Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - OVERREACTION: Iowa Football Camp Footage IGNITES Fan Frenzy | Is Mark Gronowski the SAVIOR?

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's that time of year once again. We overreact to pictures and videos from Iowa football camp today. Locked on Hawkeyes. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:33 I've been covering the Hawkeyes for over 20 years on the radio here in the great state of Iowa. You can hear me currently on the Iowa Sports Radio Network. We have stations in Des Moines, Sioux City, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities each weekday from noon to two. Talking the world of sports and a lot of Hawkeyes with you. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Lockdown College at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Well, I return that isn't exactly the return today on Lockdown Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:01:10 Gabe Arnold looked like he had left the Iowa program or was kicked off the Iowa program. Now is back. We try to figure that out and talk a little Iowa wrestling later on in the program. The honors in the preseason continue to roll in for Iowa football. We'll talk about that in the preseason as Jennings Dunker and. and we didn't were named to a couple of all-American listeners here today for the preseason. But we begin with a right of summer. It is that time of year where we see those little glimpses of Iowa football.

Starting point is 00:01:43 And we will get a couple of those very few glimpses we get coming up this weekend. In fact, over a four-day period, starting on Friday with Iowa Football Media Day. We'll get to hear from a ton of the players, the coaches. Of course, Kurt Farrants, we will be able to get all of that. Then on Saturday, one practice that we get to see in the preseason. That will be the kids' day scrimmage. We'll get an opportunity to see the guys in action for the one and only time before games begin. And then on Monday is when the Big Ten network crew is going to be rolling through.

Starting point is 00:02:14 So these are the three opportunities that we really get with this squad throughout August camp to get a read. And we're going to find out more. There's continuing to be some different talk that comes in. We're going to talk about a few of those things here in a moment. But the camp pictures and the videos that we get, again, they're absolutely nothing. Today we get a eight-second clip from the Iowa football media account on Instagram, on Twitter, on Facebook. And all it is is Mark Grinowski rolling out. Now, I'll be honest, just him rolling out and moving and being on the move.

Starting point is 00:02:48 And then delivering an absolute dart on the sideline to Kane Wichin. It got to be fired up. a quarterback with an ability. And that leads to where I want to kind of begin this conversation today as we're looking for just anything, right? Any little morsel to get us through this month of football. And it's the legs of Mark Bernowski. I don't think we have maybe talked enough

Starting point is 00:03:13 about what he is going to be as a runner. And of course, a huge component to this is him as a quarterback, right? And what he is and what he's going to be for Iowa, you look at him throwing the football and an ability for him potentially to completely change the way we think of the Iowa offense and the way that they do things throwing the football. But the other component to him as a runner, when you go back during his four-year career at South Dakota State, we've talked about the numbers as a whole. But then when you look at these numbers kind of individually, I think it paints a completely

Starting point is 00:03:49 different picture. So your number one is he gives me as a starter back in 2020. He carried it. the ball 83 times 577 yards, averages 7 yards per carry, and has 7 touchdowns. The following year, then, the last 3 years, 408, 402, 380 yards. But the rushing touchdowns, 12 touchdowns, 8 touchdowns, then 10 touchdowns a season ago. Averaging about 4 yards per carry in that, remember, at the collegiate level, sacks are included in rushing totals, which shouldn't be the case, but that's a different conversation for a different day.

Starting point is 00:04:27 This guy still, over the last three years, racked up 30 touchdowns on the ground, over 1,000 yards, averaging 4 yards of carry. And when we think about some of the highlights running the football at the quarterback position, Nate Stanley was just quarterback sneaks. Well, that's back now because you have to be big physical, athletic quarterback for the first time since Nate Stanley

Starting point is 00:04:49 and a better athlete when you're talking about straight line running. 6-3-240 pounds this dude is big he is fast he is athletic and he is powerful yes the passing game is incredibly important and if this team is going to take that next step this year the offense is going to take a step forward he has to be excellent as a passer and he can't complete 60% of his passes like he did a year ago he needs to be at 68% like he was as a junior that's what you need for mark grunowski to unlock the game aerial. However, don't forget about on the ground. And I've fallen victim to this too. So back to this little eight-second clip. This is what we get out of it. But these are the things

Starting point is 00:05:35 that you're diving into. This is what we're trying to do and trying to understand and try to paint this picture as we get ready for this team of what it's going to be. Now, there's another one of these video clips and another one that we overreact to, right? And that is a ball, throw it in a setting. We don't know if this was live action. We don't know if this was seven on seven. We don't know if this was just individual drills with a quarterback just throwing to receivers.

