Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - MEDIA DAY PICKS - Zach Lutmer, Jayden Montgomery & Addison Ostrenga’s Iowa SELECTIONS IGNITE Debate

Starting point is 00:00:00 The players Iowa sends to Big Ten football media days to find the standard inside the locker room. This Hawkeye team will go exactly as far as its leaders take it. And championship habits are built long before kickoff. You are locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. And I'm Trent Condon and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeyes. podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandual. The biggest stage in world soccer is here. Let there be goals on Fanduel. Visit Fandual.com to get started now. A lot of basketball talk

Starting point is 00:00:48 here on the women's side. A media availability earlier in the week will break down some of the things that we heard from the players over in Iowa City, a change in the offense as well for Iowa and who steps up in the 26-27 season for the Iowa women. We're going to talk some football today and we begin our conversation with the three players representing Iowa in the Big Ten. And we're also going to look at maybe some missed opportunities of guys that could have been sent to Chicago this year and Big Ten Football Media Day, along with the players that are going to be there. So let's start with the nuts and bolts. And that is all the three guys that get to go. And obviously a great honor.

Starting point is 00:01:24 This is something that throughout the years, for years and years, it was basically seniors only. It was very, very rare that we'd have a junior. That has changed as college football has changed. along with it. And the three guys that are going to be there coming up next month, we will see Zach Lutmer there. That was no surprise. So Zach Lutmer, just a junior, obviously the play that he had a season ago. And really, probably the biggest start of this team currently coming back for next season. We've talked so much about Zach Lutmer and his versatility in that defensive backfield can play cornerback cash position. He's been elite playing that. He can play the safety spots.

Starting point is 00:01:59 And where he ends up is going to say a lot about this defensive backfield, wherever it is though with Zach Lutmer, you know you're going to get really high end play, a guy that's just an absolute playmaker, physicality, can run, can play inside, can play out just a tremendous football player. Yet another guy from up there in northwest Iowa as they just keep churning out great Hawkeyes seemingly year after year after year. The second one, I guess, was a bit of a surprise at the top, and that is Jade Montgomery. Jane Montgomery likely is going to be the starter opposite Cam Buffington coming up this season.

Starting point is 00:02:34 in the two linebacker spots. Montgomery played middle linebacker last year, took over when Jaden Harrell went down and did a pretty nice job. You know, overall, I don't think anybody would consider it a leap, but went in there, made the parts that I thought took a step forward at that middle linebacker spot with a guy though like Buffington, what we have heard about him, the way that he has progressed and certainly the excitement inside the building about Cam Buffington. Montgomery likely is going to slide outside and he still feels really good. Is he undersized? Yes, He is not tall by any means, but as we know, and it doesn't matter to the position, but I think I brought up Zach Thomas a half dozen times already because those are the short

Starting point is 00:03:12 middle linebackers he thought of in the past. He's going to bounce out, but still Montgomery going there and a guy that definitely makes a lot of sense. Stayed around, waited his turn, didn't get into the transfer portal, none of the things like that, has the bloodlines with his dad, big Jerry Montgomery in the middle of those early parents teams and what he was able to do. Yeah, this one makes a whole lot of sense. and definitely a great honor there for Jane Montgomery.

Starting point is 00:03:36 And the final one was maybe the biggest surprise, and it's just because he's coming off a pretty significant injury from a season ago, and that's Addison Estranga. As Estranga had the injury against Iowa State a year ago at Achilles tear, and for so long, we were just used to, an Achilles tear means this is going to be a long-term injury. And the road back from that kind of injury was just so arduous and so difficult, time-in-time-out of what we saw from football players trying to come back from that injury.

Starting point is 00:04:02 and even when they did return, you know, what kind of level were they going to be playing at? And that has changed. We definitely saw that. You go back to the NBA and Jason Tatum a couple of years ago and the way that they went through that injury. He was back by the end of the regular season this year and just how quickly you can change that injury. You have to get in there quick. The surgery quicker sooner rather than later has worked out incredibly well and maybe change the way that people look at that one. But Addison Stranggo is an interesting piece because, of course, we had the emergence this year.

