Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - NFL Draft projections for Iowa Hawkeyes | Analyzing next year's football depth chart | Latest basketball rankings are out

Episode Date: January 19, 2021

The women's basketball team takes down Purdue, and the men's basketball team gets a bump in the AP Poll and the latest bracketology rankings. After discussing that we break down the most recent NFL Draft projections for departed Iowa Hawkeyes plus we take a peek at what next year's roster/depth chart will look like.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 “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get 20% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back, Hawkeye Nation, to a Tuesday morning episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade. Excited to be back for another show today. And we're coming off of a women's basketball victory over Purdue. The women took down Purdue yesterday, which was fantastic to watch. If you got a chance to watch it, it was a good game.

Obviously, there are some concerns about the depth of this women's basketball team, but nonetheless, they were able to prevail, and they were able to ride their starters to a victory. We're going to talk a little bit about basketball, including the women's game on today's show. We're also going to get into the NFL draft talk. Where are some of these guys projected to go? And then we're going to wrap up with a fun conversation about what this Iowa football team looks like next year.

That's right. We don't know what's going to happen with, you know, obviously the pandemic and all that stuff, but there's going to be football next year. I'm almost sure of it. And we're going to talk about that team and who's returning, what it means, what are some of the position groups of strength, what are some of the position groups of question marks and weaknesses. That's all coming up on segment number three.

Before we get into the show, if you like the show, please make sure to subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast app. Give us that five-star review and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Let's get into the show, though. First, with some basketball talk. The women's basketball team took down Purdue 87-81 to move to 9-3 on the season. They have a tough game against No. 7 Maryland, which is 11-1 on Thursday at 4 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, so make sure to check that out. It is going to be a tough game on the road versus Terrapins, but if they can pull that out, that would be absolutely

huge. Again, this is a team that is fighting for an NCAA tournament appearance after losing back-to-back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year. Having a young team, a team that doesn't have a lot of depth, they still are in this no matter what. They have a lot of opportunities here, and beating Maryland would be

a huge opportunity for them. But in that game, it was a bit interesting. Iowa was struggling a little bit. They went on a run to end that second half up. And then they struggled in the third period. They got down 77-73 all the way into the fourth. So, you know, Iowa, they're mounting a comeback in the third. They're down two or three. I can't remember which one for sure.

And then Purdue kind of took the lead in the fourth, was up 77-73 at the 340 mark before Iowa went on a run led by Monica Chiano and Menica McKenna-Warnick, excuse me, who scored 11 straight to put Iowa up 84-77, ultimately winning 87-81. On the day, Iowa shot 44.4% from three and 80% from the line and they out-rebounded Purdue 35 however in my personal opinion as I was watching this game I thought Iowa played a bit sloppy a lot of turnover 16 to be exact compared to Iowa or Purdue's 10 especially that first period I or the first quarter I really felt like Iowa was playing a little bit out of control a little bit reckless just sloppy play in general but overall they did a job, and a lot of that comes down to the

free throws. They shot significantly more free throws than Purdue as they caused 24 personal fouls on Purdue. A lot of that was Kaitlyn Clark driving to the basket, and that became a huge factor as Iowa again wins by six points. A lot of that came down to free throws. Kaitlyn Clark, I know you're all thinking about her. She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week again. Again, we should just name this award the Kaitlyn Clark Awards. We should just be giving it to her every single week, and there's honestly no doubt in my mind she's going to get it this next week after this performance. 26 points on 8 of 20 shooting. Was struggling from behind the perimeter, 2 of 9 from 3, but 9 rebounds, 4 assists. Again, McKenna Warnick, 19 points on 5 of 5 shooting from the field,

2 of 2 behind the perimeter, and 8 rebounds. Monica Chinano, 12 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists. The women's team getting a win over Purdue in Big Ten Conference play. The men's basketball team is ranked, of course, but they moved up to 4th in the AP poll, and up from 5th, and up to to fourth in the coaches poll, up from eighth. And Joe Linardi, who is kind of the main bracketology person out there, he is Iowa as a one-seat. His bracketology, his updated bracket is going to be coming out tomorrow, but some of the

cliff notes is that Iowa is going to be listed as a one-seat again. This is something to track as we continue through the season. Iowa has played some solid teams, but they haven't got to the meat of the schedule. They haven't played Michigan yet. They haven't played Wisconsin yet. They haven't played Illinois yet. So there's a lot of basketball to be played, a lot of very good teams to play. But as of right now, Joe Linardi has Iowa as the one seed.

