Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Iowa's Bowl win over Vandy, transfer portal opens, Hawkeye talk with Tom Kakert & Eugene Rapay talks Cyclones

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Iowa's Bowl win over Vandy, transfer portal opens, Hawkeye talk with Tom Kakert & Eugene Rapay talks Cyclones · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:00
Hi, happy new year. Welcome to Miller and Condon on
0:03
a football Friday. The Iowa Sports Radio Network
0:06
back at it for the next block of six hours and thank you for
0:10
starting here with Trent Condon and myself, Ken Miller.
0:12
We will take you until 2:00 and then off the bench coming up at
0:16
that time. Here's what's coming up on our
0:18
program a busy Friday Tom cake hurt will join us at 12:20.
0:22
The latest comings and going transfer portal with Tom.
0:25
A look back at the Reliant Quest Bowl from earlier in the week.
0:30
Tom Cacart, hawkeyereport.com coming up here in 20 minutes.
0:34
Then Eugene Repay, who covers Iowa State for the Des Moines
0:38
Register. Iowa State to 8:00 tip today at
0:41
Hilton. That is an ESPN2A fair
0:43
television wise or the Iowa State Sports Radio Network or
0:48
Radio network, of course, flagship here 100.3.
0:51
The boss will talk to Eugene about Iowa State.
0:53
Topics coming up at 12:40. Bama, Bob Trenton, I will go
0:57
around college football, recap the first the quarter final
1:01
round of college football and then Mike Palm will join us.
1:05
We'll head to Las Vegas, get the latest from behind the counter
1:09
with Mike before we slide on out of here.
1:11
We're not making picks today. We've already done that earlier
1:14
in the week. How are you?
1:15
Happy New Year to you. I'm doing.
1:16
Well, yes, picks are already in the book.
1:19
I got a few for today though that we'll get to in a different
1:22
kind of Friday. Look, couple days off, raring to
1:25
go and very excited that we're able to watch the Iowa game and
1:28
not be on. Here, Yeah, I could agree with
1:29
you more. I couldn't agree with you more.
1:30
I would have been. You would have been not good
1:34
radio, right? Yes.
1:36
In the audience. Yeah, they're used to that some
1:38
days. But no, we wouldn't have been
1:40
paying darn one one bit of attention to what we're supposed
1:42
to do. So let's start there, Trent.
1:44
Obviously, it was a Vanderbilt team led by the Heisman Trophy
1:48
runner up. It's just a typical Kirk Ference
1:50
affair. It's Kirk Ference special and we
1:53
should have all seen the Cub and I think we did.
1:55
We both liked the Iowa in the football game.
1:57
Granowski went out with maybe his best game as a Hawk.
2:01
They found a tight end that he's been there, but he took a major
2:05
step forward. Vonnomy is going to be a pain in
2:07
the in a while. Oh, absolutely he is, he really
2:10
is and he's the next, I think on this list of of Iowa tight ends.
2:15
Oh, so many things. Let me get my notes open here.
2:17
But Granowski may be a front and centre.
2:20
I thought he was really good and what a way for him to go out in
2:22
his final game, right? It was the performance that I
2:25
think maybe we thought we were going to see throughout the
2:27
course of the season. The rushing that we saw from him
2:31
this year came as a surprise. Knew he could run it.
2:34
Yep. He was tremendous.
2:36
I mean, he ties Denard Robinson for the most rushing T DS by a
2:39
quarterback in Big 10 history. I don't think anybody
2:41
anticipated that coming into the season.
2:43
No exactly, but little different body types too.
2:47
As we go back to game one, what the Hell's going on here?
2:49
I know it. Throwing the football.
2:51
Remember, byer's remorse was a, was a, a phrase that we heard on
2:55
this show. I'm sure not just ours, but
2:57
maybe throughout the state. The Iowa State game was
2:59
dreadful. He was not good.
3:01
And it's not that he was slinging around.
3:04
He was Drew Brees out there. But the throwing that we saw,
3:08
the shots down the field, those are the things that I think we
3:10
all thought. But a, the shoulder injury was
3:14
significant, didn't have spring. Yes, he was going through the
3:17
reps, but he wasn't throwing the football with those reps He saw
3:20
a slow to come along. And it goes into what I think
3:23
this whole season is going to be remembered.
3:25
What if, as we see two teams in the semifinals that I mean they
3:28
are a whisker away from beating both of.
3:31
Those they were. Both of those teams, maybe the
3:33
two best teams left in college football.
3:36
Iowa was a whisker away. Past that, ended up short on the
3:40
the Kinnock turf and then a unbelievably thrown football
3:43
through the mist. Rain.
3:45
Whatever it was, it was rained in the Oregon game.
3:48
Down the down the visitor sideline.
3:50
Just remarkable. Just remarkable.
3:51
But Jay Hull, percent right, his arms 2 inches higher.
3:55
No idea how he didn't touch the ball at all, right?
3:57
And it was that close and that that's, and I think that will be
4:00
remembered about this team. You know, I know a lot of people
4:02
want to equate this to 2008 and for our younger listeners, 2008
4:07
B Penn State at the end of the year, dominating bold victory
4:10
against South Carolina. But I, I think the reason that
4:13
2008 is remembered in such, you know, revered terms is because
4:19
of what happened in 2009 and then, I don't know, start Orange
4:23
Bowl victory. That's why 2008 people talk
4:25
about that in such positive terms as what it LED into.
4:28
And if the same thing happens next season, then.
4:31
I wouldn't bet my money on that. I wouldn't.
4:33
Either because Ricky Stansey was coming back and there were a
4:35
whole lot of dudes coming back on that 2019, even as difficult
4:39
as that schedule was, you could see it.
4:41
I was scheduled Michigan, Ohio State are going to return next
4:43
year. Another difficult schedule.
4:45
Not as tough, I don't think, as this year's, but that aside,
4:47
that is the reason 2008 is remembered in good terms is
4:50
because of what happened a year later.
