Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football: Which position groups are set for 2022?

Episode Date: May 7, 2022

In today's episode I sat down and talked about which Hawkeys position groups are set up the best going into the 2022 College Football season. Obviously there are some groups that have no question as to whether or not they're going to be able to perform consistently but there are a few that have left us with more questions than answers coming out of Spring ball.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 “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!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

Our 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, to another episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked on Podcast Network. As always, I am your host, Wright Hillpiper, and I want to thank you all for making the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast your very first listen every single day. You can find the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts at,

and also on YouTube by searching Locked on Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts at and also on YouTube by searching Locked on Hawkeyes. Now, this is the very first episode of mine where I am going on YouTube, starting YouTube things back up. I know I promised you guys that yesterday that I would start today, so it's starting today. By the way, what's behind me, the Iowa flag, it's going to change. This is sort of just a temporary setup so you guys don't have to stare at my wall, uh, the whole time during this video. Um, one thing I know I'm goofy looking, you'll get used to it. All right. I've gotten

used to it over the last 18 years. Uh, I understand I'm a little goofy looking, but it's okay. You'll be fine. Um, anyways, there's quite a few things that I want to cover today. And I want to mention that, yes, I'm going to be looking at my notes quite a bit. I'm still new to this whole thing and I'm obviously new to being on a camera. So it's going to be a little weird having me looking at my notes a lot. But I do have a lot of quotes in today's episode as well. So, you know, over time, eventually I'll look at my notes less and less and eventually everything will just be in my head. But for now, just kind of bear with me. The first few episodes are probably going to be a little rough, but I'm going to get things figured out as fast as I possibly can. So like I said, just bear with me and hopefully, you know,

things will go smoother as time goes on. So I was browsing the internet today, looking for, you know, potential things to talk about on today's episode. And I came across an article written by, I believe it was David Eichholt. I hope I'm saying that right. David Eichholt. Yes. David Eichholt, who is a writer for Insider. And the article was called Hawkeye Football Describing Every Position Group in One Sentence Following Spring Practice. And I wanted to, you know, after I saw that And the article was called Hawkeye football, describing every position group in one sentence following spring practice. And I wanted to, you know, after I saw that article, I kind of wanted to go through and kind of tell you guys what David was talking about.

So like I said, this, this article was written by David. David, if you or anybody that you know is watching or listening to the podcast today, I'm not trying to steal your article and make it as my own. It is 100% written by David. All of the quotes that I'm talking about in this first segment are from David himself from that article. So let's get right into it. The first thing that I want to talk about, the first thing that David talked about as well was quarterbacks. And he described Iowa's quarterback groups as unproven. Now, as you know, Spencer Petras, Alex Padilla, Joey Lavis are the three quarterbacks currently on Iowa's roster. He said, quote,

the Hawkeyes return two quarterbacks that have starting experience, but after throwing four touchdowns in the final nine games of the season, they'll need to prove it on the field. And he's absolutely right. These guys are very, very young. Yes, Padilla and Petras, excuse me, almost said it wrong again, are very inexperienced. They don't have a lot of, you know, a lot of in-game starting experience. They do have some. Yes, granted, they do have some experience on

the field. So that's going to help them a little bit throughout the season, but they have a lot to prove. And I've talked about it before. Spencer Petras is not ready to be a fully starting quarterback. That's my own personal belief. I've gotten flame for it on Twitter. I know I've called him cocky. Apparently he's not cocky. I've met him in person. I know what he's like. I have several friends that go to the university of Iowa that know who he's know what he's like. And I have nothing against him as a quarterback. You know what I mean? I have nothing against him as a person either. I just think that his skills are a little underdeveloped so far. Same for Alex Padilla.

