Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - LeShun & Trent: Run game hope, Players Perspective after Camp Ends, B1G Paying Players

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

Trent Condon and LeShun Daniels get back together for another Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast. They open up talking about football season getting closer. Then a look at the new running backs and the reports on the running game with LeShon Williams along with the two freshman Jaziun Patterson & Kaleb Johnson all in for the injured Gavin Williams.Then a look at the offensive line and the anticipation that they will take a step forward in 2022. Quarterbacks come up again and the question; can pocket awareness improve late in a player's career?Some fun talk about what it was like when camp came to an end for LeShun back during his playing days and what the coaches would say to keep them in line.Finally, some thoughts on the possibility of the Big Ten paying players with the new TV money coming into the league.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trent Condon, LaShawn Daniels, back with you with another edition of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast. We take a look back at Kids Day, that running game's looking good. What did LaShawn see from that? And we'll talk about the possibility, the Big Ten paying athletes. We'll get into that next on the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast. You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Back with you once again on the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast. I'm Trent Condon over here. Over there, he is LaShawn Daniels, former Hawkeye running back. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline, where the game starts.

So LaShawn, now you're coaching some football. Boy, it's got to be great. Back out there, LaShawn. Been a while since we football. Boy, it's got to be great. Back out there, LaShawn. Been a while since we talked. I had some Vegas hiccups last week, and they followed me this week as it's been a rough go of it for me getting back on the right side of things. But, boy, it's got to feel great for you to be back out there, hear those guys, those pads popping once again.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is definitely probably the best time of the year. Getting ready to start football season. You get all the guys back, right? You get the pads popping. First day you get the pads on and you're doing tackling drills, you're doing all the stuff, you're hearing everything, the noises, the sounds, the smells. It's all great as far as the beginning of football season because that tells you, hey, real games are right around the corner. Are you coaching running backs? Do you have a different position? Who are you coaching right now? Yeah, so I coach running backs. Also receivers, kind of.

We don't really run. We don't really have receivers that much. So it's mainly just running backs. And then I help a bunch with the special teams units as well. So, yeah, kind of dip my toe in a little bit of the special teams. But, yeah, definitely mainly Coastal Running Backs. Well, our first opportunity, you and I, to speak since Kids Day last Saturday. And I wanted to get your perspective a little bit on that,

on what we saw a week ago. And normally, you know what it is. You go into that open scrimmage, the Kids Day. It is going to be the defenses ahead of the offense. It's going to be a struggle. It's tough. They know what you is. You go into that open scrimmage, the kids day, it is going to be the defense is ahead of the offense. It's going to be a struggle. It's tough. They know what you're doing out there.

How difficult is it? You played in this going up against that Iowa defense date game in a game out. You guys don't have a ton of wrinkles there. They know what's coming. How tough is it when you're going in that environment? You guys have been practicing against each other for a couple of weeks at that point. Yeah. Kids Day is always an interesting day, right?

Because obviously, you know, a lot of people will take a look at a scrimmage and then make a bunch of assumptions from just like one day of practice. From, you know, when you've been practicing for a few weeks and still going to practicing for a couple weeks before you in the first game stuff whether it's good and bad uh so so there's always a lot of noise and chatter that comes comes out of kids today but we know that that's that's what comes with the territory that said yeah it's usually the defense typically does a really really good job against us on kids day. Because I see they, they kind of, they have an idea. They know what we run. And obviously being on the defensive side, right.

When you see a lot of the same stuff over and over, over again, every single, every single day of practice, you kind of get an idea of like, okay, this is what's going to come in. This is what's coming when they line up like this, or they have this personnel and et cetera, et cetera. But the thing is with kids day, one of the things that you do want to see, you just want to see a bunch of crisp execution really on all phases to show that, hey, I got to see you've been working hard throughout camp. You've gotten a bunch of the rink, you know, rust off.