Starting point is 00:04:32 of DJ Venami. And we saw, and as we've talked about a ton here on Locked on Hawkeyes and you every dayers definitely know about that. It is that Vonemae is on his way to becoming an absolute star, a potential first round NFL draft pick. I mean, that's the kind of upside that we're talking about here with Vanami. And now you go the other direction. You bring in the guy that is the veteran guy coming off an injury and put him in that. Now, I go all the way back to a couple months ago when we were talking to Kirk Farrants in Iowa football media, the big, excuse me, the Polkani Eye Club is what it was. And, you know, he mentioned he's good. Yeah, he's back. He's practicing. He's, he's basically a full go at that point, which was a surprise back there right after spring practice that he

Starting point is 00:05:16 brought that up and just how quickly he has been out there. But another one of those good, feel good stories. And, you know, the other interesting part, you look at those three guys. There isn't anything. There's going to be no guys that rock the boat. That doesn't happen in general. The media training that Iowa football players get, we know is pretty intense and pretty immense overall. So those three guys made sense. But the other part that is so important with this squad. And it's important because it's important to the Hawkeye head coach. Kirk Farrant talks about leadership all the time.

Starting point is 00:05:46 And the leadership of this group is going to have to look a whole lot different. When we talk about the 105 guys that comprise this Iowa football team, it's got to look a whole lot different this season because they don't have your standard amount of seniors. It's just 10 guys, 10 scholarship players that are out there in this senior class. And because of that, the leadership's going to have to come from some younger players. On top of it, you look at the lack of returning starters. You look at this team and the way that they're built this season, so many new faces, so many guys that just don't have those reps, not just on the field.

Starting point is 00:06:17 And also the Iowa football reps. We're talking about some young guys, some guys that have not had the development that were used to for Iowa football. It's an interesting year coming up this year. So when we come back on the other side, it's going to be Zach Lutmer, Jane Montgomery, Addison and Addison Estranga. Those are going to be the three guys that will be in Chicago, along with Kirk Farrants, of course, for media days. However, who were some of the misses?

Starting point is 00:06:41 Who were some of the guys that maybe should have got that call this year? We'll talk about that. Talk a little more Iowa football as we continue. Plus, we got a lot of Iowa women's basketball talk, a new look offense coming up this season. That's all coming up as we continue. Stay right there. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. The biggest stage in world soccer is here.

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Starting point is 00:07:36 Obviously, the final U.S. match of the group stage was absolutely incredible. We had goals early on, back and forth a fair. It was high level. And some of those matches, they can feel like they're scoreless forever. But boy, one moment, one change quickly can happen. And that was with the U.S. men's national team, just the other night. Suddenly, everybody was there and knowing, though the U.S. had already locked up the group stage, the importance of that one for everybody.

Starting point is 00:08:02 Keep an eye such an incredible tournament. From the opening whistle to the final kick, let there be goals on Fanduel. Visit Fandual.com to get started now. That's fandul.com. Trent, kind of back with you once again here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. If you're an everyday listener, this is a chance for you to get locked up. Locked on Hawkeyes completely ad free by joining our Everydayer Club.

Starting point is 00:08:36 Start your seven day free trial right now and get closer to the Hawkeyes without the interruptions. Click the link in the show notes or go to LockdownHawkeyes. That's Lockdownhawkeyes.com to claim your free trial. That's Lockedon Hawkeyes. That's Supercast.com. Your chance to join the Everydayer Club and get everything completely add free. Continuing on our conversation with Iowa football. And the conversations are going to start to ramp up here as we,

Starting point is 00:09:01 make our way through and take a deep, deep look into this Iowa football team, as we do here on your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. So mention the three guys that are going to be a media day. Zach Lutmer, Jade Montgomery, Addison Estrega. So who's some names that maybe potentially would have also made sense to make their way to Chicago. It's not an overly deep list because we've talked about the lack of experience. Look, Kirk Farrance is not going to be a guy that's going to go out there. See Tony Diaz lighten up the practice field and his first spring practice and suddenly

Starting point is 00:09:31 say, yeah, that dude's coming with us. Maybe you should, but that's not something that's going to happen with Iowa football. Yes, I am not slowing down the hype train for Tony Diaz. I am going head first into this one. Fingers crossed, it comes out well. The quarterback position, another obvious one, not going to happen. You got a quarterback competition. Is it going to be Jeremy Hecklinsky?

