Here is Tom's article on what to watch at the practice in West Des Moines tonight. Be sure to check the Lounge for live updates and then coverage afterwards and throughout the weekend.
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What to watch on Friday night
Tom Kakert | Editor
Plenty of eyes will be on C.J. Beathard on Friday night.
USA Today Sports
While it’s not new for the Hawkeyes to hold a spring practice at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, it will be a little different this year. Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Football team will move from a Saturday afternoon practice to a Friday evening event this year.
Attendance for the practice in Central Iowa has been pretty good and this year it shouldn’t be any different with the Hawkeyes coming off a record setting 2015 season that included an undefeated regular season and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
In other words, anticipation for this upcoming Iowa Football season is high, even though we are talking about spring football. Fans will be anxious to get a look at the Hawkeyes on the field for the first time in more than four months with hopes that the building blocks are on hand for another great season.
Like most college teams, there are questions that will need to be answered during spring football. More often than not, the spring generally ends up with more questions than answers and of course, we have one or two players who emerge as stars of the spring.
With all of that in mind, as we head into Friday night’s practice at Valley High School, let’s dive into what Hawkeye fans should be watching.
1. How does C.J. Beathard look?
After surgery to repair a sports hernia, Beathard says he isn’t 100%, but he’s out there for spring practice. In our brief look at practice last week, the Iowa quarterback appeared to be doing everything on the field and was moving around fine. Now we get a full look at Beathard in the practice setting on Friday evening to see where he stands. Given that the start of the season is still five months away, it’s not a huge deal, but there would be a level of comfort for Iowa fans if they see a healthy Beathard on the field.
2. Are the defensive ends making progress?
With Drew Ott’s situation and potential return still in limbo, there will be a focus on the defensive ends to see how much progress they have made. Now, it’s fair to note that even if Ott was cleared to return, he wouldn’t be out there this spring, so young players like Parker Hesse, Matt Nelson, and Anthony Nelson would be getting plenty of reps this spring. However, if Iowa is going to go into next season without Ott, this group of young defensive ends will have to shoulder the load. Hesse did a nice job last season and Matt Nelson came on and gained confidence as the season went along. Friday night we get a look to see how they are performing this spring.
3. Sean Welsh settling in at center?
The assumption after the season was that James Daniels would be the most likely candidate to follow in the footsteps of Austin Blythe and take over as the starter at center. Then it was announced that Daniels would be out this spring after off season knee surgery. That meant Iowa would be looking for a center this spring and Welsh was approached about making the move. This speaks to the versatility of Welsh, who started games last season at both guard and tackle. The larger question that probably won’t be answered this spring is will Welsh stay at center or move back to guard this fall. However, if Welsh really settles in this spring at center, I think he stays there and Daniels moves to guard.
4. Which wide receivers are emerging?
There’s no question that C.J. Beathard can throw the football. The bigger question is who will he be throwing it to this fall? This spring will be another step in the process of figuring out which wide receivers are stepping up. Iowa fans know that one of the starters will be Matt VandeBerg. He is the leading returning wide receiver with 65 receptions last year. Beyond him, a whole lot of unknowns who have flashed during their careers. Jerminic Smith showed a lot of promise when called upon last season. Is he ready to assume a bigger role? Riley McCarron always seems to be lurking in the mix, but then falls back a bit with respect to the number of snaps he receives. Could this be his breakout year? Jonathon Parker moved to receiver one year ago. Could he become Iowa’s downfield threat in the passing game? And of course, Iowa fans always love discussing Jay Scheel, who is getting quite a bit of buzz this spring. There are others in the mix like Adrian Falconer, but the big thing for the Hawkeyes is they need a couple of guys to really start to emerge this spring.
5. Speaking of guys catching the ball, what about tight ends?
Much like the wide receiver position where Iowa has one proven player, in this case, George Kittle, along with a whole bunch of question marks. Jameer Outsey made the move to the offensive side of the ball in the fall and jumped up the depth chart. He certainly looks the part, but how far has he come in the last year and is he ready to be the Hawkeyes #2 option? Iowa likes to play three or four tight ends in any game. Will this be the year that Jon Wisnieski emerges as a bigger impact player? Could a walk-on like Peter Pekar be in the mix? He seemed to be on the rise late last year. Has Nate Vejvoda added enough weigh to get into the conversation? One thing we won’t know this spring is will a true freshmen get a look.
6. Is Brandon Snyder ready to be an impact player?
There was plenty of buzz about Snyder during his first year on campus and last spring and fall he was in the running for the starting spot at safety next to Jordan Lomax that eventually went to Miles Taylor. Snyder settled into a role on special teams and backing up Lomax and now he’s in prime position to take over the starting spot at free safety. Snyder is already making his mark in the weight room and it will be interesting to see him on Friday night and see how he has taken to the bigger role on the field.
