Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football targets the transfer portal for wide receiver help

Episode Date: April 26, 2023

Trent Condon is back for another edition of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast. A look at the wide receiver position along with the incoming freshman class.AJ Henning out of Michigan looks to be a good fit for what Iowa is looking for in terms of help. Trent also provides some other names to look at for Iowa at receiver.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go 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) HelloFreshSkip trips to the grocery store and count on HelloFresh to make home cooking easy, fun, AND affordable – that’s why it’s America’s #1 meal kit! Go to HelloFresh dot com slash college60 and use code college60 for 60% off plus free shipping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A big name is in the transfer portal, and he has ties to Cade McNamara and Eric Gall. Could Iowa hit it big with a wide receiver? Today on Locked on Hawkeyes. Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, 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, 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. Well, it is a busy time right now as we lead up to, very quickly, the end of the transfer portal season. And just the other day, a big name enters the transfer portal with some connections to Iowa. So there's no doubt about it. After we finish up spring practice here, Iowa football needs help at the wide receiver room.

It just, very frankly, you cannot go into another season as depleted as Iowa is currently at the wide receiver spot. I think we all believe that Iowa's going to be better than they were a season ago offensively. Yes, it's hard to be worse than what they were a year ago too. And we can definitely put that caveat in there. There's going to be better than they were a season ago offensively. Yes, it's hard to be worse than what they were a year ago too, and we can definitely put that caveat in there. There's going to be improvement. A huge upgrade at the quarterback position. An offensive line that can't be worse than what we saw a year ago. A tight end group as talented a one-two punch as they're going to have

with Eric All coming in alongside Luke Lachey and what we saw and certainly the emergence of Lachey a season ago. The running back room emergence of Lachey a season ago. The running back room, certainly deeper than it was a season ago. Caleb Johnson, a budding star. All the pieces are in place for them to take a step forward, except for the guys on the outside. Yes, we have guys that we certainly know. Nico Raggini, right?

A guy that, try-hard guy, has done some good things, had a huge catch a couple years ago against Penn State. He good in his role he's also battled injury you always have to worry I think about health with him and get exactly what he's going to be and how much production he's going to be giving you out there but he's also limited I mean this is a guy that is not known as a burner by any means this is not a guy that's going to blow the top off the defense. He is what he is. He's a solid under the knee slot kind of guy. He'll catch passes. He'll make plays, but if that's your number one, that's going to be a problem. Who else is there that we know? Well, a name, Deontay Vines, we saw in the back half of last year. I'm excited about him, but if that's your number one coming into a season, still just a sophomore, ton of experience that is definitely concerning the other names that have been thrown out there at

the wide receiver position Jacob Bostic we haven't seen Jacob Bostic now he apparently popped last year in August camp in his freshman year he got injured he's been injured in the spring just doesn't have the reps and certainly has not had an ability now to go out there and work with Cade McNamara and figure out things out there, get the timing down, those types of things. We haven't been able to see that out of Jacob Bostic. I understand why he's intriguing and maybe why the Iowa staff is excited about him. We got to see him. Seth Anderson, again, he's making a step up in a level. We see the numbers that he put up at Charleston Southern. You get excited about that. His dad's Flipper Anderson.

If you're an old guy like me, you get excited about that. His dad's Flipper Anderson. If you're an old guy like me, you get excited about that. Remember him running around and making plays and catching balls from Jim Everett and playing for the Rams alongside Henry Ellard back in the day. I get all that. But that's it. And then you're talking about a bunch of walk-ons. Caden Wedgen. Okay.

Graham Fredrickson. Made a nice play on Saturday. Jack Johnson. Saw him run around out there Eichmann Austin Kuchar who comes in from Ohio State hey we got a Buckeye receiver he was a walk-on at Ohio State Alec Wick

it's not exactly striking fear into the opponents on the outside they have work to do getting Seth Anderson that's step one another undersized guy. They need some size. So the next step in this process is, of course, looking at what they have coming in. Is there a freshman that can come in? And another caveat that you have to put there is this.

How many true freshmen have come in and helped out the wide receiver room at Iowa? come in and helped out the wide receiver room at Iowa. It's been few and far between. Dominique Douglas, even Amir Smith-Marset, Brandon Smith, those two guys, it took a while for them certainly to develop as a wide receiver. And now we're expecting these three to come in and one of the three maybe to hit. It's a maybe. It's hopeful.

