Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Hawkeyes' Transfer Portal: Who's In and Who's Out?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's time for portaling. We take a deep dive into the Iowa football transfer portal, what they're looking at, who they're looking at, and the guys that have departed. A lot of football talk today. Locked on Hawkeye. 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 watch us on YouTube while you're there. Make sure you hit the subscribe button.

Starting point is 00:00:43 Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. You can kick off the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a $5 bet. You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. It is portal season. It opened up yesterday and the activity is pretty heavy already for the Iowa football team. We've talked about this in the past. Iowa has a lot of work to be done with 23 departing seniors moving on. A number of walk-ons also changing. The dynamic of the Iowa football roster is changing and evolving.

Starting point is 00:01:26 And I'll tell you one thing. This is difficult for Iowa football. Had a conversation with a walk-on family member that said when Kirk told him the news that basically we're not going to have room for you with the change in the scholarship for the roster limits. It's not a scholarship limit. It's a roster limit. At 105, going from the 125 to 135 guys that they carried in the past, there are going to be guys that are left by the wayside. There are guys that would have eventually become players that would have played,

Starting point is 00:01:56 potentially started, that are going to be looking for new homes. And as we go through and we look at some of those guys that are just walk-ons. Moving on. Aiden Price, Johnny Bacuzzi, Rusty Van Wetzinger, Cole Marsh, Trent Cackerice, Jalen Thompson, Ryan Kennan, Graham Fredrickson, all these guys. I think eventually at least some of them would have had an opportunity, not just to help on special teams, not to run out of the tunnel, but to be players that were going to be important to Iowa football.

Starting point is 00:02:28 This is a huge component to Iowa. And it's been difficult for Kirk talking to these guys and saying, there's nothing we can do. It's a roster limit. It's a difficult conversation to have with these guys that in the past would have been impactful members of the Iowa football program. It's changing. It's evolving. It's different. And frankly, it's not good for Iowa football, but it is a reality. An adapt or die, right? And I was going to have to adapt. Here are the scholarship guys that are currently in the portal as of Tuesday. Cade McNamara. Yes, we know.

Starting point is 00:03:03 James Rezar comes in this year, gets moved to wide receiver after a month, tears his ACL. He's on his way out. Marco Lioness is in the transfer portal. Grant Leeper at tight end. A lot of people like Leeper thought he had a chance. Caden Crawford, defensive lineman. Jeff Bowie, banged up. Probably wouldn't have been a player if he didn't get banged up, but here we are. Caleb Kayla Brown we knew that happened during the season and LaShawn Williams those are the guys of the scholarship players that are in the transfer portal I was doing their own work so let's get into it and it starts at quarterback and things are ramping up in a big time way at the quarterback spot now with Hank Brown Hank Brown has already set up a visit.

Starting point is 00:03:45 Now this, according to Hawkeye report.com, Tom Caker, Blair Sanderson guys do incredible work over there and really are tapped in to the recruiting world. Hank Brown is going to be visiting later this week. We remember two years ago, how quickly it all came together with Cade McNamara.

Starting point is 00:04:03 It felt like as soon as we said the name, a day later, it was happening. And it very well could be this quick with Hank Brown. Now, Hank Brown played for Auburn this year. This is a guy that was wanted. This was a guy that had good pedigree coming out. Good size, 6'4", 205 pounds, From Wheaton, Illinois. So a relative local guy. There's a connection to Tim Lester. Not a connection, but from the same area growing up. So you got that component. This year, he goes 27-43, 63% completion percentage, 403 yards,

Starting point is 00:04:40 six touchdowns against three interceptions. The year before that, during his redshirt campaign in 2023, seven to nine passing. But then you look under the hood, and you go a little bit deeper into those numbers for Hank Brown. Against New Mexico, good. 17 to 25, four touchdowns. All right, we have something here. In the SEC game against Arkansas at home.

Starting point is 00:05:07 Auburn, by the way, lost to a pretty average Arkansas team at home 24-14. He goes 7-13, 72 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions. Okay. In the past, we've talked about how despicable, just how hideous quarterback recruiting was under the previous regime of the offensive coordinator spot. It was bad. And you went from Ken O'Keefe,

Starting point is 00:05:32 and now you wonder, was he ready for retirement? How checked out he was in terms of quarterback recruiting? That aside, Brian Ferentz was running the ship, didn't know quarterbacks, and we see how this has played out. The quarterbacks that he brought in were dreadful, and Tim Lester has pedigree. Tim Lester has shown an ability to find quarterbacks,

Starting point is 00:05:55 both at the mid-major level, at the group of five level, at Western Michigan. You look at what his quarterbacks did. He did it as a player. He knows quarterbacks certainly better than his predecessor. And because of that, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. And if this is truly hands-off for Kirk Ferentz, we're going to allow Tim Lester to go out and find his guy.

