Nice story from HawkCentral.
Some excerpts:
The most recent Cy-Hawk football matchup showed just how important the placekicker can be. On a wet grass field that made for tricky kicking conditions, Keith Duncan booted four field goals — one in each quarter — to help deliver an 18-17 Iowa win at Jack Trice Stadium in 2019.
Two years later, the Hawkeyes’ kicker position again is in the spotlight ... in large part because of his last name.
Caleb took advantage of the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season that didn't count against eligibility to return for a sixth year at Iowa. Now, in Game 2 of his first season as Iowa's field-goal specialist, he gets to kick where his father did — No. 12 Iowa (1-0) at No. 10 Iowa State (1-0) at 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ABC.
"It is cool to think about being on the same field and kicking to the same uprights that he did," Shudak said of his father. "I get a little emotional thinking about it and talking with him about it. It’s so cool. He was my childhood hero. (As a kid), I was like, 'Man, this is the best kicker in the world.'"
"I don’t know if he’ll ever admit it, but (me choosing Iowa) was probably tough for him initially," Shudak said of his father. "He was a diehard Iowa State fan. But seeing how happy it made me and how much better I was getting athletically, academically, as a person that was maturing, I think he really enjoyed that."
The FULL Story:
Some excerpts:
The most recent Cy-Hawk football matchup showed just how important the placekicker can be. On a wet grass field that made for tricky kicking conditions, Keith Duncan booted four field goals — one in each quarter — to help deliver an 18-17 Iowa win at Jack Trice Stadium in 2019.
Two years later, the Hawkeyes’ kicker position again is in the spotlight ... in large part because of his last name.
Caleb took advantage of the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season that didn't count against eligibility to return for a sixth year at Iowa. Now, in Game 2 of his first season as Iowa's field-goal specialist, he gets to kick where his father did — No. 12 Iowa (1-0) at No. 10 Iowa State (1-0) at 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by ABC.
"It is cool to think about being on the same field and kicking to the same uprights that he did," Shudak said of his father. "I get a little emotional thinking about it and talking with him about it. It’s so cool. He was my childhood hero. (As a kid), I was like, 'Man, this is the best kicker in the world.'"
"I don’t know if he’ll ever admit it, but (me choosing Iowa) was probably tough for him initially," Shudak said of his father. "He was a diehard Iowa State fan. But seeing how happy it made me and how much better I was getting athletically, academically, as a person that was maturing, I think he really enjoyed that."
The FULL Story:
Leistikow's 4 thoughts: Placekicker a fascinating Cy-Hawk subplot; Tyler Goodson calls game Iowa State's 'Super Bowl'
These are some early storylines off interviews with Hawkeye players ahead of Saturday's matchup between Iowa and Iowa State.
www.hawkcentral.com