Five questions for Iowa’s final spring practice

Thanks in large part of an amazing run to the Final Four by the Iowa women’s basketball team, Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football team have been flying under the radar this spring when it comes to the headline marketplace.

Ferentz has almost certainly liked to not be part of the headlines and he has been fortunate to have a pretty healthy spring and one without a whole lot of drama. We take a look at five questions that we hope to be able to answer after the final spring practice for the Hawkeyes on Saturday morning.

WHAT DOES THIS NEW TIM LESTER OFFENSE LOOK LIKE?

There’s only one way to go for the Iowa offense and that’s up. After a dismal performance in 2023 which saw the Hawkeyes average just 15.4 points per game and be shutout in their final two games of the season, Tim Lester was brought in to guide the offense this season.

Based on what we have heard from various players this spring, one staple of the Lester offense is movement. It’s designed to “trick” the defense a bit and gain an advantage.

“We have tried to move their eyes around a little bit and switch up their fits, pre-snap, post-snap, because a lot of times if you talk to defensive guys, which I have been one and I’ve worked with a couple defensive staffs last year, they never say — you’re never going to beat the defense, you’re just going to get them to misfit something.” Lester said.

It might not look a whole lot different than the past Iowa offense, but it’s going to have a different feel to it and Iowa fans may even see some RPO in the attack, which would be different.

HOW DO THE QUARTERBACKS LOOK?

This will be a top of line item from the final spring practice. How do Deacon Hill and Marco Lainez look under center? If they don’t look good, does that mean that Iowa will be diving into the portal after Saturday to find another option?

One thing we know heading into Saturday is that expected starting quarterback Cade McNamara is still a month or two from being fully cleared to play. Given that McNamara has played in eight games in the last two years, Iowa will likely want a better backup option this season than Hill or Lainez. That is unless we see something on Saturday that changes our opinions.

ANY SURPRISES ON DEFENSE, PARTICULARLY ALONG THE LINE?

It certainly feels like the Iowa defense is pretty loaded heading into the 2024 season. At one point after the bowl game it looked like the back end of the Iowa defense was going to undergo a complete overhaul.

Then Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson, Sebastian Castro, and Quinn Schulte decided to come back for another season and now the Hawkeyes have eight starters returning. So the real question mark will be up front where the Hawkeyes lost a pair of starters and leaders in Logan Lee and Joe Evans.

Can Deontae Craig regain his footing as a pass rusher? Does Aaron Graves take the next step in his development? What’s the depth like up front? Do they have eight players that they trust along the line?

SPEAKING OF THE LINE, WHAT ABOUT THE OFFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL?

Tim Lester said something Thursday that makes a whole lot of sense. You don’t see good football teams with bad offensive lines. That’s absolutely true. Having said that, there are some offensive lines that are much stronger than others.

This spring the Iowa offensive line has been missing two starters. Both Logan Jones and Gennings Dunker have been sidelined after off-season surgery. But, we will get a long look at Tyler Elsbury at center, but it feels like he could be contending for a starting job at guard. Speaking of that position, Beau Stephens is healthy and having a solid spring. Can he grab a starting job?

What will also be interesting along the offensive line will be the depth. How is the depth at tackle developing? We are also curious to see how fast rising redshirt freshman Kade Pieper is looking in practice.

FINALLY….WHAT ABOUT THE RETURNING KICKER AND THE NEW PUNTER?

It’s Iowa football, of course we are going to get a question about special teams.

While Drew Stevens handled on the one kickoff for the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten title game and bowl game, we didn’t see him attempt a field goal or even an extra point. Yes, did not score in either game. So, we have not seen Stevens attempt a field goal after he was benched against Nebraska. Levar Woods, who is the coordinator of Iowa’s special teams, said it might have humbled Stevens a bit last year.

We are curious to see how he looks on Saturday.

Also, we get a look at the new Aussie punter, Rhys Dakin, who arrived in January. Even though he is from the same town as Tory Taylor, Melbourne, Dakin has massive shoes to fill. While some might expect him to come in and be as good as Taylor, there’s going to be a learning curve. It will be interesting to see what kind of impression Dakin makes on Saturday afternoon.

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