Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - The next great Hawkeye defensive back, the next Women's point guard? & David Eickholt joins

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

 Trent Condon returns for a football heavy episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast. First, a look at the defensive backfield and what Phil Parker has set up for the 2024 season including a lot of experience and what that means for the Hawkeyes D. Then David Eickholt from Hawkeye Insider stops by to talk Caitlin Clark, transfer portal shopping for both the men's and women's basketball programs and some football talk. Finally, the Iowa baseball team finds itself in trouble after starting the season in the preseason Top 25.   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARENTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. 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.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)

We made it. It's time to actually talk some Hawkeye football. The next great Iowa defensive back, plus old friend David Eichold stops by and talks Hawkeye basketball and football all today. Locked on Hawkeye. 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 Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you find podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. If you're on the YouTube side, hit subscribe. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans.

If you're on the podcast side, five-star reviews greatly helps us here on Locked On. Today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOL code lockdown college for 20 off your first purchase well we have put basketball in the rearview mirror for the time being though there is plenty to talk about on that side of things we will be talking about the transfer portal its impact and in fact maybe a little bit of news coming your way a little bit later today david eicholdt's going to join us and talk about some of the potential targets in the portal for both Iowa men's and women's basketball. And we will get into that.

But after the incredible run from the women's basketball team, getting back to the national championship game, well, it took us into April. Normally, this is the time that we are heavy, inundated with football content. We are talking about everything that we're getting out of spring practice, taking all different angles. And we're a little bit late to the party, but that's okay. All this does is it helps build that bridge back until we get into August camp and, of course, September when college football season returns. Today, our spotlight is on the defensive backfield, and throughout the years, obviously, we have grown accustomed to absolute greats and seeing what Phil Parker has been able to do year

in and year out by finding his kind of guys, guys that for the most part are not highly regarded coming out of high school. We're not talking about players that have four or five stars next to their name, but it doesn't matter because he is going to find the right fit, the right guy, and he is going to mold them into a tremendous defensive back. It doesn't matter if you're talking safety. It doesn't matter if you're talking cornerback, time in and time out. That has been something that Phil Parker

over the last two decades has proven. He is an elite evaluator and developer at this position. And in a way, you go into each and every season just saying, well, they'll be fine, right? They're going to figure it out. There's been hiccups. There's been issues when injuries have cropped up. That has turned into certainly some question marks,

I would say overall. But we come into this season now with a ton of guys with a lot of experience. And when you're talking about experience, you start in the backfield at the safety position with Quinn Schulte. Schulte's not a guy that's going to wow you physically. He's not a guy that you're going to be looking at.

He's not going to win any of the Swimsuit Olympics, right, when it comes to the NFL Draft Combine. What he is going to do, though, is he's going to be an incredibly heady player. He's going to make all the right calls. And in the Phil Parker defensive scheme, it is ultra important. We have heard so many times throughout the course of the seasons

that that defensive back, be it the strong safety or the free safety, whoever it is that is making the calls, their importance to Iowa football and what they're doing there, getting everybody in the right spot, getting everybody lined up, everybody working in tandem with each other. And that person has a huge, huge load that they take on. And Quilt Schulte has been able to do that. And getting him back now for his bonus season this year, that is a huge step up. So you bring back Schulte, you got your leader, you got your quarterback of your defense back there, a guy that's made plays, a guy that certainly you feel like

can play at a high level once again this season. And you pair him with Xavier Wampa. Xavier Wampa is one of the few five starts that Iowa has ever gotten in the recruiting era over the last 25 years. It's a rarity that you get somebody like this. And two years into his career for Xavier Wampa, playing limitedly as a freshman,

and then what we saw as a starter a year ago. I still believe that there is more to untap with Xavier Wampa. When you look at Wampa, the physicality, the ranginess that he had, I've said it before and it bears repeating, his ability to cover so much ground from that position is unlike anything I'd ever seen at the high school level. Now, how is it translating? How are they going to get there? That's going to be important because he needs to take another step.

