Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Lukas Van Ness & Jack Campbell Highlights Iowa Football's Draft Class

Episode Date: April 27, 2023

Trent Condon returns with a look at the Iowa football prospects coming in for the 2023 NFL Draft. Highlights include of Lukas Van Ness, Jack Campbell, Riley Moss, Kaevon Merriweather, Sam LaPorta and Seth Benson.A breakdown and prediction for each of the players. Plus, some thoughts on the latest from the transfer portal.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)HelloFreshSkip trips to the grocery store and count on HelloFresh to make home cooking easy, fun, AND affordable – that’s why it’s America’s #1 meal kit! Go to HelloFresh dot com slash college60 and use code college60 for 60% off plus free shipping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy NFL Draft Day. We are looking forward to this one. And we got you covered. A deep dive into all the Iowa prospects and the latest happening inside the transfer portal today on Locked on Hawkeyes. Our 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 get podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. Make sure you hit that subscribe button. Just takes a moment and helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. The algorithms, they love it. We love you for hitting that subscribe button. Five-star

reviews on the podcast side of things. That's what we're looking for as we make our way through the football offseason. Spring football has concluded. Of course, we gear up up for that what's the latest in the transfer portal we will break things down on that front but excuse me first we're going to talk some nfl draft it is upon us and well i'm making my way down to kansas city excited to get down there and if you missed us yesterday every every day, as you know, I'll be hanging out at Char Bar doing my radio show there

both Thursday and Friday in Kansas City, just past Union Station, so you can stop on by there. I'll be doing my show from 11 to 1, be hanging out for a little bit longer afterwards before making way down and getting ready for the NFL draft. Of course, we await the fate. What's going to happen in the first round? Is Iowa going to continue what we have seen just the sheer volume of guys that have made their way to the NFL in the Kirk Ferentz era? We understand the background of Kirk Ferentz

and what he is and really what he's meant of putting guys at the next level. You know, I had this number that popped into my feed the other day from Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register, and I found it very interesting because it's cool, right? The success of the number of guys, and you flip on a game on Sunday, and you see you're bound to find a Hawkeye in seemingly every single game across the landscape. That's really cool, right? It's really good. And this year's team is going to have a lot of guys that are going to make their way into the NFL. But this is the numbers.

Under Kirk Ferentz, only once has Iowa had four first three-round draft picks. Rounds one through three, four times. That happened back in 2010. Remember, that comes on the heels of 2009. The Orange Bowl team played for a Big Ten championship in Columbus against the Buckeyes. Really good team, won double digits. Brian Bulaga went in the first round, Pat Angra in the second, Amari Spivey in the third, along with Tony Mowiaki, who was also a third round. The other time, only once did Iowa have

three selections in the first two rounds, a real possibility also in this draft. Dallas Clark, 2003, went in the first round, Eric Steinbach went in the second, and Bruce Nelson also went in the second. Well, that team, of course, went undefeated in the Big Ten, also played in the Orange Bowl. And then there's this team that pertains to NFL, high NFL draft picks, is in the same kind of territory, at least the potential going into the draft here this evening. And they went seven and five in the regular season eight and five after a bull win against a depleted Kentucky team that leaves me a little frustrated and and that's where my mind went when I saw that number this team should have

been better we know the reasons that it didn't happen but let's celebrate some of the guys and of course when we start the conversation it would be a big surprise if Lucas Van Ness is not the first guy that is taken off the board with Lucas Van Ness you have an elite athlete you start right there he is at the top end of a lot of the positional group uh groupings for defensive end the one area that he did struggle was the bench press but in the 96th percentile for 40-yard dash. Height, 80th percentile. Hand size, 91st. Arm size, 64th percentile. Wingspan, 76th percentile.

On and on and on. Shuttle numbers, three-cone through the absolute roof. Shuttle times were great. He did everything you want. We knew that. We knew with the athlete that he is, what he does in the weight room, that he's going to be there. I have to get some water here. Man, I'm struggling. All right. So we continue. 6'5", 275 for Lucas

Van Ness. He got that going on, right? He's got the size that you're looking for to play in both a 4'3 and a 3'4. Yes, he wasn't a starter. And we're going to hear that a ton of times. They're going to talk about him not starting. Now, it comes with a huge caveat. He played the most snaps of any defensive end for Iowa. And we know how it was built. You know, A.J. Epinesa, he wasn't a starter. It took a long time for a lot of the guys. It's just the way that Iowa is built and that seniority, it's something that's important. The guys that have done the work, the guys that are still good players. Yeah, we've seen guys that have been unseated, but there is a ladder that you have to climb at Iowa. And what makes VNS so different than so many Iowa prospects is normally we're just used to