4:52
I agree with you. And if that happens next season,
4:54
yes, this will be over. If they step back, though, they
4:56
take a step back in seven to five people are gonna think of
4:58
this year. It's gonna be more, even more of
5:00
that 1F game. No, you're right, but I thought
5:03
it was a really good cappers for for Iowa season.
5:06
Saw something the Gabe had never seen before.
5:07
Wasn't sure about the rule. I mean, come on.
5:10
So when they announce 5 yard penalty, did you think it was
5:12
like 5 yards from the original spot and they were going to have
5:14
to kick it again, kick it again or five yards at the end of the
5:17
punt? And in fact, that was my first
5:19
thought of what it was. I'm like but that can't be
5:20
right. 5 yard penalty. They're giving I with a ball
5:23
from the line of scrimmage and they're attacking 5 yards on top
5:26
of that. And then that play to van der
5:28
See. He had a great game, Trent.
5:30
Can we get a healthy full season of yes?
5:34
Necessary has to happen. That dude has made plays.
5:38
Anytime he's been out there, you go back to.
5:40
His freshman campaign. Game one, Game one, absolutely.
5:43
The Michigan State game that they lost out to East Lansing
5:45
last year, He was tremendous. He was about the only guy that
5:47
was tremendous that day, but he was outstanding in that and made
5:50
another ridiculous catch. I mean, think of the we got a
5:53
handful of catches and this guy's limited reps that are.
5:56
Yeah, I mean, and the upper echelon of Iowa catches from a
5:59
wide receiver in the Kurt Ference era, and he's probably
6:01
got three or four of them if you're putting together a top
6:03
ten list. I mean, that's what you're
6:04
getting out of this guy, a full healthy season.
6:07
And that injury, we would go back to it.
6:08
And he was walking up the stairs and just felt something.
6:11
What it was. Yeah, he was walking up the
6:12
stairs and felt whatever it was popped.
6:14
Now apparently he had something previous that he was kind of
6:17
dealing with, and walking up the stairs apparently was the one
6:20
that pushed it over the edge. But you get that dude for a full
6:23
season. I would love to see what he can
6:25
do. Yeah, absolutely.
6:27
As good as Gronowski's numbers were, could have been better
6:29
meaning to Williams. Got to make that catch.
6:30
I'm sorry, got to make that catch.
6:32
You could say he should have thrown the receiver, OK, but you
6:34
know what? The ball was right there.
6:36
Make the catch. And he had a nice game.
6:38
He did. Carrying, carrying the ball.
6:39
He had a nice game. Molten had a had a really nice
6:42
game. Of course, under 100 but.
6:44
Still. Every game, right, You're going
6:46
to get between between 65 and 99.
6:48
What? What?
6:48
Did you finish? Did he?
6:49
Did he crack 90? He did, yes.
6:51
Yeah, I think What? Was there it is 9595, yeah. 14
6:55
carries 95. Just kick.
6:56
It's a triple digit. Nope, Nope.
6:58
But he'll he's solid. Is he a difference maker?
7:02
I don't think so. He's good.
7:04
Solid man. Yeah.
7:05
What do you think about Restake and going in the portal?
7:07
Did that surprise you? Is that the well?
7:09
If you were listening to me last week, I brought this up.
7:13
I couldn't say that this was happening, but I brought up that
7:17
Kicker was not going to be alone, that they were looking
7:19
forward to special teams. He.
7:22
This has been out there for a while then.
7:25
I had a source on this one, we'll just put it that way and
7:29
with this. Is he going to Michigan State?
7:31
Yeah. It's done Deal.
7:32
Yeah, he's going with Lavar. Here's something I found
7:35
interesting, though. Reese taken international
7:37
student visa. Well, he's not going to get a
7:39
bunch of money. No, his mom's American.
7:42
Oh, is. She, he has American
7:43
citizenship. Reese, they can kick a paint.
7:46
Yeah. So people that think that that's
7:48
not going to be a part of it. It is a part of it.
7:50
And Michigan State is going to offer him a bunch.
7:52
So despite the fact he wasn't born here because Mom's an
7:54
American, Yeah. No, it's not.
7:56
Look at I should know. I should know.
7:58
Right. That's absolutely, you know how
8:00
that works. I do.
8:01
And yes, that is absolutely the case for Reese Dakin.
8:03
Yes, I will be. I will fall out of my chair if
8:06
he's not at Michigan State. Yeah, yeah.
8:08
He's going to Michigan. State.
8:08
I would think that that makes a whole ton of sense.
8:11
You know who Vanderbilt was very apparent they weren't going to
8:14
let beat him. They they're a pretty good
8:15
number on Ouijian. He had like what, 1?
8:18
I think maybe. I mean, I don't think he had one
8:21
for 25 yards in the game, but they weren't going to let him
8:23
beat him in that football game. It was a fun game to watch.
8:26
It really was. It was an entertaining football.
8:28
It was a really good capper on Iowa season as they finish up
8:32
9:00 and 4:00. I'm glad that we get to move
8:35
past the right team thing because if you saw this team,
8:38
good. Point.
8:39
They were good enough to beat right teams.
8:40
This was so different than it was in the previous 3-4 years
8:44
ago when when they play those upper echelon teams, they didn't
8:47
have a shot and now they have a shot and just to dispel that,
8:52
it's over. Don't need to bring it up
8:53
anymore. Now some, well, they're one in
8:55
14 and they're like, you know, I guess you can play that game,
8:58
but at least that easy kind of talking point that moves to the
9:02
side. And this squad, when you look at
9:05
it in its totality, they're really good.
9:07
This was a really good football team.
9:09
And you can see when we were talking to Kirk in Vegas and he
9:13
talked how many times about I like this team.