And, you know, with the season coming here in a couple of weeks, that the guys are going to be ready to go. So the running game looked pretty good. Even with the banged up offensive line, Gavin Williams, he didn't practice. He was dealing with a hamstring injury and it looks like he's back this week at practice. And maybe Gavin said that hamstring might be a little tight, but I got to get out there because those freshmen, Caleb Johnson,

we've talked about him, him and jazz. Those two young guys look really good. And LaShawn Williams, I mean, you've got four guys right now. I think that the coaching staff, I know two of them are freshmen, but it feels like on the surface here, they have to be very excited about those four guys, that they can put the ball in their hands and they can all do some different things.

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Aziz, of course, LaShawn being out there and getting most of the first-team reps, obviously, went and did a great day, right, showing really great feet, you know, being able to get downhill, being able to fight for extra yards, and I see he finds his way in the end zone a couple times, which is great. That's definitely what you want to see from a guy who's been there,

who's been practicing, who's been part of the Iowa culture for a little bit now, right? And now he's going to have this opportunity to really show what he's made of this upcoming season. So I know the coaches are very excited about that. And, you know, with Gavin being out, right, that allows some of the younger guys to get a few more more extra reps right to help improve their game and the young guys have clearly from the reports and what i've heard and what i've seen right the young guys have really taken the opportunity that that's been given to them um to show that they like hey like we have skills too like we can contribute on saturdays as well and that's something you always always want to see because that's like hey um you know you know that those guys aren't going to be be be the starting guys forever so you want to know that that's like hey um you know you know that those guys aren't going to be be

the starting guys forever so you want to know that like hey we've got good guys behind them that can develop and be into great players as well and you never know right you never know how the season is going to go right you never know if guys have to go down and people have to come in and step up and make plays right i mean you look at the 2015 season where our running back room as good as we were right almost every single one of us was banged up at some point in time during that season um so opportunities came for for various different backs to step in and step up and show out of their ability so doing it in fall camp and showing the coaches like hey is only going to help them in their stock that much more

when we get into the season. So the offensive line, the zone blocking scheme, we've talked about this in our conversations a lot, LaShawn, about that zone blocking scheme. It's about continuity. And they had a lot of guys banked up, a lot of guys that were not practicing on Saturday, yet they looked pretty good.

I was very impressed. And a lot of the takeaways talking to some of my friends that were there, they said, yeah, the defense is still ahead of the offense, but as talented as that front is, that front seven with that linebacker group and the depth of the defensive line, for this young offensive line group, Logan Jones in the middle and company,

they did a really good job. I think you've got to take that as a positive. This group is still going to be pretty green offensively, but Connor Colby playing as a true freshman, Mason Richmond playing as a freshman last year, those guys getting their feet wet, even though you lose title in the bomb, it doesn't feel like it's a stretch to anticipate that this offensive line is going to be much better than the one we saw a year ago. Yeah, for sure. It's not a stretch at all um i know the offensive line was a big topic of discussion probably right behind the quarterbacks uh to be honest last year of you know i was shortcomings and their downfalls right um but now a lot of those young guys they've gotten a bunch

of reps real live reps right in the game um in addition to practicing against you know our defense essentially every single day, which is obviously one of the best defenses in the entire country, right? And as they get more and more reps each day, each practice and they start to improve more and more, it's only gonna help them. In all phases of the offensive football game, whether they are running the football or passing the football, right? Because now you got experience, right?

Like the coaches obviously saw that they had some talent, right? They were able to pick up the offense. They were able to learn and they were able to go out there and, you know, be on the field and be somewhat effective, right? Obviously when you have a lot of young offensive linemen, there's going to be a lot of growing pains that come with it. But when you see the offensive line you see them competing against our defense who's again we always have a really

really good defense but when you see them competing and you see them winning you know several different reps right you see them able to run the football the way you want to run the football uh that only tells you like hey these guys have been working a bunch right they've developed a lot in the offseason and obviously the coaches are doing a fantastic job in getting the right guys in the right spots so that they can be successful. So it's going to be very interesting to see what this offensive line looks like. You know, we're a bunch of these guys are really going to get their second full season of, you know, real, real college football. And honestly, I think all of all Iowa fans are going to be excited to see how this offensive line is going to play,

and I think they're going to do a great job. My optimism is starting to build a little bit as we get closer and closer to the season. That's a good thing. And maybe a reason for that is some positives at the quarterback spot. We're going to talk about that when we continue. Also, camp has come to a close. Classes start on Monday, and that means no more staying in a hotel.

