Hawkeye Report Podcast

It's a rare solo Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert flying solo to discuss the latest news in the world of Iowa athletics.

First we once again pub the Chuck Long Charity Auction that wraps up on Saturday night. You can register and bid at this link: ctcqc.home.qtego.us/

We also give some early pub to the Rally For Reid football camp coming up on June 21st in Davenport. More on that event, hopefully next week.

Now the news of the week. We do a little housekeeping getting everyone caught up on what turned out to be a very busy and eventful week in Hawkeye sports. We first discuss the start for Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. She's being guarded closely and tighter than any player in the league. What should be take away from the start she has had and is there glimpses of progress?

Then we stick with Iowa women's hoops and talk about hte Jan Jensen hire. What did she have to say about recruiting? What about hiring an assistant coach to replace herself on the staff? They will be on the road this weekend, how was that addressed? And after talking to Iowa AD Beth Goetz, how were they able to keep this massive news under wraps for a few days?

We move on to Iowa men's hoops and the signing of Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore. What is Iowa getting in Traore and how did he perform against high major foes? How does this impact the Iowa frontcourt this season? We also look at how Payton Sandfort performed at the NBA Combine? Is he expected to return for one more season? When does he have to decide?

Finally we discuss the Iowa football team adding a wide receiver, who happens to have been the roomate of new Hawkeye QB Brendan Sullivan.

EMERGENCY PODCAST!!! Massive news for the Iowa women's basketball program. Lisa Bluder has announced her retirement. That's huge news, but Iowa also announced that associate head coach Jan Jensen will be taking over as the new head coach.

Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann dive into all of this. We start with Lisa Bluder announcing her retirement and try to put her career in perspective. From her humble roots coaching at St. Ambrose to 24 seasons leading the Iowa program, Bluder did it by building a great culture at every stop. We discuss her legacy and how she was able to take the program to a level no one thought was possible going to back to back national title games. We also talk about how it is fitting that Bluder and Caitlin Clark end their Iowa careers together.

Next we look at the immediate hiring of Jan Jensen. It should have been a surprise, but we talk about the quick decison and the impact that decision will have on the Iowa program moving forward. What could be some of the assistant coach options for Jensen as she looks to complete her staff? What about the recruiting impact? Jensen led the recruitment of nearly every prospect, but what will their reactions be?

We also do a few minutes on Iowa baseball heading into post season play next week in the Big Ten Tournament and what they may do with their rotation.

A special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. On this show we are joined by J.R. Koch and his son Cooper, who will be headed to Iowa City to play for the Hawkeyes this fall. We catch up with both of them for a joint podcast to discuss Cooper and his development as a player. How does he compare to his father in terms of a game?

We discuss Cooper starting to come to Iowa camps when he was in fourth grade and how he eventually earned the full attention of Fran McCaffery, who offered him a scholarship before his ninth grade year. We also talk to J.R. about his relationship with McCaffery and how he actually recruited him when he as at Notre Dame.

We also discuss how J.R. Koch looks back at when he arrived on the Iowa campus. We also discuss with Cooper about how excited he is to get to campus and be with his new teammates in the month of June to start working out as a Hawkeye.

It's a new Hawkeye Report Podcast and we launch the bidding for the Chuck Long Charity Auction which benefits the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities. Listeners of the podcast can enter a special drawing for gift cards and special gifts by registering and placing at least one bid on an item. Just place an HR (for Hawkeye Report) a space after your name when you register. You can bid at this link.

https://qtego.us/qlink/ctcqc

On the podcast, we are joined by our great friend Dan Burich, who was the first emcee of hte auction and he also covered the Hawkeyes for many years in the 80's and 90's. He has plenty of stories about Hayden Fry, Lisa Bluder at St. Ambrose and much more. Plus we tell some other fun media stories as Dan was responsible for Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo meeting each other.

After we visit with "The Wildman" we move on to discuss the latest edition to the Iowa football team, quarterback Brendan Sullivan. What are our thoughts on the Hawkeyes adding a quarterback? Do we think the Hawkeyes will add another quarterback? What other positions might also see an addition? WR? Defensive tackle?

Then we discuss the Indiana Fever games being added to the schedule at WQAD in the Quad Cities and WOI in Des Moines.

Even though it's technically the off-season, there's always plenty going on in the world of Iowa football and basketball. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo jump on the podcast this week to discuss all the latest Hawkeye news.

We start with a look at the quarterback situation in Iowa City. Deacon Hill hit the portal last week. Tommy Poholsky joined him on Monday. That leaves the Hawkeyes with just three quarterbacks on the roster heading into the summer. Should Iowa fans panic? Nope. We discuss why Iowa has already been looking to the transfer portal this spring. We also look at why it's not as crowded in the transfer portal so far this spring and why the Hawkeyes will eventually find someone.

Also, Iowa is hunting for a wide receiver in the portal. We discuss their main target and look at other potential wide receivers in the portal if they were to miss on their #1 choice. Finally, we look at the scholarship situation for the Hawkeye football team and as of Monday, they are still over the limit.

Then we move on to the NFL Draft and discuss Cooper DeJean going to the Eagles and his surprise drop out of the first round. Tory Taylor going to the Bears and why that's a great fit. Erick All going higher than expected to the Bengals and finally Logan Lee going to his favorite team, the Steelers.

After that we look ahead to the NFL Draft next year. Could it be a record setting one for from an Iowa perspective with potentially seven players being drafted by NFL teams a true junior who could be among them. Could Luke Lachey end up being a first round pick?

