Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - The Latest on Iowa QBs, Defensive Back greatness & team captains for 2024
Episode Date: August 20, 2024Locked on Hawkeyes PodcastHosted by Trent CondonWelcome to the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast, your go-to source for all things Iowa Hawkeyes football! Join host Trent Condon as he takes you inside the la...test buzz surrounding the intense quarterback competition between Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan. With new offensive coordinator Tim Lester at the helm, we'll explore how his schemes and approach might influence the team's dynamics and play-calling this season.But that's not all—Trent dives deep into Iowa's defensive backfield, breaking down the standout cornerbacks vying for starting roles, including the return of stars like Xavier Nwankpa and Quinn Schulte. Get insights into the team's depth and how these players will shape Iowa's defensive strategy as they gear up for the season.Also on this episode, we delve into the recently announced 2024 Player Council, spotlighting key returning players and their experiences that will be crucial as the Hawkeyes look to make an impact on the field this year.Tune in for expert analysis, player interviews, and all the latest updates as the Hawkeyes prepare for an exciting season ahead!For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
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We made it. College football is back this week. The Iowa Hawkeyes still a week and a half away from getting their season starters open up against Illinois State.
What's the latest in the quarterback situation and a deep dive into Iowa's defensive backs all 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, I'm Trent Cotton, and this is the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.
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Well, the weekend has come and gone.
And with it, the final big scrimmage over in Iowa City.
It is close to the media.
It is close to the outsiders.
I was in Iowa City over the weekend.
I tried to get a glimpse inside of Kinnick Stadium, inside the football offices,
see if I could glean anything.
Sorry, I wasn't able to do anything like that,
but did talk to a few people there,
and there are some reports that came out from the final big scrimmage
before things get started.
As we count down to Friday,
and that is normally when the depth chart is released for the week one matchup,
we'll see if there's going to be any changes.
There likely will be some.
We'll also see if we actually get that depth chart on Friday or if it's going to be pushed back until game week, something that has also
happened in some past seasons. But obviously the big conversation here, the quarterback conversation
continues of what's going to happen with this Iowa football team. Is it going to be Brennan
Sullivan? Will it be Cade McNamara? As I mentioned in the past and every day, as you know, where I sit on this one,
I believe it is going to take a Herculean effort for Brendan Sullivan
to take the starting quarterback gig.
I think there's a myriad of reasons for that.
I think the most important is the equity that Cade McNamara has went in.
Now, we're not talking about a guy that's been on campus four or five years.
He does not have the same kind of buy-in as some of the other players,
obviously, inside this football program. However, he has put in work. He has put in
the sweat equity, I think, that's needed, and also the leadership qualities. And when you hear
Kirk Ferentz speak, and when you hear a lot of the coaching cliches that you get from him,
one thing is paramount, and that is leadership. Those leadership skills, specifically at the
quarterback position,
are incredibly important.
Cade McNamara was a starter a year ago.
We knew they needed more depth.
They needed to be better at the backup quarterback spot because of the McNamara injuries,
and they went out and they did that with Brendan Sullivan.
But if they would make the decision
to go with Sullivan as a starter in game number one,
what does that mean for Cade McNam one. What does that mean for Caden
McNamara? What does that mean for him and his mental mindset? A guy working his way off of
injury after losing the last two seasons because of injury. His final season at Michigan and then
last year at Iowa. Where is he going to be? Brendan Sullivan came here understanding he likely was
going to be the backup. I don't know what kind of assurances that he was going to get and that he got about what this was going to look like as it
pertained to battling for the quarterback job. However, you have that part of it. I think that
is important. And I think if it's close and for everything that we're hearing from the back and
forth between these quarterbacks, it is pretty close. Is Brendan Sullivan at times a touch
better, maybe a little bit more consistent?
Absolutely. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Brendan Sullivan is not a guy
that's going to wow you with touch passes 15, 20 yards down the field. That is not his game.
Physicality, getting the ball out quickly, doing those kinds of things is definitely a big part
of what you get out of Brendan Sullivan. But more plays down the field and maybe a full understanding of what they're trying to do offensively. That goes to Cade
McNamara. The problem, as mentioned, the injuries and the injuries, him working his way back.
That's another aspect of this. Are we talking about a guy that is just rusty? That's what
we're dealing with right now. A guy that lost basically a full season at Michigan,
lost most of season last year. And remember, even when he was playing,
he was completely compromised by that quad injury.
A quad injury that was much more substantial
than many people let on going into last season.
It was touch and go for him.
That injury was significant before he even tore the ACL.
And I think you saw that show up in a big time way.
