Hawkeye Report Podcast

The news that Iowa has a new offensive coordinator went official on Wednesday. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss the continued reaction to the hiring of Tim Lester. Why has it been mixed from Iowa fans and what should Hawkeye followers look to hear from the new coordinator and Kirk Ferentz when they meet with the media next week? What are two important things that Lester needs to accomplish this spring should Iowa hit the portal for a quarterback this spring?

Then we discuss the vacant wide receiver coaching position and if there is a frontrunner for that job. After that we turn our attention to the Iowa basketball team. They had a shot to pull off a come from behind win at Indiana and let it get away late. Why is Iowa struggling to close out tight games? What needs to change on that front and why has Ben Krikke been struggling of late?

We also dive into Iowa's resume this year and project their record moving forward. What would it take to get to the NCAA Tournament this season?

The Iowa Hawkeyes have hired a new offensive coordinator and as promised that means we are doing an emergency podcast! Tom Kakert and Blair Sanderson for 30 minutes breaking down all the angles of this very interesting and up and down hiring of a new offenisve coordinator to guide the Iowa offense in 2024.

We look at the background of Tim Lester and what he brings to the table from that perspective. We dive into the stats that he posted as a coordinator back when he was guiding the offense at Syracuse and then eventually becoming the head coach at his alma mater, Western Michigan. What do we think of his tenure leading the Broncos program and why he was dismissed after the 2022 season.

What were the offensive numbers they put up and what kind of an offense did Lester tend to run during his time as a head coach? Will we see more RPO looks from the Hawkeyes and is he a fan of complementary football, like KIrk Ferentz?

A lot of ground to cover on the podcast today. We are joined by Kyle Huesmann and start this week with the Iowa women's basketball team dropping a game on Sunday at Ohio State. Kyle gives his thoughts on the loss to the Buckeyes and what went wrong for Iowa and we discuss the play of Caitlin Clark in the contest.

We then discuss the after the game courtstorm and our thoughts on the folks who seem to be blaming Caitlin Clark and calling her a flopper based on a slow motion video. We also talk about how security needs to be better for the opposing teams in those situations.

Next we move on to Kadyn Proctor committing to the Iowa football program. What he said about his commitment to the Hawkeyes and what it might be like for the Hawkeye offensive line this fall. We also discuss why Iowa didn't tamper with Proctor.

Then we update the on-going search for an offensive coordinator and when Iowa might have one in place with interviews taking place this week. Finally we wrap up talking Iowa basketball and the loss to Purdue and finally Kyle previews the Iowa baseball season that is the most hyped in the Rick Heller era.

It's somewhat of an emergency podcast today with news that Iowa has officially hired Beth Goetz as their athletic director. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo discuss the hiring, which shouldn't have come as a surprise. We talk about the job she has done since she arrived in Iowa City and how she has given a warm embrace to the Iowa Swarm Collective and also how she made a decision on Iowa's offensive coordinator. We also talk about how she is well prepared and equiped for the changing landscape of college athletics.

Then we talk about the hiring that hasn't happened and that's the Iowa offensive coordinator position. Where do things stand and could this search be headed into the next week, which would be beyond the expecation that Kirk Ferentz had about a month ago. Are there any new candidates that are emerging?

Next we discuss Kadyn Proctor, who officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Thursday. What are Iowa's chances to land the five star offensive tackle? What would Iowa's offensive line look like if they landed Proctor? We also discuss how Proctor's arrivial in the transfer portal led to a massive spike in donations to the Iowa Swarm Collective.

Finally we wrap up talking about Fran McCaffery and his record setting victory and how this Iowa men's team is improving witha huge test coming up on Saturday against Purdue. Then we talk Iowa women's hoops and their huge contest on Sunday at Ohio State.

A very interesting podcast this week. Our good friend Tory Brecht joins us to talk about his recent columns on Iowa basketball and the lack of fan support. What are the root causes to the lack of support and what can be done to fix it? We have a lot of different theories.

We dive into what we like about this Iowa basketball team and some of the very positive comments from Stephen Bardo this week about how connected this team is on the court in their play. We also discuss what record it would take for the Hawkeyes to reach the NCAA Tournament?

Then we turn our attention to the never ending search for a new offensive coordinator. After not landing on Paul Chryst or Joe Philbin, who might Kirk Ferentz be looking at? Could he be eyeing an NFL coach? Does Kirk's past hires tell us the type of person that he will likely end up hiring?

Finally we discuss the football coaching news of the day, rewarding the great Phil Parker and keeping a rising star in Seth Wallace on the coaching staff.

