The Hawkeyes had their spring scrimmage last Saturday at Kinnick.
There were six things I wanted to see at the scrimmage last Saturday.
No. 1 The quarterback battle.
Iowa has three quarterbacks on scholarship and all three played.
Spencer Petras started and struggled against the first-team defense but I think a lot of quarterbacks will have a hard time competing against the Iowa defense.
“I think he has done a lot of really good things,” said Kirk Ferentz. “He seems confident and throws the ball well.”
Alex Padilla started out completing 4-of-5 and drove the team down for a score against the second-team defense.
Joe Lobas, a redshirt freshman from Ohio, was 7-of-8 and had a nice drive against the third-team defense.
I think it’s Petras’ job to lose as he lost 10 pounds over the summer and looks a little more mobile.
I give Padilla a lot of credit for sticking with the program.
“I’m not going to shy away from competition,” said Padilla after the scrimmage.
“I think all three have made progress,” said Kirk Ferentz. “I think all three are growing.
Bottom line, Iowa has three pretty good quarterbacks and if the offensive line comes through, should put up good numbers
No. 2 — offensive line
Logan Lee moves from defense to center, like Tyler Linderbaum did.
Lee keeps in touch with Linderbaum and said, “I feel more comfortable on offense.”
“We’re still young. We’re certainly more experienced than we were a year ago,” said Ferentz. “We still have work to do.”
No. 3 — new running backs
The offense had a tough time running against the first-team defense.
Galvin and Leshon Williams had some tough runs inside but both looked good catching passes.
Iowa should be solid in the run game.
No. 4 — defensive line
Lucas Van Ness played in all 14 games last year at defensive tackle totaling seven sacks.
Lucas was moved to defensive end to free him up for more pressure.
“He’s got a chance to be pretty good,” said the head man. “He’s problematic when you’re trying to pass block him.”
Throw in Joe Evans, Noah Shannon and John Waggoner and Iowa should be solid on the defensive line.
There were a lot of injuries that held out some players, especially on defense.
That gave some of the younger players some reps.
No. 5 — kicking game
It was pretty windy at the scrimmage so the kicking game made it tough on the field goal kickers.
Aaron Blom and Lucas Amaya both struggled with the wind.
That position won’t be decided until fall.
Tory Taylor did his thing with some booming punts.
No. 6 —new kids
Xavier Nwankpa and T.J. Hall, both true freshmen, lined up with the third-string defense.
“All the first-year guys just getting the work and learning all the things that they do are really good,” said Ferentz. “Xavier has done some good things. You can see the guy that we knew he is.”
Look for those two to help out special teams.
Cooper DeJean played the cash position and Quinn Schulte started at safety.
Both played a lot on special teams last season and both look ready to make an impact.
It’s early but if Iowa can find a kicker and stay healthy, it should be an exciting season.
Schedule
Sept. 3 — South Dakota State Jackrabbits
The Jackrabbits finished 11-4 last fall and were beaten by Montana State 31-17 in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.
Sept. 10 — Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones were ranked sixth in the nation in preseason polls and finished 7-6 including a 27-17 loss to Iowa at Ames. Rebuild or reload? I’ll talk more about that in August.
Sept. 17 — Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada finished 8-5 last season with a 22-17 upset over California in the first game. The Wolf Pack finished 5-3 in the conference and lost to Western Michigan 52-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Sept. 24 — at the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Knights were 5-8 last season, 2-7 in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights had nice wins over Syracuse (17-7) and Indiana (38-3).
I think Iowa can go 4-0 to start the season.
Oct. 1 — Michigan Wolverines
Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time in eight years and won the Big Ten championship for the first time. The Wolverines finished 12-2 including a 42-3 smackdown against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game.
Oct. 8 — at Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois finished 5-7 last season under new head coach Bret Bielema, former Hawkeye player and head coach at Wisconsin. The Hawks beat the Illini, 33-23.
Oct. 15 — Bye
Oct. 22 —at the Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes finished 11-2 last fall losing only to Oregon (35-28) and Michigan (42-27). They haven’t played the Hawkeyes since 2017 when Iowa won 55-24.
It would be nice if Iowa could at least beat either Michigan or Ohio State.
Both will be loaded.
Oct. 29 — Northwestern Wildcats
The Wildcats finished 3-9, 1-8. The Hawkeyes beat them 17-12 in Evanston. They always play Iowa tough.
Nov. 5 — at the Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue finished 9-4, 6-3 last year including an ugly 24-7 win over Iowa at Kinnick.
Nov. 12 — Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers were 9-4, 6-3 last fall. They beat the Hawks 27-7 in another ugly game for Iowa.
Nov. 19 — at the Minnesota Gophers
Minnesota also finished 9-4, 6-3 last season. The Hawkeyes beat them 27-22 with Alex Padilla getting his first start at quarterback.
Nov. 25 — Nebraska Cornhuskers
The Huskers were 3-9, 1-8 last year including a 28-21 loss to Iowa. The Hawks have won seven straight.
At this point, I would say at best Iowa goes 10-2. The lower end 8-4.
I’ll break down the schedule more in August.