But here's one other angle
that I do continue to wonder about a little bit.
You have Tim Lester coming in in his first year as offensive coordinator.
We know the past offensive coordinators and the heavy hand maybe at times that Kirk Ferentz
had on that.
You go back to Ken O'Keefe.
Ken O'Keefe and him, longtime friends, acquaintances, and coaching together for a very long time.
They knew each other and knew each other incredibly well.
It was a relationship that they saw things very similar, grew up similar backgrounds,
a lot of the same people in their coaching tree and their coaching fraternity.
And because of that, I think there was a good understanding with both of those guys.
You go to Greg Davis.
Greg Davis, look, it didn't work real well, especially early on.
It was awful. However, Greg Davis was an outsider, yet you still saw't work real well, especially early on. It was awful. However,
Greg Davis was an outsider yet. You still saw some of those hiccups that came and then it was Brian.
And there were people out there that were leading the hope train that Brian was going to be the guy
that was going to help Kirk evolve, that he was going to be the guy that was going to take Kirk
and bring him Kirk 3.0 or 4.0 or whatever we were looking at with Kirk and the
different versions that we've got throughout the years in his evolution. It didn't happen.
In fact, Brian got a lot of Kirk's bad qualities, not as many of the good ones, unfortunately,
as a football coach, I believe, and the way that that went out. Stubborn, absolutely,
and both of those guys. And we were not able to see maybe what you wanted to see with him
and the full complement of opening things up a little bit more and trying to innovate what they're doing
offensively. So here comes Tim Lester with new ideas. Now, I think we do have to be excited
that he's looking to implement what he wanted to do. Remember when Greg Davis was hired,
it was about trying to implement the zone blocking scheme coupled with this horizontal passing game,
and it was ugly.
He went away from tight ends,
something that never should happen at Iowa.
I think we all know that.
And he saw that just too much.
And overall, it just didn't marry very well
what they're trying to do.
And they evolved back to what they were in the past
under Bryant.
They had some different things in there,
some different wrinkles that we saw from time to time,
some zone sweep, jet sweep motion
that came out and the like.
But overall, it was kind of reverting back to what we saw in the Ken O'Keefe era.
And now here is this newcomer.
And I do wonder, when it comes to the quarterback position, Tim Lester played the position.
He's coached the position.
Something that the former offensive coordinator did not.
And I think you'll see that show up this season. And if Tim Lester goes in and says to Kirk Ferentz,
in order for this to work, in order for our offense to get back to even an okay level,
in order for that to happen, we need Brendan Sullivan to be the quarterback.
It's just not happening with Kane.
If Tim Lester comes and says that, what is going to be the response from Kirk Ferentz? This is a different
kind of relationship. Tim Lester said all the right things. He's done all the right things to
this point. Everything that we continue to hear coming out of camp is that the offense running
game looks outstanding. It looks as good as it has in years. And that gets you very excited because
in order for Iowa to get to the levels that we hope for Iowa to get back at
the levels that we have seen in the past this run game has to get going uh Chad Leisica from the
Des Moines Register he had this from over the weekend from a couple of sources Brendan Sullivan
outplayed Cade McNamara in the scrimmage in Iowa City Saturday however the feeling is that Cade has
a stronger week overall and has as the lead at
quarterback. Also encouraging, I keep hearing the running game is performing very well. Passing game
has a ways to go, but as Lester said, everything comes off the run in his offense. So you'd rather
have the run working now than the pass if you could just pick one. That's from Chad Leistico
again of the Des Moines Register. And from what we heard last week, that was definitely the case.
Cade McNamara, a bounce back, had one of his best practices early in the week
after that performance, the 8 of 24 that he had at the open scrimmage on Kids Day.
That's what we continue to hear.
I think it's going to be McNamara.
I would be, I don't want to say shocked.
That's not the right terminology, but I certainly would be surprised
if it's not Cade McNamara getting the opening snaps
and we continue to trend that direction.
Are we going to get an announcement before the end of the week?
Is it going to be something that we're going to have to wait to game week
in order to do that?
What we'll be keeping our eye on here on Locked On Hawkeyes.
Well, we have been going through all the position groups of Iowa football.
In fact, one of their deepest position groups is the defensive backfield.
What we've seen here, especially at the cornerback position,
I think should get you incredibly encouraged.
We know what Phil Parker can do.
We'll talk about those defensive backs and why they have a chance to have
not just a special season, maybe one of their best seasons in a long, long time.
We'll talk about that as we continue.
This is the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.
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Welcome back.
This is Trent Condon with you on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.
Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.
We got a lot going on here.