9:15
I don't know what we're going to be, but he really liked the
9:18
makeup of this squad. And I think you can see that he
9:20
saw that this group had a chance to be really good and this was a
9:23
good football team. They are unequivocally the 4th
9:26
the best four loss team in the country.
9:28
I don't think it's particularly close.
9:30
Yeah, I don't know the others at the top of my head.
9:32
But well, it's it's teams like Tennessee and Missouri and the
9:36
crap SEC middle that we have been told year after year is so
9:40
much better than the Big 10. Yet year after year we're
9:42
finding out that's not the case. Can we stop with that?
9:44
Where was the big 10, six and O? 7 and O?
9:46
One point. Yeah, you were.
9:48
Nebraska and USC. Oh my.
9:50
God, Nebraska. Yeah, that's another story.
9:53
Meanwhile, are we surprised, at least I am, that we're not
9:56
seeing AII. Thought I'd wake up this morning
10:00
to see a whole different roster names and wasn't sure what to
10:05
anticipate in Iowa City. Didn't think there'd be much,
10:08
but certainly thought, and I'm not saying it's not coming, it's
10:10
just a matter of time. That is, Rogers is putting his
10:14
team together, but I thought we'd have some right off the
10:17
bat. I really did, didn't you?
10:18
I thought 12 O1 we'd see maybe the first ones.
10:21
I thought it was going to be probably some of those FCS guys,
10:25
maybe a D2 guy that there would be a handful that we'd be
10:28
talking about four, 5-6 different guys right now that
10:31
have already committed, already jumped in.
10:33
It's already happened. Maybe it got some guys that have
10:35
followed from Wazoo or even South Dakota State that there
10:38
would be, I want to say an onslaught, but there be no more
10:41
news at this point. Is that concerning?
10:44
No, I don't think so. I just, I just think maybe you
10:46
and I read it differently because I was of the opinion,
10:48
what man, I shouldn't say you, I read it differently.
10:51
I was of the opinion that because there's so many guys in
10:54
this portal and it's not open, it's the only time it is open
10:57
and it's not an indefinite period that it's open that there
10:59
would be a bunch of guys committing without visiting.
11:02
You know, just I want to, I'm not going to wait around.
11:05
I got the offer. If I don't take it, maybe
11:07
they'll go shop somewhere else. I just thought that's what we
11:10
were going to see. Now we're starting to see some
11:12
guys. Well, we got there's a a safety
11:14
from Toledo who's who's visiting Indiana today and is going to
11:19
visit Ames tomorrow. So I didn't think we'd see as
11:22
many visits as perhaps we're seeing.
11:25
Rocco Beck is visiting. I think he's got one stop before
11:28
Penn State. Oh, really?
11:30
I didn't see that. No.
11:30
Yeah, I think he's 'cause all the crystal balls are already
11:32
Penn State. Yeah, I mean.
11:33
He's going to Penn State, right? But Bruckmeier's in the transfer
11:35
portal. Yes.
11:36
Which is surprising to me. Campbell recruited him.
11:40
Sure, but he looks at it and says, well, Rocco's coming here.
11:43
I'm not going to be the starter after what he did.
11:47
He's a solid quarterback. Hell yeah he is.
11:48
She's. A solid quarterback.
11:49
He's a solid quarterback with three years eligibility.
11:52
Boom, you nailed it right there. Absolutely, if you're that guy.
11:57
I know which I Yeah, I'm with you.
11:58
I'm. Going to see what's out there.
12:00
I'm, yeah, I would, too, but I was surprised that Campbell
12:03
apparently didn't do enough to, you know, to keep him in Happy
12:06
Valley. We'll see where it goes.
12:07
What else? A basketball tonight for Iowa
12:09
State. Iowa tomorrow.
12:11
Iowa State, a big favorite. Just under 20.
12:13
About 18 1/2 is the number of that one.
12:15
ESPN 2 got that coming up. Love the 8:00 tip.
12:20
Off. I do too.
12:21
Yeah, I do too. Should be fun.
12:23
Be a charged up atmosphere. I think it will be.
12:25
Yeah, I think it will be. And I would anticipate whoever's
12:29
visiting is going to be at the game tonight.
12:31
Good point. Yeah, Cyclone fans, make sure
12:33
you're shaking hands and giving a lot of cheers and maybe a few
12:35
chance and those kind of things for whoever we found out is
12:38
going to be there. Keep the microphone away from
12:40
the head coach if you're at all possibilio.
12:42
Or put it in there. Maybe those guys are like that.
12:45
Maybe it was just so different, right?
12:48
Anyway. Blank, West Virginia.
12:49
Yeah, how about it? How about it?
12:52
Especially if the game's closed. You need that.
12:54
Get them fired up. Games from yesterday who stood
12:57
out to you was give me one name that's played since you and I
13:01
hung up the microphones on Tuesday.
13:02
Was it Tuesday? Yeah.
13:05
Anybody just blow you away? I mean, chamblissly, yesterday
13:09
was unbelievable. I want to say again, and it's
13:13
probably not fair, but the Heisman Trophy winner Mendoza
13:18
was so good. It's unbelievable and I know
13:20
he's good and it always good all year.
13:22
Long but boy. That dude, and I'm I'm trying I
13:25
was trying to acquit it yesterday of thinking about him
13:28
at the next level and his herb St. called him he's like a baby
13:31
giraffe. I love that line.
13:33
I I really got to chuckle out of that one when he was talking
13:35
about him. But just thinking of him, he's
13:38
Kirk Cousins, right? Yes, good one.
13:41
Yes, he's almost too nice to be. He's a football player.
13:45
He's a dork, Yes. I mean, he's a huge.
13:47
He's Kirk Cousins. He's Kirk.
13:48
Cousins, that's exactly Did you come up with that on your own,
13:51
'cause that's really good. That's that's the.
13:53
One that came to now it also came to my mind because as
13:55
they're watching one of the games, he has a great clips
13:58
commercial. I think it's great clips.