these guys being ready-made. We're ready for them, and we see the progression of their career. We see them early on. Maybe it's special teams. Maybe it's a couple of snaps, whatever position it is early in their career. By the time they're a junior and a senior, they're guns a blazing. They're all big 10 player. Havay and Nass was very good when he was out there. His first season as a redshirt freshman, he went out there as a freshman in 2021, had four sacks, 14 hurries, 10 quarterback hits. This past season as a redshirt sophomore, played 12 games, played 450 plus snaps, 26 tackles in the season, but as a pass rusher, 43 total pressures, 29 quarterback hurries,

six quarterback hits, and eight sacks during the year. As not a guy that's playing certainly as many snaps as a lot of the players that we're talking about here. Is he a ready-made prospect? No, he doesn't have the same number of football under him. I can look at that as a good thing or a bad thing, but he will test incredibly well. He will be a guy that is easy to teach. He needs to become more of a, he needs to add more to the repertoire as a pass rusher.

So where's he going to go? But where's it going to be? I've seen him mocked anywhere as high as number six. I've seen him somewhere in the 20s, 22, 24, something in that range I think was the lowest that I've seen here lately for Van Ness. I think number nine at Chicago makes a ton of sense. Now, the Bears need a lot.

There's no doubt about it. But a guy that grew up in Chicago, grew up a Bears fan, is a position that they definitely need and help with the pass rush. Also, they can take a chance But a guy that grew up in Chicago, grew up a Bears fan, is a position that they definitely need and help with the pass rush. Also, they can take a chance of a guy that maybe needs a little bit more developmentally. Look, the Bears are still two years away from really being a contender. Unless they knock this absolutely out of the park. I like what they did in free agency. They got some weapons now for field, but they need a lot of help defensively. And for Van Ness,

he is not a finished product by any means. I think the Bears are a team and an organization that can realize it in 2024, 2025. That's when he is going to be starting to really get his feet underneath him. I love it. In fact, at FanDuel, I bet on it. So let's hope that that happens. Lucas Van Ness, plus I'm a Bears fan. So of course I want to see him go to the Chicago Bears. Have not had a whole lot of great Bears players that have gone through there recently. Got to go back to what, Hilgenberg back in the day. Not a whole lot of Hawkeyes that have certainly set the scene on fire in Chicago with the Bears. Long range though, I think he is going to be a guy that you maybe are going to hear some things early on about him. Not quite exactly what you expected. He's got work to do. He doesn't have the same kind of football pedigree as a lot of

these guys remember he was a hockey guy growing up before he found his way to the football field but ultimately I think he's going to be a really good pro a lot more to go will we see another first rounder to go along with Lucas Van Ness will there there be more there? We'll talk about that. Jack Campbell, is he a first rounder? I'll make my prediction on that. We continue. It's a draft edition of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Looking for a delicious snack, but don't want all the sugar and calories?

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You can thank me later. Trunkata continues with you here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. As always, thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Well, as we make our way up to the draft tonight, I'll be in Kansas City. Hope to have some people stop by. If you see me, make sure to say hello. We'd love to meet everybody there, and we'll hoist a couple expensive beers maybe in the process.

So, Lucas Van Ness, it's a near lock that he's going to be a first rounder. It would be a big surprise if he falls out of the first 31 picks. What about Jack Campbell? What about Riley Moss? What about Sam Laporta? So that's kind of the next tier, if you will, of these Iowa prospects. And I'm going to go out and say it right now. I've been singing the praises of Jack Campbell now for as long as I've seen this guy out there.

Now, I've told this story before. The first time I saw Jack was as a high school basketball player. He was playing for Cedar Falls High. They were at the state tournament. I knew that Iowa was recruiting him as a football player, and I saw him, and he was a little bit clunky, kind of heavy feet at times out there on the hardwood. He was playing with A.J. Green, really talented Cedar Falls team,

and I was like, hmm, I wonder how he translates. And then I saw him the next year, which was his junior year on the football field at the unidome well what a difference that dude the difference that he was a good basketball player no doubt not to sell him short at all as a basketball player he was a very good basketball player but on the football field he was a difference maker he was as impressive as i've seen for a linebacker since pat anger at bettendorf here in the state of ire That's the level that he played at. He was making plays all over the place, cutting down ball carriers, getting to the backfield. Just he was a one man machine out there.