We are leading up to the football season. Scott Dockerman is going to be joining us later in the week.
We're going to go on and make our season-long prediction.
A lot of things revving up here as we get closer and closer to football season.
Mentioned was in Iowa City over the weekend.
Just great being back on campus again.
Showed my kids around a little bit.
Drove by the house that I lived by sophomore year.
It's no longer there.
Torn down 520 South Capitol Street.
Oh, man, that was sad to see.
Driving by that one.
And the kids, of course, rolled their eyes,
and that's what they're going to do.
But maybe here down the line,
we'll have a couple more Hawkeyes in the family.
All right, that aside, let's get back into it here.
Let's talk about this defensive backfield.
And a defensive backfield that obviously
is the beginning of the Iowa defense.
What we have heard going back to when Phil Parker
was a defensive back coach,
he is still very involved in what they do in those defensive backs.
And you look through the recruiting profiles of these guys,
the way that they came up, the way that Iowa was able to nab them.
For the most part, we're not talking about the most decorated recruits.
It's just there's something that Phil Parker will see in these guys,
and he jumps aboard, and you go through, and you look at the history,
and you look at guys like Desmond King, going way back to Bob Sanders and on and on and on the
number of guys that have gone onto the league and become just productive NFL players. Yes. Tight end
you is obviously Iowa. There's no doubt about it. The success of putting offense alignment,
defense alignment in the league. We've seen a long run of that, but defensive back probably
doesn't get the national notoriety that it should and
certainly the job that Phil Parker does. I start at the top and one of the things that I am most
excited about is we've seen a lot of injuries in this defensive backfield over the last couple of
seasons and something that has been impactful a couple of different times has been the lack of
depth at the cornerback spot. Iowa just hasn't had the same kind of depth
maybe they've had in some past seasons,
especially at that position.
And most importantly, it's been young depth.
Guys that just have not had many reps.
Guys that haven't been even out there in the football field,
going out there and playing at the collegiate level,
playing in special teams, doing those kind of things.
They were incredibly raw, and because of that,
I think that showed up a couple of times. We'll go back to T.J. Hall, his first time going out onto the
field, and what he saw against Nebraska his first time out a couple of seasons back, and that's
going to happen. Now, T.J.'s back, and he is playing at a high level. Tweaked his ankle at
Kids Day, but everything we've heard, he's had a really good camp. John Nestor continues to be
the guy that is the buzz player. He's a guy
that showed up right away last year. They were talking about him as a true freshman. He is a guy
that they absolutely love. They think has a chance to be another one of the special players at the
cornerback position for Iowa. On the other side, you have very sturdy Jamari Harris. And I think
we also have to remember that Jamari had a pretty significant injury season before, then had to serve the two-game suspension last year because the gambling
investigation came back and played pretty well. I think there's another level, though, that you can
get out of Jamari Harris, and I think you're going to see that this season. And out of these four
quarterbacks that all have quite a bit of experience now with Hall, Nestor a little bit,
and obviously Jamari Harris that has the most experience.
You have to show on Lee.
And at times, he's a little bit forgotten, right?
I mean, this is a guy that played last season as a freshman.
He was out there a ton and I thought acquitted himself incredibly well.
You go back to those first couple of games,
teams are going after him right away.
And he held up, I thought, really, really well
and really improved as the year went on. Having four cornerbacks that you're very confident with that can step in, that's going
to help out a lot. Also, what they're going to do when they're playing the cash position. And if
there's an injury and they have to move some things around, if it's Sebastian Castro maybe
moving to another spot, that's something to keep an eye on as well with this defensive backfield.
Another place I want to go is Xavier Wampa. And we've talked throughout the course of this season every day,
as you know about this, Xavier Wampa was not healthy last season. This is a guy that is
incredibly physical, covers as much ground as anybody that you're going to find. And his ability
to make a close on both a ball carrier or just ball on the air is unlike anything I've seen before
at the high school level
when he was playing at Southeast Polk.
It was just absolutely incredible.
And you can see why everybody in the country
was after Xavier Wampa
and why he was a five-star
when he has those kinds of tools.
He's been banged up again during camp.
And I just want to see him have a healthy season.
Obviously was thrust in a couple of seasons ago
in the bowl game,
had the pick six in that game
and the win against Kentucky.
He showed up in a big time way in his first start,
but I'd love to see a healthy season.
I think some people that maybe have some question marks of Xavier Wampa
be able to see the full compliment and, excuse me,
exactly what he's going to be.
Quinn Schulte does so much for this team.