13:59
It's one of those places and and I was like, hey, and it all kind
14:02
of came together. That is who he is in terms of
14:05
persona, a very godly person. All the just huge nerd, all the
14:12
things super nice, yes, nice too.
14:14
Maybe too much of A level, but but dude, he's talented too.
14:18
Just like Kirk Cousins is a talented guy can run it.
14:20
Yes, he sees the field incredibly well.
14:22
And we think of Cousins today. Remember how well he ran the
14:25
ball? Kirk Cousins gonna he's gonna be
14:27
a factor next year, I think. Well, what if Lamar Jackson's
14:30
getting mail in Atlanta? Well, he might be.
14:32
He might be. What does that mean for panics?
14:35
He's a backup. He was, what, the 8th overall
14:38
pick? I think he was the 8th overall
14:40
pick, the McCarthy 10 and Bo Nicks 12.
14:42
What a draft that was shaping up to be.
14:44
Yeah. That's really good.
14:45
Kirk Cousins. You know what?
14:46
I'm just going to bring this up with Bama and you, and we'll
14:49
probably do it again. You know who impressed me?
14:51
And I was glad to see it because he took a lot of arrows.
14:55
He took a lot of arrows. And it was unfair because the
14:57
expectations he on Arch Manning begin to see, as it turns out,
15:01
they're really unfair. Good God.
15:03
That touchdown run. That's unreal.
15:06
Mean chucking the ball around. I mean, he was almost perfect in
15:09
that football game. Arch Manning as we sit here
15:12
today and I think this time it's legit.
15:15
He is the Heisman favorite. Right.
15:17
Are you going to bet out him? Well, you don't because.
15:19
Because you're a voter. But right, but I can I guess I
15:22
could and if it's not in the bylaws, but I just won't.
15:24
Tom Caker next. Miller and Condon underway on a
15:27
Friday. Glad you're with us.
15:28
It's the Iowa Sports Radio network.
15:30
I'm Miller and Condon. Welcome back.
15:32
Iowa sports Radio network. Trenton I with you until 2:00.
15:35
Tom Cakert momentarily Eugene repay from the Des Moines
15:38
Register on Iowa State coming up here in about 15 minutes.
15:42
That's really good. The cousins Mendoza thing that's
15:44
going to linger with me. That's good one.
15:46
Let's get Tom Caker in here. hawkeyereport.com.
15:49
He was in Tampa back monitoring all the comings, maybe some
15:53
goings. We shall see what happens.
15:55
Hello, Tom Trenton. Ken, how are you?
15:57
Happy New Year. Yeah, Happy New year, guys.
16:00
Yeah, we're back home, you know, back in, back in God's country.
16:06
So yeah, and the portal's open and there's already over 2000,
16:12
probably about 2500 I would guess by now in the portal
16:16
already, so. Will there be a place, Tom, we
16:18
can find out how many guys are left without a home when it's
16:22
all said and done? I mean, do they actually will
16:25
they follow these 2500? I mean, is there 405 hundred
16:28
that aren't going to have a spot when it's done?
16:30
I have no idea what the number would be, but I'd love to know
16:32
whatever that number is. Yeah, I'm sure somebody will
16:36
compile it later that there's like all these different players
16:40
of don't have a home and or they I'm always curious too how many
16:46
of them end up having to slide down a level too.
16:49
You know that just they over overestimate their their worth
16:54
and they. And that's agents a lot of time.
16:57
Haven't, Yep, having to go down to, you know, D2 or whatever
17:02
and, and finish up their, their college career.
17:05
And there's some guys that are at the power 5 level that, you
17:10
know, maybe they go down a level because they just want to play,
17:13
you know, they, they just want to play.
17:15
So we'll see what happens. Big news for Iowa, Reese Dakin
17:19
has entered the portal, going to end up in Michigan State most
17:22
likely with him. So you need a new kicker, you
17:25
need a new punter, you need a new long snapper, you need a new
17:28
special teams coach. Iowa always closes the gap with
17:31
their special teams over this last decade.
17:34
This is pretty concerning. This might be one of the more
17:36
concerning offseason topics that we have, Tom.
17:40
It really is. It's interesting that Kirk
17:44
hasn't made any announcement yet.
17:48
What I've, what I've gathered from talking to a few people is
17:51
that they're going to promote from within.
17:53
So maybe there's already something kind of wink, wink,
17:57
nudge, nudge all done internally, but they just
18:00
haven't announced it yet. And, but you've got to go out
18:04
now and find a a kicker and a punter and probably a long
18:09
snapper and, you know, just, you got a lot to find here in the
18:14
next few weeks. And, and it's important to, to
18:19
Iowa. I, I do think I've heard the
18:24
state kicker that they've kind of on the down low kind of maybe
18:29
gotten something done with him already off the, you know, off
18:33
the books kind of thing with the agent.
18:35
So we'll see if that materializes.
18:38
Maybe he visits this weekend and we, we find out more about that.
18:43
But now you got to go. Are they going to go back down
18:46
to Australia and try and find a punter?
18:48
Are they going to find somebody internally?
18:49
How about the kid that was it, the kid at Mount Pleasant, the
18:53
Miller kid who was the number one punter in the country and he
18:56
hasn't really punted for Georgia.
18:58
So will they go after him? Maybe, I don't know.
19:01
Fascinating stuff. You want to move on to move back
19:05
to the reli quest. Trent and I spent some time
19:07
talking about it. It was such a fascinating game
19:10
And and one of the plays we never talked about and I'm sure
19:13
we would have got to it. The Gronowski fumble recovery
19:16
was as how did he get that ball? I mean, you can see his arm
19:20
trying to wrestle her way. But man, I thought that that
19:23
thing was as good as gone and and and I know all the Vandy
19:26
players are jumping around that they had the football in it.
19:29
I legitimately thought that the players on the field were
19:31
actually right this time, right that they did have the football.