I think there's some more physicality that needs to be inputted and increased for him this season. I think that's something you want to see. Remember also last season, the Wampa was playing with an injury, an injured shoulder a season ago. And I think that maybe did limit a little bit what he was on the physical side. And then he throw the other one in Sebastian Castro also coming back now for a grad season, much like Schulte, Castro playing that cash position. We've seen how important that is in the evolution of the Iowa defense now over the last five years and what they've been able to do and just elite numbers that they're putting up each and every time defensively. And a big reason for that is the play of guys like Sebastian Castro.

They've had different looking guys. They've played different types of players in that role. You look at Dave Belton, much different than Castro. They've used a couple of different types, but Castro, we saw it a year ago, physical. I mean, he is like an undersized linebacker out there. The coverage skills are elite. You look at the numbers for pro football focus. They're as good as anybody there.

And that hybrid position, not a quarterback, not a safety, not a linebacker, just kind of something in between. And Sebastian Castro has done it at a really high level. And then you go to the starting cornerback position. Not a quarterback, not a safety, not a linebacker, just kind of something in between. And Sebastian Castor has done it at a really high level. And then you go to the starting cornerback positions. And we anticipate Jamari Harris coming back also for his bonus season this year. Saw a lot of Jamari a year ago, suspended the first two games last season because of the gambling investigation. He came back. It took a little while because remember the year previous in 2022, he had lost that season because of injury. But once he shook the Ross off, he was playing at a really, really high level. And I think you're excited about him.

While he was suspended, Deshaun Lee was the guy at the cornerback position. I thought he acclimated himself incredibly well. He saw teams right away were targeting him with Cooper Dajin on the other side. And Lee was right there. And I think you're going to see some big-time growth out of him this season. So those are your starting cornerbacks, and then you throw in a guy like T.J. Hall. T.J. Hall was a big recruit, one of the better recruits in that class a couple of years ago. Now in his junior campaign, he's played. He's also been banged up. He was thrust into the lineup in that Nebraska game two years ago. It didn't go very well against the fastest player in the Big Ten that season.

But T.J. Hall, hearing good things about the way the camp is going for him, and he is starting to really click and really get it there. And then you have to talk about Jon Nestor. And Nestor's an interesting one. Sophomore out of Chicago, from Marist High School. But the buzz has been tremendous since he showed up on campus. People talked about Jon Nestor, the next Riley Moss, the next Cooper DeGene. Jon Nestor's been that guy that's talked about.

Now, a reason for it is also his pigmentation because he's a white quarterback. And we just don't see that very often. And we only really see it in Iowa City at this point in time. But good skills. They've been excited about him from the get-go. And he got an opportunity there. We won't get to see Cohen Entringer, who made a huge name for himself a year ago in special teams.

He'll be back out there again. They are very excited about his future, just a sophomore. And then he got a bunch of other, you know, got young guys there. You know, Khalil Tate, who redshirted a season ago, what he's going to be coming up this season and how much impact is he going to be able to make coming up this year? Zach Lootmer, Teagan Davis, both guys, Davis coming off the knee injury

that he sustained back in high school. He's got to add some weight, just listed at 160 pounds. Yeah, that's a little bit scary, but both those guys, what their future is going to hold. As always, the Iowa defensive backfield, no surprise, in really good shape

and going to be one of the strengths of the team once again this season. As we continue here on Lockdown Hawkeyes, we're going to get into our newsbreaker stories, and that is our man David Eicholt working on the beat with 24-7 Sports, HawkeyeInsider.com. Looking forward to getting a great look at everything going on in the world of Hawkeyes. We're going to talk about the transfer portal,

the way that that is set up right now for the Hawkeyes and what they're going to do, what they're going to have, both men's and women's side. We will get into that and a whole lot more as we continue Lockdown Hawkeyes. David Eichel, he joins us next. Stay right there. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast

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What are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel.com slash lockdown and make your first bet and automatic win. That's FanDuel.com slash lockdown. FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Let's get David Eicholt in here. Hawkeyeinsider.com, 24-7 sports. A lot of ground to cover with you.

We appreciate coming on. Want to do men, want to do the women, obviously. Football, lots going on with the University of Iowa. But let's start with the latest, and that's the championship game that all came to an end on Sunday afternoon. When it comes down to it, David, and you were there, South Carolina, they're just at a different level, aren't they? No, they are.