And that's all that it is at this point in time. Alex Moda comes in for Marion track speed got good wheels good offer list coming out high school six foot one hundred and seventy five pounds looks the part of the three guys coming in in this freshman class he's certainly the most highly regarded now there are a lot of people that weren't sure if he was a wide receiver is he a defensive back at the next level he's going to try to wide receiver to open things up that's where he's going to start that offers from Iowa Iowa State, Wisconsin, K-State, Nebraska. Still, we're talking about a guy that was ranked at on three as the 82nd best wide receiver in the country

in the incoming freshman class. That's the best, at least according to the recruiting services. Number two, Dayton Howard. Kid played at Park Hill down in Kansas. Kansas City area kid. A Kansas City area kid at 6'5", 195 pounds. That didn't get an offer from Kansas State. Maybe, more strikingly, didn't get an offer from Kansas. That's one thing, K-State. I mean, they got a program. I know Kansas certainly has made improvements.

You got a local kid with that kind of size and his wide receiver, and he did get offers from the two state schools there. Concerning, at the very least. And then finally, maybe the one that I've heard the most buzz about is Jerry Abui. The reason is because he comes from Florida. I mean, that's it. Because you look at the recruiting rankings, on three has him ranked as 1,141st best freshman

coming in in college football. The 178th best wide receiver coming in this year. Now, I had a decent offer list. Boston College, West Virginia, Iowa State. Okay, that's pretty good. All right, pretty good. But to anticipate that any of those guys are going to come in

and they're going to lead to any kind of help it's just not realistic so it's back to the portal and there is a name that should get you excited we're going to talk about that potential target and a few other names that are out there in the transfer portal that apparently i was making some contact with aj henning the former michigan wide receiver he's entered the transfer portal. The connections to Iowa, Cade McNamara, Eric Gall. We'll talk about them as we continue. This is Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast.

Today's episode is brought to you by Built Bar. Looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories? Then you need the best tasting protein bar ever built. You got to try this. If you're like me, you want a little healthier snack, something a little bit better for you, but you don't want to compromise on taste. I have the thing for you. It's built and built bars along with their built puffs, healthy and taste amazing. Seriously, they taste so amazing. You don't even think they're good for you. You want to try this one. What makes Bilt Bars so good? Well, for starters, covered in 100% real dark chocolate. That's right, real chocolate. And they come in great flavors. Churro, peanut butter

brownie, cookies and cream. I'm not sure how they do it, but these bars taste like a candy bar while maintaining amazing macros. And what's even better, they're healthy. 130 calories, 4 grams of sugar, and a whopping 17 grams of protein. Now, you don't need to wait to get a box for years. We've been talking about ordering at Built.com, and you can still do that, but now you can go to your local Walmart or Sands Club along with getting those specialty flavors still at Built.com. That's right. Head to your nearest Walmart today, walk to the pharmacy section, and grab yourself a box of Built Bars. You can pick up a four-bar box of cookies and cream, double chocolate, or coconut puff.

And if you're close to a Sam's Club, they got you covered as well. Run in. They got the big 13-bar box with the hit flavors, brownie batter puff and churro puff. You can thank me later. Trent Conant back with you again here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So the transfer portal is open. It'll be closing here very

quickly, so work needs to be done. This is about campus visits are not a real big part of this open window. Guys are still finishing up classes. Some of them are finishing up spring football, though most are done. Just a few major programs that are still going at this point in time. But the big news, the splash one, and I think every Hawkeye fan and every Hawkeye beat writer

had a little something to say about this one. It's A.J. Henning from Michigan. Obviously, very easy. Played with Cade McNamara, played with Eric Gall. You got to figure from the start, there's going to be something there. Herening from Michigan. Obviously very easy. Played with Cade McNamara, played with Eric Gall. You got to figure from the start, there's going to be something there. Here's another thing coming out of the season. A.J. Henning did not have a great season for him. I think a disappointing year, just had nine catches for the year, 60 yards last season, overall in his career, 25 catches, 198 yards in three seasons. And you're saying, well, why do we get excited about this?

Well, first of all, he's got speed to burn. I mean, this is an elite level guy offensively at what he's able to do with the ball. Iowa is not built with speed. And we just talked about the wide receiver group. And speed is not one of the characteristics that you'd be talking about when you're talking about this group.

Somebody that can blow the top off. And if you're watching on Saturday you did see some shots you saw Deacon Hill taking shots down the field on seven and seven you saw that the same thing from Cade McNamara again it's going to be reliant on this offensive line protecting giving them a chance obviously to make plays down the field and take opportunities down the field something that was just too difficult with the poorest play a year ago of the O-line. That's going to be a part of it here, but you're also going to have a guy that's willing to take some chances. Cade McNamara is one of those guys.