He's not ready to be a fully starting quarterback, and obviously neither is Labus being a freshman, you know what I mean? But, you know, they all have a lot to prove before they can step out onto the field, and hopefully over the summer they're going to gain some more skills, gain that skill set, maybe get a little bit of experience in that, and hopefully they'll be able to start out the season strong and finish it strong, hopefully throw more than four touchdowns in nine games. But regardless, moving on to the running backs, he described them as young being Gavin and LaShawn Williams. He said, quote, Gavin and LaShawn Williams showed flashes of high level production during the

Citrus Bowl, but the next step is translating that to consistently in 2022. And that's absolutely true. And I I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Gavin is going to get more carries than LaShawn is. That's just how it's going to be because he was more productive last season. I think that he is going to start over him. Excuse me. Gavin is going to start over LaShawn simply because of the fact that he was more productive last season and he's shown that he can be consistent while running the ball. Neither of them had great seasons, obviously with Tyler Goodson being there, but with him gone now, it gives these guys the opportunities to, or excuse me, the opportunity to kind of go in and, you know, make, um, make this offense their own and kind of up the running game as much as they

possibly can. So I'm excited to see how it's going to play out this year. They are going to share carries, but I think I said it once already, uh, before it's going to play out this year. They are going to share carries, but I think I said it once already before. It's going to be 60-40. It's not going to be a 50-50 deal. All right? LeSean is not going to get as many carries as Gavin unless Gavin proves that he is not as good a running back as LeSean is. But as I said, as of right now,

Gavin is going to get more carries because he's been more productive. He was more productive last season, and he's shown that he can be more consistent. So that's my take on things. Obviously, Gavin is going to start out the season over LeSean, in my opinion. But hopefully LeSean can come into his own a little bit at that running back spot and prove to Kirk Ferentz and Brian Ferentz, the offensive coordinator head coach, spot and prove to, you know, Kirk Ferentz and Brian Ferentz, you know, the offensive coordinator,

head coach that they can, or that he can, excuse me, you know, produce on the field and that he can, you know, be consistent and be a good running back overall. So going on to the next position group, wide receivers, he, excuse me, David described them as frustrated. He said, quote, Keegan Johnson, Arlen Bruce, Charlie Jones, and Nico Ragini, sorry, I always have trouble with that last name, have all proven that they can contribute. But after an injury riddled season or spring, excuse me, that included some practices only having four wide receivers available, it's impossible not to wonder how much progress they could have made during spring. And he's absolutely right. And a part of that too is the quarterback situation. You know what I mean?

Iowa isn't set on who, you know, they aren't set on, you know, they know they're going to have a fantastic quarterback next season. Obviously Kirk Ferentz has the most confidence in Petras, but Iowa is not set on who they're going to have at quarterback next season. So it's really kind of up in the air and it's still sort of like a what if kind of question on whether or not the wide receivers are going to be able to produce. Because as David said, all of these guys have shown that they are consistent. All of them have shown that they can get out there and make catches, make plays and put

up big numbers. But that all comes back to the quarterbacks. You know what I mean? And obviously they're going to be frustrated. They don't have a guy that they can just go in and be like, this is the guy who's consistently going to produce like CJ Beathard, for example. They don't, they don't have a guy who can consistently come in and produce game after game, week after week. So it's, it makes sense that they're going to be frustrated and they're probably going to be frustrated for the first couple of

weeks of the season while Petrus continues to try to prove himself and continues to try to, you know, come into his own as a quarterback. So it's going to be interesting to see how, you know, what the relationship is between Petras and his wide receivers this year. I'm excited to see it and hopefully they can produce some numbers, but as of right now, it's still kind of all up in the air. So the next position group is tight ends and he, David described the tight ends as needing development. And that makes sense. When you look at the quote, Sam Laporta has a chance to be a good second round draft pick next season and is poised for his most complete season as a Hawkeye, but can Luke Lackey and Lafayette transfer Steven Stylianos, I believe

