Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: What's a successful 2024? Eliot Clough joins the show

Episode Date: May 28, 2024

Trent Condon is back with another week of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast and Memorial Day well wishes. What do you consider success for Iowa football in 2024? Does Trent's expectations line up with where you are (and the betting market is) for the upcoming football season.Eliot Clough from iowa.rivals.com stops by to talk about the basketball program and some of the newcomers, football talk and plenty of recruiting.And Iowa baseball is making a change as pitching coach Sean McGrath is leaving the program. What does Rick Heller have up next for the Hawkeyes baseball program? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.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)Follow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondonLISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyes

What do you consider a successful season for Iowa football? We break it down and where expectations are for this program. Plus a great conversation with Elliot Clough of Rivals, breaking down everything related to the world of the Hawkeyes. 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. Hey, welcome in.

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 find podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, hit the subscribe button. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Well, it is coming off a busy weekend. Hope everybody has a good Memorial Day.

And of course, I thank you to all the great people that make us and our country what it is here today. But we kick things off. We got some football, some baseball news also coming up as Iowa will be looking for a new pitching coach. A long conversation with Elliot Clough from Go Iowa. Awesome. Part of the Rivals Network, the Iowa site over there. Elliot doing a really good job early on the beat and a lot of good information from Elliot coming up here on the program. But first things first today, just open things up with some football talk.

And as we get ready, a couple weeks away from the players making their way to Iowa City, the incoming freshman class will be making their way there. I had an opportunity to talk with one of those incoming freshmen at a graduation party on Monday. And one of the things that he relayed is, yeah, it's happening quickly. And before you know it, it's happening quickly. And before you know it, it's going to be here. Football season is going to happen fast. And talking to a lot of people throughout this weekend, my parents were in town. I met with some family, which is, you know,

those talks that you have. If you're a sports fan, I'm sure you had them with your family members and your friends. And just, I want to get thoughts on where your expectations are for this season and what in turn makes this a successful season. Because I think maybe I'm a little bit away from the pack. We start with the betting line. And that's something I do a lot. I think every day, as you know that, certainly well, I am a everyday gambler. Some people might call me a degenerate. I have fun with it.

And one thing that I've realized is, so the opening number came out from FanDuel, and I was over under in terms of wins with seven and a half, meaning if Iowa goes eight and four or better this season, they hit the over, seven and five or worse, they hit the under. A, I was surprised by that number. I anticipated at minimum it was going to be eight. You normally see a hook laying down there, so it it was going to be eight. You normally see a hook laying down there, so it's normally going to be eight and a half. I was surprised because of eight, what Iowa brings back this season on the defensive side of the football. You have a linebacker crew

as good as anybody in college football. Defensive backfield, even with the loss of Cooper Dijon, looks to be elite once again. Some good defensive linemen that at minimum have shown that it can be good rotational pieces, and I think there's even more upside out of this defense. So you have that part of it and the defensive line and just what they are overall. You couple that with an offensive system that is going to evolve, going to change. And it can't be worse than what it's been over the last two and a half seasons. It has to be better because frankly, there's no other way to go. But are there going to be growing pains in year number one at Tim Lester? I think so.

And I think at times I need to remind myself of that. But I was just surprised at that number that came out from FanDuel at seven and a half. Because I believe at minimum, even if this is a disappointing season, this team's going to go eight and four. The schedule's right there. And they've won a lot of those coin flip games here recently. And I guess maybe that goes hand in hand. How long can you maintain the domination that Iowa has shown in close football games over the last few seasons? It's something that normally starts to even out and maybe those 50, 50 games or even 55, 45 games start to go the other way.

And that's something I think they have to think about and look at a little bit with this program. But you start with the schedule, and it opens up the season. Obviously, your non-conference games coming up this year. Illinois State is the opener, a middling Missouri Valley conference team. This is not the Illinois State team that came in, what, about a decade ago with big upside and expectations. Certainly not the case there. Iowa came in, what, about a decade ago with big upside and expectations. Certainly not the case there.