Starting point is 00:05:58 Don't know because the clip is so quick. However, in this one second clip now, you see Mark Grenooski, the starting quarterback. No doubt about it, this guy will be the starter. Throwing the football to a true freshman tight end. Thomas Meyer. And we talked about Meyer a little bit, well,

Starting point is 00:06:19 because he's a North Iowa guy like I grew up. But secondly, the athletic ability. Seeing him on the basketball floor. Seeing him obviously on the football field. Seeing that athleticism. And here's something also to maybe file away when you're thinking about can this be a guy that's going to go out there and be able to help at the tight end position as a true freshman.

Starting point is 00:06:40 Because you have two guys back that have experienced that have played a lot of football now. Addison Strangler, he has a chance to have a really nice year this year. We know what they can do on the outside. And you look at the tight ends, though, they're also there and some of the younger guys. And you're kind of looking and hoping. Thomas Meyer, he was, like most senior players,

Starting point is 00:06:59 get ready to play in the Shrine Bowl, the summer bowl game that is put together with the Shriners. And it's a great event every year. And maybe you've seen it on TV. And he was asked by the Iowa coaches not to play that. Is it because they believe that he can help out? Maybe. Again, just something.

Starting point is 00:07:19 to file away. This is what we do. We take a look at these camp pictures. We take a look at these little camp videos and we're looking for anything. But it got to be charged up. No doubt about it. We got more coming your way here on lockdown Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:07:34 Those preseason honors are here plus some interesting numbers. Now, this is offshore betting. So let's just be careful here about the way we see it. We, of course, love our great partners with Fian and Dwell. However, they have some props up offshore about who's, going to lead the big 10 in passing yards? Who's going to leave the big 10 in rushing yards? Who's going to lead the big 10 in receiving yards?

Starting point is 00:07:56 We're going to talk about that. Some Iowa football honors. Plus, we've got some wrestling coming away. It's a packed show for you on a Wednesday as we continue with Lockdown Hawkeyes. Ever wish managing your money felt easier with Monarch money again. Whether you're growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver's seat. It's like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finance. Monarch money is more than just a budgeting app.

Starting point is 00:08:28 It is a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending all in one place. So in addition to managing your money, you're also building wealth. Big goal coming up this season for us this year is taking another trip. Just had our vacation, had a great time. It was so good. We're already thinking about next summer what we're going to be doing. and what you can do in the Monarch Money app is set those goals,

Starting point is 00:08:52 a financial goal, something that you want to hit. Maybe you want to go with the Iowa team to the bowl game this year. Thank you college football player. I've got to save up money for that. Whatever it is, you can do it and set those goals with Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Make sure you use the code locked on college at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com with the code locked on college for half off your first year.

Starting point is 00:09:19 Markmoney.com. Trent, kind of back with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. Big thank you to every dayers. Hit that subscribe button if you're watching us right now. It really helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans trying to get over 5,000 before we hit football season. We're getting incredibly close. And a big thank you to everybody.

Starting point is 00:09:46 Hit that subscribe button. And if you listen on the audio side, five-star reviews, and it really does help us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. All right, let's get back into some Hawkeye football, and let's talk a little bit about some honors that come in. Now, look, I get these press releases all the time. And for what I do on the Iowa Sports Radio Network, I get them from Iowa and Iowa State and you and you and I, and then every once in a while, there'll be some other schools that start to filter in. And for the most part, they are see it and delete it, and you move on. And that's almost what I do. did with the press release that was handed down today from the University of Iowa.

