I was very close to publishing my second NFL mock draft and then the 49ers, Dolphins and Eagles decided to get drunk and start trading picks like baseball cards. So, I have to go back to the beginning (well, back to pick #3 anyway) and start over so that’s going to take some time. However, the Iowa Hawkeye Football Team stared spring practice this week and Kirk Ferentz released a pre-spring two-deeps. Clearly, he did it just to mess with us because then he held a press conference to kick off spring practice and told us some of it’s not current. I have to say, good job on the timing though because we all needed something to take our minds off the men’s basketball team. So, I’m diving in like this depth chart means something (it doesn’t) because the mock draft is driving me crazy (seriously, if the 49ers traded all the way up to #3 for Mac Jones, I’m not sure what the hell to expect at the draft).
Quarterback
Starter: Spencer Petras
Backup: Alex Padilla
It isn’t surprising Petras is the starter, he started every game last season. He didn’t start the year well but he played better late in the season. He has all the arm talent in the world he just has to learn how to take a little off and to try not to decapitate the guys running the shallow cross. He is going to have to adjust his deep ball too because while Tyrone Tracy is fast, Usain Bolt at his top speed couldn’t catch up when Petras uncorks one. Hopefully, having a full spring practice, summer workouts and a complete fall camp will allow him the time to get his timing down with his new WR corps.
Ferentz listed Alex Padilla, last year’s back up in the back up spot all by himself just to annoy all the message board fans who have already anointed freshman Deuce Hogan the next great Hawkeye QB. I’m as excited about Hogan’s potential as anyone but I’m also excited to see if Petras can develop his skills. Padilla looks like a solid back up and he plays the game a little differently, he’s a bit more mobile than Petras or Hogan. My read of things is that Padilla will spend more time fending off Hogan for the backup job than competing with Petras for the starting one.
Running Back
Starter: Tyler Goodson
Backup: Ivory Kelly-Martin
Goodson was an All-Big Ten RB last year and he’s the most talented RB Iowa has had since Shonn Greene. He could absolutely break out this year and he’s most likely going to have to carry the load because the Hawks don’t have a ton of depth. As a matter of fact, for spring practice I would advise the coaching staff to wrap Goodson in bubble wrap and store him in a safe location somewhere. They can let him out in the fall before the first game.
The reason I say that is because his listed back up is Ivory Kelly-Martin who isn’t even available for spring practice because he tore his ACL in December. Not sure if he’s even going to be completely healthy when the season starts. Unfortunately, this has become a theme of Kelly-Martin’s career, he’s a talented guy who just can’t catch a break when it comes to injuries. Ferentz mentioned the team has a plan A and a plan B at RB, many believe he was talking about moving someone from a different position to RB if need be (early entrant freshman WR Arland Bruce was a RB in high school). I’m fairly certain Ferentz meant last year’s freshmen RBs Gavin Williams and Leshon Williams were plan A and plan B for the spring. New RB coach Ladell Betts has his work cut out for him this spring.
Monte Pottebaum will be the starting FB and he should be quite good.
Wide Receivers
Starters: Tyrone Tracy, Nico Ragaini
Backups: Charlie Jones, Max Cooper
The first position of major change on offense is WR. Last year we often saw three WRs listed as starting with Brandon Smith, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Nico Ragaini all listed. Ragaini is still a starter and will see most of the snaps in the slot. He’s the reliable guy over the middle who should bail Petras out in a pinch assuming Petras doesn’t kill him with a pass. Tracy moves up from the jack-of-all trades backup, filling in at any spot, to the starter outside who Iowa needs to become a #1 WR. Tracy is an electric playmaker and getting him the ball more often should be good for the offense. If he can establish a connection with Petras it could mean big things on offense.
Charlie Jones moves up from punt returner to the third receiver spot and the Hawkeyes were used to using three-receiver sets so he should get plenty of snaps. He showed he can be a big play guy last season now he just has to translate it to the offense. Max Cooper is returning for an extra year after being injured plenty during his career and it’s nice he’s listed as a backup here but he’s going to have to really improve to hold off the young guys. Desmond Hutson is a big WR who will be looking to fill the Brandon Smith role. True freshmen early enrollees Keegan Johnson and Arland Bruce are also looking to make a splash. Both guys are playmakers and could find a role but I would especially keep an eye on Johnson, he could really fill a need outside for the Hawkeyes.