And after that game over Northwestern, Iowa moved up to first in offensive efficiency, according to Ken Palm, and 69th in defensive adjusted efficiency, which is fantastic. Again, Frank McCaffrey teams are not going to be the best defensive teams, but you're seeing them get better throughout the season, which is something we want to see. And as far as net ranking goes, Iowa also moves up to third from fourth.

They now have four wins, four quadrant one wins, which is the premier win in college basketball according to net ranking. So awesome stuff there. Also along the Big Ten news, Illinois versus Michigan State also got postponed due to COVID. Iowa versus Nebraska already postponed. There was talk about trying to fit in Michigan State into that schedule with Iowa, but when I saw this from, I think it was Scott Dockerman, but it makes sense to me that maybe you try to schedule Iowa versus Illinois. Honestly, at this point, the Big Ten needs to be creative with scheduling these basketball games.

I know they built in some buffers, but when a team like Michigan State has a COVID outbreak, that's three weeks of the season that you need to reschedule. So let's try to find some time where you can now fit in other games and get at least as many teams with as many games as possible. And again, we're all in the Big Ten, we're all in the Midwest for the most part, but especially Iowa-Illinois, that's not that far of a drive to get that game happening, make sure that gets played. I think the Big Ten needs to maybe evaluate how flexible they're going to be with these schedulings and these postponements and figuring out ways to get basketball games in wherever they

can, especially considering that both these teams now have lengthy delays before their next game. Iowa taking on Indiana this Thursday. They now have almost a week and a day until they play Illinois the following week. That needs to change. Move that stuff up if you possibly can. That's what I think the Big Ten should do. But that's just me, and the Big Ten has shown that they are not very flexible. But again, that is my personal opinion. Coming up on segment number two,

we're going to talk about the NFL draft, where Davey and Nixon is projected along the first round, and where are some of the other Iowa Hawkeyes projected in this draft. I know we talked about the draft with Matt Miller. We're going to be referencing some of that conversation, but also getting into some of the other main draft outlets out there. So that's all coming up on segment number two. Before we get into that though, you know I got a message for you and that message comes from betonline.ag. There's so many sports going on in the sports world right now. We got college basketball, we got the NBA, we got NHL, we got NFL playoffs, and we got futures for the NCAA college football realm. Why would you

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Betonline.ag, your online sportsbook experts. And once you sign up for that free account, go over to Locked On Bets, listen to the Locked On Bets podcast because 2020 is mercifully over. It is time for a fresh start and a few more wins. If you're betting this year and want more wins, listen to Locked On Bets with your boy Q and Lee Sterling of Paramount Sports. They are picking college basketball, football, and NBA locks all winter long. Subscribe to Locked On Bets wherever you get podcasts at. Let's get into the draft talk because if you all have listened to

the show before, you know that I love the NFL draft. It is one of my favorite things in all of sports. It is basically a holiday, those couple days of the NFL draft. And there are a lot of Iowa Hawkeyes who are in the mix to be drafted. So we're going to talk about that right now. First, before I get into that, I know I talked to you all about me going to the senior bowl. I have decided against going to the senior bowl. It just wasn't feasible from a cost versus access standpoint. Last year I went down, I got to see Michael Ojemudia. I got to interview Michael Ojemudia all three days, and that is not going to be accessible this year to interview a Larrick Jackson. Now also because I was able to get credentialed, I will get the film from the practices delivered to me via email, obviously.

So I'll be able to watch O'Laric Jackson in those practices and be able to give you an update on how he's doing. But I just felt like because I was able to get the same experience from home, it just made sense to stay at home for the Senior Bowl. But I will be back next year. Hopefully more Iowa Hawkeyes will be back as well. Along those lines, though, the combine has moved all virtual. And when people are wondering why maybe Matt Hankins returned or why some people are returning,

it's because of the uncertainty in this draft process. The combine, they're still working out the details, but for the most part, it's going to be virtual. How does that all play out? How does that help a prospect, especially a prospect that is projected to be drafted late in the draft or a potential UDFA? That is going to hurt those kind of guys. We also don't know how pro days are going to look. So that again, hurts some of these UDFA prospects. Typically, you know, there's a five or six Iowa Hawkeyes who are that late round UDFA type of person, undrafted free agent. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about

now, without the combine being the typical combine with the senior bowl being really stacked and a lot of these other smaller bowls, there's not a lot of opportunity to show yourself. So for me, that makes sense why Matt Hankins is returning, and we're going to talk about that on segment number three. But let's get into some of the other draft talk. So one of the reputable sites out there, The Draft Network, that is a big, big time draft focused place.