Starting point is 00:10:21 This is not, you know, any, they kind of shade at Matt Whitesler or anything like that. This is what these guys do. And what we do is you look at him. Okay. So here's the press release. University of Iowa senior offensive tackle Jennings Dunker and senior return specialist, Katie and Wheaton, were both names, sporting news, preseason, all Americans with second team distinction. And then it goes on and talks a little bit about Dunker, about Weech, about those guys, what they

Starting point is 00:10:47 They did a season ago. Da, da, da, da, okay. I'm good enough. Both those guys absolutely should be honored. And maybe he could even make a argument that Logan Jones also should have been on that list for preseason all-American. Bill Bender, who does that with the sporting news, maybe I'll have to give Bill a little bit of a hard time. However, back to these watch lists. And as you're going through and you're seeing now, Jennings Dunker on an All-American list with the sporting news, he's on the watch list for the Outland Trophy, Aaron Graves for the Nogerski trophy.

Starting point is 00:11:17 Mark Grinowski for the Maxwell Award. That's the best offensive player in college football. Logan Jones also there for the Outland Trophy. Reese Dakin on the watch list of the Rake Guy Award, punter of the year. Camari Moulton for Doak Walker. Drew Stevens, Lou Groza, Kane Wichin for the Jet Award for the Returner.

Starting point is 00:11:38 Kind of gets the juices flowing a little bit, doesn't it? It gets you fired up thinking, you know what? This squad? They got some dudes. There's still questions with this football team, And there's a myriad of different things. And as we've talked about, and we'll continue talking about, what about these new linebackers?

Starting point is 00:11:52 What are they going to look like? What is the left tackle position ultimately going to turn out? Is this wider than more of the same? And Mark Grinowski, I'm a believer. What if it just doesn't hit? And that can happen too. There are still questions with this team. But as you go through that listing, talk about some of the high-end talent that you're talking about,

Starting point is 00:12:14 you do get pretty excited. So continuing on that path, I mentioned a couple of guys. And these numbers, again, they're offshore, so the others are not legal to bet on in the United States. But I just thought they were interesting as it pertains to what you're talking about, kind of a jumping off point of the conversation. And they have the leaders in yardage for the Big Ten. So the betting favorite as it pertains to passing Yardage this year in the Big Ten this year. And I was a little bit surprised by that was USC quarterback, Maiva was a part-time starter a year ago.

Starting point is 00:12:49 Now, he's got a great wide receiver crew. We'll get into that momentarily. Dante Moore is the second choice, him and Julian Stan, the Oregon and Ohio State quarterbacks, respectively. Dylan Rayola, he is the fifth choice. You got to go all the way down to the bottom, though. One of the long-shot bets that you can make, oh, sure, is on Mark Bernalski.

Starting point is 00:13:08 Now, this is not to say that I believe Mark Bernowski is going to lead the Big Ten in passing. In fact, him getting even to 3,000 yards would be an incredible accomplishment from what we've seen out of this offense and certainly the passing offense recently. But to see him listed by some of the other guys, I'll be honest. I was surprised by that. Speaking of surprises, there's an Iowa wide receiver that is listed eight. That's right, Jacob Gill to leave the Big Ten. Now, this is the same thing, right?

Starting point is 00:13:38 do I think that Jacob Gill is going to lead the Big Ten in receiving yards? I don't. No, I would not meet that wager, even if it was like with our fans of Fanduil and it was legal here. I know I would not be doing that. However, just to see him listed in like the top 10 wide receivers, that was kind of eye-opening. Hey, look at that. There was actually an Iowa wide receiver on this list because, frankly, I didn't think there was going to be. But here was the biggest takeaway from this list and these odds.

Starting point is 00:14:08 that were out there. And it was in the rushing total. Who was going to lead the Big Ten in rushing yards this season? Now, I thought first about the two-headed behemoth of Penn State, but they're going to be splitting things up. That's going to be difficult. Went a little bit deeper, and I was kind of surprised what the fourth and fifth guys listed, I think it was, fifth and six.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Jonah Coleman of Washington, who's a big dude, and I really like him. You saw him in Kinnick a year ago. I think he's going to have a monster year for the Huskies. this year, and Darius Taylor, who was an absolute stud for the gophers. But at the top of the list, tied at the top spot, was with Kai Hughes of Oregon. Makes sense. Top running pack at Oregon. And that system, you're going to anticipate that.

