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Hawkeye fans are poised to get their first look at Iowa’s new offense on Saturday. Will it impress?
The Iowa Hawkeyes have had a tremendous week. But that was on the hardwood with the men’s team landing a commitment from former Morehead State point guard Drew Thelwell and the women landing a massive commitment from former Villanova PG Lucy Olsen. And of course, all-world former Hawkeye Caitlin Clark heard her name called #1 overall in the WNBA draft to kick the week off.
Now, Hawkeye Nation turns its attention to the gridiron where the Iowa football team is set to wrap up their spring ball with an open practice on Saturday morning. It’s a key moment for the fanbase. Despite Iowa not operating a traditional spring game like several other schools, the Hawkeyes have major question marks, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, that fans will get their first chance at insight on this weekend.
With the open practice now less than 24 hours away, what exactly should fans be looking for inside Kinnick Stadium on Saturday?
It’s no surprise that the vast majority of questions this spring revolve around the offense. Phil Parker’s defense will be Phil Parker’s defense and with the return of several key pieces (looking at you, Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson and co.) there isn’t much left to the imagination for the Iowa D in 2024.
But the offense is breaking in a new OC (and by all accounts, a real OC). We’ve already seen an offensive player hit the portal this spring (wishing you the best, Jacob Bostick, unless you end up at Iowa State). And when you boast the worst offense in power 5 football, it’s pretty fair to want to know if things are getting better.
On Thursday, new offensive coordinator Tim Lester met with the media for the first time since his introductory press conference. During his introductory remarks (which, for some reason, were not captured on the audio by the UI), Lester indicated roughly 80-85% of his offense has been installed and now the focus turns to perfecting the core plays and sprinkling in that last 15-20% of the playbook.
For fans then, we should be looking for what exactly that 80-85% of the playbook includes. During his tenure at Western Michigan, Lester was noted for significant use of RPOs (run-pass options). Notably, this has nothing to do with the QB running the ball, but instead uses the defensive alignment once the QB steps to the line of scrimmage to determine whether the offense will run the ball or pass it. This is a totally new concept for the Hawkeyes and we should expect to see some hiccups this early in the process, but just how much of it we see at all on Saturday could be an indication of how much this new offense will look like Lester’s stuff from WMU and how much it will look like Kirk Ferentz has put his hand on the scales.
Practically, fans in the stands should keep an eye on plays that may look similar to a read-option where there is a potential handoff to the RB that is ridden by the QB as he makes a read. That’s not to say RPOs exclusively need such a read, but it’s an easy watch point from the stands.
You can also do your best to count box defenders pre-snap. A fundamental staple of the RPO is taking what the defense gives you. Meaning, you should expect the offense to run the ball if pre-snap you see the same or fewer defenders in the box as there are offensive players to block them. If the O, then, comes to the line with five linemen and a tight end (11 personnel), they should only run the ball if there are six defenders in the box. The reverse is also true. If there are more defenders in the box than can be blocked man for man, you would expect the offense to run the pass option of the play called.
Beyond the RPO aspect, the post-snap blocking from the line is a key thing to keep an eye on. Iowa has traditionally been known as a zone team with head coach Kirk Ferentz having long been a proponent of outside zone. Recently, however, we’ve seen more use of gap schemes. Lester, however, has been more of an inside zone play caller.
Iowa has changed their offensive line recruiting a bit recently to move more towards the big maulers you traditionally would see at gap scheme teams such as Wisconsin from those smaller, quicker outside zone types Ferentz had previously targeted. So how Lester adapts his run game to what is in the cupboard and what KF wants to do will be interesting to watch.
In the most basic sense, it’s easiest to simply see if the offense is running more between the guards than toward the edge. The schemes are more nuanced than that but that’s an easy checkpoint. You can also try to get a feel for just how the linemen are working defenders. Are they using heavy combos to push the defensive tackles back into linebackers or are they working quicker to seal linebackers and simply cover everyone quicker?
