Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Sam LaPorta could be All-Big Ten this season | Alums make last ditch effort to save four sports | Minnesota gets boost with return of Rashod Bateman

Episode Date: October 1, 2020

We continue our position preview with the TE position. Sam LaPorta could be All-Big Ten this year, but who is behind him and what are the expectations for the position in the coming years. Who will step up in to that third TE position behind LaPorta and Beyer? After that we do our game breakdown of Iowa's fourth game of the season against Minnesota, who just got a huge boost with the announcement that Rashod Bateman is returning. Finally, we talk about the last ditch effort alums are making to save the four canceled sports at the University of Iowa.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.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 $10 off your first order. 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 to another 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, and today's episode is brought to you by rockauto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need, rockauto.com. And on today's episode, we are continuing our position-by-position breakdown. That's right, if you have not tuned in to the last three days, we are doing a position preview

for all position groups for the Iowa Hawkeyes this week and next week. And then we're also doing a game-by-game breakdown as well. That's right. We're going through every single game on the Iowa Hawkeye football team schedule and determining whether or not they can win or lose that or whether or not they're going to win or lose that game based off what we know right now and what to expect for those games as of right now. Obviously, a lot can change.

There's a lot that can happen between now and seven weeks from now or eight weeks from now when they play Minnesota, for example. But we want to make sure we're doing as much as we can to give you the information that you need going into the season. So we're breaking down everything on the show this week and next week. Also, before we hop into that, though, we do have a few news and notes items that we're going to be covering as well. So that's all that's going to happen on today's episode. And we're going to be doing the tight end position and the Iowa versus Minnesota game. So let's hop into that,

hop into the stories right now, starting with the fact that Iowa might be gaining their first recruit in the class of 2021 today. That's right. Peyton Sanford is making a decision. The Waukee, Iowa small forward, who is a three-star recruit, a top 150 player, according to several outlets. He is a guy who is making a decision today and Iowa's high on that list. The predictions currently have him going to Iowa. We will see, but it would be great for the state, you know, the university to get one of the top prospects, if not the top prospect in the state, to commit to the school. If we get that information, we'll obviously be covering that on tomorrow's show,

but he is set to make his decision today, so be on the lookout for that. Iowa football is also back in pads. You'll love to see it. We are three weeks away from football, so I am getting absolutely pumped, and that's why we're doing all of these previews right now, but really exciting stuff. Hopefully we don't get any injuries coming out of these padded practices, but it's great to see the progress we're making as a country and as a, you know, conference in the big 10 and as Iowa football team, getting back to padded practices, considering the fact that just a couple of weeks ago, we didn't think there was going to be fall football for the Iowa football team.

So great progress there. Also, Andy Katz predicted that Iowa is going to be taking on UNC in the Big Ten ACC matchup. That would be quite the game. I would love to see that. Obviously, we don't know the exact matchups yet, but if that is the case, I will be pumped for that. The only thing I'm upset about is the fact that we won't be able to go to those games

in person most likely. It would be a lot of fun to go to Chapel Hill if that game's in Chapel Hill. If it's in Iowa, it would still be a lot of fun to host a team like UNC. And that would be a great game for Iowa's non-conference schedule to continue to basically show that Iowa is a top team in the nation as we all expect. show that Iowa is a top team in the nation, as we all expect. Also, around the Big Ten, Rashad Bateman is opting back in to Minnesota. We'll talk about that on segment number three, but that is huge for the Minnesota Gophers. That's huge for Tanner Morgan, a guy who I don't think he's a great pro prospect, but

he's a great college quarterback, and having a guy like Rashad Bateman, a projected first round pick, is huge for him. Also, another some positive news for the Iowa Hawkeye athletic community. There is another effort being made to save the four sports that are being canceled after the 2021 season. 495 donors have raised $2.73 million to save the swimming team, the tennis team, the gymnastic team, and Bruce Harreld is apparently open to a conversation. $2.73 million to save the swimming team, the tennis team, the gymnastic team. And Bruce Harreld is apparently open to a conversation. And I think what's interesting about this is the fact they were able to secure so much money in donations.

It seems like they have a bigger goal than that. But they're also looking at basically handling these sports a little bit differently and maybe providing a way or a blueprint for other schools to be able to fund the Olympic sports that maybe don't bring in the money like the football team. So you don't necessarily need the football team to be backing it up. And one of the things that they've kind of recommended is moving these sports out of the athletic department budget and then also utilizing the facilities.

