5 observations from Iowa football’s 2023 open spring practice

IOWA CITY — As snow flurries intermittently descended on Kinnick Stadium for Iowa football’s 15th and final spring practice, head coach Kirk Ferentz could not help but see the irony.

“I would classify this as one of our better-weather springs,” Ferentz said. “I think we had five straight days we were (outside). Pretty tolerable, pretty nice. Not today.”

The weather aside, it marked the conclusion of what Ferentz describes as a “really important phase for our team” and the “purest opportunity to get guys to learn.”

“It's really deliberate,” Ferentz said. “You're teaching football. There's a lot of good meeting time in between workouts — more so than even August."

Here are five observations from Saturday’s open practice, which drew several-hundred Hawkeye fans at 69,250-seat Kinnick Stadium on a brisk morning:

Injuries galore

Several scholarship players were unavailable Saturday.

The injuries were especially concentrated at wide receiver and offensive and defensive line.

Wide receivers Nico Ragaini, Jacob Bostick and Seth Anderson did not participate. Bostick and Anderson have been injured throughout the spring. Ragaini, Ferentz said, suffered a sprain.

Noah Shannon, Logan Lee and Yahya Black were out on the defensive line. Joe Evans participated in drills although he has been hurt in the spring.

Mason Richman, Connor Colby, Daijon Parker and Michael Myslinski were among the offensive linemen who were not available.

Parker suffered his injury after getting one practice in as a Hawkeye. Ferentz expects him to be ready in June.

Colby was “back briefly” in spring practices, Ferentz said, before “another mishap.”

Ferentz estimated there were “probably four or five guys that would be potentially in the two-deep that weren't able to work” on the offensive line.

Fullback Eli Miller also missed Saturday’s practice with an injury, and Ferentz said he will “probably not” play in the fall.

Hayden Large, a transfer tight end from NAIA-level Dordt University, has assumed the fullback role in Miller’s absence.

“He can really factor into this whole thing,” Ferentz said of Large.

Linebacker Justice Sullivan has been put on medical scholarship, essentially ending his Iowa football career, as he continues to deal with post-COVID-19 health issues often referred to as “long COVID.”

Deacon Hill is QB2 (at least for now)

Cade McNamara, Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback, did not participate in the 11-on-11 portions of Saturday’s practice as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.

“I’m very close to 100 percent, but I’m not yet,” McNamara said.

Deacon Hill and Joe Labas had opportunities with the first-team offense, but Ferentz said Hill would be QB2 if the season started right now.

Hill has “made a good showing for himself,” Ferentz said, but he is not a lock for the role.

“That could go back and forth,” Ferentz said of the QB2 situation. “It's like a lot of stuff right now. Nobody's got any jobs locked up right now.”

Hill had some impressive plays, including a deep completion to tight end Addison Ostrenga. He also had a 21-yard completion to walk-on wide receiver Jack Johnson and a hearty 7-yard scramble.

But other plays left something to be desired, like a short throw to Ostrenga that was well off the mark.

“Obviously some stuff to clean up,” Hill said as he evaluated his performance Saturday. “It was a lot of good, some iffy. But at the same time, practice is where you make mistakes and learn from them.”

Hill is a much different style of quarterback than Labas or McNamara. Iowa officially lists him as 230 pounds although he looks larger than that. Wisconsin had him at 248 pounds as a freshman.

“I’m a prostyle quarterback,” Hill said. “I don’t think that’s a secret.”

Labas, meanwhile, had some nice plays, like a 48-yard touchdown pass and would have had another wide-open touchdown had it not been for a drop.

But like Hill, Labas also had some plays he would surely like to have back. Brenden Deasfernandes intercepted him in 11-on-11s, and he forced some passes into unrealistic spots at times Saturday.

When Iowa went into its final 11-on-11 scrimmage phase of practice, the offense’s first three attempts with Hill resulted in three-and-outs. Labas’ first two drives of that portion of practice resulted in an interception and three-and-out.

Defensive line depth on display (again)

Iowa’s defensive line has been short some key players, but one would not have known that from Saturday’s practice alone.

Many players who either had second-team roles or were not even on the two-deeps last year showed an ability to make plays against an albeit-short-handed offensive line.

“It feels good knowing that we can go out there and produce with three of our top guys sitting out on the sidelines,” said Deontae Craig, the only first-team defensive lineman to participate in 11-on-11s.

Max Llewellyn had a fumble recovery for a touchdown in a drill without any defensive backs or wide receivers on the field.

Aaron Graves pierced through the interior of Iowa’s offensive line with ease on one play in that same portion of practice.

“Now year two he's really moving forward,” Ferentz said of Graves. “He just goes so hard. It's unusual for a guy that young to have that kind of tempo. That's just how he's wired. It's every day. Like, he has one speed, which is fun.”

Graves and Jeremiah Pittman have especially earned rave reviews after taking on larger roles at defensive tackle amid Lee, Shannon and Black’s absence.

“Pitt is one of our more improved guys on our football team right now,” Ferentz said. “He was a ways away a year ago at this time, even the fall. But he's taken some good steps. We have good confidence in him now. He's in the mix, so that's good to see.”

Offensive line shake-up, including a position change

Iowa’s offensive line showed a new look Saturday, which was partially a result of injuries.

Nick DeJong and Gennings Dunker were the first-team tackles, and Tyler Elsbury and Beau Stephens were the first-team guards. Logan Jones was the first-team center.

Dunker had played entirely at guard in 2022. DeJong mostly played at guard last season, but had some experience at tackle as well.

The second-team offensive line included Jack Dotzler, Kale Krogh, Jeremy Chaplin, Asher Fahey and Kyson Van Vugt.

Van Vugt moved from tight end — one of Iowa’s deepest positions — to offensive line in the spring.

Ferentz expects offensive line to be the “best shot” long-term for the a 6-foot-6, 247-pound redshirt freshman from Sioux Center.

“He's a prospect,” Ferentz said. “I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. … If you met him, you might want to check to see if he has a driver's license.”

Amid the slew of injuries, Ferentz said offensive line was “probably our biggest concern going into spring ball.”

“I think our first practice we had eight healthy linemen, then seven after day one,” Ferentz said. “We've gained some ground coming back. I think we're seeing good, incremental progress.”

The offensive line will likely see another reshuffling when Parker, Colby and Richman are healthy again and transfer Rusty Feth arrives. Feth has experience playing guard and center.

One year makes big difference at kicker

Iowa kickers Drew Stevens and Aaron Blom did not miss any field goals in Saturday’s practice.

“Both those guys have done a great job,” Ferentz said Saturday. “Drew played really well for us. Aaron had a good spring, as well.”

It’s a stark contrast from last year’s spring practice, when Stevens and Blom both had misses from 40-plus yards.

“Last year at this time, I don't know if we've seen a worse place-kicking exhibition over the course of the spring,” Ferentz said. “This spring has been a flip. … Last year we weren't sure we had anybody. Now we have two guys performing nicely.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com