Accuracy, he's elite, but he'll also make plays up the field, something that has been missing not just the last three years of Spencer Petras, really the last six years when he looked back. And you look at some of the numbers, and here's another thing. You look at Cade mcnamara what he can do for this offense just his ability to complete passes yeah it sounds very simple now iowa hasn't had a quarterback north of 60 completion percentage since bethard and we got to go back to cj bethard the last time we had a quarterback that was able to complete 60 of his

passes in our pro style offense you're dead upon arrival when you don't have a quarterback that can do that nate stanley did some good things spencer petrus not so much but overall if you can get back to that level if you have a guy that's out there completing 64 65 percent of his passes making the makeables and making some plays up the field you really got something with the rest of this offense the way that they're built we know the defense is going to be great we know the special teams will be very good it happens every single year this offense the way that they're built. We know the defense is going to be great. We know the special teams will be very good. It happens every single year. This offense has a chance, but they need help. A speedster on the outside, a guy that can open up and really also push back that defense. I mean, how many times have we've seen here recently where it just feels like everything defensively is so compressed in. And Iowa, even when they have it blocked well in a running play,

and a play that looks like it should go for 15, 20 yards, and it's cut down after a gain of four. Those plays that looks like, hey, they got a hole there on the outside, and they're going to get six or seven, and it's cut down for a loss of one. There's so many of those plays, and it's because everybody is compressed in because they haven't had that threat down the field. They haven't had that big play receiver. They haven't had a guy going back a couple of years to Amir Smith-Marseth that can blow the top off. This is the kind of player that absolutely can do that. Look, he's not going to come in and catch 30 passes and have 650 yards and seven touchdowns. That's not realistic, but a little bit of help. We talked a little bit earlier, I think it was last week, and brought up Powell, a guy that made some big plays offensively.

He could be more than that, not a ton more, but if he catches 25, 30 balls, has a couple of big plays, they used him in jet sweeps in Michigan a couple of years ago. He was very good at that. On top of it, he's an excellent putt and kick returner. Has a putt return for a touchdown in his career, has a kick return for a touchdown in his career. Maybe that's something where he can work in tandem. We've seen I would do that. They've had

a couple of guys back there. Cooper Dejean, we know what he is with the ball in his hands, the elite ball skills that he has, not just defensively, but as a punt returner. He got him back there. Maybe that is A.J. heading an opportunity for him to say, you know what? We're going to put him back in kick return, or we're going to go with the two returners, something that they've done in the past. Just different things that you can play around with. Here's the good news, too. This is not it for Iowa. They are working the portal. Now, one of their bigger targets is off the board. Jamal Edron from Florida Atlantic. They were heavily involved with, had 39 catches for 570 yards, six touchdowns a year ago. Well,

he's going to Purdue. All right, cross him off. But there are some other names out there that Iowa's involved in. We'll get you those names as we continue here. Some names that Iowa, if A.J. Henning isn't out there, if he maybe makes a choice somewhere else. He had a tweet just last night talking about the throw-outs for me. Makes us a little nervous as Hawkeye fans. That's when we come back here on Locked on Hawkeyes. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Locked on's NFL Draft special is here, and it's bigger than ever. Follow along. All 32 teams first pick in a six-episode ultimate mock draft experience only Lockdown can deliver. All episodes available on Lockdown NFL Draft on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

And if you're looking for the Iowa flavor, I'll find the one where you see Jacksonville pick. That is where we saw Lucas Van Ness go in that one. A lot of fun, guys. Doing a great job. We'll have more for you from the NFL Draft. I will be there in Kansas City live. In fact, I'll be doing my radio show from there.

If you're making your way to Kansas City, or if you're one of those Kansas City viewers or listeners out there, stop on by. I will be at Char Bar in Kansas City, just about a little more than a mile away from where all the festivities are going to be going on. Stop on by. I'll be doing my radio show from 11 to 1.