Starting point is 00:09:52 Is it going to be Hank Brown? We will talk about that ad nauseum throughout the course of these next couple of months leading into the opener and when they're actually going to make a decision. of who's going to get the start and who's going to be the guy to open up the season at minimum. A guy, though, that I thought made it, would have made sense, though, was Kamari Moulton. Camarie Moulton a year ago, battled the early injury that he had early in the season, as he sustained that shoulder injury, played a lot more than I think anybody thought he was going to leading into the game against Rutgers.

Starting point is 00:10:21 And then he just kept going out there and kept going out there and getting between 70 and 99 yards every single game. It seemed like just never could get into that triple digits, never could get over the 99 yards on the season, but he was consistent. He was tough. He played behind that good old line. Kamari Bolton, now another step for him. And that was a guy I thought at least had to be on the list of Florida guy doing very well in Iowa City. Here's another one and a name that I definitely had circled when we speculated about what this was going to look like and who was going to be going to Chicago. And that's Trevor Lauke. Lauka a year ago was handed the reins at left tackle.

Starting point is 00:10:57 And when you go into a season with three guys that are now in the NFL, three guys that were NFL draft picks, we felt really, really good and confident about those three guys, obviously. Then you threw in Cade Piper. Cade Piper the season before, he was basically their six offense alignment, a big tight end, if you will, when they went six offense alignment a couple of times. And he was a guy that you knew was coming. I mean, we heard so many great things about him. But the left tackle position was different.

Starting point is 00:11:25 You had Dotsler and Lout battling for that left tackle spot. led all the way up until spring. Bryce George was also in the mix. We talked about a ton about him. And then he, unfortunately, I went down with an injury in the warmup for the opening game of the season and unfortunately never got to see much out of Bryce George this season. But we did certainly get to see a lot out of Trevor Lough.

Starting point is 00:11:45 And you look at so many of the numbers that are out there, grading offensive line, pro football focus is one that we bring up often and the PFF numbers and what those look like and the way that that is set up. and they paint a very good picture for Trevor Lout. The other reason that I was a little bit surprised is because Trevor Loutts got a big conversation likely coming up after this season. If he's going to stick around for his final year in Iowa City or if he's going to be departed for the next one. Also talk about importance for Trevor Lout. Now he becomes from the young guy, the guy that was just learning from all those veterans.

Starting point is 00:12:19 He's along with Cade Piper, the experience guy, the guy that has played a ton of football. And now his game needs to not just grow and continue to develop and do those kind of things, but he also needs to grow back to the leadership conversation, another important part of this offensive line. And if you listen to George Barnett, he's been on a couple of podcasts this week. David Eichold had an opportunity to speak with him. Chad Leickeld at the register did the same. And both of those guys I thought did a really good job of talking to Coach Barnett,

Starting point is 00:12:47 a guy that was much malign early in his career, had a lot younger offensive line than you normally do during the beginning parts. But stayed the path, believed in what he was teaching, and you look at these last two years of the offensive line and what they were able to put together, 2004, with Caleb Johnson running behind him, just an incredible season that year. And of course, the Joe Moore Award winning offensive line this season for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2025 and the impact that it made there. So Trevor Lauk was one, I thought maybe was going to be on this list.

Starting point is 00:13:19 Unfortunately for him, not going to be the case because you get the jet, you get to go, to Chicago, you get to do all the fun things there. And you got to talk to us media nerds a little bit. Okay, that's not the most fun. And then you go and usually have a pretty nice dinner that is a part of it. A couple other ones. Talked about Addison Estranga and also brought up, of course, DJ Venami. And with Venami coming up this season, impact, big time, player, potential first rounder,

Starting point is 00:13:45 all those things with Vonami. Yes, that was one that thought you could potentially see a path for him to go out there. Now, he is just a red shirt sophomore, but another guy that's likely going to have a big decision coming up this offseason of what he's going to do. And then one final one, this is for me. Every day or as you know it, it's a guy that I believe if Iowa football and specifically this defense is going to be good, this guy's got to be an absolute stud this year. And that is Bryce Hawthorne. After a season, being in the rotation a year ago, we saw some really good things out of him.

Starting point is 00:14:17 Now he needs to be an absolute star. There is not a whole lot of depth at the defensive tackle position. They went into the portal, try to address that. But they need Bryce Hawthorne to be good to be great. Let's be honest. We need him to be great this year if this Iowa defense is going to live up to the standard that we're used to. What we're used to game in and game out from Iowa football and that defense coached by Phil Parker and the rest of the defensive coaches. In order for that to happen, you have to be good up front, specifically in the middle the way that Iowa plays.