It's one of the places I go to for a lot of my draft information. Obviously, you got PFF, you got Mel Kuyper, you got Matt Miller, who is really my main go-to at TheDraftScout.com. When we had him on the show, he talked a little bit about some of these guys. Obviously, Davian Nixon, a first round type of prospect. Amir Smith-Marset, he had listed as a third-round prospect, but said that the wide receiver group is deep, so could potentially see him slip.

Aleric Jackson as a mid-day three pick. Also mentioned Brandon Smith as a late-round pick. And Chauncey Golsan as a late-round pick as well. Those are kind of his takes on some of the guys who are in the draft from the Iowa Hawkeyes. Now, most of the mock drafts coming out are very specific to the first round or even the first day of draft picks.

And really, you're not going to find anyone but Davian Nixon in those first three rounds. So I'm going to talk about some of the guys and where they had Davian Nixon at. The Athletics, Dane Brugler had Davian Nixon going to Green Bay at pick 31. Here's what he said about him. He said, one of the most impressive risers this season. Nixon flashes the power to stack blockers and quickness to leverage gaps, posting 13 tackles for loss in seven games. The last time the Packers drafted an Iowa defensive lineman,

Mike Daniels proved to be a steal. Nixon can have a similar impact. I couldn't agree more. That'd be a great spot for him. Now, when you go to the draft network, and actually let's get into Mel Kuyper. He had Davia Nixon as 10th. And let's get into the draft network, though, because it was very mixed all over the place, and I would argue that some of these guys shouldn't be making mock drafts. They don't have Davian Nixon, even in the first three rounds. I'm looking at you, Dre Harris, who did

not have Davian Nixon in the first three rounds. That is an atrocity in my personal opinion. Also, Kyle Krabs, a guy who I really do enjoy. I've actually met him down at the Senior Bowl. He has Davian Nixon going at the first pick of the third round to the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick 62. Joe Marino, actually this is kind of a common thing. A couple guys had the Davian Nixon going to Cleveland. Brentley Wiseman had Davian Nixon going to Cleveland at 26th. Obviously, these mock drafts have happened over the last couple weeks,

so prior to finding out their true draft position, but had Cleveland taking Davian Nixon and basically said they needed disruptive defensive linemen to pair with Myles Garrett. How phenomenal would that be to see him do that? Also, hopefully be playing alongside Adrian Claiborne if he comes back for another year. Joe Marino also had Davian Nixon going to the Browns at 23. He's an athletic pass rusher that provides gap penetration ability.

And Jordan Reed had him going a little bit earlier. He actually had him the earliest out of all the people I've seen. Davian Nixon going 17th to the Las Vegas Raiders, he said. In a down year for interior defensive linemen, Nixon has planted his flag as being one of the best after not being on the radar at all coming into his first season as a full-time starter. I couldn't agree more. I really do think because it's defensive tackle, and you got to realize with defensive tackles, it's tough to project them early in the draft. Even as explosive as Davian Nixon is and was during the season,

it is just so unlikely that he goes anywhere in my opinion in the top 15. I think his range is really 16 through 32 in my personal opinion with Davian Nixon. One other outlet that I do follow for some information, obviously I love advanced analytics, but sometimes some of the analysis from some of these guys is bad. PFF's Anthony Treesh had Davian Nixon not in the first round. Again, I think that's a miss on his part. I believe Davian Nixon is a 16-32 player, especially if he tests well. But as Matt Miller said, his explosiveness is off the charts. He's the first guy at the snap every single time.

I think he's a guy who can play multiple spots on a defensive line and be a penetrating force, be that pass rusher that you need in the interior. on a defensive line and be a penetrating force, be that pass rusher that you need in the interior. And when you look at it, he compared him to other fantastic defense like Gerald McCoy, who was a top 10 pick, I believe, or at least top 15. Now, Davion Nixon has that potential, and we saw it. So where does he get drafted? We're going to be keeping you posted every single week as to where these Iowa draft prospects are listed.

As we get further in the draft process, we're going to find out more about some of these other later round guys. Obviously, a lot of guys that we're going to be keeping tabs on. Coming up on segment number three, though, we're going to be getting into the Iowa football roster. Obviously, Coy Cronk is leaving. What does that mean for the offensive line? We are not losing a single secondary player that was starting.