Starting point is 00:14:53 And tied at the top spot is our very own Kamari Bolton. It's absolutely incredible. Now, we remember Kamari Moulton a year ago, of course, was the starter going into the season. Caleb was suspended for the first half of the game. against Illinois State to begin the season. And then he hit the ground running and he just continued after that. Camarie Moulton is beloved

Starting point is 00:15:17 by the offensive staff, by the coaching staff as a whole. And we saw glimpses of that a year ago. A guy that averaged five and a half yards per carry had a couple of big plays a year ago and now another year of maturity from him. But you also look at the way that Kamari Moulton handled last year.

Starting point is 00:15:34 It would have been very easy for a guy like that. I thought he was going to be the starter to take his ball and go home, but he didn't. He kept putting in the work. What are we here in the spring? He's outstanding again. What did we hear? Last August, he was outstanding. It was just, Caleb Johnson was better

Starting point is 00:15:50 and turned out to be better. Camarie Moulton's going to have a good year. And when you're running behind a line that has All-American Jennings Dunker, potential All-American in Logan Jones, Beau Stevens, who's played a lot of football for Iowa, Cade Peeper, who they continue to be excited about, and in this new Iowa running scheme,

Starting point is 00:16:10 where in the zone blocking scheme, you always got to be able to get out, right? You always had to have a certain degree of athleticism to play offensive line for Kirk Bairns. But it feels like they've taken it to another level. And now with what Coach Arnett has done building this offensive line up, and it's taken a while to get to this point.

Starting point is 00:16:30 They have the size, they have the athleticism to run this scheme, to run this style. Yes, I know. They got to figure out left tackle. But you're going to be able to run the football pretty effectively, even if you are only good at four of the five spots. Tomorrow, keep an eye on that one. That certainly opened my eyes.

Starting point is 00:16:49 So a little more football talk here. And a couple other things I wanted to touch on. The updated salaries for the Iowa football coaches. So report comes out that they have updated the salaries, contract details for Kirk Perrin. It's not a new contract, but it is some tweaks that go into it. Contract still runs through January 31st of 2030. So it basically means that 2029 would be the final year of his contract.

Starting point is 00:17:21 Compensation moved up a little bit, look, it's not any of our money. I don't think listing that is going to be bothered by that one. Annual compensation, $7 million. But the other part, and I thought the most interesting part of this, was what happened to the salaries of the assistant coaches. Defensive coordinator, Phil Parker, his salary increases from 1.9 up to over $2 million a year. That's a lot of money for a defensive coordinator.

Starting point is 00:17:49 It's true. It's also the going rate for good defensive coordinators in Iowa has arguably one of the best in the country. There's a reason that SEC programs have been coming after him. There's a reason that he has had so many suitors for his services. He's great. and I was lucky to have him, and he's well worth the money. Assistant head coach Seth Wallace, his salary goes up for one to 1.1.

Starting point is 00:18:12 Another guy that has been well sought after by other programs. Raymond Braithwaite, the streak and conditioning coach, his salary goes up, bumps up $15,000 up to $850 per year. Same for LeVar Woods. His salary goes up. But as you're going through here, there was one that I think maybe rankled some people, and I found it interesting. Now, of course, this is coming from online.

Starting point is 00:18:36 And the cesspool, that is Twitter. Social media as a whole, it's gross. I try to stay off as much as possible, but for what we do, we do have to be a part of it because of the awkwardness. The good parts are great, and I love the good parts. We need more of those good parts. We'll just put it that way. However, back to the topic of the hand.

Starting point is 00:18:54 So, GM Tyler Barnes, his salary has gone up from $325,000, up to a half million now, up to $500,000 a year for Tyler Barnes. In this new era, though, of roster construction, and what we're talking about now in college football, this is a job that is incredibly important. Your recruiting coordinator has always been the lifebloody your program. But now with NIL, now with the roster building that needs to be done,

Starting point is 00:19:27 how small of windows that you have to find these guys in the portal, and to go through the speed dating process that is, this guy wants to visit, what do we know about him? This is not the relationships that you build over a year, two, sometimes three years when you're talking about recruiting high school kids. This is, meet the guy on Zoom, he's got interest in your program, let's bring him on a visit, he's hanging out for 36 hours, boom, he's probably going to another spot.