is how you say that. Can you add a high level to take the pressure off Laporta? No, no, they can't. They cannot produce the same amount of numbers. They cannot produce the same amount of consistency as Laporta can. That's just how it is. Laporta is a better tight end than them. Both of them. Okay. That's how it is. That's my opinion. Disagree if you want. I don't care. That's my opinion. It's Laporta has consistently shown that he is a good tight end and he is going to get the start, but you know, Iowa sometimes runs that, you know, that two tight end offense. So maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe Lackey can, you know, get in there and, you know, kind of take some pressure off Laporta. But I think that obviously Laporta is going to be taking most of the snaps at tight end this season. And when Iowa

does run, if they run a two tight end set, I think that, you know, maybe Stylianos too. I don't really know much about the guy. I don't know much about Lackey either, but I do know that Sam Laporta is a very, very good tight end. And I know that he is probably better than Lackey and Stylianos as well. very, very good tight end. And I know that he is probably better than Lackey and Stylianos as well. So he's going to get the most, most of the snaps this year. Can those other two take some pressure off of him? Maybe as the season goes on, they start to develop a little bit more. They start to come into their own at the position. Maybe they can start to take a little bit of pressure off from, but I think, you know, weeks one through probably four Laporta is going to be taking a very, very heavy load on that offense. And he's

going to be, you know, kind of left out to dry if you want to call it that. He's going to be the guy. He's going to be the guy for the first few weeks of the season. And I would assume that he's going to be the guy for the entirety of the season, but it's, it's just call, it's all still kind of up in the air. And a lot of, a lot of Iowa's team is still up in the air, especially on the offensive side of the ball. So hopefully Laporta doesn't have to work, for lack of a better term, work as hard this season. But still at this point, I have more confidence in Laporta than either of the other two. So I would assume that Laporta is going to have a very, very long season.

The next position group I want to talk about, we're getting into the defense now. Defensive line, David described them as breakout, the word breakout. He said, Lucas Van Ness is going to emerge as one of the best defensive linemen in the conference, and Iowa will do a much better job at getting after the quarterback this season. I agree with that, and we'll talk about linebackers in just a second, but Lucas Van Ness is going to be a powerhouse on this Hawkeyes defense this year, simply because of the fact that he's good. He's a good player and he always has been. So Lucas Van Ness is going to have a lot of pressure on him to get after the quarterback

this season at that D line spot. I think that, you know, with the help of the linebackers, spot. I think that, you know, with the help of the linebackers, cause you just wait, just wait, I will talk about the linebackers. Um, the linebackers are going to help Van Ness in extreme amount this season. And I think that Iowa's defense is going to be not miles above, you know, where they were last year. I think they're going to be, you know, just as good, if not better than they were last year, but, um, they don't really have anything to prove at this point. They've already proved that they are a good defensive group all around. So, you know, it's, it's, it's not, this part's not up in the air. You know what I mean? This isn't the defensive defensive line and linebackers are not up in the air. They are set. They are good. They are all good players. Excuse me. Sorry. They're all good players and they are

all set. They are all experienced. So hopefully Iowa can produce the same amount of numbers and same amount of skill and consistency that they had last season. So now the linebackers, David described them as being veteran, which is absolutely true. He said, quote, the Hawkeyes are going to have one of the best trios of linebackers in the country in Jack Campbell, Seth Benson, and Justin Jacobs. Look for Jacobs to have his best year as a Hawkeye and have a legitimate NFL decision to make following the season. And I talked about this yesterday, Justin Jacobs, he's going to have a choice to make at the end of the season. I think he is going to have a very good season. I would

be very surprised if he didn't. So, you know, only being a redshirt sophomore, obviously he's going to have a big decision to make at the end of the season on whether or not he wants to go to the draft or if he wants to stick with Iowa. Hopefully he does so that Iowa can still have some of that experience in linebackers next season. But this is probably the most solid group right now on the Hawkeyes team as a whole, whether it's offense, defense, or special teams. The linebackers are the most solid position group, I guess, if you want to call it, on the Hawkeyes right now because they have

