FOOTBALL
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz
The football team is coming off an 8-5 season with a loss to LSU in the Outback Bowl. The Hawkeyes lost TE-C.J. Fiedorowicz, OL-Conor Boffeli, Brett Van Sloten, LB-Christian Kirskey, Anthony Hitchens, James Morris CB-B.J. Lowery and S-Tanner Miller, all of whom, besides Lowery, are in NFL camps right now. The Hawkeyes have two experienced QBs in Jake Rudock, Jr. and C.J. Beathard, So. The RB group looks solid with four experienced guys. The WRs are a pretty deep group this year and have some intriguing prospects, including Derrick Willies, Fr. The TEs are solid as always, this group is similar to the RB group, four solid guys, all with different styles. The OL depth is a question mark, but I'm not too worried. Brandon Scherff, Sr. could be the best OL in the country. The DL has experience and depth finally, something that has been lacking in recent years. DT Carl Davis, Sr. anchors the group. The LB group is somewhat of a question mark as well, replacing all three starters. Quinton Alston, Sr. should be solid and probably could have started at most schools. Reggie Spearman, So. showed last year that he could be a really good LB. The defensive secondary will be decent, led by CB Desmond King, So. who shined as a true freshmen last year. Had a great game against LSU's top WRs. The kicking game will be a question mark as well.
A lot of people are talking about how "easy" Iowa's schedule is, and it is pretty favorable, but not easy by any means. Road games in the Big Ten are definitely not easy. This year they travel to Pittsburgh, also, which could provide a solid early season test. They have one of the best young WRs in the country in Tyler Boyd and have a bowling ball at running back. Their defense will be pretty suspect though. Iowa does get Northwestern, Wisconsin and Nebraska all at home in November and will have a chance to win the West division. I see the Hawkeyes going anywhere between 9-3 and 10-2 in the regular season. I think the game at Maryland will be a big challenge for Iowa, I also think they'll lose one of the home games in November. Pittsburgh will be a challenge as well.
Potential draft picks: Mark Weisman I could see as a FB in the NFL, I don't know if he will get drafted, but could join someone as a free agent. Ray Hamilton should get drafted as most of Iowa's TEs do. Brandon Scherff will be a 1st round pick, and could possibly even be top 5. I could see Andrew Donnal getting a shot if he stays healthy and has a good year. Carl Davis has shown up on mock draft boards in the 1st round, and Louis Trinca-Pasat should get a shot somewhere, too, in the lower rounds. Quinton Alston could have a big senior year and emerge on some draft boards. Iowa could have four or five guys drafted with a majority of the seniors signing on somewhere.
BASKETBALL
Head Coach: Fran McCaffrey
I haven't watched a lot of Iowa basketball the last few years, but McCaffrey has really turned things around and Iowa basketball is watchable again. The Lickliter-era was the worst, I couldn't watch any of the games. I was able to catch quite a few games last year, including the NCAA Tournament play-in game against Tennessee. The team was off to a great start but disappeared towards the end of the season. Roy Devyn Marble was drafted by the Orlando Magic, they also lost Melsahn Basabe and Zach McCabe. The team this year returns Aaron White, Sr. Josh Oglesby, Sr., Gabe Olaseni, Sr. Adam Woodbury, Jr. Mike Gesell, Jr. and Jarrod Uthoff, Jr. The team adds PG-Trey Dickerson, SG-Brady Ellingson and PF-Dominique Uhl. So. Peter Jok has been in some legal trouble, hopefully he'll get his head straight, he's got a lot of potential. I think this year's team could be a top four Big Ten team and should make another run to the NCAA tourney. White should pace the team in scoring, and Woody and Gesell should provide some offense, too. Gabe Olaseni is a nice spark off the bench and Oglesby is a sharp-shooter. Uthoff should start at the 3 and should be solid after a year of playing in the Big Ten.
Potential draft picks: Aaron White could be a 2nd round selection, I could see him having a decent career as a bench guy in the NBA. Gabe Olaseni could be a potential free agent and might catch on with a team, but he's probably more primed to play overseas. Either way, it will be nice to see more Hawkeyes in the NBA.
WRESTLING
Head Coach: Tom Brands
The wrestling team loses national champion, Tony Ramos at 133 and Derek St. John at 157. Those are huge losses, but they return a pretty solid group. Minnesota and Penn State will most likely be favored for the conference and national titles. 125-Thomas Gilman, So. 133-Cory Clark, So. 165-Nick Moore, Sr. 174-Mike Evans, Sr. 285-Bobby Telford, Sr. will lead the team this year. I'd like to see Evans win a national title this year.
BASEBALL
Head Coach: Rick Heller
What a great season for Iowa baseball last year, and this year could be even better. They lost SS-Jake Yacinich and P-Sasha Kuebel to the MLB Draft and OF-Taylor Zeutenhorst graduated. The team returns a lot of experience and they added Jeff Clement to the coaching staff. The top returners will be 1B/P-Tyler Petyon, Jr. 2B-Jake Mangler, Sr. 3B-Nick Day, Sr. LF-Kris Goodman, Sr. CF-Eric Toole, Sr. C-Jimmy Frankos, Jr. DH-Dan Potempa, Sr. P-Calvin Mathews, Jr. P-Blake Hickman, Jr. P-Josh Martsching, So. P-Nick Hibbing, Sr. P-Andrew Hedrick, Sr. P-Tyler Radtke, Jr. P-Jared Mandel, So. P-Taylor Kaufman, Jr.
Newcomers include- OF-Eric Joblinske-Schenck, Jr. switched from A&M to Iowa, should be a solid addition to the OF. OF-Joel Booker, Jr. I was surprised he didn't get drafted, he'll start for Iowa. C-J.T. Sole, Fr. will be a nice backup for Frankos. 1B/3B-Grant Klenovich, Fr. should add some power to the lineup. 2B-Kyle Fenway Parks, Fr. should step in nicely after Mangler graduates. P-Michael Haring, Fr. could be a couple years before he gets solid innings. P-Kyle Wade, Fr. same with Haring. P-Luke VanderMaten Jr. had some great numbers at Iowa Central, could be a closer. P-Connor Grant, Jr. another nice late addition to the recruiting class.
Overall, I think Iowa could be near the top of the conference standings next year and possibly get selected for a regional. It's been a long time since Iowa has had this much depth and experience. The MLB draft could be a good one for Iowa next year, I could see Mangler and Toole getting drafted and possibly a few juniors as well. Potempa could get a shot, too, not sure what position he could play.
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