I mean, that's got to be one of the best teams that's ever been put together, women's college basketball. I know all the UConn teams are tremendous. I mean, even last year's South Carolina team. But they lose all five starters, and people can say what they want about how many five stars they have on the roster. They still have to make it work, and it's very clear that Don Staley has instilled a culture

and a value system there that just works for that group. I mean, you talk about trying to get Camila Cardoso in foul trouble. Well, guess what? They got two or three other posts that can come in and produce similar results. I mean, at the end of the day, South Carolina was an absolute machine. They were very well put together. Iowa, if they play 100 times, maybe Iowa wins 10 to 12 of the time. And I still thought they put together quite a fight.

But, yeah, I think you just need to tip your cap off to South Carolina and what they did. Unquestionably the best team in the country this year. No doubt about it. It ends in another championship game. They played as long as possible for back-to-back seasons. And I think we'll look back and yes, there'll always be the disappointment of not getting a national championship, but this run that this team has put us on and what Caitlin Clark certainly over these last two years has done. I mean, this is rarefied air for Iowa athletics. I know wrestling and the championships there, but we're talking very much a niche sporting comparison,

even what women's college basketball is. When you look back and you look back at the legacy of this squad and Kaitlin Clark and you look back at these four years, what are going to be your lasting memories? I think, number one, you can't talk about the history of women's college basketball without the Iowa Hawkeyes now. Because you can say whatever you want about Iowa not being able to finish the job. But what Kaitlyn's done, and I don't care anymore.

I'm going to fly out and say it. Don't give me this championship or bust when it comes to the greatest of all time conversations. Kaitlyn Clark's the best college basketball player that's ever walked the earth. What she's been able to do, and for her to not, I feel like not enough credit for what she's been able to do. It's incredible. In terms of they beat South Carolina last year, and there were segments about how the tournament should be canceled. Because South Carolina was so great last year. Kaitlin Clark and I were able to beat them.

Iowa being able to defeat Kim Mulkey and Gino Ariema and back-to-back, get back to a national title. And then, of course, Dawn Staley, who's turned South Carolina into a blue blood at this point. I just think it's the overall impact. And not just they made on Iowa, but they made on the sport as a whole. I mean, they made it must-watch TV. 18 million people watched. 24 million people watched Caitlin Clark's final game.

I think you look at the stories of Hannah Stolke playing out of position, what she's been able to do being that pure five. She'll be a four next year. Kate Martin probably goes down as one of the best leaders in Iowa athletics history, certainly Iowa women's basketball history. You know, how a community embraced Molly Davis, Molly Davis getting on the court for the final 20 seconds.

Then you have Falter stepping up now is, you know, going to be a focal point next season what she's been able to do it really is there's so many compelling storylines with this team but i think above all else the way they've been able to not shy away from controversy when you know when criticism would hit them the way they embraced new fans the way they try to pave the way for the future generation while honoring former legends like there's no such thing as a team that does everything right or people that do everything right this group of women and the staff i think they've been about as flawless as they come in terms of being able to embrace their role in growing the women's college basketball game yes the championship would have been nice i think they were clearly disappointed they weren't able to get it,

but I also think they have the perspective and they have the understanding that what they've done for the game, it's bigger than championships. I don't remember which writer or former writer of the Omaha world. Harold tweeted something that I'm paraphrasing that, you know, upon further review, it seems like Caitlin Clark is going to have to win two championships before she's anointed as the greatest because one won't be enough. And obviously, he's poking fun at some of the stars that have come before Caitlin Clark that are going out of their way to set that bar at an unreachable place. But she did.

And here's my takeaway. I got two. What she meant to little boys and little girls filling arenas around the Big Ten footprint and wherever she went, and not just her, the whole team, because, you know, Kate Martin signed a bunch of autographs. So did Gabby Marshall. I'm guessing Stulkey as well.

