Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa football releases the Indiana depth chart plus we find out Michael Penix's status for Saturday

Episode Date: August 31, 2021

The Iowa football team has an official depth chart for this Saturday's game versus Indiana and we break down what we learned from this before diving into Tom Allen's interview where he spoke glowingly about the Iowa Hawkeyes and Spencer Petras. We wrap up with a brief discussion about what we learned from Nebraska's loss to Illinois.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!SweatBlockGet it today for 20% off at SweatBlock.com with promo code LockedOn, or at Amazon and CVS.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.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hawkeye Nation, we've got a depth chart. There's some changes to the offensive line that we were not aware of. Tom Allen also spoke to the media about Indiana. What are we expecting from Indiana coming up with Michael Penix Jr.? And also Nebraska loses to Illinois. How much fun is that? We're covering all that on the show today. Let's kick it off.

Let's get going right now. You are locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back, Hawkeye Nation. Excited to be back for another episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Lockdown Sports Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade, and you can see my beautiful face now on the YouTube channel. This is our first ever live YouTube channel, so very excited about that.

Our YouTube show, I should say. And again, on today's show, we're going to be breaking down what Tom Allen said about his Indiana squad. We're going to be talking about the Iowa depth chart, and we're also going to be talking about the Nebraska-Illinois game. What did we learn? And honestly, what I learned about Illinois scares me a little bit. Before we get into any of that, though, I do want to remind you that the sports conferences have their own podcast as well. So we are here five days a week for an all-podcast platforms talking about your Iowa Hawkeyes. But if you are a college football fan, we've got you covered here at the Lockdown Hawkeyes, the Lockdown Podcast Network, I should say. Tune into your favorite Power 5 conference,

whether that's Lockdown ACC, Lockdown Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and the SEC on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast at. Let's get into the show today. Let's kick it off with the depth chart because that is the most important piece. We have looked at depth charts for the last four or five months and we are so excited to see what is that starting lineup before the Iowa Hawkeyes as they take the field versus the Anna Huser's. And for this starting lineup, a couple interesting things that we saw. First and foremost, let's get into the starting offensive line. That is the area we've been very curious about. We pretty much knew every position in the offense except for the offensive line.

And the Kyler Shaw injury did not help that at all. So the opening starting line, as far as we are aware, unless things change over the next couple of days, which they very well could, but I kind of highly doubt it. We put out a new depth chart. I think this is really going to be the starters going into this game. Now, I expect there to be some rotations, especially with some of those younger guys. And if the tackle struggle, but for right now, this is your starting offensive line. We have Jack Plum at the tackle position and Nick DeJong as well. Jack Plum beating out Mason Richmond and why

that's important is that Mason Richmond was the starter on kids day. He was the, he was the guy getting all the snaps. And honestly, I felt like he had a higher ceiling anyone who's listened to the show knows that I am not a huge fan of Jack Plum I didn't like what he did last year so unless he has made substantial strides which is very possible I just don't know what to expect from Jack Plum and I would like to see the high ceiling of Mason Richmond a four-star recruit who is now trying to beat out Jack Plum for that tackle position I've made several references to the fact that if Mason Richmond and Connor Colby were to start this season out, it would very much be like the Larry Jackson, Tristan Wirfs era as well with a redshirt freshman and a true freshman making that starting lineup at the tackle spot and then hopefully being

bookends for the Iowa Hawkeyes for three to four years. At the other tackle spot, former walk-on Nick DeJong beats out Connor Colby. That isn't a surprise. Again, high ceiling with Connor Colby, but Nick doing a fantastic job earning a letter last year and a scholarship after getting into the game and playing pretty well. Outside of that, the only thing to notice is that Justin Britt is officially the starting guard. Now, we knew that he was likely going to be the starting guard, but we weren't officially sure of that, or we haven't had that officially confirmed until we saw this depth chart with Justin Britt, the starting guard, really excited to see what he can do on the football field as a full-time starter. Hopefully, he doesn't get injured, right? I don't want to put it on the air, but he has had some injury issues. I think as long

as he can stay healthy, we're going to see that he's going to be a very big-time impact at that guard position, and not make us forget about Kylerler shot, but make us not hurt as much. We're not having Kyler shot there. Josh Volk, also a redshirt freshman who makes the two deeps. Again, what I see about this offense line, even on the defensive line is a ton of youth. So if this line on both sides can come together, this is, this really bodes well for the next couple of years.