So what does that mean? Where's our weakest position group? And what is going to be the most fun position battle? That's all coming up on segment number three of the show. Before we get into that, though, you know, I got some more information for you because I had a fantastic experience with rockauto.com. I took my car into the car dealership. I wanted to get a few things fixed. They also said I needed to replace my cabin air filter and my engine filter.

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Brian and Matt give you the national perspective all around the NFL, covering all the latest news and insight on every game, team, and move around the NFL. Get your picks, previews, and much more every weekday with the Peacock and Williamson podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast app. Let's get into a little bit of prediction talk with this Iowa Hawkeye roster. So if you didn't hear, I've talked a little bit about it, but I've kind of glossed over it. But Iowa did get some more information on who is leaving, who is staying. Matt Hankins is staying, and that is a huge return for the secondary.

Coy Cronk has decided to leave, which is not a big loss at all in my opinion. It was expected to be, but it was not. And Digimon Colbert has decided to walk away from the game of football. Barrington Wade, we don't know what his future is, but it sounds like it is not at Iowa. So Iowa loses three linebackers, all three who have made starts for this Iowa Hawkeye squad. We lose both our tackles in Aleric Jackson and Koi Kronk. We lost Amir Smith-Marsep and Brandon Smith. We also lost Cole Banwer along the offensive line as well. Along that defensive line, we lose three

starters for the third straight year. Obviously, three years ago, we lost four, but we lose three starters for the third straight year. So what does this mean for this Iowa Hawkeye roster? I'm going to break down the strongest position group, the weakest position group, the most fun position battle, the position I think people shouldn't be worried about, and what Iowa is going to do along the offensive line. Let's start with the offensive line though, because losing a Larrick Jackson is huge. Do not get me wrong. Anytime you lose a four-year starter along the offensive line, that is not going to put you in a good spot. However, it's not like losing Tristan Wirfs. Now, that was a significant loss for the Hawks. They are losing a Larrick Jackson. That is a big loss. He's going to be playing on Sundays in the NFL, but on the other side, losing Coy Cronk is not a big loss at all because he was

injured and wasn't able to play most of the games, And when he was playing, he wasn't very effective. He was struggling, which is why we saw Mark Kallenberger and Jack Plum get a lot of time at the tackle position. Now, if you listen to any of my other shows that I've done previous to this point, talking about game in and game out, how these guys are performing, Jack Plum struggled. Do not get me wrong. Jack Plum really struggled in his games, allowing the most pressures compared to anyone else on the offensive line. So that is an area of concern for me. But Mark Kallenberger has been very solid, in my opinion, along the offensive line. I'm excited to see him play this year.

I think he's going to take that left tackle spot. I think Jack Plum is going to fill in at that right tackle spot. And below them, they have a lot of depth. Believe me, they have a ton of depth outside of just those guys. Nick DeJong making that depth chart multiple times. We also saw Mason Richman on that depth chart as well. So I think, personally, it's going to be Mark Kallenberger on the left, Jack Plum on the right, unless Iowa adds a grad transfer,

which I do not foresee happening. Cole Bamwert leaving. I think Kyler Schott is going to fill in that spot, or Justin Britt. Cody Ink is going to fill in that left guard spot. Mason Richman will also get some playing time. Watch out for Tyler Endres, a former four-star recruit. I mean, this offensive line, we're losing guys, but we're not losing a Tyler Linderbaum or Tristan Wirfs. And Iowa does a phenomenal job of rotating guys in and out. So to me, that's how you fix the offensive line or that's how you button up the offensive line. Jack Plummet, right, I think he's going to improve with another year under his belt. Mark Kallenberger on the left side, who I've been impressed with in his limited

playing time. Kyler Schott has shown us that he's been a phenomenal, he can be a very good right guard, I should say, as a former walk-on. And even Justin Britt has been on the depth chart for quite some time. So watch out for him to also make an impact this upcoming year. Now let's get into our strongest position group. And I haven't, I don't know how you could possibly say any other position besides the secondary. When you return a secondary that was huge enforcing turnovers throughout the year, top 10 enforcing turnovers and interceptions, and you add a Xavier Williams who can play almost any position along that secondary. Wow. Phil Parker has got to be drooling with how good this secondary is going to be. Right now, as it stands, we have

Matt Hankins at one spot, Riley Moss in the other corner spot, Kayvon Merriweather at one safety spot, Jack Kerner at that free safety spot, Kayvon Merriweather at that strong safety spot, excuse me, Dayton Belton at that cash position. You add Xavier Williams who can literally play all of those positions. He can play safety. He can play cash. He can play cornerback. It just gives you a lot of versatility. And as Phil Parker has said before, you want to get your best players on the field at any given time. And Iowa has had issues keeping corners healthy. We've seen that over the years. That's why Riley Moss has been playing for three years. That's why he didn't actually redshirt is because he had significant playing time early on in his career because of injuries.