But how she affected boys and girls who will come after her. And then maybe as important as anything, how the team, the coaching staff and the team was able to keep the outside outside. You know, they, all that noise that was being, that was, that was coming their way. It didn't seem to affect them at all. They were successful in, you know, keeping that volume as low as it possibly could be in an era with social media that quite honestly is incredibly hard to do. Yeah, I think you hit the nail on

the head. And I think the way that I think you need to tip your cap to Lisa Bluter and staff for creating a culture to really understand that pressure is a privilege. And how about, I know we always talk about Caitlin Clark, right? Please. So about how about Caitlin Clark being able to embrace everything, because there is no buddy that has had more pressure on them and college athletics over the past year than Caitlin Clark.

Yeah, for sure. Without question. And for her to continue to answer the same questions from national media, from local media, time after time with a big smile on her media, from local media, time after time with a big smile on her face, staying after games, signing as many autographs as she can. I mean, after they won the big 10 tournament, she was out on the court for about 75 to 80 minutes.

Seriously, just signing autographs. She understands her impact and to be 22 years old and to really just understand that she is going to pave the way. She is going to be a global sports icon at this point, if she is not already. For her to understand that and to not have an ego about it, I think you need to give a lot of credit to Lisa Bluter, give a lot of credit to her parents and the staff and the friendships that are all around her to keep her grounded. And I think you also need to give credit to the Iowa women's team

because how many of them could have been on a team where you know they aren't happy they're not getting recognition because all the attentions on caitlyn clark for lisa bluter to establish a culture where there's no drama there's no toxicity behind the scenes there's people that are very very happy for caitlyn and when you think about this too and and this is something Kaitlyn doesn't get crap for, she does not like talking about herself. She really doesn't. She understands she has to, but she tries to give shout outs to everybody on the team. She tries to shine the light on everybody. And I think that's also helped her in credibility in that locker room. But you're exactly right. I mean, for them to handle everything the way they have,

it really is compelling. And I think it's very admirable. handle everything the way they have it really is compelling and i think it's very admirable so we look towards the future and the future without caitlin clark and gabby marshall and kate martin and sharon goodman and on and on and on it is going to be another look they need a point guard they don't have one on the roster canada johnson got hurt um incoming guyton she's also injured with an acl they need a point guard lucy olsen is the hot name out there the third leading scorer in the country a year ago from villanova five foot nine guard and well she took over some pretty big shoes herself and a seagrass taken over for her who was the third book in the wmba a year ago what is the reality there with lucy olsen in a connection to

iowa yeah i mean it's good Iowa's going to be heavily involved. I mean, I think when you look around, some of the teams are interested. Ohio State's reaching out. Indiana's reaching out. UConn, I've been told now, has had contact with her. She is from the East Coast. Several schools on the West Coast want to get her. USC's in a name for our school thrown around.

But from what I've been told, she wants to stick around the East Coast or the Midwest. And I think Iowa right now is in a strong spot for her. I think UConn, if they take her seriously, they might be able to. But also, what's Lucy Olsen want? Does she want to be a generational shot-chucker? Or is she trying to win? Because if she wants to continue to score the clip she is, she could stay at Villanova.

If she wants to make some more NIL money, if she wants to be on national TV, if she wants exposure, I mean, Iowa and UConn are probably two of the top schools in the country when it comes to that. So I don't want to say Iowa's a leader right now, but I do think Iowa is heavily involved. And then I do think there's a realistic chance that Lucy Olsen is a Hawkeye next year. Interesting. Well, we'll follow that. How about some Hawkeyes that are going to play for Fran McCaffrey? Are the men getting any closer to signing, replenishing their roster, David? they did just set up a visit this week with the Moorhead State guard, John Rothstein, I believe, first reported that about 20 to 25 minutes ago in one of the highest assist rates in the country. Drew Billwell, very quick athletic guard, great passer, needs to improve his jump shot a little bit, but he can set up teammates. But Iowa's probably talking to five to eight heavily,

as far as I'm aware of. So they are prioritizing a few spots right now. But it's also what are the priorities of guys going to be? Because I don't know right now with some of these big schools if Iowa can compete on the NIL front when it comes to men's basketball. I just don't think that that's realistic. So Iowa is trying to replenish the roster. I still think there's a long way to go when it comes to it. But with the recruiting dead period coming to an end, I believe tomorrow there are going to be some visits in the works. You know, we see, of course, here in the state of Iowa, Iowa State already filling up with a bunch of transfers coming in. What is, I guess, the, in comparison to other programs, why is Iowa so slow to react? Is it financial? Is it just the

way that Fran likes to do things and making sure that culturally it's the right fit? Why does it seem like Iowa is so much slower than other programs in the portal? Yeah, you know, I think they are a little bit slower, but I also don't think they're as slow as on the record. I think Iowa tells recruits and tells people that they don't want to let the national media know that Iowa reaches out to them. And I don't know if that's paranoia. I don't know if that's just the way that Fran McCaffrey and staff operate, but they really like to keep things low-key. And I do think that that's a part of it as well.