Iowa has a lot of young guys, a lot of very talented young guys, just ready for their opportunity. And you better believe as they have opportunities to do so, Iowa's going to be rotating these guys in and out of the lineup to get them snaps here and there, and also if they have a redshirt availability, maintain that redshirt status as much as they possibly can. At the wide receiver position, I know we're trying to replace Amir Smith-Marset and Brandon Smith. Charlie Jones and Keegan Johnson make the two deeps. And why I say that first is that Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Nico Reganey were basically expected to be the starters.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. has done nothing to dispel that. Now, again, Nico Reganey, I think, has some room for improvement. But nevertheless, he makes the starting lineup as the two deeps. And Charlie Jones and Keegan Johnson are on those two deeps as well as the number three and number four receiver. Now, against a team that has not held up well against the run and a very strong secondary, I'm not sure we see a significant amount of four wide receivers in this game versus Indiana. However, it is nice to see Charlie Jones and Keegan Johnson there.

And I do expect Arlen Bruce to make an early impression on our Iowa Hawkeye fans, despite not being in that two deeps. We saw Amir Smith-Marset get the ball a decent amount as a true freshman, just trying to get him some, you know, some end arounds and whatnot. Now, Iowa has some good playmakers outside of just Arlen Bruce Jr., but Arlen Bruce, the fourth, excuse me. But nevertheless, I expect some play time for Arlen Bruce in this game. And then finally, the last thing I want to say is we do see Ivory Kelly Martin on this list on the two deeps as the number two running back.

That was to be expected. We kind of knew he was going to be there. But what I think is important about that is how healthy he is. And I do expect him to get between five and seven carries a game. Everyone is really excited about Tyler Goodson, as am I. I love seeing Tyler Goodson run the ball, but Ivory Kelly Martin is a guy to watch out for. A former starter who just lost out to a guy, Makai Sargent, who is now playing for the Tennessee Titans

and making a very big impression. He also lost out to Tyler Goodson, who also beat out Makai Sargent, who is an all Big Ten running back. So, in my opinion, Ivory Kelly Martin, a pretty darn good option b for the iowa running game and i expect to see him get five to seven carries in this game moving over into the defense nothing to change here about the secondary it is set in stone the only thing i want

to point out is xavier williams is still not on the two deeps i do expect that we see him at some point when that point is i am honestly sure. It sounds like he does need to learn the defense a little better. Iowa is not going to just put a guy on the field because they know he's talented, but I do believe as Xavier Williams would not have done this, he will be ready at some point and will be making an impact on the field. The defensive line, nothing really changes. I think just the big observation here is just how young this defensive line is. At the starting defensive tackle spot, Y.A. Black is the starter. Behind him, Logan Lee, a former tight end, and Lucas Van Ness,

a former defensive end, who came in at 6'5", 240 pounds. He's now up to 264 pounds trying to play in side. At the defensive end spot, John Wagner gets the start over Joe Evans. Finally, his time to shine as a four-star recruit out of West Des Moines Valley. We expected big things out of John Wagner, but as we all know, Kelvin Bell has done a fantastic job of developing this defensive line to the fact that John Wagner, despite not doing anything wrong, just hasn't had an opportunity to start. Joe Evans, I do expect, will get plenty of snaps, has a lot of snaps over the last two years as a pass rush specialist. I see him doing that again in a big, big passing downs where it's third and long, I do think John Wagner might move inside. And Joe Evans will slide out to be kind of like that

NASCAR package that we saw happen with AJ Epinesa when he would slide inside. John Wagner, a guy who has played inside before, so kind of a natural fit for him. The defensive end spot on the other side, obviously Zach Van Valkenburgh is going to be the linchpin there, but Deontay Craig sliding into that number two spot is going to be really exciting. Again, a lot of young guys here, a lot of opportunities for experience, and as long as this defensive line can be average, I expect this overall defense to be phenomenal, and it really comes down to the linebacker group. We know the secondary is going to be super strong. We have high expectations for the linebacker group, and we know the defensive line is going to be a work in progress. That linebacker group did have a little bit of shuffling, though.