Starting point is 00:06:18 And he sees something in Hank Brown, all right, I'm willing, at minimum, to listen, to go down the direction of saying, yes, this is going to be something where we need to let Tim Lester evaluate. Now, I still maintain they're not done. I still think even if they get somebody like a Hank Brown who has three years of eligibility,

Starting point is 00:06:42 that they're not going to be finished up. They're going to continue to be looking. This is not going to be it. It could eventually be it, but they're going to be looking for a guy that can come in right away and compete for the job. Because Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton are not winning you nine, ten games next season.

Starting point is 00:07:00 With that schedule, I don't know if many quarterbacks are going to win nine, ten games. So that aside, so that's where we are right now. Iowa has made their first offer also in the transfer portal for Miami of Ohio. One of the most coveted transfers in the market is Rayon Strader, a quarterback, 6'1", 182, from Miami of Ohio. They're going shopping in the MAC. Shopping in the MAC can work, though.

Starting point is 00:07:23 And Strader, 6'0", coveted. A lot of people like him. PFF numbers are really good. Here's the thing that's crazy. He's 6'0". Wingspan of 6'8". Got those long arms. Iowa needs help at cornerback. And with the departure

Starting point is 00:07:39 this season, that we're going to see with Jamari Harris moving on. As they looked all season long for that third quarterback and never second quarterback, excuse me, and we're never able to find it. You're left still looking. TJ Hall had moments. Deshaun Lee had moments. Jon Nestor, they believe, is going to have a moment.

Starting point is 00:08:00 But we haven't quite seen it yet. Jon Nestor had a good half and and the back half was a Maryland game. That aside, they need more, and that's a position. Another position I believe that they greatly need is going to be tackled. Now, some great news today. As Logan Jones announced that he is coming back for his last season. Look, I was maybe as hard as anybody on Logan Jones two years ago. He was brutal.

Starting point is 00:08:23 Just absolutely dreadful, struggling, snapping the football, ball coming out late, ball, just struggling with some of the most basic tenets of being a center. He improved immensely, and he took a step forward last year, maybe not as big of a step, but I think a lot of us wanted. This year, he became a solid center. We know about the speed and athleticism that he has at that side. And we know as a center, just that is one of the strengths of him as a player, is what you have. Is that power-speed combination that he has, an ability, even as a center after Stampton Ball, to get out there on a stretch play. He can run counter. He can lead. He can do those kind of things because of the athleticism that he has.

Starting point is 00:09:08 Him coming back is good. Jennings, Dunker, get him back. That's good. You bring back three-fifths of your offensive line, and with the guy that played a lot in Cade Pieper as your sixth offensive lineman and some goal line packages and short yardage packages, I'm already feeling pretty good. One spot, though, you're still looking is left tackle no iowa has interest let's say in a couple of offensive tackles are the first to name from

Starting point is 00:09:33 illinois state hunter zambrano 65 300 pounds another one that they're following down at rice down in texas is ethan and onawa", 345. That's a big dude. So those are just a couple of fouls. Again, it could mean nothing. It could mean very little. You don't want to overreact on what it is. That's where we are. A start.

Starting point is 00:09:55 We're diving into the portal. There's going to be a whole lot more news. And like I said, be prepared. These things happen quicker. This is not the recruiting process. Guys in high school going to camps. This is speed dating. This is going through things quickly. In Iowa, they're ready. They're ready to go. They know that they need to do a lot of work in this transfer portal. Are the funds there? They're

Starting point is 00:10:17 all right. Will they be better? Yes. Donate to the swarm. That's how you can make an impact right now. Let's talk to Scott Dockerman from the Athletic. A lot of Iowa football talk with him. He was at the Big Ten Championship game. His thoughts on Oregon Penn State and his thoughts on the quarterback position. What I was looking for in the transfer portal with Scott Dockerman. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Starting point is 00:11:23 You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That'sDuel.com today to join. You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That's FanDuel.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Scott Dockerman was in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game, Penn State, Oregon. Turned out to be a pretty good football game. Doc, Trenton, Ken, as always, thank you for coming on. I guess where I want to start with you, Doc, is I don't know about you,