7. The Mends/Hockaday battle at linebacker.
There aren’t a whole lot of true position battles for the Hawkeyes this spring. The weakside linebacker battle could be one of them. Aaron Mends earned some pretty strong reviews last spring from then linebacker coach Jim Reid. Now Reid is gone, taking over the Boston College defense, and in his place is Seth Wallace. This week, Wallace said Mends is leading the chase, but Hockaday is in fairly close pursuit. It will be interesting to watch both of them on Friday night and see if this is truly a position battle or if one is clearly ahead of the other.
8. Who handles the punting duties?
This is another one that will almost certainly linger into the fall. Right now, Colton Rastetter probably holds the edge in the competition. But, there’s really so much that is unknown about how Rastetter will perform with the lights on and perhaps we get a little idea on Friday night. Miguel Recinos is also in the mix, but he’s also contending for the placekicking duties. One factor that will arrive in the fall is graduate transfer Ron Coluzzi, who moves on from Central Michigan to provide some competition.
9. What about the placekicking for the Hawkeyes?
Marshall Koehn has moved on and he did a terrific job for the Hawkeyes. The battle is a two man race at that point between Recinos and Mick Ellis. Recinos has the more powerful leg and seems likely to handle kickoff duties this fall. Ellis redshirted last season and saw a bit of action in his true freshman season. Bottom line with the placekicking job, it will come down to accuracy on field goals in practice. It’s doubtful that Kirk Ferentz will go into the season with a rotating kicker situation. Seems unlikely that this one will be completely settled before fall camp, but right now it appears that Recinos is in the driver’s seat.
10. Will any of the redshirt freshman impress?
Out of sight, but not out of our minds. Not by a long shot if you are a close follower of Iowa Football. This will be our first real chance to see some of the Hawkeyes who redshirted last season and get a real look at them on the field. I’m very interested in getting a look at the Paulsen Twins, Brett Waechter, and Jake Newborg on the offensive line. We have heard good things about running back Eric Graham and we will get a peek at him on Friday night. Will we get to see Emmanuel Ogwo show off some of his downfield speed? Michael Ojumedia will get plenty of work at cornerback and he could be in line for a starting spot after next season. Des Moines native Nick Wilson will be back in his hometown and has a good buzz coming out of his redshirt year.
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What to watch on Friday night
Tom Kakert | Editor
Plenty of eyes will be on C.J. Beathard on Friday night.
USA Today Sports
While it’s not new for the Hawkeyes to hold a spring practice at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, it will be a little different this year. Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Football team will move from a Saturday afternoon practice to a Friday evening event this year.
Attendance for the practice in Central Iowa has been pretty good and this year it shouldn’t be any different with the Hawkeyes coming off a record setting 2015 season that included an undefeated regular season and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
In other words, anticipation for this upcoming Iowa Football season is high, even though we are talking about spring football. Fans will be anxious to get a look at the Hawkeyes on the field for the first time in more than four months with hopes that the building blocks are on hand for another great season.
Like most college teams, there are questions that will need to be answered during spring football. More often than not, the spring generally ends up with more questions than answers and of course, we have one or two players who emerge as stars of the spring.
With all of that in mind, as we head into Friday night’s practice at Valley High School, let’s dive into what Hawkeye fans should be watching.
1. How does C.J. Beathard look?
After surgery to repair a sports hernia, Beathard says he isn’t 100%, but he’s out there for spring practice. In our brief look at practice last week, the Iowa quarterback appeared to be doing everything on the field and was moving around fine. Now we get a full look at Beathard in the practice setting on Friday evening to see where he stands. Given that the start of the season is still five months away, it’s not a huge deal, but there would be a level of comfort for Iowa fans if they see a healthy Beathard on the field.
2. Are the defensive ends making progress?
With Drew Ott’s situation and potential return still in limbo, there will be a focus on the defensive ends to see how much progress they have made. Now, it’s fair to note that even if Ott was cleared to return, he wouldn’t be out there this spring, so young players like Parker Hesse, Matt Nelson, and Anthony Nelson would be getting plenty of reps this spring. However, if Iowa is going to go into next season without Ott, this group of young defensive ends will have to shoulder the load. Hesse did a nice job last season and Matt Nelson came on and gained confidence as the season went along. Friday night we get a look to see how they are performing this spring.