Jack Campbell is taking over that middle linebacker spot. Seth Benson moving to the weak side linebacker spot. Now, why that is important, really both those guys are going to be on the field almost all the time together, especially even when Iowa plays their cash package. We are still going to have two linebackers on the field, and it will be Seth Benson and Jack Campbell. As we know, Phil Parker wanted to rotate those guys in and out a lot in different positions, so they are very familiar with each other's positions, which allows Iowa to be a bit creative with how they utilize both those linebackers. But traditionally, the middle linebacker is going to be the quarterback of the defense,

and the weak side linebacker is going to be used more from a blitzing and a coverage responsibility perspective when in those nickel formations. And then on that Leo side, which is basically the equivalent of a strong side linebacker, Justin Jacobs will be matching up on the tight end when he's in the game. And with his athleticism, I do expect that to be a pretty good matchup for the Iowa Hawkeyes. And I think that might actually keep them in their base package more often than we typically expect. And finally, in the special teams arena, Charlie Jones wins the punt return and the kickoff return job. No surprise there after what he was able to do last year. Just a ballsy guy willing to take on basically anything at any time.

It was so much fun watching Charlie Jones in the return game, and I'm excited to see him get both punt returns and kick return opportunities as well. We're going to be back in just a second, getting into segment two, but I do want to tell you about sweat block. If you are like me, one of the things I hate is excessive sweating. You know, when you are sweating through your shirts for no reason, it's embarrassing, right? Some of you may know that I personally dealt with this.

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segment three of the show. One of the things Tom Allen said, he was very complimentary of the Iowa Hawkeyes, which I thought was very interesting. It doesn't, you know, makes a lot of sense. A lot of these coaches have a lot of respect for what Kirk Ferens does and what the Iowa football team can do. But the most important thing that Tom Allen did talk about was Michael Penix Jr. And he said, so I'm very encouraged by his progress and he's right where we hoped he would be. And he's a hundred percent ready to be the starter on Saturday. And so that's great. Now, if you listened to our show yesterday with Jack Grossman, you know, we weren't sure how ready Michael Penix Jr. would be. Jury's in, he's ready to roll. Now, why that's important is Michael Penix Jr. was a Heisman

trophy candidate last year until he got injured. Now his performance kind of up and down at times, but overall he has great weapons and he made big plays when it really mattered and he can utilize his legs. Now he did have a lower leg injury. However, if he is truly healthy, that is dangerous for Iowa. Now they have to account for Michael Penix Jr. scrambling if they are able to lock down Indiana's weapons, such as Ty Fry Fogle. So his healthiness is important for Iowa to be aware of, especially as we get into this game. If Michael Penick Sr. does have the ability to scramble, he will be able to. Sounds like he is healthy.

Now, a couple of things I thought were really interesting, again, very complimentary of the Iowa football program from Tom Allen. He said, we're really excited to open our season to Iowa and so much respect for Coach Ferentz and for what he's built at Iowa for so many years and the consistency and such a great program. Great opportunity for this program to play on the road there in Kinnick Stadium and it's going to be great atmosphere, great to have fans back and it's going to be a tough and challenging environment to be in without question and so but just so much respect for their team as you go through and evaluate them and he went on to talk

a little bit about some of the things he really appreciated. Now everyone knows Kinnick is going to be one of the toughest stadiums to ever play in. And when you factor in the fact that we haven't seen fans in Kinnick Stadium for two years, it is going to be absolutely rick-rocking and bumping there. And I am so pumped for that. Tom Allen knows that. He's excited about it. Now, any coach is going to go up there and say, I'm excited about it. But you better believe it's also kind of a worry back in the back of his mind,

having his Indiana Hoosier squad go on the road for the very first game of the season against Iowa. He also mentioned how Iowa doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Being in that kind of hostile environment could hurt Indiana into making more mistakes than they typically would. They need to play a clean football game to be able to beat Iowa, because Iowa is going to play a clean football game as they traditionally do. He also went on, speaking of a clean football game, Spencer Petras, he had a lot to say about him. He said, the quarterback that I know that played some really good football, especially as the season progressed, and they expect, and we expect him to take that growth opportunity. Like we all did not have a previous spring like he did not, and just a guy