19:34
Yet somehow Iowa's quarterback comes up with the football.
19:37
Remarkable play. I don't know which Houdini act
19:42
was better that 44 yard run on the first drive where I thought
19:47
they had him dead to right. He was or or.
19:51
That fumble recovery, that fumble recovery is just, it's
19:53
incredible when you look at it because it just kind of puts his
19:56
paw underneath there and there's just enough room for him to get
20:00
that ball in there and, and pull it back to himself.
20:03
And because, you know, that's a big dude that was on top. 22
20:07
Yeah, he was. Yeah, and the big dude and and
20:10
they just somehow he ended up with that football and that was
20:15
a huge play in the game too. So, you know, prevented A
20:19
turnover from happening. And yeah, they I thought that
20:25
was a fitting end though for for Iowa season.
20:29
It's for Kirk. I'm kind of glad he doesn't have
20:33
to answer the hey, you haven't beat a ranked team.
20:35
And since, you know, now that by the way, I saw the Nebraska one,
20:39
they haven't been an AP Top 25 team since 2016.
20:43
Jeez, 30 straight. Yeah, that's a different world.
20:50
Different world that they're living in.
20:52
We saw Kumari Moulton really, really good performance out of
20:55
him. Can't get to that triple digits
20:56
though, couldn't get to 100 as he finishes with 95 yards in the
20:59
game. Moulton next season.
21:01
He had the shoulder injury early this season, came back maybe a
21:05
little earlier than anticipated. In that game against Rutgers, he
21:08
could tell he wasn't 100%. Is there another gear to him?
21:11
Is there another level that Kumari Moulton can unlock?
21:14
I think so. He just doesn't, he hasn't shown
21:18
yet that ability to make that last guy miss and getting that
21:25
open field for the Caleb Johnson for the world have that have
21:29
that just that ability to make that last guy at the last line
21:33
of defense miss and then you're off for 3540 yards.
21:37
He did bust the 30 what, 32 yarder late in the game or later
21:41
in the game busted that nice run.
21:44
So that was that was good. But yeah, he gosh, I think I
21:50
think it was 4 times this year he got over 90 yards rushing in
21:53
the game and one of them he got 99.
21:58
You know, he just could not get get over the hump.
22:02
I thought he was going to I thought he was a lot to get 100
22:05
at one point in the game because he had over 90 at one point and
22:10
there's a pretty decent amount of time left.
22:13
But they decided to run Xavier Williams on those last that last
22:18
bit and and he ended up getting some yards instead of instead of
22:24
Moulton. Venami was unbelievable in the
22:29
football game. It looks like I was solved their
22:31
tight end problem and have for the next couple of years.
22:34
But it's Reese Vanderzee to me, as good as Venami was and he was
22:36
really good Vanderzee that that catch that he may.
22:40
I mean, he's done this all. He's done this a lot
22:42
essentially. You know, going back over his
22:44
two years, he hadn't been able to see the field a lot.
22:46
But I'd like to buy stock. It's too late to buy Venami
22:49
stock. That ship has sailed.
22:51
But Vanderzee might be able to still buy low in some markets.
22:55
It looks as though his future is going to be very going into what
22:58
will be his junior season. Yeah, I wasn't, by the way,
23:02
noticing during the game. I picked on the Twitter and saw
23:05
a couple of NFL scout guys that, you know, draft guys that I
23:09
follow. They're like, Oh yeah, I always
23:10
got another great tight end look at that.
23:14
And he had a breakout game. But yeah, Reese just can make
23:18
those plays in space and around the goal line and just go up and
23:22
kind of Moss people and just go up and climb up and get the ball
23:25
and at great hands around that area.
23:28
So he he just got to stay healthy.
23:31
If he can have a fully healthy season, it's going to be really
23:34
interesting to see what he can do moving forward.
23:39
Speaking of moving forward, let's go forward to the
23:42
quarterback position. You've told us and the coaches
23:44
have told us from Kirk to Tim Lester that they are happy with
23:48
what they have in the quarterback room, replacing Mark
23:50
Gordowski with either Jeremy Hucklinski or with Hank Brown.
23:55
Hey, you have a little bit more Intel in the recruiting world.
23:59
Are they sniffing around it are all and Heklinski, is the gap
24:02
pretty significant right now? They're going to say it's close,
24:04
I know, at least out there. But is the gap between Heklinski
24:07
and Brown significant or pretty tight?
24:10
No, I even talked to kind of Tim just privately and he's he
24:14
always says it's really close. It's not, it's not that there's
24:17
not a huge gap there. There's a gap, but there's not a
24:20
huge gap. So they, the thing they're
24:25
intrigued by Heklinski is that he's just, he's not got that
24:29
gunslinger mentality is going to be good and bad with it.
24:31
It's going to be like Drew Tate, we're in the same game.
24:33
He could throw 2 interceptions in the first quarter, but then
24:37
he's going to come back and throw 3 touchdown passes and win
24:40
you the game late. So and he moves a little bit
24:43
better than you think he does. So he's just, you know, he's
24:48
just a tough nut and they really like him.
24:51
So I, I think the only way Iowa goes in and gets a quarterback
24:56
is if they need another arm. Tim likes to have 5 quarterbacks
25:01
in his room. So if Ryan Fitzgerald, for
25:04
example, would be the most likely guy to potentially enter
25:07
the portal, go play for his dad at North, at Northwestern
25:12
anymore, but at Michigan State, then then they might go out and
25:17
get another guy who's kind of an arm that they can just bring in
25:21
and and kind of be part of the team.
25:24
Stratton esque type thing. Yeah, yeah, the Jackson Stratton
25:30
kind of move and so we'll see if they do that.
25:33
I know they're, you know, they want want to see some
25:36
development from Jimmy Sullivan. They've got the the messenger
25:40
kid coming in, but he's not coming in at semester.