experience. They have experience. They're very, very good at what they do, and they're getting after the quarterback overall, and they can even cover passes as well if need be. So I have all the faith in the world in the linebackers this season, so hopefully they can produce the same amount of numbers and the same amount of consistency that they did last season. Now, the cornerbacks, David described them as proven, which obviously is true. He said, quote, Iowa received a huge offseason boost when Big Ten defensive back of the year Riley Moss announced his return for a fifth season. While losing Matt Hankins is difficult. Terry Roberts and Jamari Harris have proven that they can contribute at a high level. It's absolutely true. And even, even with Jamari Harris and Terry Roberts, this,

this cornerback group is going to lean on Riley Moss to be just as good, if not better than he was last year. And I talked about Riley Moss a couple episodes ago about how he, you know, he has a lot of high, you know, he has a lot of high, you know, high set goals. He set the bar really high for himself this upcoming season. He wants to be, you know, all big 10, all conference, whatever it is, he wants those awards. He wants to be the best defensive back in college football. And I think he has a really good shot at doing that. Um, as long as he can stay healthy, um, granted he had a little injury last season that put him out for what, like three

and a half games maybe. So as long as he stays healthy, he's going to be one of the best cornerbacks in college football, just like he was last year. And obviously Jamari Harris is going to have to overcome that hump from the suspension that he's going to get from that OWI that I talked about a few episodes back. And Terry Roberts is going to consistently be a good cornerback year after year. And he has been. So he, I think that Moss right now has a great supporting cast and I will call them a supporting cast because neither of them are as good as Riley Moss is. So Moss has a really good supporting cast this upcoming season. So I think that Iowa's secondary is going to have absolutely no problems when it comes to covering the ball, covering receivers

and making sure that they're doing their job. The next group that I want to talk about is the safeties. David described them as being exciting or excitement. He said, quote, Kayvon Merriweather has a chip on his shoulder after being the only member of Iowa's secondary to not receive a postseason honor. And when you throw five-star freshmen Xavier Nwankpa and Quinn Schlute in the mix, it'll be a fun group to watch develop, which is absolutely true. And I really, really, I've said it already. I really, really hope to see Xavier and Wongpa get on the field this year. And I think that he will. Granted, he's only a freshman and he has zero or college experience whatsoever, but you can't deny the fact that he's a five-star recruit coming to Iowa. And you know,

just as well as I do that, Iowa does not get a whole lot of five-star recruits interested in, you know, coming to play. And the state of Iowa in general, doesn't really produce a whole lot of five-star, you know, five-star athletes in football or in high school football, at least there's not really a whole lot. And, you know, when there are there, you know, they're usually not coming to Iowa. They're going to bigger schools like Bama and Georgia, you know, and all those, you know, bigger schools or whatever that are consistently in, you know, national playoff or excuse me, national championship contention. But Xavier and Wongpud doesn't really have a whole lot to prove.

And please do not take that the wrong way. I understand he is a freshman and yes, he has a lot to prove when it comes to playing in the college or in college football, but he's, he set the bar high for himself already. He set the bar low for himself already because of the fact that he's in being, you know, the best, you know, defensive recruit that I always had in a very, very long time. Um, so it's, it's going to be exciting to see how this safety situation plays out. And like I said, cave on Merriweather is going to have a chip on his shoulder. He didn't receive any honors last season. He was a, you know, he was a decent player, but he wasn't the best, uh, obviously on Iowa's defense by any means, but he, he's going to have a lot to prove to himself. And I, I really hope I don't see,

um, him losing his spot to in Wongpa in Wongpa's freshman season, but that very well could happen. It just depends on, you know, how much experience in Wongpa can get over the summer from doing those summer workouts and all that kind of thing. So it's going to be interesting. I think there's going to be a battle at the safety spot next season, whether it's cash or at the free safety position. I think there's going to be a little bit of a battle there,

uh, this upcoming season. So I can't wait to see it happen. Uh, the last group that I want to talk about is special teams. Um, and David described them as being intriguing. Now he said getting Charlie Jones back was a huge,