3. Sean Welsh settling in at center?
The assumption after the season was that James Daniels would be the most likely candidate to follow in the footsteps of Austin Blythe and take over as the starter at center. Then it was announced that Daniels would be out this spring after off season knee surgery. That meant Iowa would be looking for a center this spring and Welsh was approached about making the move. This speaks to the versatility of Welsh, who started games last season at both guard and tackle. The larger question that probably won’t be answered this spring is will Welsh stay at center or move back to guard this fall. However, if Welsh really settles in this spring at center, I think he stays there and Daniels moves to guard.
4. Which wide receivers are emerging?
There’s no question that C.J. Beathard can throw the football. The bigger question is who will he be throwing it to this fall? This spring will be another step in the process of figuring out which wide receivers are stepping up. Iowa fans know that one of the starters will be Matt VandeBerg. He is the leading returning wide receiver with 65 receptions last year. Beyond him, a whole lot of unknowns who have flashed during their careers. Jerminic Smith showed a lot of promise when called upon last season. Is he ready to assume a bigger role? Riley McCarron always seems to be lurking in the mix, but then falls back a bit with respect to the number of snaps he receives. Could this be his breakout year? Jonathon Parker moved to receiver one year ago. Could he become Iowa’s downfield threat in the passing game? And of course, Iowa fans always love discussing Jay Scheel, who is getting quite a bit of buzz this spring. There are others in the mix like Adrian Falconer, but the big thing for the Hawkeyes is they need a couple of guys to really start to emerge this spring.
5. Speaking of guys catching the ball, what about tight ends?
Much like the wide receiver position where Iowa has one proven player, in this case, George Kittle, along with a whole bunch of question marks. Jameer Outsey made the move to the offensive side of the ball in the fall and jumped up the depth chart. He certainly looks the part, but how far has he come in the last year and is he ready to be the Hawkeyes #2 option? Iowa likes to play three or four tight ends in any game. Will this be the year that Jon Wisnieski emerges as a bigger impact player? Could a walk-on like Peter Pekar be in the mix? He seemed to be on the rise late last year. Has Nate Vejvoda added enough weigh to get into the conversation? One thing we won’t know this spring is will a true freshmen get a look.
6. Is Brandon Snyder ready to be an impact player?
There was plenty of buzz about Snyder during his first year on campus and last spring and fall he was in the running for the starting spot at safety next to Jordan Lomax that eventually went to Miles Taylor. Snyder settled into a role on special teams and backing up Lomax and now he’s in prime position to take over the starting spot at free safety. Snyder is already making his mark in the weight room and it will be interesting to see him on Friday night and see how he has taken to the bigger role on the field.
7. The Mends/Hockaday battle at linebacker.
There aren’t a whole lot of true position battles for the Hawkeyes this spring. The weakside linebacker battle could be one of them. Aaron Mends earned some pretty strong reviews last spring from then linebacker coach Jim Reid. Now Reid is gone, taking over the Boston College defense, and in his place is Seth Wallace. This week, Wallace said Mends is leading the chase, but Hockaday is in fairly close pursuit. It will be interesting to watch both of them on Friday night and see if this is truly a position battle or if one is clearly ahead of the other.
8. Who handles the punting duties?
This is another one that will almost certainly linger into the fall. Right now, Colton Rastetter probably holds the edge in the competition. But, there’s really so much that is unknown about how Rastetter will perform with the lights on and perhaps we get a little idea on Friday night. Miguel Recinos is also in the mix, but he’s also contending for the placekicking duties. One factor that will arrive in the fall is graduate transfer Ron Coluzzi, who moves on from Central Michigan to provide some competition.
9. What about the placekicking for the Hawkeyes?
Marshall Koehn has moved on and he did a terrific job for the Hawkeyes. The battle is a two man race at that point between Recinos and Mick Ellis. Recinos has the more powerful leg and seems likely to handle kickoff duties this fall. Ellis redshirted last season and saw a bit of action in his true freshman season. Bottom line with the placekicking job, it will come down to accuracy on field goals in practice. It’s doubtful that Kirk Ferentz will go into the season with a rotating kicker situation. Seems unlikely that this one will be completely settled before fall camp, but right now it appears that Recinos is in the driver’s seat.
10. Will any of the redshirt freshman impress?
Out of sight, but not out of our minds. Not by a long shot if you are a close follower of Iowa Football. This will be our first real chance to see some of the Hawkeyes who redshirted last season and get a real look at them on the field. I’m very interested in getting a look at the Paulsen Twins, Brett Waechter, and Jake Newborg on the offensive line. We have heard good things about running back Eric Graham and we will get a peek at him on Friday night. Will we get to see Emmanuel Ogwo show off some of his downfield speed? Michael Ojumedia will get plenty of work at cornerback and he could be in line for a starting spot after next season. Des Moines native Nick Wilson will be back in his hometown and has a good buzz coming out of his redshirt year.