We'll get Leshawn's perspective going back to his days and how much fun that was to get out of that hotel. We'll do that as we continue. It's the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. BetOnline.net, the fastest and easiest way to check in on all your betting needs. Find all your favorite sports and events at the number one online source for odds, lines, and games.

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Well, LaShawn, as we talked about, it was Vegas for me last week, and my friends at BetOnline, well, I didn't do a whole lot of gambling, sports wagering while I was out there, believe it or not. It was more at the craps table, throwing of gambling sports wagering while I was out there. Believe it or not, it was more at the craps table, throwing the dice, and they were pretty good out there. So I'm feeling good. A little extra jingle in my pocket. Well, with the sellouts this year,

we have to buy some extra tickets for some clients that at least got a little extra money in my pocket. Yeah, yeah. I was really looking at tickets the other day. I'm like, man, these tickets are not cheap. I mean, Iowa must be really a prime time type event, right? Just watch the Hawkeyes play.

So, you know, obviously good on the fans on selling out all the home games. And obviously, Kinnick's going to be rocking this year. So, it's going to be exciting. Yes, it is. And very excited, certainly, about that. Of course, our show here today brought to you by bet online, bet online has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before bet online, where the game starts. LaShawn mentioned the quarterback

spot. And, you know, I had a couple of comments here to the podcast and there was a day that I kind of went down the road and maybe blaming Spencer Petras at times too much for the deficiencies. And, you know, the listener brought up, yeah, the offensive line, something we just talked about a moment ago, just how poorly it played. And I think that's a factor. And there's times that we just really gravitate to quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. It's the most important position in sports. It's something very easy for, I think, even the average fan to be able to decipher and see, hey, he's struggling. That means the offense is struggling.

But there is more that goes into it here. And Spencer Petras, we know the arm talent is there. That's not a problem for Petras. It's about that development, about pocket presence, about feeling the rush, seeing ghosts, as we saw CM Darnold in the back. But I knew exactly what he was saying. It doesn't matter if you're Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Spencer Petras, seeing every quarterback goes through that,

but since Darnold was having a rough time and it was Monday Night Football, it got elevated to another level that it probably shouldn't have. You know, can you be coached out of that? Can that go away? Can that internal clock as a quarterback, is that something that can improve at this point in his fifth year for Spencer Petras? Do you have any hope for that, LaShawn, that that is something that can be improved upon?

Yeah. You know, it's definitely more difficult to improve upon things, right? Year after year, right? I mean, I mean, it is what it is, right? I mean, you've been doing things for so long. You've been adjusting things for so long, right, that it's harder to essentially learn new tricks, right, as time goes on. That said, that said, right, anyone can be coached. Anyone can improve their game, you know, in several different spaces as long as their athletic ability allows it, right? So, again, I don't know how those quarterback meetings are, what the quarterback rooms are like, right?