Iowa has a fantastic swimming facility. Using those facilities for multi-use purposes and making money off them. They also want to form advisory boards of alums that are willing to oversee and run the happenings of these sports. I think one of the things that came out to me was the fact that a lot of these alums just assumed because football was carrying these sports they didn't need to really be paying attention but now that they are being taken away we want to make sure we're giving them the the attention they deserve and so I think those those

three interesting caveats to how they're going to be they want to potentially handle these four sports could provide that blueprint for other schools if Iowa is able to do it one of the things they mentioned in the quote it was an article read, I believe it was from the Des Moines Register, I think, but basically they said they want to be a shining star, an example of how other schools can do that. It would definitely give some good positive buzz for the Iowa Hawkeye community if they are able to go back and save these four sports and do it in a way that is financially viable, not only for those four sports, but for the athletic department and the school. I know the budget deficit is definitely decreased now that there is Iowa football happening

this fall, but it's still not in a position where they can really say, you know what, we're good. We're going to save these sports now because they're still missing between $40 and $60 million. You've got to find those deficits or find the ways to decrease those deficits in whatever way possible. But that will do it for segment number one, covering the news and notes around the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Big Ten. Coming up on segment number two, we're going to jump into that tight end position and talk about who are some guys who could potentially show up this upcoming season.

Because we have Sam Laporta, we have Sean Byer, but we're missing that third guy. Who could it be? We're going to talk about that on segment number two of the show. Before we get into that, though, I do have a very special message for you from our sponsors. RockAuto.com is a family-owned business serving auto parts customers online for over 20 years. What I love most about RockAuto.com though is that I can do it from the comfort of my home and I get prices I want.

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available for your car or truck and write locked on in there how did you hear about us box so they know that we sent you amazing selection reliably low prices all the parts your car will ever need rockauto.com. All right, and coming up, like I said, we wanted to talk about that tight end position. We've been going through the position by position breakdown. Yesterday, we did the wide receivers. On Monday, we did quarterbacks.

And on Tuesday, we did running backs. Tomorrow, we're hopping into the offensive line. And I want to talk to you tomorrow about why I think this offensive line could be the best in the Big Ten, if not one of the best in the nation. But today, we're focusing on the tight end position because we are tight end U. That's right, the Iowa Hawkeyes are tight end U. Last year was a bit of a down year for the tight end position at Iowa. I don't think the coaching staff expected TJ Hawkinson to go pro prior to that season beginning. Obviously, he had an All-American season, a John Mackey award winning season.

He goes pro, Noah Fant goes pro. They both get drafted in the first round, but that left the position kind of hurting, and we were hoping that maybe Drew Cook could step up. We were hoping that Sean Byer could finally have that breakout season. We're hoping that Nate Weeding could expand on his impressive blocking skills to maybe catch a few more passes and be that reliable pass-catching tight end that we have come to love and know for the University of Iowa. None of that happened, all right? Drew Cook was invisible on the field, didn't see him. Sean Beyer didn't really do a lot, and Nate Weeding did a great job of blocking, but didn't really bring in a lot of catches either.

Last year was the lowest amount of catches the Iowa Hawkeye football program has had from the tight end position in quite some time. The only year that was lower in the last, you know, five, six years was 2017, which is interesting. That was actually the George Kittle year, 31 catches, 384 yards and five touchdowns. What I find interesting about that, and I'll kind of turn this all back and around and make this one whole full circle about what I'm talking about. That was the freshman year of Noah Fant and TJ Hawkinson. The next two years after that, we're pretty darn good at the tight end position. And also think about it, that year Noah Fant got on the field. He got some catches. TJ Hawkinson was not. He was

redshirting. So now let's think about last year. The three tight ends combined for 32 catches, 400 yards, and zero touchdowns. Sam Laporta, though, had a pretty impressive ending to his freshman season. Ultimately started towards the end. And the one thing you can love about Sam Laporta is that, and with any Iowa tight end, is you're not getting on the field if you can't block. So not only could he get on the field as a true freshman, he could block pretty well. And he came up with some pretty darn nice catches. He showed that he could be that consistent playmaking threat at that tight end position that we have come to know and love for the University of Iowa.

So again, let's go back to the Noah Fant era. Freshman year, has a couple catches. Sam Laporta has a couple catches. Next year, Noah Fant puts himself on the map. TJ Hawkinson has a little bit of a quieter year. The following year, those two guys have maybe the best tight end duo of a year ever in college football. I think that's what we're looking at seeing and the guys that are going to step up behind Sam Laporta and Sean Byer. And I do hope that Sean Byer can finally have his breakout year. This is a guy who, you know, has had a lot of expectations, but has not

been able to stay healthy or just do it consistently. I hope he's able to have a fantastic year, but if not, who's going to be stepping up in that third tight end spot or possibly getting more snaps towards the end of the year? The first guy I look to is Josiah Myaman. Came in at 6'4", 225 pounds. He's now 6'4", 242 pounds. He was another tight end last year along with Sam Laporta. Has a year in the program. That is a guy that I think could be that breakout guy this year. But again, this is a position on the rise.