Starting point is 00:12:06 but I've had the opinion that there's just not that great team in college football this year. There's not this dominating team that, boy, if they come up against them, your season's going to come to an end. Maybe I've been overthinking it. Maybe that team is Oregon. You watch them on Saturday night, especially on the fast track. This is Tez Johnson and Jordan Jones. My God, those guys, not the biggest dudes in the world, but can flat out fly. They've got a great quarterback. I think they're well coached.

Starting point is 00:12:29 They do a lot of things well. Have I been overthinking this, Doc? It's been there staring me right in the face this whole year that Oregon might be that team that I'm looking for? Yeah, I think they're the best team in the country as we sit right now for all the reasons you mentioned. They have tremendous offensive tackles. They have speed.

Starting point is 00:12:51 They're the fastest team in the country. They've got a good defense. They're capable of winning it all, and I think they're the favorite to win it all based on what I've seen. I've seen them now twice, and they've combined for 80 points in those two games, 45 of which was against Penn State. And again, a very, very good defense, and they've done it all year. But I also think you're right in that there is no dominant team,

Starting point is 00:13:18 that this is a team that's capable of losing a game. I mean, you don't go – you know, Madison is a very difficult place for anybody to play, especially at night, but this is not a typical Wisconsin game team. And, and to play the way they did against, you know, Wisconsin, uh, frankly, the way they played against Purdue, the first time I saw him, I wasn't real impressed. I thought they, it was just kind of a, I mean, it was kind of a dazed effort. You know, they six days earlier, they beat Ohio state and then they had to fly three times zones East and plan a Friday night on a short week of rest. And, you know, they won 35 to nothing, but it was kind of a bailed in 35 to nothing. So, yeah, I think that this is a very, it's a year somebody's

Starting point is 00:14:01 capable of beating them, but they have to beat them. And I still think Ohio State may be the most talented team. I think Georgia's up there if they have a healthy quarterback. But as of right now, Oregon, to me, is the best team in the country. So we get the bracket in front of us. We got Boise. The path for Penn State is the 6C looks good. The path for Texas is the 5C looks good. And the paths for the one and two seeds

Starting point is 00:14:25 look a little bit more difficult. So tweak this thing if you can, Doc. Is there anything that jumps out, tweaks to be made, not adding more teams, going to 14 or 16, anything like that. But in the 12 team structure, how do we make this as most equitable,

Starting point is 00:14:39 I guess, as possible? I think what you're going to have to do, and I don't know if the powers that be are willing to do it, is you're going to have to seed the tournament according to the teams and allow, okay, you can allow the champions to make it. But this is a lot like what we would see in the AFC and NFC playoffs, too, where division champions are automatically given a home game. And we've seen it, you know, I remember Seattle being seven, seven, nine.

Starting point is 00:15:08 Yes. Yeah. Playing 11 and five new Orleans and then beating them with beast quake that time, but 15 years ago now, but, but, but being able to do that. And, and I think that the powers that be, whether that's the sec and big 10, you know, saying we're going to take our ball and go home if we don't do this, is saying that the best team should have, you know, be ranked and seated accordingly. And that just makes sure at the end that you have in your champion. That's probably the best way to do it. Because right now what we're seeing is, I mean, Ohio State and Oregon, to me, they could be the best two teams in the tournament if they're playing at a high level

Starting point is 00:15:49 and they could be playing in a national quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. So, you know, that's probably where it has to go. But, you know, there's going to be a lot of irons in the fire in two years. I think you're going to probably see a push for probably all the conferences in some ways to make sure that they have a mandated number of teams getting in. And then it's probably going to be an expanded field. So whether feeding is still part of that, I don't know that the ACC and Big 12 will say, yeah, sure, let's just have the committee feed everybody.

