snaps a year ago at the defensive tackle position before injuries derailed that. When he makes the move to the offense, you know, they have a plan. This isn't willy-nilly. This isn't just out of nowhere. Logan Jones, they think, is going to be a big-time player, and he's already taken that job. It was a three-way race, but I continue to be intrigued with what we're seeing with the backup, a redshirt freshman, Michael Mislinski. Now, Mislinski was committed to Texas. They had the coaching change as Sark came in, taking over

for Tom Herman, highly regarded guy coming out of Florida, had big-time SEC offers, had that Texas offer, and yet Iowa beat him out for his services. Now, neither Logan Jones or Michael Misalinski are real big guys. They're not guys that are easily movable inside. But if this is Logan Jones' job, that they moved him here for a reason, what does that mean for the rest of the offensive line? I think we saw last year Mason Richmond. He's a left tackle of the future.

We saw Connor Colby. He's listed as a starter at right guard. My question is the senior Jack Plum. It has been an inconsistent career for him to this point, along with his backup at that right tackle spot, Nick DeYoung. Both of those guys have really had some rough moments along the line during their careers. How much flexibility is there with this line? Connor Colby played tackle last year. Can he bounce out, and does that give the opportunity for a Michael Misalinski to bump out there? Is it

Bo Stevens that gets an opportunity? David Davikoff, he's listed as the backup at left tackle behind Mason Richman. Remember, David Davikoff, he was the as the backup at left tackle behind Mason Richmond. Remember, David Davikoff, he was the guy that came in with all kinds of accolades. He was the high four star. He was the guy that had a Wisconsin and a Michigan offer and big time offers, and he chose the Hawkeyes over those programs. So is he a guy that has that flexibility? Just those moving pieces and figuring out how it is.

What we need to find out first, though, is Logan Jones locked in. Is this the guy that is going to be the center and what you'd hope going to be the center for the next couple of years, and then ultimately what that means for Miss Linsky? I think he is too talented that ultimately you're going to keep him off the field, and you've got to find a spot for him. If the accolades that we heard early on, and he dealt with injuries last year. That's why he wasn't out there. That's why the red shirt certainly happened with him.

Plus, he's a center. And oh yeah, by the way, there was an All-American in front of him. So that's another one of the position battles that we have to take a look at. Continuing offensively, let's go to the running back spot. I don't think it ultimately matters who gets the start between Gavin Williams and LaShawn Williams. Both of those guys showed enough a year ago that, you know, they're going to be consistent. You're going to be solid there.

The other part, though, that does leave me a little bit intrigued is we continue to hear more and more good things about true freshman Caleb Johnson. Caleb Johnson, big, strong, thick, 6'2", 215 pounds out of Hamilton, Ohio. He's got the physicality. He's got some power. He's wearing number two. Boy, he'll look a lot different than the last big-time number two running back that they had, Fred Russell, right? This guy is built differently than Freddie was back there in the backfield,

but just such an intriguing prospect. He feels like one of those guys that just has a chance to really go in there and get some carries for them. And the other one that I really want to see, another true freshman, of what he's going to bring, and if it can be a different kind of element to this offense, is Jazzyon Patterson, another true freshman from Florida. Smaller guy, 5'10", 180 pounds, quick, out of the backfield. If he's a guy that can add that different element, remember last year, Tyler Goodson,

he was targeted 45 times in the passing game. Is Gavin Williams, LaShawn Williams, are they that kind of running back that's going to be catching that many balls out of the backfield? Same thing with a freshman like a Caleb Johnson. Is there a typical package that you can put together, maybe just a little bit, to see what Jazz can do? I think he's going to be a fun player to watch and maybe another dynamic playmaker. They're going to be looking for those guys all over the field. So that's the running back spot, the way it ultimately plays out. Gavin Williams, I think, is your starter. Break it down. Let's say out of the carries, out of the running back spot. We're going

to leave Arlen Bruce out of this because I think you're going to see him touch the ball out of the backfield 12, 15, maybe 20 times this year. He's just that dynamic and I think you need to get him involved in that fashion. But we'll leave him aside. Out of the four running backs we

talked about, let's say Gavin Williams gets 50% of the carries, 25% for LaShawn Williams, maybe 10% for Caleb Johnson, and 5% for Jazz, and then you're left with just a couple for some other guys, hopefully in a couple of block games, and you can go that direction.