Iowa State, like Iowa, returns a ton. You do get them in Iowa City, though, this season. And then a Troy team that's pretty good. But Iowa's going to be favored in all those games. In fact, Iowa is favored in the game listed. The Iowa State game is out there at a couple of sportsbooks. And Iowa is a slight favorite in that game. And then you get into the meat of the Big Ten schedule

and the nine-game conference schedule, and yes, the Big Ten West is no more, and you do not get those yearly matchups against the Purdue's and the Northwestern's and Minnesota's of the world. However, the schedule's not that difficult. Yes, the road trip to Ohio State is daunting. That's going to be tough. But outside of that, it goes Minnesota on the road to open things up. You get a bye before you have to go to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes.

You're home for Washington. Well, Trent, they played for the national championship a year ago. They did, however, also remember they returned very, very little from that team, including their head coach, Kalen DeBoer, their offensive coordinator, and on and on and on. It is a completely new system at Washington. And I think in Kinnick Stadium, Iowa is certainly going to be a favorite in that one. After that, it's Michigan State, another program going through transition. You're number one of a

new coaching staff coming in there. You get Northwestern at home. You get Wisconsin at home. Do either of those teams scare you? I don't think so. I know we all have some, certainly some carnage that we've seen in the past. And there's been some games that leave us shaking our heads against both of those programs that we felt should have gone the other way, but certainly feel like you're a good favorite in both of those games. You go to UCLA. We know that'll be a monster crowd on that Friday night game at Maryland after that. And then you wrap up Black Friday against Nebraska. It's just not that difficult of a schedule. And for me, success is not just getting over that win total,

being eight and four, even nine and three. Success for me means more. I think in order for this to be a successful season, you need a big step forward from the offense. You need to, at minimum, have an offense that looks confident, that has us enjoy watching the games. I mean, how many times? We love watching the black and gold, right? We're all there. You're listening to this podcast because of just that, because you love the Hawkeyes and we're going to do it every single time. However,

man, there were some ugly moments and it was a difficult watch. And if they didn't have Iowa on the Jersey, if they weren't having the Tiger Hawk, I probably wouldn't watch that team a whole lot lately, but that's what we do. Getting that back. And for me, success is 10 and 2. Success is 11 and 1. Success is talking about in November, Iowa, what they need to do to get into the Big 10 championship game. Would 10 and 2 be enough, even if they don't qualify for the Big 10 championship game, to get one of the 12 spots in year number one of the college football playoff? That's where my expectations are with this team. Are they too high? Let me know. Hit me up on the comments section on YouTube. You can also follow me on Twitter at Trent Condon and get your thoughts in there. A lot of conversation with Elliot Clough. He's part of the Rivals Network.

Go Iowa awesome. Good conversation I had with Elliot. A lot of different things going on in the world of Hawkeyes. We talked a little basketball, plenty of football, a lot going on, and he's got us covered as he continues on the is Locked on Hawkeyes. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die,

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eBay guaranteed fit. Only available to U.S. customers. Now, Elliot Clough joins the program. Go Iowa. Where are we? Go Iowa. Awesome. Awesome.

Part of the Rivals Network. It's part of the Rivals Network. If you just type in Iowa.Rivals.com, it pops up that way, too. That's too many dots for me. Hello, Elliot Clough. Welcome to the program. Sorry about butchering where you do your work, but good to have you on the radio. How are you?

Good. Thanks for having me on, guys. You know, I've been telling people Iowa.rivals.com since I started, so we're rolling with that. That is a-okay. Gotcha. Let's start basketball-wise. Peyton Sanford, by all accounts, did not have the best of combine showings, leading a lot of Hawkeye fans that, yeah, they were pulling for him,

hope he gets paid, but selfishly, boy, I'd like to see him back in a Hawkeye uniform. Trending in that direction, in your mind, Elliot, that he will be a part of Fran McCaffrey's team? What are you hearing? Right, yeah, that's a tough one, guys. As far as I know, it's all still up in the air right now, And I think that, well, it is thanks to the fact that this draft class is pretty weak overall. Of course, Peyton did struggle in the combine, all the measurements, all the athletic stuff. And then, of course, in the five-on-five, didn't having these individual workouts. He is working out with these teams on a one-on-one basis or in groups or what have you. So it's not just the combine or bust, right?