Starting point is 00:14:48 Bryce Hawthorne going to be an important one. But another guy does have a couple of years of eligibility. So there it is, maybe some misses, I guess, as a way that you could put it. Talked about a few other players as well and look through it. But those were my top five guys, maybe the missed opportunities to head to Chicago for Big Ten football media days. Let's shift from football over to basketball and talk about the women's basketball team.

Starting point is 00:15:13 A new look offense this season from what we saw a year ago, a lot of new faces. and a player, I think you're really going to like this quote. Iowa Women's Hoops Talk Mex as we continue on. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales,

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Starting point is 00:16:08 It's about having everyone work together with the same goal. It's true in sports, just like it's true in business. And I think you see that definitely with Jan Jensen's Iowa Women's Basketball program. It is all those pieces working together. You hear so much about the culture, doing things that make a whole lot of sense and building this roster in a different way than they ever had before during the transfer portal. The adjustments that need to be made, well, the adjustment itself was important, but what really impressed me is how smoothly everything was implemented. Took a little bit longer to get those final pieces, but they had a plan, knew their role, and made it happen. Everyone was on the same page.

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Starting point is 00:17:18 your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Women's hoops. So we got to hear from a number of players over in Iowa. earlier in the week with the media availability. I think the biggest story to come out of it is the continued conversation. One thing that we've mentioned plenty here on lockdown Hawkeyes and going back to a more traditional Iowa offense. This past season, it was the high post to look with Hannah Stolke at the top.

Starting point is 00:17:41 Ava Hayden down below, two posts out there playing together. All right, you're going to play your best players. You're going to find your best lineups and your best matchups. That's the direction that you're going to go. But now going back to the one in, four out offense, the read and react, they're going to go back that direction and something that we've seen back to the days of Lisa Bluters, the head coach, and now here with Gian Jensen and what they ran during their first season. With the makeup of the team, it makes a whole lot of sense. They are very guard heavy.

Starting point is 00:18:09 And David Hayden, in fact, mentioned that during her availability. This is a team that has a lot of guards and figuring out that chemistry, also figuring out that chemistry because there are so many new faces on this team this year and just melding that all together. they're making that work is going to be a big one. You know, we know about Ava Hyde and what it's going to be and how tremendous just a player she is, so quick with the basketball going up quickly, the mic and drill, if you ever see that, that Jan Jensen for years and years and years is implemented and having heard post players and just the way that they develop. And we saw Hayden become from a really nice player, saw glimpses late in her freshman

Starting point is 00:18:46 campaign and what she became a year ago as a sophomore. Well, now we look at year number three. You know there's going to be more growth. And Ava Hayden talked about the three things that she's working on the most here during this offseason. She mentioned free throws, boom, definitely going to be hacked and bullied and pushed around inside. She's going to get to the free throw line a ton as we saw this past season. Absolutely. Also hitting the corner elbow jumper.

Starting point is 00:19:11 That is another piece that she's been working on. Extended that range out a little bit, but doing that part and becoming an even more consistent shooter from that 15 to 18 feet range. But the other one that really did intrigue me was her working on the turnaround J. We know what she is when she gets to the rim, when she gets up there and gets it off the backboard. So good with angles, understanding the size. But you add that when you dump it into the post and have that turnaround jumper that you can hit at a consistent level. Talk about adding a big time weapon to the repertoire of Eva Hayden. That is definitely a piece there.

Starting point is 00:19:45 You know, something I also pondered was Layla Hayes. and her importance for this team this year because they don't have a ton of depth at the post position. She was another player as a freshman that looked like a freshman. But I believe in the development of postplayers so much with Jan Jensen that all the time and you see and we just go back and we look at the last 25 years now of Iowa women's basketball and how impactful she has been and what she has meant for it. That's definitely a huge component to things overall. I go through and I look at that part of it. Yes, absolutely, because I was going to need that. I was going to need Layla Hayes to take a step forward.

Starting point is 00:20:21 Ava Hayden, there's going to be foul trouble. She's a post player. That's going to happen. And having somebody that is dependable, more than serviceable this year with Layla Hayes, I think it's going to be a big, big piece to that. We also did find out that Georgia transfer, Danny Carnegie going to come back for a stint with Team USA and the three on three basketball playing down in Chile. That'll be coming up.