There's a couple other guys I do want to touch on as well. Two other freshmen. Remember, Sam Laporta came in last year as a true freshman. Got playing time. Showed that he can be on the field, and earned more playing time towards the end of the year. We have two fantastic freshmen that people are very, very high on. Elijah Yelverton, a guy who we've had on the show before, a big-time recruit who had a ton of offers,

seventh-highest-rated recruit in Iowa's class, 6'4", 225 pounds. He joined the program in January. He's already up to 247 pounds. The dude looks like a college ball player right now. Also, Luke Leitchie, a four-star recruit, the third highest rated recruit in the class last year. 6'6", 220 pounds. He's now up to 237 pounds.

What I love most about those guys' tapes, they run routes like wide receivers. And Elijah Yelverton, I know, I've definitely seen his tape. He's able to block too. So he wasn't necessarily featured as much as a blocker. When you have athletes like that in your high school program, you want to make sure you're getting them the ball. If either of those guys can figure out how to block and can block at the level that is expected for an Iowa tight end, you could also see them get on the field as well. But the big takeaway I have is that Sam Laporta has at least two more years in the Iowa football program, if you include this year. We have two great incoming freshmen. We have another redshirt

freshman, Josiah Myaman, who is a guy who I've been looking forward to seeing as well, a guy who had a lot of hype coming out last year. The tight end position is set and they're looking at, you know, they're bringing in a few other guys for the following season. I mean, this is a, this is a position that's back on the rise after a relatively down year for the Iowa Hawkeye community. So the depth to me, the depth is overall good from a ceiling standpoint, from a floor standpoint, there's a lot of young guys, not a lot of experience on that roster from a scholarship position or a scholarship player position so that is a concern if one guy goes down there's not a lot of guys backing them up they have a lot of game experience so that is always going to be a concern but to me the exciting

thing is the fact that this position is on the rise and we need it we need a better red zone presence zero touchdowns last year is unacceptable from the tight end position, and that's part of the reason why Keith Duncan was able to kick so many darn field goals, because Iowa could not convert in the red zone. We need Sam Laporta. We need Sean Byard to be able to be that consistent pass-catching threat, along with Brandon Smith, along with Amir Smith in the red zone to get points on the board, so Iowa doesn't have to rely on Keith Duncan. Yes, it's fantastic we have Keith Duncan, but you want to make sure you're scoring touchdowns over field goals if you can. And then the field goals are the second chance opportunity if you can't get that touchdown.

But nevertheless, this tight end position is on the rise. There are a lot of great freshmen that are there that are going to make a difference in the coming years. I do expect Sam Laporta to put on a pretty impressive display of his talent and quite possibly be an all Big Ten type of player this year. That's right. I think Sam Laporta could be an all Big Ten player this year if featured in the offense like we've seen Noah Pham and TJ Hawkinson be featured in past years. That being said, that is it for the tight end position preview.

Coming up on segment number three, we're going to be breaking down the Iowa versus Minnesota game. I can't imagine I'll make a lot of Minnesota fans because I'm not very high on their defense, especially after losing Antoine Whitfield Jr., who is playing fantastic in the NFL right now. But we're going to cover that all in just a few short seconds. NFL right now, but we're going to cover that all in just a few short seconds. We are back for our third and our final segment of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast on this beautiful Thursday morning, and we're breaking down game four of the Iowa Hawkeyes schedule, Iowa

versus Minnesota. And this is a game that I, I mean, out of all games, this is one of the games I want to win the most. Minnesota is back. I will give it to them. PJ Fleck has done a fantastic job of building up this program. He's done a fantastic job of making this program a winning program and a program that people actually consider a national contender.

People have this team on the map. So Minnesota is a team to be concerned about. This is going to be Iowa's toughest challenge to this point in the season. First, you get Purdue. They should beat them. You get Northwestern. They should beat them. You get Michigan State, which I thought was actually the weakest of those first three games. They should beat them as well. But Minnesota presents a pretty different challenge, but Minnesota also has some issues they are dealing with this season coming into year two of being on that national radar after having an unbelievable season last year. This defense, though, is not going to be as good.

First off, they're losing Antoine Winfield Jr. I don't care about stats. That guy was the leader of the defense. Finally had a fully healthy season. That guy was like our Imani Hooker, our Geno Stone. But I would argue, even better. That's right. Antoine Winfield Jr. was an absolute beast for that Minnesota defense. They also lost pass rusher Carter Coughlin. So this is a defense that is in transition.

