Questions for each Iowa football position group ahead of media day, Saturday’s open practice

IOWA CITY — Iowa football will have an illuminating next two days.

The Hawkeyes’ local media day — when Kirk Ferentz, assistant coaches and players all speak with reporters — will be Friday afternoon.

Then Iowa will have its annual Kids’ Day at Kinnick open practice on Saturday. (Gates open at 10 a.m., autographs for kids start at 10:30 and practice itself starts at 11.)

Both will provide insights into the 2024 football team with about three weeks to go until the Hawkeyes’ season opener on Aug. 31 against Illinois State.

Here are questions for each position group ahead of hearing from coaches and players on Friday and seeing the Hawkeyes in action on Saturday:

Quarterback

How competitive will Brendan Sullivan be with presumed QB1 Cade McNamara in fall camp?

Cade McNamara began fall camp last week as Iowa’s clear first-team quarterback.

If McNamara has a bad camp, though, the Hawkeyes have options. Brendan Sullivan started four games last year for Northwestern before transferring this spring to Iowa.

Sullivan’s completion percentage in 2023 — 63.6 percent — was better than any Iowa quarterback with 75-plus dropbacks over the last decade, per Pro Football Focus.

Running back

What does the workload look like in a crowded backfield?

Iowa has an abundance of options at running back.

Leshon Williams is back for his senior year after ranking sixth in the Big Ten in 2023 with 821 rushing yards. Kaleb Johnson is a 2022 all-Big Ten honorable mention, and redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton has been gaining momentum. Then there also is Jaziun Patterson, who showed glimpses of what he can do last year.

Depending on how often Iowa runs the ball under new coordinator Tim Lester, it may have to figure out how to split up 400 to 500 opportunities between (at least) four capable backs.

Tight end

What will a healthy Luke Lachey accomplish in 2024?

Luke Lachey should finally have his chance this year to show what he can do as the first-team tight end at “Tight End U.”

He was behind now-NFL tight end Sam LaPorta on the depth chart in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Then he had a promising first two games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3.

Lachey, once again healthy, could quickly improve his draft stock if he takes the step forward that he was starting to take until last year’s injury. (If he kept his pace of five receptions per game, he would have led the country last year in receptions by a tight end.)

Wide receivers

Who emerges as potential playmakers aside from Kaleb Brown?

Kaleb Brown and Seth Anderson are Iowa’s only wide receivers returning in 2024 who had any catches in 2023. Anderson’s 11 receptions were on 31 targets, according to PFF, equating to an extremely inefficient 35.5 percent reception rate.

The Hawkeyes obviously will need more wide receivers than just Brown who present legitimate threats to opposing defenses in 2024. Will it be Anderson? Will it be Kaden Wetjen? Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill? Promising redshirt freshman Jarriett Buie?

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Offensive line

Where do things stand at left guard?

Iowa returns its starting left tackle, center, right guard and right tackle from last season.

Barring any position shuffling, that leaves left guard as the biggest question mark for this position group in fall camp. Nick DeJong, Beau Stephens and Tyler Elsbury are among the Hawkeyes’ veteran options for this position. Kade Pieper, a redshirt freshman, could be a name to watch on the second team.

Defensive line

How deep is this position group at this point in fall camp?

Iowa’s projected starters on the defensive line — Deontae Craig and Ethan Hurkett on the outside and Yahya Black and Aaron Graves inside — all have proven in-game track records ahead of the 2024 season.

Depth has been a differentiator in the defensive line’s success in past years, so how the line looks when it’s not Craig-Black-Graves-Hurkett will be essential.

Max Llewellyn and Brian Allen appear to be the Hawkeyes’ top reserves at defensive end, and Jeremiah Pittman is Iowa’s most-proven reserve at defensive tackle. How many others step up in fall camp will be a key for Iowa’s defense ahead of the 2024 season.

Linebackers

Which backups are making significant strides?

Short of any injuries, not many snaps at linebacker appear to be there for the taking.

Iowa has the luxury of returning all three first-team linebackers from last year’s team — fifth-year player Jay Higgins and sixth-year guys Nick Jackson and Kyler Fisher. With all three aforementioned linebackers in their final year of eligibility, Saturday’s practice will give a glimpse of the future of the linebacker position for 2025 and beyond.

Defensive backs

How do John Nestor, Deshaun Lee and T.J. Hall look in the secondary during Saturday’s open practice?

Iowa’s secondary does not have many question marks. First-team safeties Sebastian Castro, Quinn Schulte and Xavier Nwankpa all are back. So is sixth-year cornerback Jermari Harris.

The cornerback spot on the opposite side of Harris, on the other hand, is perhaps the most intriguing position battle of Iowa’s 2024 fall camp. John Nestor was listed as the starter on the preseason depth chart, but Deshaun Lee and T.J. Hall could also be contenders for that role

Special teams

Does Drew Stevens return to his 2022 form in 2024?

Kicker Drew Stevens had a stellar true freshman season, going 16-of-18. (His two misses were both from 40-plus yards out.) His sophomore season was not-so-stellar, missing five of his 10 attempts in the month of November.

A return to Stevens’ 2022 form would go a long way for the Hawkeyes in 2024.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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