He is a little bit more than your standard Tommy Soybean,
try hard, walk on guy, right? There's
a little more pop to his game. There's some versatility that maybe some of the past defensive
backs, these safeties I have not had. Love what you're going to get there. Yes, he does all the
things that you hear talked about from an Iowa free safety, right? He gets everybody in the right
spot. He makes all the calls. He gets everybody going the right direction. He does all those
things in the defensive backfield. And he's, He's like your middle linebacker for the defensive backfield and what he does there.
But he's just so sturdy on the back end.
And getting him back for another season is going to be a big help,
especially early on, I think, for this Iowa defense.
And then we've got to throw Sebastian Castro, obviously, in the mix.
And the season that he had, one of the more unheralded players.
Now, I don't know if they win the Iowa State game without him a year ago.
He was that good and that impactful, not just the pick six,
but the way he was all over the field.
And we saw that at other times throughout the course of last season.
So physical, so tough.
He is built in a different way than what we saw from Dane Belton before him
at the cash position.
You know, they've had different kind of guys.
Amari Hooker before when they started to transform.
It's really been three different body types and three different players at that position with the versatility with Sebastian Castro, a guy that can hit like a
linebacker, can run like a safety, cover like a safety. And you look at some of those numbers,
pro football focus talks about him lining up as a slot corner. I'd be considered that position
where the top coverage grades in all the college football for Sebastian Castro.
A couple other names in the mix.
First, we start with Cohen Entringer,
who thrust onto the scene a year ago.
We saw Cohen make the play in the bull
in the Big Ten Championship game, excuse me,
against Michigan, running down the punt returner.
Now, he missed the play initially,
but had him backed up maybe inside the 15-yard line. That didn't happen, but chased him down and kept him out of the end zone, at least for the
time being on a great, great hustle play. He's still working his way back from entry. And I'm
not sure how much we're going to see, especially early from Cohen entering her. He's a guy that's
going to be a big part of their plans. And you look at the future of Iowa football, he's got a big,
big part of that. Zach Lootmers, another guy that shows up
at the safety positions, talked about one of the fastest players on the team. Some people consider
him the fastest. I think somebody equated it, well, he's the fastest until Brevin Dahls showed
up and he might not be anymore, but he's got incredible wheels and he's doing all the right
things and learning what you need to do in this defensive backfield. So those are some of the
names that you need to know. There's some young guys coming in.
Rashard Godfrey coming in, playing the safety position this year.
Got walk-ons like Cale Kolarik out of Indianola.
That's another name probably going to have to know for the future.
They're deep. They're solid. They're going to be good.
It's Iowa defensive backs, right?
Bill Parker, the way he coaches them, we know they're going to be in good shape.
Well, some news that happened on Monday, and that was the announcement of the team captains
for Iowa football coming up this year.
Who are going to be the guys' leadership?
Yes, we're going right back to it again.
We'll talk about that as we continue here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.
Also want to let you know with college football season being back, Locked On College Football
podcast kicks off the action with college football season being back, Locked On College Football Podcast kicks off the action
with a live season preview.
It's coming up on Tuesday evening at 6 o'clock on Locked On College.
24-7 streaming on the YouTube channel.
This four-part series is going to cover each of the four major conferences,
discussions on which ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC teams
have a shot at the expanded college football playoffs.
Be sure to check out this special streaming on Lockdown's
college football 24-7 streaming channel.
It's on the YouTube channel.
You can also find it on Amazon Fire TV,
all part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
We continue here at Lockdown Hawkeyes.
Stay right there
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Trent Conant back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.
Thanks as always for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.
Hey, while you're here, if you're watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button.
Kind of try to push those numbers up as we approach 4,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Appreciate all of you.
If you're listening on the podcast audio only side, five-star reviews greatly of thank each and every one of you
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and continue to get us in front of more Hawkeye fans.
The 2024 Player Council has been announced.
These are the leadership components.
And this is something where we can find out a little bit more
also about the future of Iowa football.
There are plenty of names on this list
that you'd anticipate are going to be there. Guys like Sebastian Castro. We talked about him.
Y.A. Black. He was mic'd up. If you missed it on YouTube, listen to Y.A. Go through the drills,
do the things, the grunting, all the dirty work that it takes to be a defensive tackle
in the Iowa scheme. He was going through it. Not a little personality is only why it can do up front
there. He is part of the leadership council. Another name on the list at the defensive side
is Deontay Craig. Deontay Craig, I think, is poised for a breakout season this year. I think
he's going to be back to that seven and a half range of sacks this season. They're going to need
it. Need guys that can get to the quarterback and a healthy Deontay Craig definitely can do that. Nick DeYoung back for another season. And how about Nick DeYoung?
