Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - RISING? Iowa Hawkeyes Need Jeremy Hecklinski to IGNITE Offense for College Football Playoff

Starting point is 00:00:01 How the Iowa Hawkeyes make the college football playoff this season. Today, the best case scenario for Iowa football and how they become the talk of college football this year. You are Locked-on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeyes podcast. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought. Brought to you by Fanduel. The biggest stage in world soccer is here.

Starting point is 00:00:40 Let there be goals on Fandual. Visit Fandual.com now to get started. Well, a busy show here today. We're going to take a look at a bit of a hiatus. The WMBA is breaking. They'll have their championship for the Commissioners Cup coming up on Tuesday, though the Indiana Fever went five and one during the run, not good enough to get to the championship game.

Starting point is 00:01:01 That means a week off for Caitlin Clark. We're going to talk about her impact, the league, and what is going on in this sport that had a great, great opportunity. It feels like it's falling by the wayside. We'll talk, Caitlin, coming up here a little bit later on. Today, the big topic is how Iowa makes the college football playoff in 2026. We're going to talk about the defense, the special teams, the offense, what's going to go into it, a breakdown of the schedule, and a path for Iowa to take that next step.

Starting point is 00:01:31 This is something that all of us as Hawkeye fans obviously want to say in this new iteration, of the college football playoff, the 12-team playoff that is currently upon us, what it's going to take, how it's all going to get together, and we're going to start with a look at the offense. Now, again, we're playing best case scenario here. This is not a prediction. This is not what I believe is going to happen. But if the stars align this season, this is the path, I believe,

Starting point is 00:01:56 that has to happen in order for this to go on. Now, Iowa, you look at the squad and we know about the jokes, the national jokes and what has happened. with people taking a look at the offense and everything that comes along with it. The dirty little secret, as we know, the last couple of seasons, is how much better offensively this team has been. They have been able to do it with the dominant run game, the Joe Moore-Ward winning offensive line from a season ago, the great rushing season of Caleb Johnson the year before.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Tim Lester has ignited this offense at a level that hadn't been seen the previous three, four seasons with Iowa football. It's still not elite. It's still not a team that's putting up four. points a game and averaging 500 yards per contest. That's not what this is, but this offense has made improvement. And if we're going to have this kind of conversation and we're going to talk about Iowa, taking that step and going one step further this year, definitely quarterback is going to be

Starting point is 00:02:52 a big part of that. And if this is going to happen, I believe we need a quarterback to take this job and run with it. No quarterback controversy, no back and forth, find the right guy and go with him throughout the course of this season. something that has been impactful, certainly, for Iowa football throughout the years. I believe it needs to be Jeremy Hecklinsky. If we're talking about hitting these kind of heights, putting together a 10 and 2 regular season,

Starting point is 00:03:16 being in the college football playoff mix in those conversations, I believe that Hecklinski is the guy. Hank Brown might be the more safe choice. He might be the guy that is a more prototypical Iowa quarterback, but we're looking for something different, somebody that can be a game changer. And what he did in the middle of last season when Mark Grinowski went down, with the injury, though it wasn't on the field, taking over the number two role over Hank Brown, I thought said a lot. After Hank Brown had the opportunity against Indiana, had a few moments in there, but overall just wasn't good enough. And of course, the missed screen pass that will,

Starting point is 00:03:50 I think, haunt all of us Hawkeye fans for a very long time because if he completes that one, Iowa runs out the clock, chip shot field goal and the Hawkeyes knockoff would prove to be the undefeated national champion Indiana Hoosiers. Jeremy Hecklinsky, take the job. and run it. Another one. Another important piece this year is a full healthy season from Kamari Moulton. A year ago, we saw him banged up his shoulder early on in the season. There were questions. Was he even going to be able to go against Rutgers? Not only to go, he carried the ball a ton in that football game and it continued throughout the course of this season. I was got a very deep running back room. But to see a healthy season for Kamari Moulton, it all took

Starting point is 00:04:30 come together. I think he's got a special season in front of him. If he can do that, and behind an offensive line we're going to get to, that's going to go a long way for Iowa to take that next step. We look at the receivers and we start at the wide receiver position. I think both Tony Diaz needs to absolutely be a hit. You need James. You need these guys definitely to be there. Speaking of health, how about a healthy season for Reese Vander Z? Something that we have not seen from the big wide receiver from Northwest Iowa the first couple of years. Health of that position, the Tony Diaz hype needs to be real. Iowa needs to be productive and finally take this passing game to the next step. We've seen in the run game in the first two years

Starting point is 00:05:10 of Tim Lester. I love everything that Coach Lester has to say. It is a guy that is easy to listen to to, to understand his vision, what he wants to do. Now it's time. You've had guys that have been on campus and both Hank Brown and Jeremy Halklinski. That needs to happen. You've won out, got some more weapons to go along, with what you already have. You have Reese Vander Z. You have Dayton, Howard. You have guys that have some experience coupled with these new shiny toys. Now, the excuses are over.