But that internal clock and that pocket presence and that ability to be able to see, know where your guys are gonna be, right? When you snap the football, is something that you can be coached, right? I mean, obviously a lot of part of that is watching a bunch of film, right? Definitely get an idea of like, what the defense is doing when they line up, like,

when they give a certain look, right? What type of coverage, what type of blitzes? Are you going to get out of it? And depending upon the play call that we have, right, knowing where we're going to throw the football, right? So those are things that definitely can be can be approved upon through coaching, right? So it's going to be, I see a bunch of work for Coach Brian Ferentz and in general for the offense, right, to help Spencer and all the quarterbacks, right, to have that excellent pocket presence to know, you know, when the pressure's coming, where my hot guy is, where, you know,

the big completions are going to be um and then also it's going to be on the quarterbacks right to make sure that they are in the film room which i know they are um but they're really getting an understanding of everything that is happening around them um so when they are in the game right that they can just go out there and they can just play fast and they don't have to worry about seeing those ghosts right because they've repped it out so many times in the film room. They've walked through it. They've practiced it that, you know, when they get out there,

they can just go out there and just react and play. Well, Sean, it's a quarterback spot that's going to be big. And another good thing here is if it doesn't, we don't see the improvement out of Petras. I think they're confident now in Padilla too, that he can go out there and he can do some things. And he's a different kind of quarterback. He can move around.

I personally, that's the guy that I would give the shot to here this year because I think Petras is still what he is. But I'm fine with it as the way it is because you have that backup that you're confident. I guess the one part that I was a little bit hopeful for is that we'd see Joey Labus maybe pushing a little bit more towards either the backup spot or even a starting gig. And certainly, at least from the reports on Saturday, it looks like that gap is still pretty significant between Petras, Padilla,

and then Labus, and then the true freshman, Carson May, coming in. It's a big jump coming in for anybody to play as a freshman. But in the Iowa system, that quarterback spot, it looks to be incredibly difficult. Yeah, it's definitely not easy, right? I see the offense has changed, right? A lot of terminology has changed since I've been there. But a lot of the core concepts is the same. And there's a lot that goes into it, right? I mean, there's a lot of different formations, right?

We've got different personnel running in and out. In addition to obviously having you know route concepts and those different things right yeah the quarterback has to make sure like hey that the blitzes are being picked up right the protection is good right identifying the right right guys for the right linebackers right so that the line knows who to pick up and the running back knows who to pick up right there and then they're then in addition to all that right we have audibles right things where hey if the defense doesn't look right we're checking it to a certain play right so so there's a lot of different things that that goes on in the offense right it's not just hey we're no huddle oh and additionally then you got to call the play in the huddle right i mean that's another piece of

it yeah right so it's not like you just go out there, you stand, you look at the coach, you look at the sideline, they throw in a play, right? You get lined up. And then, hey, the coaches, again, they see it. And then, right, you look back to the sideline, they make the check for you. They see a lot of that stuff is done on a quarterback, right? So it is in a sense, in in the true word it is a pro style offense and you obviously have to treat it that way from a preparation standpoint and that's what makes it a lot more difficult for for the younger quarterbacks to really really make that jump right it's the same reason why young rookie quarterbacks in the NFL typically have some struggles early in their career as well so So saw some pictures yesterday. Well, the biggest picture was seeing Keegan Johnson back at practice, something he said he's going to be to the Iowa offense. But the other one was camp has come to a close. They're out of the hotels.

Freshmen are moving into the dorms. Guys are going back to their apartments and their houses that they're living in. And then they had a little get-together at Kirk's Place. Had some food trucks out there. Looked like to be a good time. So LaShawn, take us back to your playing days. You get through camp. It's over.

You're out of that stupid hotel room that I'm sure at that point you absolutely hate. What's it like when you finally get through it for you guys? It's definitely a relief for sure. Back when I was in school, Coach Ferentz definitely didn't bring us to his house to have a get together so uh i don't know what changed what inspired him to bring the kids over but that's kind of crazy um but in all seriousness it is great to get out of uh the

hotel right like as much as as much as we love our teammates and as much as we love being around them and getting better as a football player after you know two weeks three weeks right you're just sick of seeing just the same people yeah over and over again it's just like okay like like is there actual civilization like outside of the the complex in this hotel room like like you're just so excited to get out and see other people um so so it is a relief but with that things that come with that though is like now it's like okay now we've got classes going on um we've got a lot of other distractions and we're not just not focusing on football and so what the kids are going to have to focus on is they got to get into a routine right know