It's all the things that he put on the court that season. It's all the things that he's doing with individual workouts. So like I said, it's still up in the air to me. If we're basing it on the combine, of course, to me, he's better served. And I did write an article saying I think he's better served coming back if he does come back man i that really helps iowa's chances next year um takes a lot of pressure off the young guys takes a lot of pressure off the transfers and gets payton get payton the keys along with josh dicks and owen freeman really being that core for them next year plus the transfers plus the young guys so um payton comes back that's a

much better looking team team than without him. Tell us a little bit about the two incoming guys. Thelwell comes in. He was the first to jump aboard out of the portal. And then they get the big kid out of Manhattan that has three years of eligibility, certainly looks the part and had, I think, some impressive numbers defensively, block shots, those kind of things at a lower level. Your thoughts on both of those guys

and how impactful each of them will be for this upcoming season sure for for sell well i think he's plug and play into the starting lineup of course you get brock harding the opportunity to compete for that starting job but with sell well coming in you add some size to that back court which is big um you didn't i mean they were going after guys who are 5 11 6 foot to add to the brock or excuse me add to the brock card excuse me add to the backcourt that already had brock harding who's just six foot so i think adding six three drew sell well was important he's a guy that really distributes the ball well six assists per game i think he was top 20 in per game and in total assists from this last season

which is awesome for the way iowa likes to play basketball they like to move the ball they like to get a bunch of shots up so if he can can distribute the ball, get some buckets for Owen Freeman, potentially Peyton Sanford, Josh Dix, Traore, Todd Joe, some of the other guys who are coming in, coming back, Bryce Sanford, I think he's going to be a really nice addition. And he's a little, I mean, he's not Tony Perkins athletic, but he does bring a little athleticism to the backcourt too. And I think a pairing of him and Brock Harding in the backcourt is going to be fun. Of course, he's just a one-year guy that's going to come in, has that experience, been to the NCAA tournament twice with Morehead State,

won a lot there in the Ohio Valley Conference. So I think if anything, he adds that experience. He's going to be good, I think. He's not going to lead you in scoring, but he's going to be able to score. He had, I think, an issue with his wrist last year, so his shooting percentages dropped a little bit. I don't think they're super indicative of how good of a shooter he is, so we'll probably see those numbers uptick this season, this coming season.

And for Xavier Traore, I think this is a huge addition for them whether he starts or not is i think up in the air i think we'll see that uh what's going to come to fruition there after you know they get a little summer work in we talked to fran and in july hopefully um but this is this is a guy that i mean so much of the fan base was clamoring for athleticism to be added to the lineup right and? And that's what you get with Seju. This is a guy who, like you said, blocks some shots. I think he averaged 8.4 rebounds per game, something like that, 8.3, which is a huge addition.

We know Kricke could score, but he struggled on the board. He wasn't a great defender, wasn't a crazy athlete by any means. And with bringing in Seju, you get this guy for three years. It's not a mercenary thing. I mean, he's going to come in. He's a guy with incredibly high ceiling because of that athleticism, because of his ability to play defense, get bored, watch shots, throw down dunks. And he shot, you know, the three point percentage wasn't great last year. I think it was just 25%, but he also shot 80% from the free throw line, which is indicative of something you can work with.

You can increase that three-point percentage. And to me, in terms of his impact, I think it does go back to Peyton Stanford. Does he return? Because if he returns, that takes a lot of pressure off Seydoux. It takes a lot of pressure off guys like Cooper Koch, like Chris Tadjo. But for Seydoux, who's had experience at the college level, he did play one year at prep school. So he's a little bit older, but for him to be able to come in and rely on guys like Peyton,

Josh Dick and Owen Freeman to score, maybe the majority of points, say you can really impact the game on the board. He can really impact the game defensively and he can just go out there and be a lot threat and be himself while also working on all those things that will potentially lead to him being a major impact player impact player in iowa city because we've seen it like they've brought in guys like the murray quinn's that weren't incredibly nationally renowned recruit and then made him first round picks in the nba and i think they do treor has has that type of ceiling if you can if you can continue to work with it with with uh iowa football and bringing in transfers it's been about raising the floor right and with bringing in guys

like they do treor you're raising the ceiling of iowa basketball that's remarkable because there was a lot of gloom and doom amongst hawkeye fans and maybe in this studio right now because business is better when hawkeye basketball and iowa state are both having good seasons. And I was of the opinion not too many weeks ago, not many days ago, that, oh, my God, has McCaffrey even realized that you're allowed to bring guys in after everybody's going out? I think he did a really good job. On top of the guys, if you get Peyton Sanford back and these two kids, you're just talking about 10-10 last year.