Tight End
Starter: Sam LaPorta
Backup: Luke Lachey
LaPorta is another major piece to the passing game that could really blow up if he established a connection with Petras. He has all the athleticism and skill needed to be a major playmaker for the Hawkeyes. The offense was inconsistent last year in the passing game and that was mostly on Petras and his struggles. LaPorta should be his security blanket especially in the red zone.
Lachey is a freshman who is a seriously imposing figure on the field. He’s 6’6 and very athletic. He is the son of a former NFL lineman so he comes by his size naturally and he will be a big target for Petras (he should be hard to overthrow and Petras shouldn’t take that as a challenge). It will be interesting if Josiah Miamen or Elijah Yelverton can make a move for playing time.
Offensive Line
Starters: LT Jack Plumb, LG Kyler Schott, C Tyler Linderbaum, RG Justin Britt, RT Cody Ince
Backups: LT Mason Richman, LG Tyler Elsbury, C Noah Fenske, RG Josh Volk, RT Nick DeJong
The offensive line is looking at some major changes and I’m not just talking about the new o-line coach George Barnett. There are only two guys with significant starting experience and the other three listed starters have a just a few games under their belts. There is also quite a bit of shifting around going on. Barnett is going to have his work cut out for him finding the best combination of five starters, luckily Kirk and Brian both have ample offensive line experience.
The line is built around likely Pre-season All-American C Tyler Linderbaum. He goes into the season as the most experienced player with two years of starting experience and the leading contender for the Rimington Award. He’s a great place to start the rebuild of the line. Kyler Schott has started at guard quite a bit but he hasn’t always stayed healthy. It would be helpful if he can lock down one of the guard spots and be consistent inside next to Linderbaum. Cody Ince is listed as the RT after starting numerous games at guard last year but Kirk Ferentz let it be known Ince would miss spring practice with an injury so his spot at RT is tenuous at best. Justin Britt played as a true freshman two years ago but didn’t play much last season. He’s a talented guy and I’m guessing the Hawkeyes will try him all over the line. He could play just about anywhere so don’t be surprised if he gets some time at RT. Jack Plumb filled in last season at RT when injuries took out several players and the team had to shift guys around. This season he’s the leader for the LT spot after Mark Kallenberger gave up football in the off season. For a guy who was sort of thrown to the wolves at RT last season Plumb did pretty well. He’s a talented guy but he will face competition, that’s a good thing, the best five will play.
The back ups are very young, it’s a good thing Iowa has recruited so well at offensive line over the past few years. Mason Richmond and Nick DeJong will certainly give the starters competition at OT while Josh Volk, Tyler Endres and Noah Fenske find their places on the interior of the line. Two early enrollee freshmen, David Davidkov and Connor Colby are both elite prospects. They didn’t enroll early to stand around and watch, they will compete. I’m excited about the future of the offensive line.
Defensive Line
Starters: DE Zach VanValkenburg, DE John Waggoner, DT Noah Shannon, DT Yahya Black
Backups: DE Joe Evans, DE Chris Reames, DT Logan Jones, DT Logan Lee
Zach VanValkenburg is taking advantage of the NCAA granting anyone who wants it an extra year of eligibility because of Covid. That’s good news for the Hawkeyes because he’s the only returning starter on the defensive line and really the only guy with meaningful playing time. On his opposite side is John Waggoner lining up at DE. Waggoner was a highly regarded recruit who hasn’t lived up to the billing and has bounced around between end and tackle a bit. This is his chance to emerge as an actual threat at DE and he wouldn’t be the first guy to make a jump later in his career (VanValkenburg did it just last year). Noah Shannon has precious little playing time at DT and being a starter is a big opportunity, the Hawkeyes need him to take advantage of. Yahya Black is a freshman who played a bit last season as at DE but he’s grown into a DT and must have impressed the staff in the off season. There will certainly be plenty of competition on the defensive line as there just isn’t much experience to go around.