But I do think they are a little bit slower. But on top of that too, we know that Fran is probably as clean as they come when it comes on the recruiting trail. And let's not act like that. Basketball recruiting has always been a pristine, clear-cut sort of industry. Above board. For years. Exactly.

All ethical, all that. No, never. So I think Frank McCaffrey does things by the book. I think he stays well within the rules. And I hate to say it, but at this point, if you're not cheating, you're really not ahead when it comes to college basketball recruiting. That's not crazy. What about some of the former Hawks, Perkins and Patrick McCaffrey?

How about those two? Are you hearing anything? Yeah, so I think Patrick right now is setting up some visits. I believe that there are going to be several high majors involved. I know some other schools have been reaching out to him. I mean, you look at Clemson, I think it's been a school that's been thrown around. Butler's been a school that's been thrown around. But he is going to go high major, and we'll see what he wants to do.

I mean, if he wants to go try and make some major NIL money somewhere, I think that there's going to be a market for that for him. And, you know, ultimately, too, when it comes to Patrick, I think he'll have a great year. I think getting out of Iowa, getting a fresh start, I think that's going to be really, really good for him. So I'm intrigued about that. Tony Perkins, we'll see.

I think Iowa fans would be very comfortable rooting for Tony Perkins if he goes a couple different places. I think Missouri right now could be the leader in the clubhouse, which is strange considering they're fresh off an 0-18 season in the SEC. But I do know that Indiana has been also thrown out there. Oregon's been out there. But I'll tell you, it could be a rough, rough go if Tony Perkins comes to,

back to Carver Hawkeye Arena and he's not wearing the black and gold. All right. So one more on basketball. I probably need to, about Peyton Sanford and the fact that he is going through the process of the NBA. A lot of folks, Trent included, say that this is the year that the NBA draft is not deep. Next year, the opportunities may not be there. I mean, they're going to draft 60 players in the two rounds.

Peyton Sanford, because this is a bad year, may lead him to staying in as opposed to other years. What are you hearing on that front, David? Yeah, I mean, I think Trent's exactly right. I think this is the worst draft class it's been in my lifetime. It's just not deep. There's really no pure superstars i don't know how much depth that there's going to be and you talk about payton i think it's going

to come down to a couple things one what's the feedback going to be for payton sanford if he returns to iowa how can he improve his draft stock because there are going to be certain things right now that i don't know how much he can improve on talk about short lateral quickness you know you talk about athleticism we know what he can do but he's also a really dynamic shooter he could be a guy that comes off the bench you know and shoots eight times in five minutes I mean that's sort of his game he's improved as a passer rebounding wise I think could be a little bit tougher going the NBA but I think the NBA style fits Peyton Sanford, especially on the offensive end. But two is, like, can Iowa match NIL to have Peyton Sanford come back? Like, right now, I'm pretty split if he comes back or not.

I'm not going to lie. You know, if you asked me a couple weeks ago, I probably would have said 75% chance he comes back. At this point, I still think he comes back. But I think it's a lot closer to 50-50, depending on what the feedback is going to be for him. So I'll certainly be talking to people here the next couple weeks. So if Peyton goes in there, it's 85-93 in a 103-point workout.

That could definitely help his draft stock. Interesting. David Eichel joining us. David, last thing on the football front, got to hear from defensive line, defensive backs earlier in the week. Tomorrow, he gets some more players, what, 1030? And what, 20 minutes? You get to film a little practice there. Just give us an overview, spring practice, what you're hearing, kind of what the buzz is as they implement the new offense.