I mean, we're talking about, again, another season of a potential. We're way ahead of ourselves here, but certainly a team that you could make the case for being alive in the month of March. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, they are hampered by where things are at in terms of the money and the collective, right?

That's why they went and got a low major kid and a high major kid, or excuse me, a mid-major kid. That's just the way things are with money-wise with the swarm and men's basketball right now. And, you know, they did what they could, right? And I think they got in a really good duo so far. For right now, I think they're waiting to see what Peyton does, and then you're at a place where I think all the

talent's going to be out and taken care of in terms of the portal, so I don't think we'll see much, especially if they do get Peyton back going forward, but I really like what they brought in. I like Felwell a lot. I got stuck with him one-on-one, and that kid, you can tell he's a point guard

just by talking to him. You can tell he's a guy that is going to come in and wants to lead. And just looking at the film, what they do, man, I love what I've seen from him. And I keep referencing Chris Tadjo because he's coming in in the 2024 class, three-star, mega athlete, has done a lot. I've been told by S.W.O.R.D. and by some folks on the summer ball circuit that they think Tajo could start next year as a true freshman. Of course, we saw that from Owen Freeman. You're really, really improving the athleticism by bringing in both Tajo and Traore.

It's a lot of threats. It's something they didn't have last year, maybe besides Evan Bronze when he was on the floor and Owen Freeman in terms of a guy you can shut the ball up to and go get it and throw it down. I think Lodge and Bailey is really improving in that regard too so if you get Peyton Stanford back this team could be I mean I think they're sneaky they're sneaky in the big sense they're bringing a ton of experience back especially if Peyton comes back relative to the rest of the league they're bringing a ton of experience back and you bring in a great shooter like Peyton, a great shooter like Josh Dick,

a great shooter like Bryce Stanford, and you complement that with that athleticism plus a young up-and-coming brick big that should have been the sole owner of Big Ten Freshman of the Year. And you've got some stuff to work with. I don't know if we're talking top 25. I don't know if we're talking top five team in the big 10 but we're talking about a team that can definitely compete and earn themselves in a bid to the ncaa tournament um let's get into some football um okay i'm not a track guy i just see the times of brevin doll and that was eye-opening the running back position is absolutely loaded

he's six one you need help at wide receiver. I know I'm not alone in this thought process, but, boy, you see that kind of speed. Can he get on the field as a specialist, a kick returner, punt returner in year number one? And what's the game plan for a guy that comes in, what, probably seventh on the depth chart already in a very deep running back position? Oh, man, those are all great questions. I'll tell you what, I'm a track guy too. I walked on at UNI for my freshman year and then promptly quit because I

was not good enough to be a D1 athlete. But yeah, I mean, those times are insane, insane. And he set records in the 100, 200 and I mean, as well as the 4x1 and 4x2. That's bonkers. Those are so fast. To me, Dahl has probably the speed and the playmaking ability to contribute early on. Whether or not he's got the size to do it is the question. He's also had an injury history at the high school level, so you want to keep him healthy. You want to get him in the weight room. You want the nutrition to be peak. And I think you want him to get a feel of what it's like to be a Division I football player before you throw him out there, right?

To me, you see the speed. You're encouraged by the speed. You watch his huddle and it's like, that dude is legitimate. I think Iowa got a feel because his recruitment was really starting to pick up quite a bit last spring of course oklahoma state coming in kansas state was a real player in his recruitment um but grew up an iowa fan so talk i had the edge there and of course he loved everything he saw during his recruitment but i i would be more inclined to say we we would see him as probably a redshirt freshman redshirt sophomore than right away just because you got to get him in the weight room right you got to get in and

it's not like he hasn't been lifting i mean we've all seen the picture yeah right um but to add a little bit of that to that frame um i i think would be really important especially considering the injury history and of course that's no fault to his own – that's no fault to him, but it is something that you have to consider. And I've thought about the wide receiver position too. I mean, we just saw that flip for T.J. Washington, who's probably going to play a little bit of slot receivers this year, even though they're bringing in Jacob Gill.