uh, was huge for the return game and Tori Taylor will be a reliable at punter. But after losing Caleb Shudak, I was kicking game will be one of the biggest storylines to watch as the season approaches. And I talked about this a little bit. I talked about Iowa's kicking game a little bit after the episode where I covered the spring game that Iowa had. Drew Stevens and Aaron Blom did not perform well. Neither of them performed very well in that spring game, but it was really windy in Iowa city that day. Um, so that might, or I mean, that definitely has something to do with it, but both of them have a lot to prove. They're both pretty young. Um, both pretty young

guys don't have a whole lot of college experience. So this, this battle for that, for that starting place kicker spot is going to be interesting. Um, hopefully we'll have it figured out, uh, before the season starts, you know, before, before summer workouts get over, hopefully we'll have that figured out a whole lot about either of their skills. But I do know that both of them are unproven. Neither of them have proved that they're going to be a consistently good choice at the kicker spot. So we'll have to wait and see how that goes. But regardless, I cannot wait to see it. So the next segment that I want to talk about is the Tyler Linderbaum situation with him going to the Ravens.

As you know, Linderbaum was picked up by the Ravens with the 25th overall pick in the draft, and he is the sixth Iowa lineman to be taken since 1998, since Kirk Ferentz started coaching Iowa football. So there's a few different NFL analysts that are really, really excited about Linderbaum's skills. So there's a few different quotes that I want to talk about. The first one comes from Daniel Jeremiah, who is an NFL network analyst. He said, once upon a time, I was in the Baltimore Ravens personnel department. We went to Iowa and got Marshall Yonda, and that worked out quite well. There's a great relationship between Ozzie Newsome, Eric DaCosta, and Kirk Ferentz.

I guarantee you've got a huge endorsement for Tyler Linderbaum. That quickness off the ball and being able to reach you guys, it gives you so much creativity in your offense when you have an athletic center who can do those things laterally, as well as moving up to the second level and the ability to cut off linebackers. Linderbaum's got an outstanding feel when you're working angles as an interior guy, as a puller and a center. That's outstanding, giving you the versatility in the run game. The Baltimore Ravens are going to love what he brings.

And I talked about this yesterday, and I've talked about it before on the podcast. Versatility is extremely, extremely important in the NFL. That's all the NFL teams are looking for in a guy is versatility. Can, as a linebacker, can you cover the run and can you cover a receiver or as a lineman, can you help with the run game and protect your quarterback at the same time? And Linderbaum consistently has shown that he can do that. It's going to be exciting to see Linderbaum in has shown that he can do that. It's going to be exciting to see Linderbaum in the NFL because there's a lot of NFL analysts right now that are saying that he's going to be one of the best NFL linemen to play the game. Obviously, that is way too early to tell. You cannot, I don't agree with that as of right now because we haven't seen

him play in the NFL. You can't sit back and say that he's going to be one of the best NFL linemen to ever play the game because he hasn't played a single game yet. We've seen him in college, but we haven't seen him in the NFL. So I think some NFL analysts are jumping the gun and I'm not discrediting Tyler Linderbaum whatsoever. He is definitely, definitely a very, very solid center, but it's a little bit too early to tell right now whether or not he's going to be good. Uh, NFL networks, Joel Klatt said he is a 10 year old pro. This guy can be a leader in the locker room as well. He's not just a wrestler, all the quickness you were talking about as well. He is farm tough. This guy is an excellent player. I love to see NFL analysts describe Iowa players as farm tough or, you know, like raised right, whatever it is, whatever they say. It's funny to

me because that's natural for, you know, guys in Iowa. Personally, I live in Iowa. I lived in Iowa my entire life. I've been to maybe three other States in my lifetime and I've never been out of the country. Um, that doesn't really pertain to what we're talking about, but I figured I'd mention it anyway. Um, it's, it's funny to see him describe him as farm tough because he is, and I've seen the videos of him doing workouts on the farm and whatever. Um, but it's, it's going to be, like I said, it's going to be really exciting to see him play in the NFL. Um, and I do think that, um, he will, he will be an all pro selection at some point in his

career and he will definitely make quite a few probals. Um, so it's exciting to see. And he said, uh, Klatt said, what a 10 year all pro that very well could be true. I'd love to see him make all pro for 10 years, but it's, it's too early to tell all these things. Um, analysts love to be, I love to jump the gun a little bit when it comes to that kind of stuff. So we'll just have to wait and see.