Starting point is 00:05:39 Mark Grinowski was coming off shoulder surgery a year ago. We saw how much that impacted what they were trying to do. Your number one started with Cape McNamara under Tim Lester, evolved into Brendan Sullivan for a while and, of course, a few others that were there at the quarterback spot throughout that time. It is time now, and the wide receivers need to be a big piece. It can't just be about the hype anymore or the hope for a lot of us at the wider receiver position. It needs to take that step forward if we're talking about a special year for Iowa football.

Starting point is 00:06:09 The tight end position, DJ Bottom A, it needs to happen, right? We need to have him be an All-American. You look at the hype that is out there. It is immense. That needs to play through coupled with, we need Edison Estranga to come back and be a productive player in his senior year coming off that Achilles injury. The tight end play needs to go back to playing. at an elite level if I was going to get to these heights. And finally, offensively, well, as always, it comes back to the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:06:36 The big guys up front need to pave the way. Now, they don't have to be what they were a year ago, the Joe Moore award-winning offensive line and the best in all college football as they were awarded a season ago. But they still have to be really good. They still have to protect the blind side of the quarterback, still open up those holes and take what this running game has been the last two years and build on that once again this season. that all needs to happen. Michael Mislinski, a six year of eligibility. He needs to have that healthy season that we're hoping for. And we always love to talk about the good stories. It's something that Kirk Farrantz absolutely loves those good stories that happen throughout the course of a guy's career. You definitely need that to happen for Ms. Linsky this season. He needs to be a piece of that. Layton Jones, when he's been in there in the past, has felt like there hasn't been a drop off. That definitely needs to show up on the field. Cade Peeper's transition.

Starting point is 00:07:27 to center. Remember Logan Jones? Yeah, the guy that just won the Remitting Award last season for the best center in college football. Remember that first year. You could definitely see the physical traits were there, but there were some struggles with snaps. There were times that it just didn't all click for him. Iowa cannot afford that kind of slow learning curve like they had three years ago with Logan Jones. This needs to be something with Kate Piper in the middle that needs to be seamless needs to be at a high level. And if that happens, this offensive line can be really good again this season. So that's the offense.

Starting point is 00:08:02 All right. Step forward. They're going to make it this year. This is going to be a special year. Well, believe it or not, there may be more questions defensively and certainly in the special teams than they are offensively. That doesn't happen very much. What needs to happen defensively for I to be a playoff team?

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Starting point is 00:09:47 And a shout out to her every dayers with us each and every day. Couldn't do it without your support. As we continue, we are bringing out the good vibes today. The positivity, all's going to break right for Iowa football in order for that to happen this season or for them to be a college football playoff team. When we jump over to the defense, if you're in every day or you definitely know, my biggest question mark comes at the defensive tackle position. So if it's going to come together this year, you certainly need Bryce Hawthorne. As I mentioned many times in the past, Bryce Hawthorne needs to be at a high level. He needs to be clicking.

Starting point is 00:10:21 He needs to play, I think, a ton of snaps this year, probably more than they normally want at that defense. position, defensive tackle position, excuse me, that is something that is going to be key. But he can't do it alone. And that defensive tackle, yes, that rotation is a piece of it. That's going to be something where building up that depth this year is going to be an part in piece for Calvin Bell and Company up front. Now, along with Hawthorne, you need to have a couple of guys step up. And two guys that definitely are going to have an opportunity, two guys that have been a part

Starting point is 00:10:53 of the program for a long time now, are Luke Gapney and Will Hubert. At minimum, you need to have one of those guys step forward and have that productive senior year. The guys that, again, back to the good stories once again, you need to have that happen once again. I believe at minimum for one of those two guys where they are solid, productive, doing everything that you ask, plugging up the gaps, doing the things that are fun, the dirty work for Iowa football. One of the two between Hubert or Gapney, that definitely needs to happen. And then he also need, I think, one of the defensive linemen transfers, the tackle transfers to come in. and be able to help out.