Let's see, add it up. That could make a little bit of sense as you put it together. That's how I would anticipate right now. I think things are going to break down, and we await, outside of looking at the still pictures that come out of practice, we await to get a little bit more of that. We got position breakdowns. What are some of the jobs still available?

We'll talk about more of them when we finish up. Coming back with more Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. One positional breakdown to finish things up. I'm Trent Condon, back with you on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast and that is the kicker position. Now this isn't sexy, right? This is not anything to get excited about because

for the last 25 years Iowa's been in such good shape at the kicker spot. But going back to spring football, this has to be, along with quarterback, one of the more concerning parts. Iowa, if they're good, they're winning close games. If they're bad, they're losing close games. And how do you lose close games? You're kicking, your special teams aren't up to snuff.

When you're programmed like Iowa, that's what happens. That's the way that things break down. Aaron Blom, he's listed as a starter. Haven't seen him. Kid Formoski. And when we did see him back in spring practice, it wasn't pretty. Drew Stevens comes in. Drew Stevens, who comes in as a preferred walk-on from the Carolinas.

Of course, the last guy that came in from the Carolinas, Keith Duncan, did pretty well, right? Had the winner as a freshman against Michigan, went on, had a very good career. Didn't have the strongest leg, and it seems like, at least from the reports that we hear coming out, that Drew Stevens does have a stronger leg than what we saw out of him, but an opportunity in front of them.

Neither of these guys have scholarships. There's other guys that are also going to be in the mix. Here's the good news. And though Iowa doesn't have a guru, if you will, as it pertains to kicking, they don't have one of those guys that knows the mechanics at a level that some places do, the kicking mechanics, if you will. But they have a head coach that puts a belief in these guys and puts a belief that you're an important part of this football team

and makes them known, makes them viable, makes them a real part of the team. And there's a reason that these guys come in with confidence. And that's the reason that Caleb Shudick can come in after waiting for six years to get his opportunity and come in and put together a great season and go on. And you look at the history of Iowa kickers. And I think there's a reason for that. Now,

another thing that I have to be happy about is he got one of the best special teams coaches in the country in LeVar Woods. Do I think the LeVar Woods is a guy that's out there breaking down kicking mechanics and boy, you know what trajectory here, you got to hit it at this angle point. I don't know if he knows that deep the intricacies of the kicking game. But what I do know is, again, he's going to put guys in the right spot.

But it's still scary, right? Going into last season, we at least knew a little bit about Shudak. We saw him kick a couple long field goals, get the opportunities there. He was doing kickoffs. He felt confident about that guy. It felt like we at least had a couple long field goals, get the opportunities there. He was doing kickoffs. He felt confident about that guy. It felt like we at least had a hope, a belief, an understanding of these guys. I don't feel the same way with that kicker spot. And as we know at Iowa, the difference between 10-2 and 7-5

very well could be something as simple as the kicking game. Want to keep an eye on, want to keep your ear to the ground. We'll keep you up to date on what we're hearing at camp at that spot. So that's a look through today, some of the offensive positional openings that we have in front of us, the position battles that'll be happening at this point. Will anything come? Will anything change? Is it going to be exactly how we see it come out in that game against South

Dakota State 30 days from now? Petras as your starter quarterback. Gavin Williams, the starter running back. Marty Pottabom at fullback. Yeah, he'll be out there. Keegan Johnson, Nico Regani at wide receiver. Laporta, Richmond, Ellsbury, Jones, Colby, Blum, and Blom. Easy for me to say.

We will see on that front. Those are your listed starters offensively. Well, it's been a lot of fun. We got one more show coming your way this week. LaShawn Daniels, he's going to be back with us tomorrow as we talk all things Iowa football with you. Before we get out of here, want to know what your team is up against across the Big Ten?

You can do it with Locked On Big Ten. Every day, host Nate Dickinson and local experts on Locked On take you across the Big Ten in 30 minutes. Make Locked On Big Ten your second listen. Locked On Big Ten. Back tomorrow with LaShawn Daniels. We'll talk Iowa football. We'll see what else is brewing in the world of Hawkeye athletics

and some interesting pieces being brought about, including one from ESPN.com about re-inventing the way the college football, the calendar and the schedule works. We'll talk about that also coming up on tomorrow's episode. Thanks, everybody out there for listening in. We'll do it again tomorrow. This has been the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Go Hawks!