But if you've got a guy that can make plays and is going to be one of your top 11 offensive players top whatever it is 15 16 17 with the running back and wide receiver rotation you got to find a way to get him on the field right like whether it's special teams whether it's offense um so and if he proves me wrong and he can contribute as a freshman by all means man like i said he's got the playmaking ability he's got the speed to do it speaking of injury concern of course the incumbent starting quarterback uh he has that what about brendan sullivan haven't asked you your opinion on the northwestern transfer who comes in i guess on paper right now it's number two on the depth chart uh but um he's

going to get an opportunity at least to compete. Your thoughts on Brendan Sullivan? Yeah. To me, I think it's exactly what I said a moment ago when we were talking about basketball. When you bring in a guy like Brendan Sullivan, it immediately raises the floor of Iowa football because we saw what happened when Deacon Hill came in. We don't have to bash Deacon Hill to reference how important it is to bring in a guy like Brennan Sullivan.

He's mobile. He's been there. He's done that. He won some games with Northwestern who is traditionally bad. I remember last season saying I think they're over under for win total was one and a half. I said hammer the under because I thought they were going to be terrible. And what they do, go out and win

eight games. Phenomenal. Yes. I wasn't a part of that. Yeah. What about us running were going to be terrible and what they do go out and win eight games phenomenal yes it hasn't been a part of that yeah what about his running name what about uh the jacob gill coming in at minimum can he be rotational pieces at a realistic expectation of wide receiver we know they need help there yeah i i mean i think so of course he hasn't been super productive in his three years of college football he did get beat out for for a time as a starter last year um but again this is this is a position and i think i may have said it to you guys but i've definitely said it on our podcast is and i said excuse me same thing goes for

quarterback um as it does for a wide receiver is beggars cannot be choosers folks that are looking at this situation and are maybe a little upset that they didn't get somebody who was gonna from ohio state again like caleb brown at wide receiver or one of these ohio state quarterbacks that people were talking about on twitter iowa is not in a position to land some of those guys and when you get guys like jacob hill like brendan excuse me jacob gill like brendan sullivan that have been there done that can elevate the floor can come in and contribute maybe you start to get into a situation where oh brennan sullivan went in there and did really well or jacob gill went in there and his contribution went up astronomically

as opposed to what it was at northwestern maybe not astronomically but gotten better tim lester was able to do something with those guys that's when you can start to pitch to some of these other players in the portal, other recruits that might not just be three stars in the state of Iowa, right? I keep hearing good things about Tim Lester. And if he's able to put it on the field with Brennan Sullivan, with Cade McNamara, with Jacob Gill, with some of these other guys, I think the floor, yeah, that floor continues to rise, but so does the ceiling because you can get playmakers in.

You can make a pitch and say, look what we did with Jacob Gill. Look what we did with Brennan Sullivan. Imagine what it would be like if we brought you in. So I think the addition of Gill and Sullivan was good. Was it break through the roof? Was it, oh Oh my gosh, they're going to lead the country or the big 10 and receiving yards or passing yards or whatever. No, but it doesn't have to be like,

the defense is among the best in the country. Again, going into the season, if the offense is just mediocre, things get so much better for them. They're, they're stealing raises. Camp season upon us for football. Tons of recruiting is always what you guys do over at Rivals. Tell us a little bit about a couple of the prospects that you're keeping an eye on as we await that next commitment for Iowa football. Sure.

So for football, going into camp season, in terms of kids that Iowa could potentially land in 2025, not going to be of utmost importance for those kids because once you reach 2025, once you're talking about official visits, then those kids don't really camp. There's no need to for them. But in terms of kids I'm watching in 2025 for potential commitments down the road,

we're talking about Brad Fitzgibbon, excuse me, Fitzgibbon, three-star defensive tackle from Chicago Marist. I think he's a prototypical Kelvin Bell defensive tackle. I'll tell you that. He's a kid that really enjoyed his unofficial visit this spring, just scheduled an official visit for that big official visit weekend in June. He's a kid that I've future casted to Iowa. So usually save that information for our folks who are premium subscribers, but, but for you guys,

I can share that. So I like what I've seen from him a lot and he's definitely high on Iowa to this point. And then I look at guys like Graylin Collier from the state of Ohio. He's a receiver that has interest from Iowa and Iowa State and Michigan State as well. He's going to be a kid that's taking official visits to each of those places. They're locked up at quarterback with Jimmy Sullivan. And of course, they got their walkon in Ryan Fitzgerald from the Chicago area, son of Pat Fitzgerald from Northwestern. And then younger brother of Mason Richmond, oh my goodness, you guys, younger brother of Mason Richmond,