Understanding that the likelihood was he was not going to be a starter this year. He was going to
be a depth piece at the offensive line position. He's going to be in there. He's an important part
because he is a swing guy. He can play both inside and outside. Iowa just doesn't have right now
a whole lot of ready-made offensive tackles.
And if an injury does come this season, having a guy like DeYoung around certainly is going
to help.
Luke Elkin.
Yeah, the long snapper.
And he's a good one.
He's also on the leadership committee.
Kyler Fisher, another guy that came back for another season.
Jay Higgins on the list.
Jamari Harris.
Ethan Hurkett.
All these guys coming back for an extra season.
Nick Jackson. There's another one there. coming back for an extra season. Nick Jackson,
there's another one there. Logan Jones for his senior season. Luke Lachey, there's Cade McNamara
showing up. I think an important one that you put on the list as well with McNamara being on this
list as voted on by the players, Mason Richmond and Quinn Schulte. So your leadership group here
are, these are a lot of veteran players. You're seeing a whole bunch of
guys that came back for their sixth season. I mean, just think of this. Now the COVID years,
yes, threw a wrench into things and make things completely different, but Iowa has
this many six-year guys coming back. Sebastian Castro, Nick DeYoung, Kyler Fisher, Jamari Harris,
Nick Jackson, Cade McNamara, Quinn Schulte, all these guys coming back for their sixth year of
eligibility.
That is a compliment to Iowa football and also the way that they're building things.
In this new NIL environment, it's different than what we're used to, different than what it is in the past,
but still, Iowa doing it the way that makes the most sense for them.
The Solid Verbal Podcast, if you're a podcast listener, a college football podcast,
I really enjoy listening to Dan and Ty. I think they do a really good job.
They did an episode devoted strictly to Iowa football, and it shows you that Iowa football,
yes, in our world of Iowa football, there's nothing more important, right? There's nothing that is even close to Iowa football. However, this is still a national story, and it's a national
story how Iowa has been able to maintain these winning levels, even with the offensive ineptitude that
we've seen here recently. It's just such a different circumstance than anybody else. There
isn't another program that is built like Iowa and does things like Iowa and is as successful as Iowa
in doing in this fashion. And that's the difficult part, I think, for a lot of us, right?
We see the wins.
We see the way that they get it done.
And that's great because we don't want to go the other direction.
You know, halfway through last season, as the wins continued to pile up and it was just
ugly and ugly, instead of talking about the ugliness, we went a different direction here
on Lockdown Hawkeyes.
We just took it for what it is.
Enjoy the ride while it's happening.
Is it pretty? No. Is it for what it is. Enjoy the ride while it's happening. Is it pretty?
No.
Is it enjoyable?
Sometimes not.
But in the end, a win is a win.
And do you want to take the alternate?
I certainly don't.
We will take those victories every single time, as opposed to looking pretty and losing.
Don't want to do that, no doubt about it.
And that's the direction we're certainly going to look.
When we look to the early season portion of the schedule Iowa against Illinois State week three against Troy with the Iowa State
game in between look Iowa State returns a ton as much production as anybody in college football
but there is a real opportunity three straight games at Kinnick to get off to a great start
before you go up on the road for the first time to Minnesota before the Ohio State game as they'll
get that after a bye week.
Schedule sets up.
We've talked about it in the past.
Yes, is this season going to be a pretty one?
Is it going to be 2002?
Is it going to be the high-flying 2004 passing game
when they weren't able to run the football?
Probably not.
But if we can just get some consistency back offensively,
I think this is going to be a fun season.
And certainly, even if the wins are similar to a year ago,
it's just going to be more enjoyable to watch.
I think we would all be able to handle that.
Thanks for making Locked On, Hawkeyes, your first listen every day.
Scott Docterman will be on tap with us tomorrow from The Athletic.
A lot of Iowa football conversation with him.
Busy week.
We'll go on record, make our predictions for the season.
Also throw out some over-unders for Iowa football players.
Now, these are not available at a sports book.
We'll go to the Connick Casino,
and we'll come up with some over-unders for this football season.
And mark them down.
See how you did at the end of the season
if you took any of my fake money here with some Hawkeye football over-unders.
Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.
And now it's time for you to go check out Lockdown College Football
and the Lockdown College Football podcast.
From NIL deals to the never-ending conference realignment rumors,
Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron.
You can find the link to Lockdown College Football in the description
so you don't need to search.
Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
We got you covered on the Hawkeye Front.
Thanks for being with us as always.
We'll talk to you again tomorrow.
Go Hawks.