And then we saw that continue, obviously here at the University of Iowa and what he has been able to do. The thing that I keep coming back to, though, is the intangibles. Yes, you look at the measurements. They're great. And I think he opened a lot of people's eyes of him. You knew he was a big guy, rangy, six foot five, 250 pounds. People knew about that before the draft process began. But when he went to the combine and he was running and he was running certainly higher than anybody anticipated coming in, he was, you know, such a big size. size the wingspan his broad jump was in the 96 percentile three cone drill in the 96 percentile vertical leap in the 85th percentile just on and on and on so good with the speed the reaction time that he has he covers so much grounded and also i

think people when they watched a little bit more you see the tackle numbers and you anticipate all right that's what he's going to be, right? As a tackler, middle linebacker type, he's going to be fine in there. The thing that I absolutely love about him though, is I think there's a ranginess to him that he is going to be different. I've gone out there and said,

he is going to be a multi-time pro bowler. I think he has a chance to be as good of a pro as we've seen in a long time. I understand middle linebacker. It's not an invoke spot. Much like running back has time. I understand. Middle linebacker, it's not an in vogue spot. Much like running back has become in the NFL, middle linebacker is the same. If Jack Campbell would have came around 25 years ago,

he'd be a top 10 pick. That's how good he is and how talented he is. But he's not. It's a different game. Got a coverage and you're looking for guys off the edge. They just don't have the same kind of grade that they have on different positions at middle linebacker. Still, I think he sneaks into the first round. I think a perfect spot would be Buffalo.

They've drafted AJF Vanessa. They've had Micah Hyde there. They understand what they're getting with Iowa guys. It feels like there's definitely a connection that would make a whole lot of sense there. I'm going to call it right now. Jack Campbell is also going to be a first rounder and we'll go to the Buffalo Bill so two down we still got a few more to go here on our draft special let's jump over to Riley Moss now Riley Moss an incredibly intriguing prospect called a lot of Riley's games in high school when he was at Ankeny Centennial saw a lot of him it was looking like he was going to be a gray shirt candidate meaning he had to pay his own way his first semester at Iowa before going on scholarship.

There was a scholarship that opened up, and then he had an opportunity to get the scholarship, and he hit the ground running. There were some low points. There were some struggles that he had, yet he kept coming back. And by the end, we saw what he did in his junior campaign back in 2021. Had the two pick sixes against Indiana open up the season and he was off and running the teams didn't target him nearly as much this year but the range that he

has at six foot one the track speed that he has I think that surprises a lot of people and what I've loved to see throughout this draft process is he's got the quick feet he's got the speed he is fluid in his brakes it wasn't the old kind of tried and true that we have. That's a white cornerback. We're going to move into safety. He's probably as, no, people have realized after he went down to the senior bowl, what he was able to do there, backpedal, the click and close ability that he has. So many good things. Mention the fluidity. There's so many positives when you're looking at Riley Moss as a prospect. I believe he is going to go in the end of the second round. That's where I got Riley Moss going

right now. We'll see him somewhere late fifties, something like that. And he will still be a second round draft pick. And for a kid that didn't even have a full scholarship initially to turn into this another impressive one from coach ference and company and of course phil parker and what he does with those defensive backs and the defense sam laporta i've been all over the place on laporta here's the thing that might be a little bit of a concern for laporta this tight end class is incredible you start start with Michael Mayer from Notre Dame. Big inline guy. He can make plays.

He is tough. He'll catch the ball. He's not going to be a guy that's going to go up the seam, you know, and bust off a 40-yard touchdown. That's not his game. But dependable, strong, a three-down tight end, something that is a rarity in today's game. You couple him with Darnell Washington, who is just a sight to behold with his 280-pound frame

and the way that he moves. Dalton Kincaid, for my money, is as good as you're going to find. Luke Musgrave, who was banged up for Oregon State this year, a really good kid. Up at South Dakota State, Tucker Kraft, he's up there.

Shoemaker from Michigan. Bretton Strange from Penn State. This is an incredibly deep, tight-end room. And because of that, I could see teams knowing that maybe they have six, seven, eight guys that they really like waiting a little bit longer.

Maybe you have your eye on a mayor of Washington and Kincaid, maybe one of those top three guys and that next group with Laporta and Musgrave and Kraft and you say, you know what, we like them all and we're going to wait a little bit longer. Because of that, I'm going to say Sam Laporta falls to the third round early third round is when we'll hear laporta hear his name now i've seen him mocked hi and you look at the production of 58 catches

led the team this year only one touchdown well we saw a game in a game out right the trouble that there was at the quarterback position and just this passing game and how bad that it was he ran well shuttles were very good vertical good three cone all these speed elements were definitely there short arms not a big wig span i think he's gonna be okay sam laporta we're gonna predict early in the third round who is left well we got a couple of other prospects cave on mary weather will he hear his name called? How about Seth Benson? We will talk about that.

Also, the next in line to be the drafted Hawkeyes as we look to the 2024 NFL draft with an Iowa tie. We'll do that. Plus a little more portal news. That's as we roll through here. This is Lockdown Hawkeyes. news. That's as we roll through here. This is Locked On Hawkeyes. Trent Conner back with you one final time on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. As always,

thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. A lot going on. Hey, thank you for making Locked On Hawkeyes a part of your day. Every dayers, we got more coming your way. In fact, we'll have something for you from Kansas City coming up on tomorrow's show. As we roll through here, let's jump into the final prospects. I think that Kayvon Merriweather is going to be selected. I'm going to go six round for Merriweather. He's a guy that's going to stick. He's going to play special teams.