jump the gun a little bit when it comes to that kind of stuff. So we'll just have to wait and see. Mel Kuyper said he's got all the skills in the world necessary to be a Pro Bowl caliber player. I can name a lot of centers who have been very effective. Hall of Fame as well with short arms. Linderbaum is going to anchor this line right away as a rookie. Now, when I hear NFL analysts and people, whoever it is, talk about Linderbaum in the combine having short arms, shut up. It does not matter. It does not matter how short his arms are. It doesn't matter how tall he is. It matters his skills on the field. His skills are all that matters. So please do not ever try to tell me that he is not going to be a good lineman because his arms are too short. Okay. That makes no sense. And I get the NFL teams look for that kind of stuff because, Oh, what about, you know, pass rush? How is he

going to defend a pass rusher? If he's got short arms, he's proven himself as a very, no stop. He's proven himself as a great center. He's proven himself as a very, no, stop. He's proven himself as a great center. He's proven himself as a great interior lineman. Short arms has absolutely nothing to do with how he can play on the field. And Booger McFarlane talk about that as well. He said, I don't care about short arms. You know how long, you know how long he's had short arms the entire time he was at Iowa and he dominated. Some of the most impressive film to watch up and down the field. The Ravens got the best center in the draft. If he was two inches taller and his arms were an inch longer, he'd be a top 10 pick.

And McFarlane's right. If he was two inches taller and his arms were an inch longer, NFL teams would jump on the opportunity and he probably would have been taken maybe in the top five. Who knows? But I hate, I hate seeing NFL analysts and people discredit a player because he's too short or his arms are too long or his arms are too short or his legs are too long or his legs are too short. It does not matter. I don't care. I don't care how big around his neck is. I don't care how long his fingers are. I don't care what style of haircut he has. None of that affects him as a football player. And maybe in some other guys it could, but in Linderbaum, he's proven that it does not matter how big your arms are or how long your legs are, whatever. I keep repeating myself, but it doesn't matter. I'm trying to get my point

across here. I don't care how long his arms are. I don't care how long his legs are. I don't care how tall he is. I don't care who his third grade girlfriend was. None of it matters. None of it pertains to how good he is on the football field. He was a dominating center at Iowa. He will be a dominating center in the National Football League. He's going to start for the Ravens his rookie season. Fight me on that all you want. I dare you fight me on that all you want on Twitter, on Instagram, whatever it is. I want to hear your opinions. He's going to be a rookie starter on this Ravens offensive line. I cannot wait to see him prove himself in the NFL because there's plenty of haters out there, right? For every NFL analyst

out there that says he's, you know, he's going to be the best, best center in the NFL. And he's going to be a, you know, a pro bowl or a pro bowl pick or an all pro guys, rookie season for every one of those guys, there's a guy out there saying he's not going to make it. He's going to be a draft bus, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't care. I don't care. If you think he's going to be a draft bus, he's not. I don't care. And I watch because I know that if he does become a draft bust, you know, two years down the line, I'm going to get a Twitter DM and it's going to be like, well, proved you wrong or whatever. You know what I mean? But he's going to be a good player.