Starting point is 00:19:56 And to be able to do that, do the background, figure if he's a fit, not just for the football, team, but also the culture and the importance of culture in Iowa football, it's a difficult spot. And Tyler Barnes, Penn State wanted him, Michigan wanted him, NFL teams have wanted him. I know because of the marriage, because of nepotism, that can be a problem. I have a problem with nepotism when a guy's incompetent, as we saw before, and I'm sure you've heard before.

Starting point is 00:20:26 This is different. This is a guy that was coveted. There's a guy that was wanted. it. This is a guy that has proven himself. Tyler Burns has earned it. He's done incredibly good job. Iowa is very lucky to have him, regardless of who his father-law is. We continue locked on Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:20:44 A little wrestling news. Gabe Arnold back with the team, but is it really back with the team? We'll explain when we continue Lockdown Hawkeyes. Trent kind of back. with you one final time. This is locked on Hawkeyes. Hit that subscribe button while you're watching us on YouTube or hit us up with a five-star review on

Starting point is 00:21:08 the audio side. As we wrap things up, we finish with some wrestling. And we'll talk more wrestling during the wintertime. A season where they went portaling once again, a roster that looks to be in good shape for another easy top three finish, top five finish in the

Starting point is 00:21:24 NCAAs, but probably not good enough with a national championship. And it's become a refrain that has become incredibly frustrating for Iowa wrestling. But we come to the story that I believe we touched on when it happened, what, a month or so ago, Gabe Arnold reports were that he was being kicked off the Iowa wrestling team. And the speculation was that it had something to do with the camp or not showing up at a camp, whatever it was, that Iowa was moving on.

Starting point is 00:21:50 Now, you look at this roster in the way they're set up in the upper weights, it can be difficult to envision a scenario where there's even a spot for Gabe Arnold. However, that aside, it goes from that to what we have now. And K.J. Pilcher, who works for the Gazette and is the wrestling writer over there, he asked for a response from the University of Iowa. The wrestling program said he was never kicked off the team, which I don't know if we're getting into semantics of what it is. It just, it's a weird spot that Iowa needs talent, right? Iowa in order to chase down Penn State

Starting point is 00:22:29 That's the way that it's going to have to go It's just It's another one of the Long list of things that are just On Just different Guys kicked off, no he's not He never was

Starting point is 00:22:44 And leaves you scratching your head And as we talk about wrestling And I know the frustration for a lot of wrestling fans out there I'm trying to get to that mountain top and what it's going to be. And who can resurrect Iowa? And it's not that Iowa's falling on such hard times. Not that they're not finished in the top 10 nationally and things like that.

Starting point is 00:23:04 It's just the expectations are so different. And when Penn State continues to do what they do on the national level, it becomes incredibly frustrating. But just an interesting one. Again, we'll talk more wrestling as the season gets closer. We'll start to preview in exactly where Gabe Arnold, who now is going to be part of the team and where he's going to fit in. to this team going forward.

Starting point is 00:23:26 More coming your way, Lockdown Hawkeyes. We got you covered. Iowa Football Media Day coming up this Friday. It's going to be a big day. Lots coming out from that. And, of course, the open practice on Saturday. One glimpse and, oh, I thought we overreacted today to a couple of little clips that we have. You just wait until you see what we have coming your way on Saturday after that wraps up.

Starting point is 00:23:47 Thanks for being with us, as always, in making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. Don't forget, we got a lot more here on the lockdown. network. The portal, if you're into recruiting and the portal game, Brian's got you covered over there with the portal. You can find it here on YouTube or on the audio side of things. Locked on college football, locked on Big Ten, all right here on the lockdown network. That'll do it for today. We will talk to you again tomorrow. Until then, go Hawks.

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Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - OVERREACTION: Iowa Football Camp Footage IGNITES Fan Frenzy | Is Mark Gronowski the SAVIOR?

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