25:43
They got a ton of guys. That's the new trend by the way,
25:46
guys in college football now is basically your entire recruiting
25:50
class or 3/4 of it come in in January now because of the
25:54
numbers. So that's that's what's
25:56
happening these days in college football.
25:59
My last thing, Kyler Casper back in the transportal desire would
26:03
get him this this time. Or anything.
26:06
Anything connecting docks between Kyler, Casper and the
26:09
Hawks. At this point, I have not heard
26:13
anything or seen anything that indicates that.
26:16
I kind of wonder if Kyler Casper might be headed to Michigan
26:20
State, where Kevin's good friend Lavar Woods is now an assistant
26:24
coach or associate head coach and special teams coordinator.
26:29
Makes a whole lot of sense. We let you go on this time and
26:31
it is a huge match up for Iowa hoops tomorrow as they face off
26:35
against the UCLA. The Bruins come to town.
26:38
I with the chance to get another Big 10 win, get a win with I'd
26:41
anticipate a pretty good crowd out here in there at Carver
26:43
Hawkeye Arena, a great point guard match up.
26:46
Donovan Dent on one side, of course, Bennett Sturtz on the
26:48
other. What can he tell us about the
26:50
Bruins? And I'm sure Mick Cronin, he'll
26:52
be bitching about having to fly to Iowa City, right?
26:55
Yeah, at least he won't have to look at the Statue of Liberty,
26:58
right? Yes, you know, after he said he
27:00
had to see it three times in a in a month or whatever.
27:04
Yeah, it's that's a big game. I think ticket sales are pretty
27:09
good. I asked McCollum this morning,
27:11
you know, press her with him and asked him about just how
27:14
important it would be to have a good turn out because they
27:16
really have not had what I would call a big turn out game.
27:20
And he's like he talked about when he was a kid watching the
27:23
packed Carver Hawkeye and he wants to see that and feel that
27:26
and as the head coach. So I'm hoping that they get
27:29
close to it. I think there's probably about
27:31
1500 tickets maybe left. So we'll see.
27:34
But great match up. You know, it's the important one
27:38
for Iowa because this, you know, as the the previous coach said,
27:44
18 monsters left on the schedule.
27:46
They've got to get a couple wins, you know, got to go up to
27:50
the Gulf next week, got Illinois coming to town next weekend.
27:55
So the Big 10 is here and it's there's no easy, easy nights
28:00
really to share in the conference.
28:01
Good stuff. Tom Caker, hawkeyereport.com,
28:04
part of On Three Media, all the transfer news, comings and
28:06
goings, etcetera with Tom and the crew over there.
28:10
Tom, thank you. As always, we will talk to you
28:12
in a week's time. Thanks, Tom Caker.
28:14
OK. Thanks guys.
28:15
Talk to Tom Caker, hawkeyereport.com Eugene Repay
28:18
covers Iowa State. He'll join Trent to 9 Next.
28:21
Miller and Condon, the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
28:25
Henry Condon, welcome back. I have a sports radio network.
28:28
Trent and I with you until 2:00. Bama Bob kicks off hour number
28:32
two, Mike Palm at the Las Vegas VP of operations at Circus
28:36
sports right now, Eugene repay. He covers Iowa State for the Des
28:40
Moines Register and Eugene joins us.
28:42
Eugene, happy new year from both Trent and myself.
28:45
Appreciate you coming on. Eugene, how are you?
28:48
I'm great, I'm great. Happy to do you see you guys
28:50
too. Well, Eugene, I guess I caught
28:53
thought that I would wake up to this morning to a flurry of
28:56
activity in the portal. We saw all the the goings,
29:00
thought that the comings might come fast and furious.
29:03
I think I misread it because I was one I was of the belief that
29:07
maybe there won't be a lot of visits that guys would just
29:09
commit, maybe sight unseen and maybe we'll see some of that.
29:13
But I thought, as you know, 1201 that would be and I don't I'm
29:17
not taking this as a bad thing. I don't want the audience to
29:19
think that I'm I'm bagging on Iowa State.
29:21
I'm not. But for one second, I just
29:23
thought that there would be, you know, it's all new to everybody,
29:27
right? That that there would be a
29:28
flurry of activity early, but that hasn't been the case.
29:32
Yeah, no, I'd agree with you. I was kind of thinking the same
29:34
thing. I mean, obviously there was some
29:35
prominent guys or some some deals that are still happening.
29:38
But for the most part, you see all these tweets and all these
29:41
alerts about people planning visits and upcoming trips.
29:44
And it was like, Oh yeah, there's still a whole process
29:46
that they need to do. And it's nice to see that they
29:48
still do their due diligence and they do their homework.
29:51
You go through this list and I know Bill Seals over at on
29:55
three, he has the list at 51. Entering the portal from this
29:59
Iowa State roster. Were there any surprises to you?
30:02
Was there anything that you thought, you know what, I think
30:04
this guy is going to stick around and when you go through
30:07
it, you had an opportunity to talk to a lot of these guys.
30:09
What was the biggest surprise maybe to you, of entering the
30:11
portal? I honestly felt like there would
30:15
be a few more holdovers. I thought there would be at
30:17
least a couple more prominent guys staying.
30:20
I was shocked at the the sheer volume.
30:22
I mean, obviously you could see an exodus happening, but I
30:25
thought for some of these prominent guys, like for
30:27
example, Abu Sama, I thought he was a guy that would stick
30:30
around, especially as the longer that the whole process went on
30:34
and he was still kind of up in the air still.
30:37
I honestly thought, you know, the hometown or local kid from
30:40
Des Moines, I thought maybe he would have stuck around, but I,
30:43
I was proven wrong. So I would say to me, he was
30:45
probably the biggest surprise, especially as things were kind
30:48
of unfolding. Yeah, I'm with you.
30:49
That's certainly one of the one of those names Eugene will
30:52
probably never know this, but I would love to you know, did did
30:56
did coach Rogers did he run the majority of them off?