that's a highly talented individual that has a big time arm and a lot of weapons around him. Again, speaking very highly about Iowa's wide receivers, Iowa's tight ends, and Iowa's running backs, people are not sleeping on Spencer Petras. Now, a lot of Iowa fans are a bit concerned. I get it. Spencer Petras struggled last year. He struggled mightily in the first couple games. Iowa, arguably, with an A Stanley back there, could go 8-0.

With Spencer Petras, they go 6-2. Still not bad, but those two losses are really going to sting Iowa fans for a long time unless Spencer Petras can get it together. Now, I did not realize he was out so long last summer with COVID or COVID precautions. Then you factor in the lack of spring ball. It's starting to add up why he was struggling and why his timing was so off.

He has worked so hard this offseason, though, and nothing would make Iowa fans happier than to see him come out and go off against a very, very strong secondary. I don't expect Iowa to come out guns blazing and swinging the, slinging the ball all over the field, but I do expect them to rely on Spencer Petras and key downs to move the ball and not play a safe as they try to build that confidence up for Spencer Petras in his second season as a starter.

And obviously Tom Allen, not going to sit there and take the bait of Spencer Petras, not being a good time or big time player. He also mentioned defensively, just how impressed he is with that team. He said they do such a great job up front and how just disciplined they are. Physicality at the linebacker position, athleticism there. And then the secondary is really where their most experience lies. And many different guys back there played a lot of football. They just don't make a lot of mistakes. They make you really have to execute at a high level. Again, Michael Penix Jr. coming back for his first game since his injury. This is not an easy test going against one of the best secondaries in the entire nation. And I'm excited to see how Iowa can handle that. Indiana like to go deep. They like to go to tight, fried football. Iowa doesn't like to let guys go past them. That is one of the core principles of Phil Parker's defense. He does not

want guys going past their defense. They want to play a bend, but don't break. They let everyone stay in front of them. They play sound defense. They stay in their gaps and against Indiana, they're going to need to really be disciplined, especially with Michael Penix Jr. and his running ability. He also mentioned special teams sticks out to him as well. He says special teams really jumps out. They were the number one special teams unit in the Big Ten last year overall, and we were actually number two overall.

So that's going to be playing a big role in that game, and they're very talented in the return game and at their specialist positions. Again, Caleb Shudock could probably win kicker of the year. Torrey Taylor can definitely win punter of the year. Charlie Jones is a threat to take the ball back to the house every single time he touches it. I don't argue with him at all. Special teams is always a big-time facet of Iowa's success, and this year is no different. And Indiana is going to have to play very disciplined special teams

and maybe avoid trying to kick the ball to a Charlie Jones if they want to not allow some sort of big play in Kinnick, which will get the momentum just really swinging for the Hawkeyes. Now, the other thing I wanted to mention is Indiana struggled in the running attack last year. They bring in a five-star recruit, a former five-star recruit, and Indiana had a lot to say about him. Tom Allen specifically said, I think for him at that position,

it becomes pretty obvious. There's no doubt he came here and knew he had to earn it. I believe that he has. Now there's a lot of hype coming out of Indiana and what they're going to be able to do from a running game perspective last year, again, struggling to run the ball this year. They have a former five-star recruit. That is a big time deal.

He had a lot of playing time at USC, some playing time, I guess I should say, and now he's at Indiana, and that is Stephen Carr, a graduate transfer. Respect some big things from him. They're going to try to rely on him running the ball as much as they can to take some of the pressure off Michael Penix Jr. in his first game, and again, against Iowa, you need to be able to run the ball consistently because if you are just sitting back and dropping back and throwing 40 times a game, unless you're Purdue, you're just not going to be successful against the Iowa Hawkeyes. They are going to figure out a way to get pressure on you. They're going to figure out a way to stop your wide receivers from getting open. You need to be able to run the ball if you want to be successful against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Coming up on segment three, we're going to get into the Nebraska-Illinois talk, what we learned about Illinois, and why it kind of scares me a little bit. I mean, it really does. What Illinois did against Nebraska, even if it is Nebraska, does worry me quite a bit. But I do want to tell you about rockauto.com. With the ever-increasing numbers of makes and models, it is now impossible for your local chain auto parts store to stock all the parts you need. Why endure often pointless or seemingly intimidating questioning and wait while the person behind the counter orders the parts on their computer. So the only brand their warehouse happens to carry, you have computers with access to rock auto.com.