Starting point is 00:11:28 Bryce Stevenson, maybe the most likely coming in from Holy Cross, 6-1-295 pounds. Emmanuel Al-Ajou, who came in from North Dakota, big size, 6-3-2-95. It looks like the Hulk out there, now needs to play it. At minimum, again,

Starting point is 00:11:44 one of those two guys needs to take that step forward. And then a young guy could be Brad Fitzgiven, more than likely maybe Devin Kennedy this year. One of those two young guys become part of the rotation and help them out. excited to see what the outside looks like this year. Kenneth Meriwether, who has experience, coupled with Yosea F. Nessa,

Starting point is 00:12:03 Kamari Brown coming in from the portal from Elon, a guy that got to double-digit sacks a year ago. A couple of those guys. I think there's going to be opportunities this season for those guys to get to the quarterback. You know, my thoughts on the upside of Joseph Anderson. If you're an everydayer, you definitely know that. Chimichin, look, they got bodies up there.

Starting point is 00:12:21 Now can they put it together and take a step forward there? still the biggest question mark. All these things come together. We can be talking about a special Iowa football season. Over at the linebacker spot, I don't think the questions are immense. We have a great feeling that it's going to be Cam Buffington in the middle. And then Jaden Montgomery playing on the outside. Montgomery of 5 foot 10, 225.

Starting point is 00:12:43 I mean, you go back to that game against Oregon a year ago when he was just starting to get his feet wet. And Oregon, it wasn't just Jane Montgomery. It was everybody. But they were going after him in a big time way. with the physical skill of Cam Buffington, 6-3, 240 pounds, just has that look of a prototypical Iowa middle linebacker and just how good it's been over the last decade at that position. Definitely one that the question marks are not nearly as being.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Now, the defensive backfield, yes, you need Zach Lutmer. Again, if I was having a great season this year, Lutmer is doing his thing. Moving around, making plays, being a game changer out there in the defensive backfield. decided to see what Tyler Brown is going to look like for this team. He was part of a college football playoff team himself a year ago against James Madison. Deshaun Lee on the outside. We saw definitely what he could do after some ups and downs early in his career last season. Jalen Watson, a young

Starting point is 00:13:39 guy that they really like. Jacob Wallace, who very well could be your guy at the cash position. You saw Rashad Godfrey last year get his feet wet and play really, really well against Nebraska towards the end of the season, the final game of the regular. season. Anthony Hawkins, another guy that comes in from the portal and just an intriguing prospect because of the size at 6-3-200 pounds. Now, this is the group now in the defensive backfield with Phil Parker. We know he is not shy about making moves if need be, but he's got a lot of different pieces. Now, we probably don't talk about it enough because it is a huge question and it's what's going to happen in the special teams with the special teams, notably the specialists. And you're going to have a new

Starting point is 00:14:21 kicker. You're going to have a new punter. year. That is always something that makes you maybe hold your breath just a little bit at the punter position, be it Tanner Philpott, who comes in from Simpson or Boston Everett, the freshman that comes in again from over in Australia. Again, take the job and run with it, something we do not want to see back and forth. We've seen that a couple of times in the past where they're using a couple of different punters, maybe a short punter here, which guy do we actually use from the minus 48 yard line, just all these different things. Whoever it is, take the job and run. run. Eli Oza needs to be really good. Iowa special teams, you got to be solid at the kicker

Starting point is 00:14:58 position. And for the better part of 25 years, that has been the case for Iowa. They have been really good in the kicking department. Eli O's it, make sure that they made the right choice in the transfer portal. And of course, the return game. How many games has swung throughout the years under Kirk Farrants just because of special teams and specifically the return game. There's been so many great ones, but maybe certainly nobody in the Kurt Ferrett's era that's been better than what we've seen here over the last couple of seasons and Caden Weechin and what he was able to put together. You're not going to replicate. I don't believe what he was. But again, finding the right fit, finding the guy that's good at it. We can't go back to the days of just throw your hand