what the routine is like in the mornings, right? From weightlifting practices and film before practice and then going to class and then coming back in the afternoon. So you want to make sure that you're not burning the candle on both ends, right? So that's going to be a big, big piece of the puzzle, especially for the younger guys, right? For the freshmen, for the guys that are trying to uh play meaningful snaps on saturdays this is the transitional period where it's like okay the coaches are still going to be evaluating you they're still going to see like how how you react in a normal situation now that school's back in session um you're not just locked down in a hotel room in the complex right and are you gonna be able to make the right decisions locked down in a hotel room in the complex, right?

And are you going to be able to make the right decisions, you know, off the field, in the film room, and et cetera, right? So that's a big piece of it that comes with it right after camp now. And I know that all the kids are going to be, for the most part, right? Everyone does a good job of adjusting. But it is definitely a relief to be out of that camp. Get out of there. And I'm sure every coach says to be out of, out of that camp. Get out of there. And I'm sure every coach says, stay out of trouble.

Don't do anything dumb. Don't get on a moped at 2 AM. Those are, this is the weekend. It feels like something's going to pop either early Saturday or Sunday morning. And all of a sudden we're going to hear a little something. And I'm sure the coaches are in your guys's ear a lot leading up into

this weekend. Yeah. Yeah. They're in your, they're in your all the time a lot leading up into this weekend. Yeah, yeah. They're in your ear all the time. Like, they make it known. And something that they would always do, they always made sure, like, that we would have, like, some type of practice on Saturday to make sure, like,

you couldn't go out on Friday and, you know, show up on Saturday doing, you know, like, hungover or whatever, right? So they make sure like hey make sure you guys are focused um you know we're gonna have practice etc etc and then obviously we always have our curfew right so um and like sometimes like they'll send like whether it be managers or coaches right and they just they start lurking right seeing if they can catch anyone out just because typically right once you get past you know that curfew time it's like okay like what are you doing out right right nothing's good gonna happen at this point so so yeah so yeah they're in there

they're in there in our ears all the time don't do anything dumb right call an uber uh whatever or walk home right if you've been drinking. And obviously make smart decisions with girls. Yeah. Well, LaShawn, that's a great insight. And certainly as we finish up August camp and get ready for school, it's going to be different, and we're leading up and getting ready for kickoff. We're going to come back.

And one final thing I want to run past, LaShawn, some news that came out earlier today talking about the commissioner, Kevin Warren. We talked yesterday on the podcast a whole lot about what is happening with the Big Ten media rights, what it means for the University of Iowa, the football program, and the future. But another possibility, the Big Ten actually paying the college athletes doing it with all that TV money coming in.

We'll talk about that as we continue on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks again for making Locked On Hawkeyes. The ultimate college football preview is here. It's a seven-episode preview with college experts, local team experts, and Odyssey College Football Insiders. It's everything you need to be ready for the college football season all in one spot.

Search for Ultimate College Football Preview on your Odyssey app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, LaShawn, as we continue wrapping things up here today, I want to go next and finish up with something that has been a conversation piece a little bit for us, and that is the ping of college athletes. NIL is now a big part of the landscape. We've talked about the new collective that Iowa has and now has multiple collectives out there, an ability for these guys to make money.

But this is different. Kevin Warren, in a piece that will fully run next Tuesday on HBO Real Sports with Brian Gumbel, he talks about paying college athletes from the Big Ten offices. That may be football only. That might be revenue sports only, which would be men's basketball, maybe women's basketball. It's going to be different. But Kevin Warren's been at the forefront of this. And as you look at him being at the forefront, a guy that comes into very tumultuous time,

gets the job right before 2020, takes over in the middle of a pandemic and has to figure it out to now the power position that he seemingly is after yesterday's announcement. It's just been crazy to me to see, first of all, how different he has been carrying himself here over the last few weeks and the positive nature that people have about him.