Whether or not he starts his rookie year, I think that he will just because I don't even know who the Raven Raven center is off the top of my head, but I can tell you that Linderbaum is probably better than him and he's, you know, only a rookie. So we're going to have to wait and see how that goes. Um, I, I, I can't wait to see him play in the NFL. He's going to dominate. He's going to be a very, very good center. I I can say is that I cannot wait to see all of shut up when Tyler Linderbaum goes out there and dominates every defensive line he goes against in the upcoming NFL season. Now the third segment of today and the story of the day is Iowa football has offered yet another 2023 recruit to their list of scholarship offers. This time it is a 6'4", 195 pound,

I believe it's 193, but I put down 195, wide receiver out of Indianapolis, Indiana by the name of Jaron Tibbs. Two days ago, Iowa's wide receiver coach, Kelton Copeland, went to the Indianapolis Cathedral High School for a visit where he ultimately offered Tibbs a scholarship. Tibbs talked about the offer saying,

quote, their defensive line coach watched me play during the season while he was recruiting one of our defensive linemen. And he's the one who told the wide receiver coach about me. I went up there a couple of weeks ago on a visit and he got to see me in person and said he would come up and watch me on our college day, which was today, not actually today. It was, you know, when this quote was said afterwards, he said he liked what he saw and then threw me an offer. Now, last season Tibbs finished with, uh, what was it? 66 catches for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns. And he now holds offers from Iowa, Miami of Ohio, ball state, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Indiana state, Illinois state, and Colgate. Now, Iowa is the only power five school in that list. Granted, yes. I watched his highlight tape. He's a decent wide receiver.

I won't lie to you. He's a decent wide receiver and his highlight tape is pretty good. But he won't be a first year starter. He won't be a freshman starter. Not if he continues to play how he is now. If he stays the same, uh, throughout his senior season, uh, and he does commit to Iowa, he's, he's not going to be a starter right away. And you can fight me on that too. Um, his highlight tape is good, but it's not great. You know what I mean? It could be better. Uh, but he, he's a very solid wide receiver and he's great. Um, he's a great wide receiver for being in high school, but you know, 66 catches over a thousand yards and 10 touchdowns. The yards is impressive. Having over a thousand yards in high school is impressive. 10 touchdowns is not impressive. 66 catches is also not impressive. Granted, I went to a high school where I played eight man my senior year.

So there was, you know, the same three guys getting the ball every single play. So they would rack up thousands of yards or whatever. and, you know, a bunch of touchdowns or whatever. I think, you know, our leading, uh, leading rusher, maybe my junior year, his name was Noah Beck. I think he had like 2,300 yards or something like that. But regardless, I'm not here to talk about my high school or me. Um, he's, he's a good player. He's a good wide receiver. Um, I wish the best for him. I hope that he does come does come to Iowa because I would love to see all of the recruits come to Iowa because they all seem like fairly decent players. But like I said, he's got those other offers from Miami of Ohio, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Indiana State, Illinois State, and Colgate.

But like I said, none of those are power five teams. And I know being a high school kid, if I got an offer from a power five school, if I had 76 college offers and only one of them was from a power five school, I would go to the power five school regardless of whether or not I like the campus or like the coaches. That's where I would go because I would want to play for a power five school. But not everybody thinks that way. I didn't have any scholarships offers coming out of high school, so I don't know how these D know, how these, uh, D one bound athletes, um, think about the whole recruiting process thing. So regardless, we'll have to wait and see how it goes, but I can't, I can't wait to see what he does his senior year. Hopefully he's going to be good. Um, but we'll just have to wait and find out. So that is it for today's episode. I appreciate you all tuning in. Um, I'm glad that we finally got YouTube back up and running. Um, I appreciate all of you guys for your continued patience, your continued support. You're going to be seeing my face a lot more often now.

Like I said at the beginning of the episode, I know I'm goofy looking, but you'll get used to it. I won't be wearing a hat every day. My hair is just kind of messed up. And like I said with the background, I know you guys don't really care, but I like to talk about it because I talk a lot. And that's why I run a podcast and do all sorts of other voiceover things. Um, that will change. I won't be wearing a hat every

day. Um, but like I said, I know I'm goofy looking, but you'll get used to it because I'm used to it. Um, anyways, that's it for today's episode. Thank you all for tuning in and we will see you all tomorrow.