They lost five of their top six tacklers. Only five starters are returning. However, their entire secondary is returning besides Antoine Winfield Jr. They have a couple transfers coming in as well. Their defensive line lost three guys, but does bring in a transfer from Notre Dame, Micah Dew Treadway. Again, with any good program though, there's always going to be athletes ready to take over, but you do like to see if you're an Iowa fan, see how much transition they are going through. I'm sure Minnesota fans think, you know, it's not a big deal. We have all these talented players, but no matter what, when you're

losing a guy like Antoine Winfield Jr. or Carter Coughlin, the defense is going to take a step back more than likely. Just like Iowa losing a Geno Stone or a Michael Ojemudia or AJ Epineza, I think Iowa's defense can be solid this year, can be a top 20 defense as they typically are, but it's going to be more difficult than it has been in years past when you lose three draft picks along that defense. And another guy in Christian Welch who signed a UDFA contract. Same with Minnesota. I think they could have a solid defense. Last year ranked 37th in the nation.

I think they're probably going to be around that spot. Probably 40th to 50th ranked defense. Again, Antoine Winfield Jr. does not come around a lot. Those kind of guys are not just growing on trees anywhere. So I think Minnesota's defense is going to be a little bit weaker. Offensively, though, what do we expect from this Minnesota offense? They lost their offensive coordinator. They lost Tyler Johnson.

But they do return, and they lost Rodney Smith. I should also make sure we notice that. So they lost their top running back. They lost their top wide receiver. And they lost their offensive coordinator. Now, some might argue with me and say Rashad Bateman was their top wide receiver, but Tyler Johnson was that senior of that class. Rashad Bateman is back though. And that is huge for Tanner Morgan, who is also returning a great college quarterback, but I would argue not a, not a, uh, you know, a big time college quarterback,

not a guy who's going to play in the pros by any means. He's not a Baker Mayfield. He's not a big-time college quarterback, not a guy who's going to play in the pros. By any means, he's not a Baker Mayfield. He's not a Trevor Lawrence. He's not a Justin Fields. He is a guy who's probably going to get drafted in the sixth or seventh round, probably play a few years, and maybe go into coaching. His skill set just doesn't really fit well with the NFL, but that doesn't mean he's not a great college quarterback.

But how does he react to a new offensive system? The one good thing they have going for them outside of Tanner Morgan and Rashad Bateman, or I should say two good things, is Muhammad Ingram was their leading rusher back in 2018. He is back after an injury-plagued season. Also, their entire offensive line returns. They're a pretty big offensive line. I wouldn't say they were great. Iowa's defensive line did a pretty good job of dominating Minnesota's offensive line last season. But again, when you're returning your entire offensive line, that's another year of experience you have coming into this year that you can kind of build off of. So hopefully, and if I'm a Minnesota fan, I'm hoping my offensive line takes another step forward and that could spell pretty good things for this offense and this new

offensive scheme that Tanner Morgan is going to be leading for P.J. Fleck this upcoming season. So with all that being said, I do think Iowa could come away with a win. I think Minnesota is going to be favored in this game, but when I look at the talent on paper, I do think Iowa is more talented than Minnesota. So I know I predicted them going 3-0. I think they're going to go 4-0 to this point. And then I do probably expect a loss at Penn State. The good thing for this, if there's no fans in that stadium, it's not a big drive for Iowa. It's not a big, you know, jaunt for them to get up to Minnesota. And the fact that they are no longer playing Minnesota on a Friday night, six days after playing Iowa State is huge for the

Hawks this year. So I expect and predict a win for Iowa. It will be close. Minnesota will be ready to play. PJ Fleck is a great coach. You know, hate his antics, love his antics, whatever. He's still a great coach. I do think Iowa comes away victorious in this game. That will do it for our Thursday morning episode. Again, reminder that tomorrow we're going to be talking about that offensive line and why I feel like that offensive line could be the best in the Big Ten and where and how I think Iowa could get around and beat Penn State, but also why I think Penn State is generally going to be more talented than Iowa coming in to this season. Again, a lot can change over the course of four or five games and we're going to know a lot more about these teams prior to them playing.

But I do want to make sure I'm going through that scheduled preview. I have Iowa at 4-0 at this point. We're four games into our season preview. 4-0 coming up, Penn State tomorrow. Stay tuned for that. If you love the show, please make sure to give us that five-star review and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at. And make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As always, Hawkeye Nation, have a fantastic Thursday, and go Hawks!