Starting point is 00:15:39 up on a fair catch, on a punt. Iowa needs to make plays in the special teams. So we go through all this and we look at it. All right, these are the things that need to happen for Iowa to surprise everybody, to be a team. But how do you get there? Well, you start, of course, 3 and 0 in the non-conference, Northern Illinois, Iowa State, you and I, all those games are at Kinnick Stadium at home, should have no trouble with any of them. Yes, that includes Iowa State, who's got quite the rebuild in front of them. But we get into the slate, the Big Ten slate this year, incredibly difficult at the beginning, and then definitely eases up on the back half of the season. You open up, up the year at Michigan.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Out of these opening three games, I still maintain, this is the most winnable of these three games. Ohio states at home, some people will point to that and say they got a better chance. I can't rant my mind around that defensive backfield against Julian Sane and Jeremiah Smith and company, but that aside. And then the short road trip, or the long road trip on the short week, out to Washington the week after that. I think the Michigan game is most winnable.

Starting point is 00:16:43 And also for this conversation, we're talking about a 10-and-2. Iowa football team. Well, if you win one of these three games, run the table, everybody, everywhere else, you're feeling really good. But is there a small part of you? And this isn't in a vacuum because we don't know what else is going to be happening around college football. If an Iowa team that has losses against Ohio State,

Starting point is 00:17:03 loss against Michigan, and a win against Washington, in comparison to, say, a 10 and 2 SEC team, if it comes down to something like that, if that's the case, I don't know if Iowa was going to have enough juice, even if Washington proves to be good. Even if you get a nice road win against Illinois. I don't know if there's going to be enough in that comparison, but we don't know.

Starting point is 00:17:24 So I guess we're putting down our dream scenario, make sure everybody else is taking losses and going to be happening a little bit more this season in the SEC as they make their way finally to nine conference games. Put it all together. This is not a prediction. This is not what I believe is going to happen. But these are some of the most important things that need to happen

Starting point is 00:17:44 for Iowa to be a playoff team this season. The odds don't say it's going to happen, that it's unlikely it's going to be, and I truly believe that the year that Iowa is building for in 2027. That is the season. You're going to have so much coming back. The losses are going to be out of the senior class, not as immense as we're so used to with Iowa football.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Now, that is also with the hope that Kate Piper comes back for another year and Trevor Lauke is back for another season and that we see Zach Lutmer complete his eligibility at the University of Iowa. We also need all those things to happen to have that kind of pointing to 2027. One of the quarterbacks emerges with the job, takes it and run like we talked about at the top, all these things together. Not a prediction, but a fun exercise of what could happen for Iowa football coming up this year. One thing we do know, Caitlin Clark, it has been frustrating to say the least.

Starting point is 00:18:41 The choke, miss the game over the last. the weekend. Now it's got a week off before she needs to be out there back on the hardwood with her Indiana fever squad. The WMBA, it has been incredibly toxic. We're going to talk about Caitlin and the joy coming up next. Stay right there. This is Locked-on Hawkeyes. Trent, kind of back with you once again here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Get your daily Hawkeye fix completely ad-free by joining the Everydayer Club today. start your seven-day free trial right now and get closer to your team without the interruptions. Click on the link in the show notes or go to Lockdown Hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:19:28 Dot supercast.com to claim your free trial. That's Lockdownhawkeyes. That's supracast.com. Wrapping things up and over to the hardwood. Where Caitlin Clark sat out on Saturday, did not play in the Indiana Fever win as they dominated and actually played really well on Saturday night at home against the sparks as they won one by 24. But as you look through this league, and you look at what happened a week ago with the choke, the one game suspension that was handed down as Caitlin was down on the floor, left the game with a

Starting point is 00:20:00 back injury and a back injury that has bothered her throughout the course of the season. But just the questions that continue to surround it. And I've got this question a ton from people wondering, does it make sense for Caitlin just to get out, to take her ball and go and do something else. Find another league, find another opportunity, try to build something on her own because the WMBA had a once-in-a-generation player. Now, of course, us as Hawkeye fans, we all knew this coming out. What a special talent that she was, the joy. We saw it on a national stage, taking Iowa to a final four, the numbers that were drawn with the win that first year in Dallas against South Carolina. Of course, the championship game against LSU. What we saw the next season,

Starting point is 00:20:44 even growing those numbers further and taking women's basketball to a level that it had never seen before. That's the Caitlin Clark effect. And yet you get into this league, okay, it's more physical. Sure, going to happen, get it, it's a different league, and you're playing against grown women. It's going to be different. It's going to be more physical. But to see continually the ugliness, the bitterness, the toxicity that has been out there for Caitlin Clark. A part of his jealousy, I don't think there's any.