Starting point is 00:20:43 She is such a huge piece of this team. likely. Well, she's going to be fighting Eva Hayden, I guess. I shouldn't say likely for the leading score on this team. She is a different type of guard than I was had recently. That slasher with some size to go along with it. The speed that she plays with. And that's one thing

Starting point is 00:20:58 talking to somebody with Iowa Women's basketball. They mentioned it just her pace of play is so different in the way that she can operate and get into gaps and get into space and find moves inside. I'm really excited to see how Danny Carnegie. But here's one that really jumped out to me.

Starting point is 00:21:14 and it's Taylor Stremlow. And, you know, we saw Taylor last season, what she did improving as a three-point shooter, that facilitator, that playmaker, somebody that could guard out on the perimeter. But most importantly, just how full her offensive game became throughout the course of last season. And she had a quote that just absolutely put a smile on my face. Taylor Stremlo said this, quote, I hate to lose. Hate to lose in Carver. Hate to lose when we should have won.

Starting point is 00:21:44 as a program we can and will do better, unquote. Leadership. It comes back once again, and we're seeing it from Taylor Stremlow. Now an upperclassman, now a junior. And as we talked about earlier in the week five for five, we'll maybe have to change the way that we equate what an upperclassman means.

Starting point is 00:22:04 But that aside, in her third year at the program, playing more and more, they bring in different players that are similar to her, similar position type, and what does that mean? Is she going to have to come off the bed? will she still be a starter? That's still to be determined, obviously, of how that's going to play out.

Starting point is 00:22:19 But Sreblo is just a player that works so hard, develops her craft, does the things that you want, and has those leadership qualities that are so important. Nobody likes to lose. But there are those certain players you can tell are just different. And that's what you get out of her. She's tough. She's rugged. She's going to do whatever it takes for her team to win the game.

Starting point is 00:22:43 and absolutely love that about her. Now, this wasn't Tim Tebow saying we're never going to lose a game again back when he was playing for the Florida Gators. That's not what this is at all. But for Taylor Stremlow to be very pointed in her talk, I really, really love that part of her and love what she can do for this squad. A couple other players heard from for the first time, Amadi Widing. Amari Widing comes in after transferring from Oklahoma State started her career, playing for her mom at BYU, then played at Oklahoma State, now finishing up her,

Starting point is 00:23:13 career with the Hawkeyes and talk about just another perfect bit getting something that they absolutely needed and that is that elite level perimeter defender. And with Whiting, she said it's about defense first. She wants to guard the team's other team's best player and you love to hear those kind of things. Defense isn't fun. Defense takes work. It really takes the work to get it done. And yet she's ready for it.

Starting point is 00:23:39 She's ready to go. I think fans are absolutely going to love what they see. this year from Whiting. I think she's going to become a fan favorite for this squad. And if she can become more consistent from the outside, 32% from the three-point line a year ago, get that up towards a 37, even 40% lookout. Because what she does defensively,

Starting point is 00:23:58 she rebounds well for her size. She plays bigger than her 5 foot 10 frame and the defense, a huge, huge part of that one. What final name for you is Jocelyn Faison, easy for me to say? And Faison also came in from Georgia, was the top 100 player coming out of high school, didn't play very much in her freshman campaign. No reason to knock her for that. But she is a player, again, talking about that athlete and just very fluid defender out there. And you're seeing the makeup of this women's basketball team, just looking at touch different.

Starting point is 00:24:33 The way that they're going about it, the way that they're doing things, making things look just a little bit different. I think it's going to be another fun season in Iowa City for the Iowa Women's Basketball program. Thanks for tuning in today to Locked-on Hawkeyes coming up over the weekend. Going to have another football show for you coming your way and got some more talk I what to get into on the football side of things. Make sure you subscribe and follow Lockdown Hawkeyes so you get all of our latest episodes. If you never miss an episode, the Every Day or Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Hawkeyes ad-free plus members-only Discord access and more.

Starting point is 00:25:08 Head to LockdownHawkeyes.com to join the club. Lockedon hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com. What's good, thanks for being with us to making Lockdown Hawk Guys, your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - MEDIA DAY PICKS - Zach Lutmer, Jayden Montgomery & Addison Ostrenga’s Iowa SELECTIONS IGNITE Debate

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