Hang around for a little bit later on Thursday afternoon after that and also be there on Friday. 11 to 1, both Thursday and Friday from Char Bar in Kansas City. Stop by, say hello. Maybe even buy a cold one. Hey, I like to dabble just a little bit and we'll get lubricated before the NFL draft. We continue here on Locked On Hawkeyes. So talked about a few of the other names that are out there. One of the big names off the board,

that's disappointing as it always is. You get excited about these guys and it happens fast, right? I mean, this is speed dating, right? You're going through, you're trying to figure out some names, some guys that would make sense for what I was trying to do. So these are just the latest list. And a big credit to Tom Caker and Blair Sanderson over at Hawkeye Report. Some of the names came from these guys that Iowa is interested in. First one, a really intriguing one, Jaquay Jackson. He played at California. Oh, Cal.

No, Cal of Pennsylvania. Okay? Alright. Slowly roll a little bit there. He's a senior. He has 148 career catches. Over 2,000 yards in his career. 23 touchdowns. This past season, Jackson 77 catches.

1,178 yards and 13 touchdowns. and he's a big receiver. We continue to talk about Iowa still searching for that X receiver. Now, who's going to be that guy that's going to be there? That's not Seth Anderson. That's not Rocky Eaney. You're looking at young guys. Maybe that is Deontay Bynes.

But that big body wide receiver on the outside, 6'3", 175, that'll do it. Jaquay Jackson from California of Pennsylvania. A couple other names that are out there. Alante Brown, he just left Nebraska. That's been thrown out there. There's been a lot of buzz as well about Jalen Gill from Boston College. Really like a few of the highlight packages that I saw from Gill. I think that'd be a very good one if they can have him.

But then Isaiah Wilson from East Tennessee State. So just a couple of names that are out there. They're still continuing to bandy about some of the different names that Iowa's working. And they're active in there. Speaking of Hawkeye Report and Tom Kakert's site, Brad Heinrichs, who runs the Iowa Swarm, the collective. He posts over there. It had something interesting the other day where he said, Now, everybody's excited about A.J. Henning.

It doesn't mean the Iowa staff has A.J. Henning at the top of their list. I maintain they need to eat wide receivers here. It's just the depth of this position. I get it. They only have one scholarship. They're going to find a way. I had a couple of walk-ons that also decided to leave the program. That doesn't help out the scholarship limits that they're up against. Guys are going to leave. Guys are going to enter the portal. It's going to continue. We're going to see guys depart this summer. That's going to also happen. And you think about a lot of those second and third year guys that haven't made their way up the depth chart at this point in time. Playing time is going to be incredibly difficult to find some of those younger guys at the defensive line position. There's attrition everywhere. And though Iowa, year after year, is one of the lowest teams

in terms of turnover of their roster in the country, there's still going to be names that are going to enter the portal. And if you're somebody like me and you follow recruiting and you start to like guys and there's ones that you maybe get a certain affinity to, it always stings, but that's just what college sports is, certainly in this day and age, and it's something you have to get used to year after year after year and anticipate that's going to be the case.

And there's going to be some real conversations. And certainly, if Iowa gains some traction here, and if they're able to go out there and get a couple of wide receivers in the portal, don't worry. They will find a way. They will make this happen. And another thing that makes this a whole lot easier is what the Iowa Swarm continues to do.

Hey, you want these recruits? You want these guys? Continue to donate. IowaSwarm.com is where you go to do it. It is obviously at this point in time one of the biggest lifebloods of what college athletics has been. Iowa baseball with a win yesterday as they beat Upper Iowa, rolled past the Peacocks, and now get ready for another weekend series as they'll make their way out to Penn State. Fighting with Penn State, kind of that middle position right now in the Big Ten. After the sweep against Nebraska, though, want to keep that momentum going. Go out there, get a series win.

Boy, if you can get another sweep, really, really good stuff. Iowa picks up their 30th win of the season. Now, when you look at their NCAA tournament resume, it doesn't have 30 wins there because wins against non-D1 teams like Upper Iowa don't count there. But Iowa's got to continue to play at a high level, still work to be done, and they still can build themselves certainly to become a solid NCAA tournament team regardless of what happens going into Omaha. And that's going to be a big piece certainly of what they are going to be. A lot of fun, a lot of things going on. We'll continue to keep an eye on the transfer

portal. We got basketball, BJ Mack. What is his decision going to be? Looks like more and more South Carolina might be the destination. The Wofford transfer, and if that's the case, what is Iowa going to do? We'll keep you covered here on Locked On Hawkeyes with everything going on

in the world of Hawkeye athletics. That'll do it for today. We'll be back with you tomorrow. You every day as we got you covered a whole lot more. We break down the NFL draft. We will do that as we continue. Thanks for watching and listening to the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Go Hawks. Thank you. Thank you.