31:00
It's a new regime there. Did the not want any Campbell
31:03
holdovers? You know what's what was behind
31:06
how many did you say, Trent 5151 now that have decided to play
31:11
football elsewhere. Did did Rogers run the majority
31:13
of them off? Do you know?
31:15
Yeah, no, I'm, I'm very curious about that myself.
31:17
I I can't definitively say either way, but when you see
31:21
that kind of percentage of that kind of number, you got to
31:24
think, you know, some of the guys were going to leave.
31:25
But also what percentage of these guys were told, hey, I
31:28
think you're better off finding a new home somewhere.
31:31
But for me, like, especially as more names are entering,
31:34
especially this past week, the last few days, I started to
31:37
think myself, you know, I would love to know that that
31:39
percentage. We have not had any access to
31:42
Jimmy Rogers yet. They've kind of been keeping
31:43
them in a steel cage as they were kind of finalizing their
31:47
staff hirings and things like that.
31:49
But I'm hoping we'll we'll soon be able to have a chance at a
31:52
one-on-one with him to further get some insight as to what led
31:55
to this roster building or rebuilding process and and what
31:59
led to that kind of exodus. You know, if this was happening
32:02
with any other coach, Eugene, any other, anybody else that
32:06
they could have hired realistically at Iowa State, I
32:09
don't think I'd be quite as concerned.
32:10
But seeing what Rodgers did a year ago, Washington State, a
32:13
program without a conference, getting the sheer volume.
32:16
Well, there is that, yes. And the sheer volume of guys
32:19
that he got it at Washington State.
32:20
And I can't remember the number off hand, but it was
32:22
significant. I mean, it was 50-60 guys that
32:24
he brought in there. Just did one year.
32:26
I guess that gives me at least a little bit more.
32:29
Let's pump the brakes a little bit.
32:30
This guy just went through this exact same exercise a year ago.
32:34
Yeah, I would agree with that. Like for me personally, I'm
32:36
still reserving some judgment until you see what the full
32:39
roster looks like. You never know what kind of
32:41
moves they they could make or who they can bring in.
32:44
It's definitely panics them and I and I definitely agree with
32:47
some of the concern. I can see where some fans are
32:49
coming from, but until for me personally, until the full
32:53
roster is assembled, until we see what he's going to work with
32:55
or what his philosophy is, I'm going to reserve a little bit of
32:58
judgment. But I don't blame anyone for
33:00
being panicky right now. But like you mentioned, he he
33:04
brought in 75 new players to Washington State.
33:06
They were competitive six and six.
33:08
They made a bowl game. They had some real close calls
33:11
there against Ole Miss and a couple of other TFP team.
33:14
So you, you got to see it both ways.
33:17
You got to see it both ways. Glass half empty, glass half
33:19
full. I I totally appreciate whichever
33:22
angle people will take. And I'll really appreciate it if
33:24
he opens up spring football to the media, not necessarily the
33:29
entire practice, but let you guys see 20 minutes or
33:32
something, you know, just give you a little nibble, a little
33:34
taste of what's going on. And then, I mean, here's the
33:37
thought. Why don't you do something
33:39
public like a spring game or a spring practice where, you know,
33:43
you everybody can come in and see for their own two eyes this
33:46
new roster. I really think they're going to
33:47
have to do that, Eugene, because I have a feeling that the ticket
33:50
numbers aren't going to be what they're what they have been
33:54
under the over the past few years.
33:56
We'll see how it goes. I do want to pick your brain on
33:59
one in particular. Are you hearing anything on the
34:01
Arkansas State quarterback Jalen Rayner, who I think you were at
34:05
that game, were you not? You covered that game.
34:07
I'm pretty sure the Arkansas State game and Rayner was good
34:10
and he certainly had a decent year last year.
34:13
He seemed to be one of those guys that Cyclone fans were
34:15
connecting the dots very quickly to him coming to to Iowa State
34:20
for the rest of, you know, his his college career.
34:23
Anything on Rayner at all? Yeah, no, I've I've heard of the
34:27
the buzz, especially for the obviously the connection with
34:30
the quarterbacks coach from Arkansas State coming over to
34:32
Iowa State. I wouldn't be surprised if there
34:35
if it was training towards that direction and that he does come
34:37
to aims. I mean, from what we saw from
34:39
Brainerd, definitely an exceptional athlete played, had
34:42
a great career at Arkansas State, put up great numbers
34:45
every year, played well against Iowa State.
34:47
I felt like some of the passes you did miss a couple of open
34:50
passes, but his ability to just extend plays and move the chains
34:53
was super apparent. And and we saw how close
34:56
Arkansas State made it. I mean, they were they're
34:58
hanging with Iowa State late into the second-half there.
35:01
So this is a guy who's a gamer, and he can.
35:04
Feels like looking at the visits that have already been set up
35:07
for the most part, kind of some of the early offers that we're
35:09
seeing in the portal at this point, offensive line, really
35:12
the trenches. Is that kind of a number one
35:14
right now? Yes, the quarterbacks, the
35:16
running backs and wide receivers, those are the shiny
35:18
objects. But for Rodgers, it starts up
35:20
front. I like it.
35:21
I I 100% agree. That was something I was talking
35:24
about with my colleague Travis Hines.
35:26
This offensive line is completely going to be brand
35:29
new. It's been completely gutted.
35:31
I think that that's going to be a major emphasis.
35:34
Sure, you could have the shiny pieces and the skill positions,
35:37
but you really can't do anything if you can't give the
35:38
quarterback time or or pave the way up front for those backs.
35:41
So I'm curious to see how Rogers rebuilds this offensive line.
35:45
I I know that he really wants to also beef up the defensive line.
35:48
So I think two way trenches is going to be the position groups
35:52
to watch for sure. Yeah, no doubt about it.
35:54
Eugene Repay joining us from the Des Moines Register.