Joe Evans is listed as one backup at DE and he should play the same role he has the last couple of seasons as a designated pass rusher. He could have a chance to unseat Waggoner in the starting lineup if he can prove he has the ability to hold up in the run game. He’s always been undersized for a DE so that’s his challenge. Chris Reames is not a name we have seen before but it’s encouraging that he’s broken through enough to at least make the two-deeps. He will have competition from some younger guys for sure. The Logans are the backups at tackle. Logan Jones and Logan Lee are two young guys who have loads of potential. Jones is a freak in the weight room and he has plenty of skills to match. Lee is a guy who is just trying to find his place. I think the defensive line will be a lot like the offensive line this spring as coaches will move guys all over trying to find the best combination. I would say the only thing to count on is VanValkenburg and Evans will be DEs, other than that, anything can happen.
Linebackers
Starters: MLB Seth Benson, WLB Jack Campbell
Backups: Jestin Jacobs, Jay Higgins, Logan Klemp
The Hawkeyes are going to play two LBs most of the time this season with Dane Belton lining up at the Cash position. Both Benson and Campbell played MLB last season and for now Benson will be the MLB and Campbell will use his immense athletic skills to play the Will LB spot. The two of them both played well in limited time last season and while they have some big shoes to fill with Nick Niemann leaving, they seem up to the task.
Jestin Jacobs has been a bit of a tease in his time at Iowa as he was a highly touted prospect who has had some injury issues slow down his development. He’s a very athletic guy with great size and the hope is that he can carve out some playing time for himself. Higgins can contribute on special teams and the coaching staff clearly likes his potential, he’s a young guy who needs a little more physical development. Logan Klemp is a name we haven’t seen much and he’s listed behind Dane Belton at Cash but it just means he’s the fifth LB. That’s good news for him but he has to hold off some freshmen coming in; Justice Sullivan and Zach Twedt.
Defensive Backs
Starters: Cash Dane Belton, CB Matt Hankins, CB Riley Moss, SS Kaevon Merriweather, FS Jack Koerner
Backups: CB Terry Roberts, CB Jermari Harris, S Reggie Bracy, S Quinn Schulte
The Hawkeyes got a second unexpected surprise (VanValkenburg being the first) when Matt Hankins decided to stay at Iowa for another year. Hankins is a multi-year starter and having him return means Iowa’s entire starting secondary remains intact. Hankins is joined by Riley Moss who started all last season at CB. They are two proven players on he outside and given Iowa’s questions up front it’s nice to have some certainty in the secondary. Kaevon Merriweather and Jack Koerner return at safety after starting last year and both of them can be playmakers. Dane Belton is back to man the Cash position, the LB/S/CB hybrid position Amani Hooker established a couple years ago. He’s a big-time playmaker and in certain alignments he can line up as a traditional safety.
Terry Roberts and Jermari Harris are listed as the backup CBs and that might be the case but there is one guy to keep an eye on, Xavior Williams. Williams is a grad transfer from UNI and while he has the versatility to play both safety and corner, I would expect him to get time at CB. He didn’t transfer to Iowa to sit and watch and I don’t think Kirk Ferentz would have taken him as a transfer if he didn’t think he would play. Reggie Bracy is a young guy at safety making his way up the depth chart and Quinn Schulte is a walk-on listed as a backup. Usually seeing a walk-on in the two deeps ahead of scholarship players is disconcerting, but not at Iowa where it’s pretty commonplace and a little expected. Nothing is locked in here, there are some young guys still looking to make some noise.
Kicker and Punter
Caleb Shudak is also taking advantage of the Covid year extension to return and hoping to get one final shot at being the field goal kicker after being the kickoff specialist the past few years. He has sat behind Keith Duncan waiting for this opportunity but he will have to hold off a couple of young guys Aaron Blom and Lucas Amaya. Tory Taylor came in last season as a freshman from Australia who had never played in an American football game before and all he did was win the Big Ten Punter of the Year award. He is not competing for his job this year, he’s competing for the Ray Guy Award.
The Hott Read 