Starting point is 00:16:21 I mean, because there's an inherent bias, and that probably won't be alleviated anytime soon. I'll give both of you bears fans a little, uh, something to pick you up with, you know, that seven and nine Seahawks team to beat the saints, you know, beat them the next week, right? We're going way back. We're talking about a place bears playoff victory. Did they win a playoff game? My guys so long in my,

Starting point is 00:16:44 my dementia. Getting the best of me. I don't remember that ever happening. No, but it did. It did happen that year. No doubt about it. Doc, a little bit on the Hawkeyes. The quarterback room has been geared of the Brian Ferentz regime

Starting point is 00:16:58 as Marco Lyon as is the latest to enter the portal. There are two stayovers, Brendan Sullivan, who sounds like he's going to start in the bowl game or at least have a chance to, and Jackson Stratton, who came in late this summer, but it's going to be a whole new next season for Tim Lester. What do you heard on that front? You know, they're shopping, connected to Miller Moss,

Starting point is 00:17:18 connected to Connor Wigman, and there's going to be other names that are going to pop up here. How involved do you believe Iowa's going to be in the most important position in football, the quarterback in the transfer portal? Critically important. I think that they are going to be big time in the portal. I wouldn't be surprised.

Starting point is 00:17:33 It depends on what Brendan Sullivan wants to do after the bowl game, but I think he can still be there. And then they're going to probably get two, I would guess, in the portal. Maybe something similar to what they, you know, had with, you know, with Sullivan and Jackson Stratton in the offseason here in the summer. But, you know, when you look over the last three years, nine different quarterbacks for Iowa at the portal, it's really an embarrassment. I mean, they're 131st in the country in passing offense. And I don't think, I mean, I give, um, Lester a, a mulligan on that because he had to deal with what he inherited.

Starting point is 00:18:11 But this, um, but it's been an embarrassment, pure and simple. I mean, they have blown recruiting in that position. Like, you know, I mean, just, it's been, it's like a crater. Every, every quarterback since 2017 has hit the portal that they've recruited. And then you look at the ones that they've signed in the portal. Dave McNamara, he's in the portal. Deacon Hill went to the portal. I mean, you know, Brendan Sullivan's here. He's got one more year left.

Starting point is 00:18:38 But so that is just the worst possible thing you could do as a program. And still they're having at least eight wins a year all those years. It's insane. So I would expect them to go hard after a quarterback. I mean, I've been, you know, long, you know, I think Devin Brown makes a lot of sense from Ohio State. I think he fits with what Tim Lester wants. He's a good player.

Starting point is 00:19:03 Some people are like, oh, pass. I'm like, I don't know why you would say that. He's better than anybody Iowa's had since, at minimum, Stanley, if not before that. Then there's a few others out there, and there's probably somebody that we're not sure of. That's probably another factor here. I would anticipate Iowa would probably bring it, too, when they need to. When you look at price tags, obviously mean, obviously you would think just on the surface, a USC quarterback, a Texas A&M quarterback,

Starting point is 00:19:29 going to be more expensive than a Tulane quarterback. That's the kid I want to hope that they look at. Mensah, three years of eligibility left, 22 to 8 touchdown to interception ratio. He can run the football a little bit, but he can chuck it around a whole lot. He can run the football a little bit, but he can chuck it around a whole lot. Is there a resource doc where we can find the going rate for some of these guys, ballpark even? No. Nothing like that, right?

Starting point is 00:19:56 Yeah, we're not going to be able to fight. I mean, no, everybody's lying when it comes to the portal anyway, so I wouldn't anticipate that being a part of it. But that to me has been the big question for what Iowa wants to do is, how much do you want to spend? I would think that they want a starter. That's what they're going to go get. And if they get a starter, that's probably going to cost them at a minimum six figures, but probably in the mid-six figures at the lowest just to get somebody good coming in the door. Okay, well, that's, you know, you should be able to afford that. You're Iowa, you're in the Big Ten. And then after that, though, it's, you know, do you go after Jackson Arnold? You know, do you go after Miller Moss?

Starting point is 00:20:39 You know, that's going to probably cost you seven figures. Okay, well, if you're Iowa, go do it. If you think that's what you need to do, and I would suggest that next year is a year that you might have to win with a little bit more offense than you have in the past because your defense is going to be, if nothing else, new. So you're going to have to go do something there. But that said, if you feel like Brandon Sullivan is a guy that you could win with

Starting point is 00:21:05 at times, or you'd like him and you want to play him some and maybe go the other route that you suggested somebody with three years of experience left. I use the example of Luke Altmyer at Illinois. Uh, he was at Ole Miss and he was pretty good, but they passed him over. They went and got Jackson dart. And so he left and then brought him in, and he had three years of eligibility, and his first year he was okay. His second year he was really good this last year, and he's got one more year left. So maybe that's the route you want to go,

Starting point is 00:21:35 is to have somebody who can kind of split reps. So there's a lot of options. I mean, I keep a running tab, and I haven't checked it for the last couple hours. So I had 73 quarterbacks as of about 9, 30, or 10 this morning. So I'm sure it's probably over 100 by now. Yeah, I heard Arnold signed with Mississippi State, by the way. Okay.