Starting point is 00:21:14 any doubt. Players that have played in the league for a long time that see the notoriety that came for somebody that didn't do something. And they didn't like that. But you look at different elements of this. And he go through and think of some of the things in the past. And there was grumbling when Tiger Woods was setting things aflame. Yet the PGA players also realized, look at these purses. We're making a whole lot more money than we ever have before. This is a good thing for us. you know what for the most part let's just shut up tiger he can get all the publicity but that's not happening in the wmba it's also coupled with leadership that is about as bad as you're going to find as we kind of chuckled at the wmba commissioners come well the commissioner

Starting point is 00:21:59 has just been bad and there's been so many times throughout that kathy englebert has swung and missed and another opportunity. You have somebody that came in without a background in sports and certainly running an organization and what needs to happen with this league when you have this opportunity and they missed and missed and missed and it continues to happen. Some things that should be easy, slam dunks. And I go back to the NBA a couple years ago when the three-point shooting was getting at a level that was just ridiculous.

Starting point is 00:22:34 It was not an enjoyable product. They knew the fans did not like it, were just turned into a three-point shooting contest, and they weren't to change it. What has Engelbert done to change this physical, ugly, grinding style that is not aesthetically pleasing? This is not a brand of basketball for the casual fan, for them to say, oh, yeah, I'm going to sit down.

Starting point is 00:22:55 I'm going to vote a couple hours of my time because I love watching Caitlin Clark. I love watching basketball. There's not a whole lot else going on during the summer, summertime outside of the World Cup Major League Baseball. The opportunity once again is there, and they continually miss. And then we look at Caitlin and a player that was so joyful, so much fun to watch. That was she demonstrative in college, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:23:20 Was she demonstrative in high school? No doubt. Saw it a lot. That was always a part of it. There was also a part of it that you grew to enjoy those pieces when maybe she didn't fly a little bit off the handle or went too far. But you also had that element where you had this incredible player, this player that was next level, and he never knew.

Starting point is 00:23:45 And he never knew what was going to be the reaction from putting her ear up and her hand up to her ear to hear the crowd, pumping them up and hollering, let's go. It's still there. But the joy doesn't seem the same. And that sucks. as somebody that has enjoyed watching her so much, and to see what this league has done to her, at least the way that she looks on the floor,

Starting point is 00:24:11 it's uncomfortable. And to get that joy back, it's not easy. There's not a match of Guam that you can do. But Engelberg refuses to do anything. The officials refuse to do anything. Talk about incompetent and overmatched, and we see that in all stages on women's basketball, it's ugly, it's bad, and it's continually bad every single time.

Starting point is 00:24:35 I'm still holding out hope that the fever continue to win basketball games as they have. This is still a talented team. Leah Boston's taking her game to the next level. Mitchell obviously can score at any moment. This is a team that's third in the east. Can they catch up to what the dream are and the liberty? We'll see. but we've also seen this team this season.

Starting point is 00:25:00 We've seen this team two years ago during Caitlin's rookie year, put it all together. I personally just want to see some of that joy back. I want to see that smile a little bit more. I want to see some of the ugliness go away. But we get it in this league, unfortunately, doesn't seem very likely at this time. Thanks again for being with us and making lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen. every day. We are your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast here. Coming up tomorrow, we're going to go the other direction. Today, we open up talking Iowa football and everything falling right. What if it

Starting point is 00:25:37 goes wrong? What if things go the other way? Best case scenario today, what needed to happen? What can go the other direction? And what that means for the future of Iowa football? Make sure you subscribe and follow Lockdown Hawkeyes so you get all the latest episodes. You can find me as well at Trent Condon had a update over there that you can catch on Monday morning. If you never miss an episode, the everydayer club is built for you. Get locked on Hawkeyes ad free plus members only Discord access and a whole lot more. Go to Lockdownhawkeyes. That's lockdownhawkeyes.com to join the club again.

Starting point is 00:26:12 That's locked on hawkeyes. That's supercast.com. Thank you again for all of you out there being with us and making lockdown hawkeyes 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 - RISING? Iowa Hawkeyes Need Jeremy Hecklinski to IGNITE Offense for College Football Playoff

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