It will also be interesting to just get a sense of some of the finer points we can expect next fall. We’ve heard all spring the new offense is utilizing a lot more motion and creating more conflict in the defense. But seeing that in action and in different situations will be something to note.
So, what does new OC Tim Lester want to see from his group on Saturday? Here’s what he had to say in his press availability this week.
“I just want to be efficient. Stay onsides with all the pre-snap stuff, all the motions and cadence, and come off the ball. I’m sure he’s going to put us in some situations, two minute and third along, which will be tough for us this early but we’re going to take swing. I want to say we had one last Saturday where we had 12 plays and moved the ball down the field and had a drive today we scored on, so there have been good days but some rough days too. Good thing is they always respond. On offense, if one guy screws up the play is done. On defense, you might have the left corner fall down, but if the QB throws right it might be a pick six. We just want to continue to stack reps and want to see the guys respond to having people there. It’s different when you get in the stadium, so the ability to stay focused and still execute the things they’ve learned. It will be fun to see who steps up. I just want to see us be better and more efficient. No penalties and take care of the ball.”
Beyond the new-look offense, perhaps the most interesting thing to see in the spring is new personnel. Lester indicated this week that Cade McNamara is progressing well but remains highly limited in practice. So just how much will we see him throwing? How is he moving around?
We also know that Deacon Hill will be taking the first team reps, because in Lester’s words he is the furthest along in terms of making reads and going through a progression (and thus giving the most usable live reps in team drills for the other first team players). Does he look better than a year ago? Is he serviceable? And while Marco Lainez “drinks from the firehose” taking both the second and third team reps, does he appear to be progressing?
Iowa clearly needs answers behind McNamara given his injury history, and we could see them hit the portal this cycle to find them. But knowing what is already here and how those guys are moving forward will be interesting for fans on Saturday.
Perhaps just as interesting will be how the wide receiver group looks. As mentioned, the Hawkeyes saw Jacob Bostick hit the portal earlier this week when things officially opened. We’ve also heard Seth Anderson and Kaleb Brown have been dinged up a bit this spring. Who is stepping up and will Iowa be in desperate need of an X receiver from the portal this spring as well? Or will some of the early hype around RS freshman Jarriett Buie prove true and give the Hawkeyes some roster wiggle room (Iowa is currently four scholarships over the limit for 2024, meaning they would need five players to come off scholarship to add even one player from the portal).
On the other side of the ball, we expect Phil Parker’s group to again be lethal, but there are legitimate questions along the defensive line. Logan Lee is off to the NFL and Noah Shannon is out of eligibility. The Hawkeyes also lost Anterio Thompson to the portal this cycle, which leaves question marks about the depth in the middle of the defensive line.
At this stage in the offseason, the defense should look better than the offense, particularly when the offense is completely revamped. If the interior defensive line is getting worked by Iowa’s o-line, that could be a real problem come fall. But even if not, it will be worth monitoring the rotation to see who is stepping into the void and what the depth looks like.
Another place with a hole to fill, is at corner. Parker has earned his reputation not only for the defense overall, but also for the defensive back group he coaches. But replacing a superstar like Cooper DeJean will be a tall task.
Iowa returns Jermari Harris and Deshaun Lee, both of whom have meaningful playing time under their belts. But rumblings out of spring practice thus far have been that John Nestor and Deavin Hilson have looked good. And TJ Hall is still waiting in the wings. Who will step up in CDJ’s spot at corner? And who will be fielding punts?
Speaking of punts, the Hawkeyes said good bye to the glorious leg of Tory Taylor. Now LeVar Woods has himself another Aussie punter with Rhys Dakin set to step foot on the turf in Kinnick in front of a live audience for the first time. It’s unlikely he can be as lethal as Taylor, but early reports seem to indicate Dakin’s leg may somehow be even bigger than Taylor’s. Get your popcorn ready – punting is winning!
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