But secondly, how big of a proponent he seems to be for the college athlete and making this experience as good as it is and maybe as financially as good as it goes good as it could be for these guys yeah for sure i mean uh of course if i'm him right i'm feeling feeling on top of the world right i mean you just get this insane tv deal um done that's gonna run to like 2030 something like that um which essentially puts that tv deal on like it's almost think it's like top five or top six like tv deals like including pro sports it is yeah right which is which is which is insane to think about right so obviously like yeah he's feeling on top of the world and now with the nil stuff um and that the players can now make money off their their name and likeness right it only kind of makes sense right for them to want to give back to the players right to the people who are contributing to this, you know, these massive TV deals, right?

So to hear that, that the possibility of playing players is fantastic, right? To hear that that's even like something that's even in consideration, I think it's a fantastic thing for the athletes, right? We talked about it before about why the NIO is great for the athletes, and I think that this is definitely a step in the right direction from, you know, from the, from the big 10, you know, NCAA standpoint. Right. So to have the possibility of playing in the players, I think it's going to be fantastic, but now what that's going to look like,

like who knows, right. Who knows how that's going to actually be implemented. Right. If it's just going to be, you know, football and men's basketball, right? How do other sports feel? So on and so forth. So it's going to be a little tricky to navigate those waters for sure. But just the fact that they're even talking about it, I think. And you get into Title IX considerations.

And that is something that also earlier this week, Pete Thamel with ESPN, he had a report about the possibility, and this has been out there for a long time, but basically the NCAA structure that stays the same, but football basically breaking free in football, college football becoming its own entity, if you will. And then you're able to do a lot more of these things.

And it becomes, yeah, you'll still have the NCAA men's basketball tournament. You have volleyball, you have wrestling, you have everything else there under the NCAA umbrella. But college football will be its own entity. And then he can play the players very easily. And you don't have to worry about those Title IX considerations because it is separate from everything else.

Boy, I'm just happy I'm not a lawyer to have to deal with all that stuff. I mean, the billable hours would be nice, but boy, it seems like a lot of headache. I agree. I'm right there with you. So a lot of great stuff there. One final thing with the Big Ten media deal, the possibility of paying college athletes in the future, and that continues to be on the table. And another thing on the table, EA Sports, college football. You're continuing on the game. You got any updates for us? Anything you can tell us, LaShawn?

Are you still sworn to secrecy? I'm sworn to secrecy. I got to keep it tight to the vest. Well, you've been here the last couple of weeks that I've been reading. A couple of teams that haven't been involved yet. I saw TCU in Wisconsin. They were still working on getting them. Can you tell us at least, I was locked and loaded.

We're going to see Kinnick Stadium. We're going to see the black and gold. Yeah, yeah. I can't tell you. No, I can't even give us that. You guys are just going to have to find out when everything gets released. But yeah, I mean, everyone's working hard, right?

We're trying to get, obviously, everyone to be a part of the game and everything. So we're all excited, though. We're all really, really excited, and we can't wait to bring it to you all. Can you make sure that there is a lookalike sitting in Section 109 of me in my season ticket? Can you make that happen? We'll see what I can do. That might be tough. Hey, that's awesome. Well, Sean, sean it's been great i'm happy to get back together with you we were supposed to do it last friday i was in vegas didn't work out timing wise we couldn't line it up but we're getting close now next week in fact

next week it's football week it's week zero for college football we got of course nebraska against northwestern we'll talk about that one Illinois opens up their season against Wyoming I think Bielema's got a chance to have a pretty big step forward here in his second year with the Illini we got to start to make some predictions some previews I'm gonna be talking about the gambling side of things we're getting close it is oh so close football season and you guys got your first high school game next week. Yes. First game next week. You know, the guys are excited, right? So we're, I'm loving the next coming weeks that we got football wise. It's going to be awesome.

Hey, LaShawn, awesome talking with you once again. Thank you for your time. This has been the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. LaShawn and Trent be back with you again next week. Thanks for joining us today.