McGuire Richmond, will be taking an official as well. So some Iowa connections there. Mason Wood, son of Le of lavar wood four-star running back out of ohio kentrell reinhardt will be taking his first visit to iowa as his official so lots of things happening you can follow along of course with with all of it at iowa.rivals.com on one big official coming up june 8th jose epinesa four-star pass rusher from edwardsville illinois younger brother of aj so lots of stuff going on this summer lots of big names going to be on campus for their official visit um and and

lots of stuff to keep track of with us um there's there's going to be content and coverage of each of these guys um on on on our site and and looking towards camp season i'm really excited uh that's probably one of my favorite parts of the year seeing some 2025 2026 2027 kids on the come up jack stagine a name that that folks will recognize camping at iowa um keenan harris who i just thought rivals camp series he's a four-star linebacker from the st louis area um he's going to be camping at iowa already has an offer but once to get up for a visit and work with Coach Wallace a little bit. So lots to keep an eye on.

And like I said, it'll all be on Iowa.rivals.com. Unfortunately, Iowa camps aren't open to the media, but Iowa states are, so I'll be watching some kids there over the first two weeks of June. And like I said, very much looking forward to that. Good stuff, Elliot. Thanks for jumping on. Appreciate it. Definitely. Thanks guys. Thank you, Elliot Clough. Iowa.rivals.com. There you go. Good stuff as always from Elliot. Always enjoy our conversations.

A big thank you to him for joining us and talking a lot of Iowa, plenty of basketball, football, and recruiting. Yes, it is hot and heavy, and we will continue to have you covered. Your team every day here on the Lockdown Network. Some big news over the weekend, Iowa baseball with a big change after their season comes to a close. We'll talk about that as we come back. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So not a huge surprise, but a big change as Iowa's now looking for a new pitching coach for the Iowa baseball program. Sean McGrath has decided to leave the program. Now, I think reading between the lines here, this was probably more than just a decision to leave the program. This certainly felt like something where Rick Heller was looking to make a change after a disappointing season this year. It was the bullpen early in the season.

It was the rotation during certainly the midpoint of the year. Marcus Morgan, after his first start of the year, we're talking about potentially maybe a third-round draft pick come the amateur draft coming into the season, and he had one of the most disappointing years overall. We did see a bounce back out of Brody Brecht and what he did over the last six weeks or so of the season. He had Cade Obermuller and a decision that still awaits him,

but Iowa going in another direction. Now, Rick Heller has been able to do a lot with this baseball program. What they do analytically is at the forefront of college baseball and something that is nationally recognized of what they do. But after Robin Lund made the decision, he was going to the MLB, took a job in the Tigers staff as he was working with the pitchers there in the Detroit Tigers organization. They went this direction.

Last year went incredibly well. This season, not so much. Now, I did hear that there were a few maybe extra miles that were out there trying to talk to some of these pitchers, doing some different things. You got agents. You got people from all kinds of backgrounds. You got some handlers. You got those kind of things that maybe made it a little bit more difficult.

But it's going to be a big off season decisions that are there mentioned over Mueller, uh, Raider Tello. He's going to have a decision of what he's going to do. Peterson, just some of the guys that were going to kind of await what's going to happen there. Joey Oki, who's finishing up his high school career with Ankeny Centennial, who's been committed to the Hawkeyes for a long time. He's a potential first round draft pick himself. And that along with it will be a big decision for him of what he's going to do, either make his way to Iowa city next season as a freshman and be there for three years, or is he going to make the choice that he's going to stay and take that a draft pick wherever he goes. So a lot in front of us with Iowa baseball disappointing year, but Rick Heller, there's one guy that you're

happy is in charge of the Hawkeye program. It's certainly Coach Heller. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Also, you watch NFSWAM, ESPN all day long, and you have to turn down the volume with all that shouting. It's time for you to make the switch to Lockdown

Sports Today. It's a free 24 7 sports streaming channel programmed for you every day. It's going to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming. Locked On Sports Today brings you can't-miss analysis, opinions, news, streaming 24-7 on YouTube or on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. All part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. We got you covered each and every day this week. A lot of Hawkeye talk.

We get ready for football season, the offseason right around the corner, but it is recruiting time and really the lifeblood of athletics. Plus, we're going to have some big picture conversations as well this week. The future of college athletics with all the changes that continue to happen. How does it impact the Iowa Hawkeyes? We'll do that as well here throughout the course of the week. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow.

Go Hawks.