Previewing Iowa football media day and Kids Day

While the Iowa football team has been practicing for over a week, other than a few random video clips, we haven’t seen a whole lot from this squad. To say that a few folks are curious, particularly about the offense, would be an understatement.

With that in mind, let’s preview the next couple of days from a Hawkeye fan perspective because there’s a lot coming your way. First we have the Hawkeye football media day coming up on Friday afternoon. Kirk Ferentz will meet with the media and then we get to speak with the assistant coaches and players over at the practice field.

It’s a jam packed day with plenty of ground to cover. We really focus on gathering information and interesting news and notes that Iowa fans will find interesting. It’s also a great time to visit with the assistant coaches about how practice has gone thus far.

Then on Saturday it’s the annual Kids Day event at Kinnick Stadium. It’s really one of the great things that the program does, introducing all of this year’s Kids Captains and have them come out to Back In Black from the tunnel.

It will also give us our first look at the whole Iowa team since the final spring practice back in April. What does this offense look like? We have a lot of questions that we will hopefully address and share below.

So what do we hope to learn this weekend?

WHAT DOES KIRK FERENTZ HAVE TO SAY?

One thing that seems to be a theme for Kirk Ferentz and media day is that a few news items pop up. We know that Kaleb Brown will be out, but any other player news that he can share? I hate to bring up this topic, but Ferentz will certainly discuss if there have been any significant injuries during fall camp.

ANY SURPRISE PLAYERS MENTIONED?

Once we get over to the practice field it’s always good to visit with the assistant coaches to see if they give us a few nuggets about this Iowa team. Are there any players that are emerging? How are the true freshmen at their positions improving? Any of them potentially playing this year?

THE SILLY QUESTIONS

Yes, there will be silly questions. How silly? Well it depends. I would guess that someone from the media will be asking about the NCAA 25 video game and what they think of themselves and their teammates in the game. What about our annual search for the fastest player on the team? Who gets mentioned this year? We also need to look back at the Solon Hay Bale toss and those results along with gathering some weight room numbers.

WHICH TRUE FRESHMEN ARE IMPRESSING

We cover recruiting. Most of our readers are invested in the new players that have arrived on campus. One thing we want to find out beyond how the new players are adjusting to life in college is which players have a chance to make an impact his year?

HOW IS THE TIM LESTER OFFENSE COMING ALONG?

This is probably the biggest storyline of fall camp. Everyone wants to know how this new offense is doing. We have heard from people close to the program that the offense is playing very well and they are going to score points this fall, but I think every Iowa fan wants to see it for themselves.

WHAT ABOUT THE QUARTERBACK DEPTH CHART?

It’s fair to say that Cade McNamara will be the starter on Saturday, but is Brendan Sullivan now the second string signal caller for the Iowa offense? We have heard that Sullivan has impressed early on and there’s a gap between the top two and everyone else, which was expected.

IS THE STARTING OL STILL THE STARTING OL?

One of the things that we seem to be able to count on every year is Kirk Ferentz and his staff tinkering with the offensive line and the two deeps during fall camp. The starters seem pretty solid, but will they be looking at their options, particularly at guard? What about the backup positions?

HAVE THE STARTERS AT CORNERBACK BEEN SETTLED?

The two starters on the media guide depth chart were John Nestor and Jermari Harris. Could that potentially change? Sure. Will it. Probably not to start the season. Harris has the experience and veteran leadership that they look for on defense. Nestor is the player on the rise. My guess is they stay head of TJ Hall and Deshaun Lee for the time being.

WHAT ABOUT THE KICKING GAME?

Last year Iowa felt pretty good about their kicking game. Drew Stevens was coming off a strong season and Tory Taylor was still wearing the black and gold. Last year Stevens stumbled down the stretch and Rhys Dakin will be punting the football. We get a look at them on Saturday and how they are performing

IS DEPTH DEVELOPING ALONG THE DEFENSIVE LINE?

Perhaps the biggest question mark on the Hawkeye defense is along the line. Iowa has four pretty experienced and solid starters, but beyond that there are question marks. Can players handle a heavier snap count without a drop in performance?  Can Iowa get closer to eight players that that trust to play along the defensive line on Saturday?

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