Guys, motion, motion, motion when it comes to the offense. I mean, that was the first thing that was on every defender's ballot. And they said, the way that Iowa's offense is working right now, its goal is to try to trick the eyes and to make the defenses do undisciplined things and aaron graves threw this out there i knew right when i tweeted i was going to get picked up and people are going to go about it but some of the offensive players believe it's a watered-down version of a kyle shanahan offense okay i'm not saying it's gonna be a 49ers offense i'm not i'm not i'm not talking about that but in terms of these short passes getting the tight ends involved getting the wide receivers

involved having run pass options i do think right now the early indications are that i was having a lot of fun with this offense the offense is kind of feels quote unquote rejuvenated i think more than anything else i think that we'll be able to talk to some more players tomorrow i requested kade mcnamara i think it'd be really good if kade mcnamara came out and talked even though he's not a full participant right now uh but as far as the defense goes i think that they're incredibly confident i mean they returned so many different starters john nester is the guy to keep an eye on at cornerback why a black returns i think there's a lot of standard and a lot of expectations that xavier wampa could take the next step as well so you know it's all good guys i mean when's the last

time we've really had a bad thing to say in spring football everybody looks faster everybody's stronger yeah everything is better i mean that's kind of the story of it but uh i'm gonna see it till i don't believe it when i see it mode when it comes to the offense but you know the motion some of the things that they're talking about, they at least perk my eyebrows up a little bit. That is David Eichel joining us here on Lockdown Hawkeyes, talking everything going on in the world of the Hawkeyes,

some good stuff there out of the offense, things to get excited about, and that transfer portal and the potential for the Iowa women to maybe have their next great point guard as we continue here at Lockdown Hawkeyes. Iowa baseball, yeah, we get throughed on Hawkeyes, Iowa baseball. Yeah, we get through basketball and it's time to talk baseball things a little more

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L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-C-O-L-L-E-G-E for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Trent Conner back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every single day. A lot of moments here. And as we sit here watching Iowa baseball team as they face off against St. Thomas, it is not going well. They're down 5-0 going into the second inning. Woof. Terrible.

Team St. Thomas, RPI a 2-0-2. So I looked at this before this one even began. And we know that the beginning of the season obviously did not go the way that we hoped that we anticipated, right? We wanted to see a whole lot more out of this team. They're a preseason top 25 team, but they go down to that big tournament. Jacksonville gets swept by Auburn, Virginia, Wichita State. The Virginia loss, you can understand. Auburn, Wichita, not very good.

You lose two out of three against a pretty average Ole Miss team. You lose two out of three against a bad Jacksonville State game. You have an opportunity against Georgia. You lose that one. You hate to say it's over on April 10th. This thing very well may be over. Iowa's RPI going into the game today, and if this one ends in a loss to St. Thomas, it's going to plummet even more. Their RPI is at 138 in the country. They are 14 and 13 overall. An RPI of 138. That is four from the bottom of the Big Ten.

The Big Ten is not like it is for many other sports. The Big Ten in baseball is not one of the powers that be. Coupled with a bullpen that has struggled this season. Iowa's only shot of getting into the NCAA tournament, again, as being a preseason top 25 team, is to win the Big Ten tournament. And to do that with a bullpen and even a starting staff that has been as leaky as Iowa, talking about it at large bid is not likely.

It's going to have to be what happens in Omaha. That's a long ways away. A lot to get better, but it's very concerning right now looking at this Iowa team. Lose the final two games on Saturday against Michigan. Michigan now sits alone in third place in the Big Ten. Nebraska very good this season. Illinois is off to a good start. They got the series win against Purdue.

Couldn't continue the momentum against Michigan. Iowa has dug themselves an incredibly deep hole this season in baseball. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll be back with you tomorrow. We're going to be talking recruiting with our recruiting guru here on Lockdown with John Hill. He's going to stop by. Plenty to get into with him, including a four-star running back from Florida, his home state,

that'll be making his way to Iowa City coming up this weekend. We'll talk about that and a whole lot more. Take one final look at the class coming in, the class of 2024, his thoughts on that, and much more football as we continue our way through spring football. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We'll talk to you again tomorrow. Go Hawks!