Starting point is 00:21:56 So I missed it while I was trying to arrange where I was going to go to the playoff game. By the way, where are you? Are you going to start Friday in Notre Dame and then head to Columbus? As of right now, the crazy scenario that I'm trying to work through and figure out is go from

Starting point is 00:22:13 Notre Dame, Penn State, and Ohio State all within 24 hours. My car. If anybody wants to be my chauffeur, I would take them. You know what? I bet you would find somebody. Yeah. You get them a spot in the press box? I bet you, you know what? You would find somebody. Yeah. Wow.

Starting point is 00:22:26 You get them a spot in the press box. I think you can find that person. Hell yeah. I think that happened for those games. That'd be a fun one, three games. Well, Hank Brown's another one I just saw from Auburn. Maybe a connection there with Iowa. A redshirt freshman that played a little bit this past season.

Starting point is 00:22:40 It's going to be incredible. Well, there is a bowl game. Unfortunately, it's not going to be Caleb Johnson against Luton Burden, who Ken knows. I absolutely love that dude. Those guys will Well, there is a bowl game. Unfortunately, it's not going to be Caleb Johnson against Luton Burden, who Ken knows. I absolutely love that dude. Those guys will not be playing in the bowl game. And I guess Missouri, they can't opt out of this one, right? They got to play the Hawkeyes?

Starting point is 00:22:54 They can't opt out, no. Michigan can't opt out of its bowl game either. So we want to reverse time here on that. But, you know, it's a fascinating matchup for so many reasons. I mean, you know, you've got a 9-3 team against an 8-4 team, SEC versus Big 10. And it's not that far for either location. You know, much closer for St. Louis, of course. But, you know, or I mean from Missouri, I should say.

Starting point is 00:23:21 And, you know, they recruit against one another in St. Louis and Kansas City and some places. I mean, Missouri has kind of elevated its recruiting to map beyond Missouri. And I think Iowa has been able to take a little bit advantage of that. And so has other schools. And, you know, they've only played on the field once. They've had to cancel five different games since 1910. games since 1910. But, you know,

Starting point is 00:23:45 Missouri was less than impressive this year compared to where I thought they would be. I did watch them several times. But, you know, they do have some talent, no question. So I think this is going to be a spirited game, and, you know, I think it's one of five between the Big Ten

Starting point is 00:24:02 and SEC, and so there's going to be a lot of interest in it. Great stuff, Scott Dockerman. We'll read you at The Athletic, as we always do. Can't wait to figure out if you figure out that travel. Yes. What a day into the next day would be. Phenomenal weekend of college football. Doc, thank you.

Starting point is 00:24:17 All right. Have a good one, guys. Thank you so much. Scott Dockerman from The Athletic. Today's episode is brought to you by Omaha Steaks. Nothing delivers comfort and joy quite like the unrivaled quality and taste of Omaha Steaks.

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Starting point is 00:25:24 Minimum purchase may apply. Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So we get ready for Cyhawk Week in Hoops. A lot of portal activity, a lot of football talk, and we got you covered there, but yes,

Starting point is 00:25:45 there is basketball. It will start tomorrow night, Wednesday evening, 8 o'clock tip-off on FS1 as the Iowa women play host to Iowa State. Now, the Iowa State women came into the season with a lot of pub, a preseason top-ten team. They returned

Starting point is 00:26:01 four starters from a year ago. They did some work themselves in the portal, brought in a player from Marquette, another good transfer that solidified that lineup. Adi Crooks, the headliner, I argue, Adi Brown, the other sophomore might be just as good, a good point guard, but I tell you what, they lose to UNI.

Starting point is 00:26:19 Yeah, it's a road game, but that was head-scratching. Myman McDermott went off in that game, the former Johnston Dragon, and dominated in the basketball game, the former Johnston Dragon, and dominated in the basketball game as the Panthers got the upset win. Then they go to face off against South Carolina on Thanksgiving. They got murdered. Just an absolute throttle.