So I, I don't, I'm not going to say there's going to be injuries. I expect Xavier Williams to compete. I expect him to get a significant amount of playing time, whether or not he's actually a starter or not, he is going to get a significant amount of playing time. But the secondary without a doubt to, is the strongest position group coming in to the 2021 season. Now, the weakest position group. And weak is a tough term, right? I don't mean weak as in they're going to suck.

I just mean weakest compared to the rest of the Iowa Hawkeye squad. I don't know how you don't say defensive line here. And I know some people could point to the quarterback position. We're going to get to that position here in a bit. some people could point to the quarterback position. We're going to get to that position here in a bit, but when you lose so many starters over the course of three years, Iowa's lost 10 starters along the defensive line over three years for a developmental football program. That is not easy. The only guy they return is Zach Van Valkenburg. So what does that mean for this Iowa Hawkeye squad? Well, to be honest, it means we don't know what it's going

to mean because we don't know who is going to be taking those spots. Now, prior to the season, I felt like Davian Nixon was going to be a breakout player and he was, I feel pretty good about how I called that, but who was going to step up this year? I don't think we have a Davian Nixon in that group, but we do have some key players that are going to be returning who've gotten playing time at those spots. For example, Noah Shannon last season had 11 total tackles, half a sack. Joe Evans with two tackles for loss, one sack. Those are guys to watch out for. Also watch out for a few other guys like Yaha Black, who was getting some playing time late in the season, half a tackle for a loss, three total tackles. He's a guy that I'm high on as well. John Wagner, a former four-star recruit out of West Des Moines Valley. He is a guy to watch out for. And Austin Schulte, I haven't

heard he's leaving. I know he's a fifth-year senior, but I think he's returning. Logan Lee, a converted tight end. Isaiah Bruce, a guy in the class of 2020. Deontay Craig, a guy whose people are very, very high on. Those are all guys who are going to get in that mix. I think the important thing we need to realize is that along that defensive line, Iowa does a lot of rotations for the most part. You're not going to rotate an A.J. Paneza out of the game. You're not going to rotate a Chauncey Golsan out of the game at that point in his career. But they do do a great job of rotating people in and out. So Zachary and Valkenburg has one defensive end spot.

I do believe it's going to be Noah Shannon, in my opinion, at the other defensive tackle spot, and Logan Lee at the other one. I think for me personally, John Wagoner has to be the frontrunner at defensive end, followed by Yaha Black or Deontay Craig. Joe Evans is the guy who he needs to show that he can play the run. He was small. He was a quarterback coming out of high school and was a walk-on. So can he put more weight on to be able to be a full-time defensive end,

a three-down player? That remains to be seen, but I do think it's John Wagoner time, in my opinion, Noah Shannon and Logan Lee and Zach Van Valkenburg on that defensive line. But that, to me, is the weakest position group for this Iowa Hawkeye football squad. The most fun position battle, and this might be a little bit of an interesting one, but I'm going to go quarterback. And while it is Spencer Petras' job to lose coming into the season, it is going to be the position that is most scrutinized because as we've shown you, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago. We gave you all the stats for all the quarterbacks

after the Brad Banks tenure in the Kirk Ferentz era, I should say, and Spencer Petras did not align well. He was not on the right side of history in that quarterback group. Now he has an offseason under his belt as the starter, but also so does Deuce Hogan and Alex Padilla. And Alex Padilla got a little bit of playing time. I appreciated his ability to run, to escape the pocket, to get first downs with his legs.

I also know Deuce Hogan has the confidence and the aura about him to be a leader and a stud at that position. He's been groomed for that position since leading Grapevine Faith to state championships. So, what does that mean? Honestly, I'm not sure. It's Spencer Petras' job to lose. Clearly, Brian Ferenc and Kirk Ferenc felt like he was the best person for the job this year. They never wavered on that at all. To me, that says less about Spencer and more about where they felt Alex and Deuce were at this time in their development.