Finally we wrap up talking Iowa basketball and a portal visitor this past week in Matt Cross. Where do the Hawkeyes stand with him and who is the competition?

We take a little bit of a break from Hawkeye news to turn our attention to a very special cause that we love to support each and every year. It's the Chuck Long Charity Auction to help support the Children's Therapy of the Quad Cities.

We are joined by our good friend Chuck Long and the President and CEO of the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, Angie Peterson, to discuss the upcoming event and how by just registering to bid will put you in a drawing for free gifts, even if you don't post a winning bid.

We talk about history of the program, which is celebrating 75 years this year, and we discuss how Long got involved in the event. Then we discuss the bidding beginning on May 10th and wrapping up on May 18th and how you can get involved.

How about some great Hawkeye items that will be up for bid, including a signed helmet from Cooper DeJean, a signed basketball by Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall, a 10 year bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, life size cutout of Caitlin Clark, Taylor Swift signed album, and so much more.

It's a jam packed Hawkeye Report podcast to start the week as we wrap up spring football and talk a whole lot about the transfer portal for the Iowa women's basketball team, men's squad, and some football portal talk is picking up.

First we start with the biggest news this past week the additon of Lucy Olsen to the Iowa women's basketball team. Iowa needed a point guard and scoring and they got that in Olsen. Kyle Huesmann and Tom Kakert dive into what it means for the Hawkeyes, why she picked Iowa, and the impact it has on the team next season. Does this making Iowa a Top 25 team next season even without Caitlin Clark?

Then we dive into Iowa men's basketball and their addition of Drew Thelwell. They needed a veteran point guard and found it. How did the success of Caitlin Clark help with Iowa recruiting Thelwell? What will he bring to the table next season and will he split time with Brock Harding? Fran McCaffery isn't done in the portal. We look at potential big men targets in the portal.

We move on to football and the portal. Jacob Bostick left suddenly, which was a surprise to the Iowa coaches. But, they have a potential wide receiver target visiting Tuesday. We look at that player as a prospect. We also discuss if Iowa will be in the market for a quarterback this spring and why they probably need to. Are there other positions they need to look at in the portal and how are they going to get down to 85 scholarship players by August?

We finally talk some football and what we saw at the spring game on Saturday. What did we think of Tim Lester's offense? Who were some of the standout players at the practice? How are we feeling about Iowa heading into the summer months?

Finally we wrap up talking Iowa baseball. The Hawkeyes swept Rutgers to move to 9-6 in conference play. Have they turned the corner from a pitching perspective? What do we make of the strong start on Sunday from Brody Brecht?

It's our 600th episode of the podcast and that means we have to get a big time guest. We are joined by the CEO of the Iowa Swarm, Brad Heinrichs and we have a wide ranging conversation on the transfer portal for the Iowa Hawkeyes in football and both men's and women's basketball.

First we open with the portal being open in all three sports right now and how crazy it is for him during this time of year. We open our specific conversations by talking football and the surprise news of a player leaving the program on Tuesday and the scholarship situation for the Hawkeyes. What positions might they target in the portal this month? How could the Iowa Swarm help solve the football scholarship situation?

Then we talk men's and women's basketball and the portal. What are the positions that both programs are targeting? What do we think of the numbers that are getting tossed around for players like Tony Perkins and how far off are they from the reality? Where do things stand for Lisa Bluder's club and when might they be adding a point guard to her roster?

Finally we engage in a long discussion about the Iowa Swarm and the wish list for their program and what they need financially. We also dive into what college athletics might look like in the relatively near future? Will students become employees? A salary cap for college football in the future? It's an interesting discussion .

It's a jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast covering a whole lot of topics. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss Iowa spring football. We have met with several of the players on offense and got a look at the Hawkeyes practice on Thursday. What did we learn? Why are so many players on the offensive side of the ball energized by the offense?

We discuss some of the players who have impressed this spring and are any of them surprises?. We also look at some of the mechanics of the Tim Lester offense and why it is receiver and tight end friendly and if they are using some RPO this spring.

Then we go portalling and discuss how it might impact the Iowa football program. The Hawkeyes are five over the limit. How do they get down to 85? What about Iowa potentially adding a quarterback to the fold this spring? Could it happen and why it won't be the rumored player from Ohio State.

Next up it's Iowa men's and women's basketball hunting for help in the transfer portal. Fran McCaffery has a couple of visits set up for guards. We look at the targets and Iowa's chances with them and three big men that the Hawkeyes could be looking to land. Also, we discuss Fran McCaffery saying Tony Perkins could be getting 500K in NIL? Then we wrap up with women's hoops and their portal targets. Can they land a point guard?

On this edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast we wrap up a second straight historic season for the Iowa women's basketball team. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann discuss the Hawkeyes second straight trip to the Final Four and the national title game against South Carolina.

We look back at the game, beginning with the tremendous start for the Hawkeyes, led by a blazing first quarter from Caitlin Clark. We discuss the Gamecocks depth and how that was so impactful in the game as they outscored Iowa 37-0 in the game. We also talk about how the Hawkeyes continued to battle in the third quarterback before South Carolina slowly pulled away for the win.

We look back at this historic run the last two years by the Iowa women's basketball team and discuss the impact that they have had not only on the people in the state of Iowa, but around the country. Then we dive into the future of the program. What does the Iowa women's basketball team look like next year with the returning players and new players? Also, the hottest question right now is what will go into the transfer portal looking to add? Do they have a point guard already on their radar?

We also talk about Iowa men's basketball and where things stand for them in the transfer portal.