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from football, basketball, boxing, right to your favorite Vegas casino games. Don't wait and take advantage of the great offers available for the 2021 season. BetOnline.ag, your online sportsbook experts. And again, as we were talking about before we took a break, we want to talk about Nebraska versus Illinois. Now, Illinois beats Nebraska. And what was a closer game than what it actually was? Illinois beats them 30-22. In all actuality, it was not that close. Nebraska doing a decent job

of coming back towards late, scoring a late touchdown that did get that game a little bit closer at the final two minutes of the game. But Illinois, despite losing Brandon Peters early in the game after only throwing four passes, relies on the rushing attack and a stout defense to take down Nebraska. Now, to be fair, Nebraska made a lot of dumb penalties and a lot of dumb mistakes, which is actually pretty typical of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We are very familiar with Nebraska self-inflicting. They had five penalties for 67 yards. Not exactly ideal. They did lose one fumble as well. Again, Nebraska, not exactly the epitome of discipline and structure, which goes back to the fact that we know this about Scott Frost.

Adrian Martinez also struggled, 16-32. His stats don't look too bad if you look at his yards thrown or the fact that he ran for over 100 yards, but most of that came on a 75-yard touchdown run. Nebraska's rushing attack, save for Adrian Martinez's run, was atrocious against a solid defense. The only bright spot I would say for Nebraska offensively was Oliver Martin, the much-famed Oliver Martin who played for Michigan, who played for Iowa,

and now had six receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown at the University of Nebraska. Honestly, I wish him the best. I'm happy for him. I'm proud of him to be able to continue to work and finally get his opportunity. It seems like he is doing really well, but again, it wasn't enough for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Illinois, though, what I saw about them that scares me is that rushing attack. We knew Brett Belima was going to really rely on that rushing attack. And boy, did he. 48 rushes.

They only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, but that's okay if you are disciplined and you keep going back and back and back. 48 rushes, 167 yards. They were pounding the rock with the ball. And despite the fact of losing Brandon Peters, they had Artur Sikowski, who looked pretty good. Didn't rely on him to throw the ball a ton, 12 of 15, 124 yards. I thought his decision-making was pretty good.

But again, the Illinois passing attack, only 19 passes. They only had one turnover. And special teams, they absolutely dominated. Former Big Ten Puncher of the Year, Blake Hayes, out-punted Nebraska's punter by 11 yards per punt. When I look at Illinois' schedule, there's a very good chance they start 4-0. They have UTSA, they have Virginia, and they have Maryland. They could even start 5-1. They have the Charlotte 49ers after they play Purdue.

None of those games are impossible. I don't think Illinois is ready to compete for a Big Ten West title this year, but what we're seeing so far does have me a big concern about how they can compete going forward. Brett has done a good job of already getting this team ready, and they have a very strong offensive line, good rushers, and some playmakers on the outside, and a good special teams attack. Illinois is a team that we need to be worried about at a certain point in time. I don't think that point in time is now,. I think it does depend on whether or not Brandon

Peters can return. I am not a big fan of Sikowski. Anytime you were a backup quarterback at Rutgers pre-Graciano, you're probably not that good. So unless Brandon Peters can come back, that does concern me from an Illinois perspective. But what we've learned about this game is Nebraska is the same old Nebraska. And Scott Frost is one more bad loss from getting fired. Brett Bulima, great coach, who has already begun showing how Nebraska football is going to be played from here on out. That does do it for our show today. I do want to make sure that if you want to bet on any team besides your Hawkeyes,

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Hawkeye Nation, I appreciate the love. I appreciate the listenership, the support, and now the viewership. Have a phenomenal Tuesday, and let's go Hawks.