35:57
Eugene, let's switch to basketball and here now Iowa
36:00
State's got two really good basketball teams as they head
36:03
well into the month of January like we all do.
36:07
Men play tonight. The women got underway earlier
36:10
this week with the with conference play.
36:13
But here comes West Virginia team that's picked towards the
36:15
very bottom of the Big 12. Iowa State's a big favorite in
36:19
this one tonight. What do you expect to see,
36:21
Eugene? I'm sure you will be there
36:22
covering along with Travis signs for the register.
36:25
Yeah, we'll be there tonight, 8:00 PM tip, very excited.
36:28
I mean, Big 12 is always, there's always just a different
36:30
juice, a different atmosphere in the building once we're in
36:33
conference play. I think West Virginia, one thing
36:35
that stood out to me is this is the third straight year with a
36:37
brand new coach. Despite this, they've gotten
36:41
completely brand new roster. All 15 players are new, but
36:44
they've been playing well up to this point.
36:45
Nine and four overall. However, it is worth noting that
36:48
they're one and four against power conference opposition.
36:52
So it's still going to be a tough hill to climb for them.
36:55
But the Mountaineers, one thing I've noticed is that they've
36:57
built a defensive first identity.
37:00
Offensively, though, they've been a little inconsistent.
37:02
Honor Huff is very talented 3 point shooter.
37:05
This guy takes over 80% of his shots from long range.
37:08
He's only 5-10, only 165 lbs, but he led the NCAA and made
37:13
three pointers last year. And so that's definitely going
37:15
to be someone that the Cyclones are going to look the key on.
37:18
Ultimately, I think Iowa State's defensive pressure will crack
37:21
West Virginia and and I think that they'll pull away.
37:24
One thing that I've noticed about West Virginia is they
37:26
usually play well in the first half, but then they kind of
37:29
falter in the second as teams adjust.
37:31
And for Iowa State, just their style of play as well.
37:33
It just wears on you as the game goes on.
37:35
So I expect the Cyclones to pull away and win by double digits
37:38
tonight. But it'll be a fun Big 12
37:40
opener. You know, one of the guys that
37:43
it feels like we're still kind of getting a feeling out process
37:45
is Don Plita, the German freshman didn't play a couple of
37:49
games, didn't play against Iowa the next non conference game,
37:51
got out there a couple of times. Then in the last two non
37:54
conference games, oh, his importance going forward.
37:57
And we know that Buchanan, as good as he is, foul trouble,
37:59
this is probably going to crop up from time to time.
38:02
That's just the way that he is. His importance plea to going
38:05
forward and what you see from him those final two non
38:07
conference games. Yeah, his importance moving
38:09
forward will be super, super big for the Cyclones.
38:12
I mean, even putting aside foul trouble, there's no way Buchanan
38:16
can play all 40 minutes. And so they really need to
38:19
develop that depth. And right now it looks like Plea
38:22
does become the leading man off the bench in terms of that front
38:26
court depth. He surpassed Mulder in the depth
38:29
chart. He's been getting more minutes
38:31
as the season's gone. I think it stood out to me that
38:33
I think of the six of his last 7 appearances, he had 10 or more
38:37
minutes. So he's been getting more and
38:40
more comfortable. I think as he gets more and more
38:41
adjusted to the physicality and to the tempo of American College
38:45
basketball, we'll see him more and more.
38:47
But it is a promising sign to see TJ also Burger lean on him
38:51
more and and you could see that he's been getting more
38:53
comfortable as these games gone along.
38:55
I think back to the exhibition games or some of those earlier
38:58
non conference games, he looked like a deer in the headlights a
39:01
little bit or sometimes the physicality or the tempo was a
39:04
little too much for him. But as time has gone on, he's
39:06
given quality minutes off the bench, quality stretches, even
39:10
though it's only been 10 to 14 minutes.
39:12
And I think as long as you can continue to provide that or get
39:14
his footing under him, he's going to be a huge piece off the
39:17
bench to to back up Buchanan. Good stuff.
39:19
Eugene repay Des Moines Register, desmoinesregister.com
39:23
Eugene, Travis Hines covering Iowa State.
39:25
Eugene, thanks for popping on. We appreciate we'll read your
39:28
game story tonight and all the transfer news that we anticipate
39:32
will be coming here in the days slash weeks ahead.
39:35
Eugene Repay, Des Moines Register and we'll talk to you
39:37
next Friday. Eugene.
39:38
Eugene, thank you for popping on.
39:39
Appreciate it. Sounds great.
39:41
Thank you guys. Yeah, good to talk to you,
39:43
Eugene Repay as we check in on Iowa State.
39:46
Going to be fun to watch this team just how far that they can
39:48
go. Boy, you don't find too many.
39:52
What did we call them? Bracketologists Lunardi's of the
39:57
world that don't have Iowa State on the one line at this point
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entering the month of January. Well, Speaking of that, bracket
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matrix is available with all the different brackets out there
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going through Iowa State, they are the 4th listed number one
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overall is there. Are there any bracket
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quotologists that don't have them one or two?
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No, they are one or two in every one of the brackets listed here.
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Now, it's not the full slate that we get starting in
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February. It's not.
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Yeah, not everybody is updating at this time, but there's still
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a good maybe 30. Oh, that's a pretty good.
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Better on the list the size a number one or a #2 for.
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Everyone. That's awesome.
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And Arizona also on there, right, I would think.
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Yes, Michigan, Arizona, UConn and Iowa State.
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How? About that rarefied air as we
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begin the month of January. Good stuff.
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Thank you, Eugene Repay. Thank you to Tom Caker.
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Bama. Bob, Trent and I will take a
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look back at what we saw since we're last with you on Tuesday,
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Then we'll head to Las Vegas. Mike Pom, VP of operations at
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Circus Sports will join us. Miller and Condon, an hour to
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go. Appreciate you being with us.
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You're listening to the Iowa Sports Radio Network.