Previewing Big Ten Media Days from an Iowa perspective

Big Ten Media Days take place this week in Indianapolis. What was once a staple of the late summer in Chicago has now found a home at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy, so the Big Ten season essentially begins and ends in the same location.

What will be different this year is that the annual gather of the Big Ten will now be a three day event. Iowa will be on Day Two of the event with Kirk Ferentz speaking at 11:45 with Hawkeye players Luke Lachey, Jay Higgins , and Quinn Schulte meeting with the media in the early afternoon.

Day One will include: Illinois, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, and Ohio State.

Day Two will include: Iowa, UCLA, USC, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Penn State.

Day Three: Minnesota, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, Indiana, and Michigan.

What are some storylines to watch this week, with a lean towards the Iowa perspective?

CATCHING UP WITH KIRK FERENTZ

It’s been a while since the Iowa media has had a chance to speak with the Iowa head coach. There’s been quite a bit that has happened since we last spoke with the Iowa head coach heading into his 26 ^th season.

We will need to find out from Ferentz what the punishment will be for Kaleb Brown . Will it basically be missing week one of the season? Is there any additional punishment?

What does Kirk Ferentz think of the proposal to essentially limit roster size and potentially eliminate walk-on’s, which has been the backbone of the Hawkeye program over the years?

How is Iowa competing from a recruiting perspective in the world of NIL? Does Ferentz feel like it’s doing well? Was he in favor of doing something similar to Nebraska in the preseason and host an event that would help to fund NIL at Iowa?

How is Ferentz feeling about Tim Lester and his offense? What about the quarterback situation? Has Cade McNamra already pulled away as a starter? What does he think of Brendan Sullivan ?

Iowa is sitting at 13 verbal commitments in the Class of 2025. What number does he feel they need to get to this year and what needs remain?

We also haven’t spoken to Kirk Ferentz since his son took an analyst position at Maryland. What is his reaction to that news and facing the Terps in November?

TALKING TO THE IOWA PLAYERS

It’s very rare when we see Iowa players repeat as Big Ten Media Day participants. This year we will have two players back for a second appearance. Last year Luke Lachey was selected. Initially last season, Noah Shannon was supposed to be representing Iowa in Indianapolis, but he was swept up in the sports gambling investigation and was replaced by Jay Higgins. It was a great move to let the hometown kid represent the Hawkeyes and he’s back this year along with Lachey.

Joining them this year is safety Quinn Schulte who is back for his Covid year. He’s the type of player that you would expect Iowa to send.

What will we be talking to the Iowa players about? One topic for me is always younger and perhaps under the radar players who could emerge as contributors this year.

For the defensive players, we want to hear about the new offense. What is Tim Lester’s offense going to be like this fall and are they feeling good about it? I am interested to hear from Schulte about guys like John Nestor and Zach Lutmer . I want to talk to Higgins about the trio of freshman backers who have arrived on campus this summer.

On the offensive side of the ball, we will be talking to Lachey about the Iowa quarterbacks, particularly Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan. What has he seen from both players? Also, for Lachey, how is he as far as his recovery from a broken ankle last fall? What about the depth at tight end and what he sees from some of the younger players?

NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES

For Iowa’s day in Indianapolis, two of the new schools joining the Big Ten will be featured. One of them is on Iowa’s schedule this season in UCLA. Both the Los Angeles schools will be in Indy on Wednesday when the Hawkeyes are there.

It will be interesting to hear with their head coaches and players have to say about joining the Big Ten and the extra travel that will now be part of their lives weekend when they hit the road.

Also, on Wednesday there will be a new head coach in East Lansing in Jonathon Smith, who was at Oregon State last year. The Spartans also host the Hawkeyes, so perhaps we get his view of Iowa football at some point in his time on the stage.

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