Plenty to discuss on this edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Matt Randazzo is back and we open the podcast discussing several Iowa football players deciding that they will use their Covid year and return for one more season. What's the impact of those decisions and the return of five starters on the Iowa defense?

Then we talk about the scholarship situation. The Hawkeyes will eventually have to get to 85 scholarship players and they currently sit at 90. How will they get down to that number and when do they have to be there? Also, do the Hawkeyes need to dive into the transfer portal this spring and land a quarterback? Any other positions?

Next we discuss the search for an offensive coordinator. What's the latest the search and is it close to coming to a conclusion? Is Paul Chryst the frontrunner? Could Joe Philbin still be in the mix? Is there a mystery candidate?

Finally we wrap up talking Iowa men's and women's basketball. What have we seen from Owen Freeman and how impressive has he been? How important are the next two games for Iowa? We also talk about the Hawkeye women's hoops team and the amazing performances of Caitlin Clark.

Happy New Year! The podcast is back and to open the year it's Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann with a whole lot of ground to cover. We open discussing Cooper DeJean heading to the NFL. Where does DeJean rank among the Iowa defensive backs in the Ferentz era?

Then we update where things stand with the remaining Iowa players who could come back next year. Will Quinn Schulte, Sebastian Castro, or Nick Jackson be back for one more season? The Hawkeyes are also hitting the portal....maybe. We give you the latest on quarterback target Ty Thompson and if he's still visiting Iowa this weekend.

Next up with update the search for an offensive coordinator. Is Kirk Ferentz zeroing in on a target and could that decision be coming as soon as this weekend? Who is the leader right now for this position?

Finally we discuss the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and discuss the play of Deacon Hill and what we saw from Marco Lainez. We also talk about the great Caitlin Clark and her game winner against Michigan State and we talk Iowa men's basketball as well.

We had to squeeze one more podcast in before the holidays. There was a good reason because Brock Harding had his first career double-double for the Hawkeyes, so Matt Randazzo needed to take a victory lap.

We talks about Harding's big night, but also Ben Krikke and Payton Sandfort having a double-double and Tony Perkins catching fire. But, this leads to a larger discussion of why Iowa fans are not coming out to watch this basketball team? What, if anything, can be done to get more fans to come out to games?

Then we wrap up signing day coverage with a look at the recruiting class just inked by the Hawkeyes. How do they rank nationally and what were some of the thoughts about it shared by Kirk Ferentz and Tyler Barnes. What has Barnes been focused on? Also retaining six Iowa players for next season. We discuss the chances of that happening.

Finally we wrap up picking the Big Ten bowl games this year, including the Iowa/Tennessee game.

It's a jam packed edition of the podcast! We open the show discussing Kirk Ferentz and his presser today discussing the search for an offensive coordinator. What did he say about the search? Is he down to four candidates and did he confirm a couple of them by his responses? Also, Ferentz took some digs at a couple of other Big Ten schools and explained why he belives what he does about putting together a football program.

Then we discuss what four Iowa players said today at their presser and if it means Jay Higgins and Sebastian Castro are coming back for one more season? What about several other player returning/ Could we see Cooper DeJean back for one more year and what about Luke Lachey?

We discuss the upcoming signing day on Wednesday. Iowa is up to 21 players in this class, including punter Rhys Dakin from Australia. Who are the biggest names in this class that includes six four star prospects in the Class of 2024.

Finally we wrap up discussing Iowa mens and womens basketball and what we learned from their games in Des Moines last weekend.

Plenty of ground to cover this week on the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann dive deep in to Iowa hoops on this weeks show. We start with Iowa women's basketball and their win over Wisconsin and what we learned from that victory. What are we seeing from several players taking on larger role on the Hawkeye women's team in recent weeks. We also discuss the play of Caitlin Clark if she is actually bored by playing at the college level, as was suggested this week. Plus we talk about the Indiana Fever getting the #1 pick and if that impacts Clark heading to the WNBA.

THen we talk Iowa men's basketball after what was an extremely rough week for the Hawkeyes, losing three games in a row by double figures. Is it time to panic about Iowa basketball this season? What changes could be made to the starting lineup? Why has Iowa struggled in these three game sets in early December since they started this up in 2017?

Finally we wrap up discussing a few notes on Iowa football. A tip of the cap to Tory Taylor and Cooper DeJean, along with recognizing the season by Jay Higgins and Sebastian Castro. Plus we have a look at the offensive coordinator search and if that will conclude before the bowl game and a portal player update.