3-2-1: Iowa running back change?

It’s been a bit since we broke out a 3-2-1. That’s about to change. We are getting this back up and rolling, hopefully on a weekly basis as we look back and peek ahead at the news that Iowa fans have been or will be discussing.

This week it’s time to talk about Nico Ragaini, Noah Shannon, hoops recruiting in 2024, field hockey success, and much more.

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

RAGAINI GETS A REPRIMAND

The minute that Nico Ragaini let loose with a profanity laced commentary on the officials clearly missing a pass interference call this past weekend against Iowa State, you knew the Big Ten was going to weigh in.

It took them about 24 hours and they quickly issued a very public reprimand regarding his comments.

The Big Ten Conference announced today Iowa football student-athlete Nico Ragaini has been issued a public reprimand for violating the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy following his comments regarding officiating in reference to the September 9, 2023, football game against Iowa State,” the conference said in a statement.

“Big Ten Conference Agreement 10.01 states in part that ‘The Big Ten Conference expects all contests involving a member institution to be conducted without compromise to any fundamental element of sportsmanship. Such fundamental elements include integrity of the competition, civility toward all, and respect, particularly toward opponents and officials.’

Ragaini, who is a sixth year senior wide receiver for the Hawkeyes, also shared an apology in the statement from the University of Iowa.

“I want to apologize for my public criticism of Saturday’s officiating,” Ragaini said. “I am a competitive person and player. My comments reflected my passion for the game, and I apologize for my choice of language.”

SHANNON GETS A FINAL NO FROM THE NCAA

The Free Noah Shannon campaign has come to a close.

Back in July, after being announced as one of the three Iowa players who would represent the program at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, Noah Shannon eventually issued a statement saying that he had gambled on sports while a student at the University of Iowa.

Shannon did not violate any laws, be it state of federal. He was of legal age when he placed the wagers. But, it is against NCAA rules for student-athletes to wager on athletic events. It is particularly troubling according to the NCAA to place a wager on the athletic events at your school. In this case, Shannon never placed a bet on Iowa football, but he did place a wager on Iowa women’s basketball.

For doing that, Shannon has officially been told that his appeal to be reinstated was denied and, as a result, his Iowa career was officially over.

Kirk Ferentz has been pretty animated in his responses to this action and he’s right. At some point the NCAA will deal with these situations in a more realistic manner, but that was not the case with Shannon and that is very unfortunate.

IOWA FIELD HOCKEY REMAINS #1

It’s been a remarkable season for the Iowa field hockey squad. They are off to a 6-0 start to the season and are now spending week two at the top of the polls for the sport. This week, Iowa garnered 35 of 42 first place votes.

The Hawkeyes also now have a clear superstar in the sport true freshman Dionne van Aalsum. She has already earned Big Ten Freshman of the week three times this season and has a nation leading 16 goals this year.

If you are interested in supporting the Iowa field hockey team this week, they will host Vermont on Friday afternoon at 3 pm and then Merrimack on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

TWO QUESTIONS

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH IOWA HOOPS RECRUITING IN 2024?

It’s been an interesting week for those who follow Iowa hoops recruiting.

Not long ago it looked like 2024 forward Caden Diggs had set a date of September 15th to announce his college choice. Iowa was thought to be a clear leader to land the talented forward.

Then this week, Fran McCaffery was headed to Minnesota to have an in-home visit with Isaiah Johnson-Arigu. The Top 100 forward according to On3.com, narrowed his list of schools to five this week with an announcement now scheduled for September 16th. The schools that remain in contention are: Iowa, Miami, Northwestern, Texas Tech, and Virginia Tech. Our sources have confirmed that Iowa and Miami have separated themselves from the other programs in the homestretch.

It was also worth noting that Diggs has now backed away from his commitment date this week and has officially re-opened his recruitment. Also, another Iowa target who was scheduled to visit this month, T.J. Williams, announced that he was committed to Wichita State. Williams is from Wichita.

One player who is still scheduled to visit Iowa is Pharaoh Compton. He is a 6-foot-7 four star forward from Las Vegas who is down to Iowa, Tennessee, LSU, San Diego State, and UNLV. Compton is slated to visit Iowa City in the last weekend of September.

SHOULD PATTERSON BE IOWA’S TOP BACK?

It only took a couple of runs for Iowa fans to start wondering if Jaziun Patterson should ascend to the top spot on the depth chart at running back. Patterson ripped off a 59 yard jaunt against Iowa State and shortly after that, he scored on a four yard touchdown run.

Meanwhile, starting running back Kaleb Johnson is struggling to break loose this year. He is averaging just 2.6 yards per carry, while Patterson is at 5.6 yards per carry.

Should Iowa got to the hot hand?

I think this week will test that and it feels like they will go to Patterson as much, if not more than Johnson. That would be my recommendation as well. Coaches are charged with putting their most productive players on the field and right now, Patterson is the hot hand and should play as much, if not more than Johnson.

ONE PREDICTION

Last week Iowa got their defensive score on a pick six. This week, it’s time for a special teams score.

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