Starting point is 00:26:40 I think we're learning that Iowa State's going to be good, but maybe not some of the expectations that were there over in Ames on the women's side of things. Here comes Iowa, fresh off a disappointing effort against Tennessee. Disappointing, not that you lost the game, but it was just the fashion that you lose that one, turning it over 30 times. And not just turnovers because of pressure. There were plenty of those. Turnovers because it didn't look like you knew how to break a press. It looked like JV basketball. It was many different times. We saw just how hideous that thing was.

Starting point is 00:27:15 And I think that's where the frustration comes from that loss. It's not that they lost to Tennessee. It was just the fashion. Tennessee had 29 more shots in the game than Iowa did. And you can anticipate if Iowa shows an inability to break that press, Iowa State, who doesn't press a ton, they're going to do it in this game. And until Iowa proves that they can get past it, they're going to have to do that. Lucy Olsen's been a godsend.

Starting point is 00:27:37 She's going to have to be good once again. But you need Hannah Stolke to bounce back after that seven turnover game. You need to rely maybe a little bit more on those freshmen who I thought looked apart at different times in that game, just didn't get the same kind of minutes. It was watching back though, some of the turnovers and the press break that they were going through. It was confounding.

Starting point is 00:27:57 I mean, just some simple things where you're staggering, staggering screens to try to get the ball to Lucy Olsen and let her go to work. And they just didn't. We know that's what they're going to be working on this week. I think they're going to be fine. I think they're going to win that game. Looking at the FanDuel Sportsbook app as we're sitting here on Tuesday evening,

Starting point is 00:28:15 still don't have a point spread for that one. I anticipate, though, I will probably be a slight favorite in that one. On the men's side, we talked about this earlier in the week and also last week every day. As you know, I think people are going to be surprised by this point spread. Projected point spread right now, Iowa State favored by five in Carver on the men's side against the Hawkeyes. 83-78 is where Ken Pomeroy has those numbers. Zadu Troy looks like he's going to at least be able to give it a go in this one. His athleticism is going to be big.

Starting point is 00:28:46 Possibly, maybe even Cooper Koch is going to be out there. Fran mentioned that earlier in the week. I think that was a surprise because it felt like some of the reports that were out there is this thing was going to be much more significant. In fact, there were some whispers, maybe Cooper Koch was going to be out for the year and it was going to be a medical redshirt year for him. Not what Fran said on the press conference on Monday, though, at least an opportunity maybe for Krupikac to be back out there. They need depth. They need the pieces, obviously, to go. Here's the scary thing. We know these Iowa State teams recently what they are. They're going to grind you. They're going to clutch and grab. It's going to be like watching a Nizzo team. It's going to be like watching

Starting point is 00:29:19 Bo Ryan's Wisconsin teams, and it's going to be ugly and boring, and that's what they do. But Iowa State in the past could just beat you that way. And if you're hitting shots, you're knocking down threes, and there was a tight whistle, and you're getting to the free throw line 25, 30 times, you beat them. This Iowa State team now has some offense to go along with it. Six in the country in offensive efficiency to go along with the 10th ranked defense in the country.

Starting point is 00:29:45 This team for Iowa State feels different. However, I just have a sneaking suspicion. I believe Iowa's going to play well in this game. I think Iowa's going to have a chance to pull off the upset against the Cyclones. And I don't say that very often. I don't fall into the trap very often, but this one, I just got those vibes

Starting point is 00:30:04 that this Iowa team's going to be ready. And I told you, I feel like there's something different about this year's Iowa men's basketball team. I could be dead wrong and it could be more of the same. They're just, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but there's something that gives me hope. Hope is a dangerous thing. We know that.

Starting point is 00:30:23 Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Being with us here each and every thing. We know that. Thanks for making Locked On, Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. Being with us here each and every day, we got you covered on all fronts. Locked On, Big Ten, Craig Sheeman doing a great job over there talking Big Ten football and basketball as we get ready for the bowl games and an onslaught of the Big Ten

Starting point is 00:30:38 on the basketball side of things. Not just that, your favorite MLB team with a hot stove heating up, NFL team, NBA, NHL, you name it, we got it here on the Lockdown Network, your team every day. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk

Starting point is 00:30:54 to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks!

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