And I'm not trying to discredit Joey LaBosse either, but he's not going to be starting. He's not going to be in that mix, in my personal opinion. He would have to be, he's not a Trevor Lawrence. I just don't think he's in that position to be in that spot and be a true freshman starting quarterback for a complicated offense underneath Brian Ferenc and the Iowa Hawkeyes offense. So I think that's going to be the most fun position battle. One that is scrutinized very heavily. Who starts? Spencer, Deuce, Alex. It is going to be something that people are watching the entire spring and summer. One position I think people might be worried about, but they shouldn't be, is the wide receiver group. And we lost Brandon Smith. We lost Amir Smith-Marset. You

cannot replace those two guys. Brandon Smith is arguably the best jump ball catcher, the best contested ball catcher I've ever seen in Iowa Hawkeye uniform. But the show goes on. And Iowa has done a great job of grooming more people. You've seen them run four and five wide at times. I expect them this upcoming season to rely more heavily on the tight end position as they break in more wide receivers, especially with Sam Laporta being a guy, even Matt Miller mentioned as a guy who he's going to be watching

coming into the season. They have a couple other younger guys who are kind of waiting their time as well. Josiah Myman, a guy who came in two years ago. He's a redshirt freshman, going to be a redshirt, well, technically a redshirt freshman still. He's a guy to watch out for. Luke Leitchie, a former four-star recruit. Elijah Yelverton, a guy who had a significant amount of, a significant, I mean like 30 offers coming out of high school. He's a big time guy as well. Watch for one of those three guys to fill in that second tight end spot. If Iowa feels comfortable with one of those guys, I could see them running a lot more two tight end sets and a lot less three and four wide receiver sets. But that being said, I do believe it's going to be Tyrone Tracy at the one. We're

going to see Nico Organi at that number two spot, and it's going to be an interesting mix for who takes that slot. And I think right now the frontrunner has to be Charlie Jones. We saw his speed at the punt returner position. I think he could be a guy who can make an impact at the slot position early on, a guy who fits that mold for what Iowa likes, small, short, shifty, and quick. That is Charlie Jones. I think he's going to fill that number three spot. But behind him, it's going to be interesting to see who comes up

and who actually takes the next step. We can see Desmond Hudson kind of take that step. We can see Deontay Vines, another guy with some hype coming out of high school as well, or even a Quavon Matthews, a guy who came in this class. But do not forget about Keegan Johnson, four-star recruit, Brody Brecht, and Arlen Bruce. Those are all three guys to watch out for. Either way, the wide receiver spot, I think, is comfortably under control. We have some good athletes. We've got some good wide receivers there. We've seen what Tyrone Tracy can do with the ball in his hands.

We've seen what Nico Regani can do when he's concentrating. He has some issue with drops, but when he's concentrating, he has done pretty well catching the football. And then, obviously, I'm excited to see what Charlie Jones can do with the football in his hand. Behind them, though, that 4 and 5 spot is going to be fun battle to watch as well. Also watch out for Jack Combs, a guy who's transferred from Central Michigan. He is going to be someone to keep an eye out as well. A lot of guys there in that wide receiver room, a lot of depth, a position that I am personally not worried about

and you shouldn't be either. That does it though for our talk. Actually, you know what? I didn't talk about linebacker. Let me get to that real quick. So we lose Barrington Wade, Jamon Colbert, and Nick Neiman. That could be a big loss, except for I feel very comfortable about this linebacker spot with Seth Benson. And obviously, Justin Jacobs is going to be going in there and Jack Campbell. All three of those guys have so much potential. And we saw a lot of that with Jack Campbell and Seth Benson this season. I think with those three guys manning those linebacker spots, we are in for a treat. This could be the best trio of linebackers we have had since the Josie Jewell days a couple of years ago. To me, this is going to be a phenomenal group to watch as well.

So I'm not too worried about those losses. I wish Colbert the best in whatever he decides to do. I wish Barrington Wade the best wherever he decides to transfer or whatever he decides to do. And obviously, I wish Nick Neiman the best in the NFL. But I do think this linebacker spot is going to be poised for a huge breakout this upcoming season. That does do it for our show today.

If you love the show, give us that five-star review and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you also didn't get a chance to listen to yesterday's episode, we had Hawkeye Elvis on to talk about the Iowa-N Iowa Northwestern game, talk a little bit about how he became Hawkeye Elvis. And we have NFL Draft Scout on the show, Matt Miller, this past Sunday as well to talk about all these draft prospects if you want to get more of your NFL draft fix as well. Thank you all for tuning in on this Tuesday morning. Have a fantastic Tuesday, and let's go Hawks!