He's going to do everything that you need, everything that you ask. As the 40 time, what you want, not exactly. Does he have the size that you want as a safety? Not quite there. But one thing we continue to talk about him as a leader. I think that's going to show up. I think he's going to stick.

And I think he's going to make a roster early on. Kayvon Merriweather in the sixth round. And I got one more. I think Seth Benson is going to hear his name called. And it's not real tall. Speed's okay. But you just put in the tape, and you see what he was able to do.

I think ultimately he's going to hear his name called in the seventh round. So that's what we have right now. Lucas Van Ness in the first. Jack Campbell at number 28. To Buffalo, also in the first round. We got Riley Moss at the end of the second. Laporta early third.

Merriweather in the sixth. And we'll go Seth Benson in the seventh round. Six drafted Hawkeyes. That's what we have on tap in our predictions here for the NFL draft. Let's roll through here. And I want to take a peek forward to next year. So next year's draft will come around. Will there be a first rounder?

Well, a year ago, not many people. Though I did tell you Lucas Vanness maybe could be one of those guys that heard his name called. Well, the first rounder is Cooper Dejean. Yes, Cooper Dejean will just be a true junior this year. He is also draft eligible after this season. I heard a scout say if Cooper Dejean

was eligible for this year's draft, he would have been a first rounder. It's crazy to think. We know what a playmaker he is. This is a guy, again, his freshman year, true freshman, hadn't played quarterback before until the end of the season at all in his football life. And now you see the level that he's playing at. Now, Cooper Dejean is a different kind of prospect. And he is a guy I think that can shift over and play safety. But he has so many positives going his way.

And we talked about some of those stats that came up in the measurables in the combine. Cooper Dijon makes his way to Indianapolis. Look out. Let's put that down. Cooper Dijon next year. He's going to hear his name called very early in the NFL draft. Well, who else with Cooper Dijon? Well, no surprise,

a lot of defenders out there. Nick Jackson, as he comes in for Virginia, I think he'll have an opportunity. We'll see kind of measurables what he is going to be on that front. Another young guy who might be leaving early is Deontay Craig. I'm incredibly high on Deontay Craig. I think he's going to have an absolutely monster season. It might be very similar to Bayoness, though he'll be a starter this year. He's not going to have some of the snap totals that you have, and that's because of the depth of the defensive line. But what we've seen out of Deontay Craig in his limited time out there,

he is a big-time prospect. He's got long arms. He can get to the quarterback, and he's got a lot of upside still to him. We're going to say Deontay Craig, another one, definitely to keep your eye on. And then you get into some of the veteran guys,

you know, Logan Lee, Noah Shaven, Joe Evans, Quinn Schulte, those guys draft eligible next season. Some of them in their final year of eligibility. There's no COVID year or anything for them

going back with Lee, with Shannon, with Evans. That defensive line is going to be absolutely loaded. I think all four of those guys have an opportunity to hear their name called. How about Eric Hall? Now, if he's back healthy and it looks like he is coming off the back surgery

that he had in the transfer from Michigan, he's going to be there. Luke Lachey also going to have an opportunity. How about Torrey Taylor at punter? And this goes to show you just how deep this team is and what kind of ability they're going to have going forward. I love this team. I really do. I think they're loaded. I think the Hawkeyes are going to be going forward. I love this team. I really do. I think they're loaded. I think the Hawkeyes are going to be very good. And if you've been listening to me for a while, you know, I am not somebody that is always the most optimistic of people. This one, I'll tell you, I think they're going to be really, really good this year.

Got another target out there. Kelton Copeland apparently followed Jadae Walker from Grand Valley State. That's something to keep an eye on. One of our listeners on YouTube, thank you to Hair Trigger 8317 for passing that along. That's one to keep an eye on.

Always keeping an eye on who those coaches are following, who they're looking at, and maybe some portal news around the corner. We await on the basketball front, BJ Mack, as we mentioned to the everydayers yesterday. Yes, looks like South Carolina maybe could be considered the favorite, obviously closer to home after playing in his collegiate career at Wofford. A lot of people believed it was going to be difficult

to pull him out of SEC territory. We will see on that front. Keep an eye on that. Iowa continues to look at wide receivers, and they're working very hard to try to find somebody to help bolster, maybe a couple of guys to help bolster that wide receiver room. Enjoy the NFL draft. I'll be in Kansas City.

Stop on by if you can make it at Char Bar, 11 to 1 on Thursday and Friday for my radio show on KXNO. You can find me over there at Char Bar. We'll have some grub. We'll have some booze. We'll watch some NFL draft. Doesn't sound like a bad Thursday and Friday. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks.