Hawkeye Report Podcast
A collection of podcasts from HawkeyeReport.com
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 726
09/20/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 726
It's another post game edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. This week it's Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo breaking down everything that happened at the game on Friday night at Rutgers as Iowa moved to 3-1 on the season with a come from behind win over Rutgers. We look back at all the fireworks that took place in the first quarter, including the opening kickoff which saw Kaden Wetjen race 100 yards for the first score of the game. We discuss the overall performance of the Iowa offense and in particular the improved play of quarterback Mark Gronowski, who continues to grow with each and every start. We also talk about the adjustmentst that Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker made in the second half brining more blitz looks and trying to disguise those looks to help make them work. Plus we sort out the Iowa running back situation and give our thoughts on that and a few other important topic around Hawkeye Football
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 725
09/17/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 725
It's another jam packed edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo take one final look back at the win over UMass and the 206th victory for Kirk Ferentz. We look back at the performance of Mark Gronowski and some of his comments on Tuesday about what happened in the previous game. Plus one last discussion about Ferentz reaching a win milestone and how he has quickly moved on to the game against Rutgers. Speaking of Rutgers, we move on to that next. What do we know about the Scarlet Knights, who are averaging over 40 points per game and have reached 30 points or more in seven straight games? We talk about their offense and injury issues that they have along their offensive line and with one of their key receivers. We also discuss what we know about their defense and what we expect the Hawkeye offense to present on Friday night in New Jersey. We also talk about the Iowa injury situation and the possiblitity of Kamari Moulton being back on Friday and what that might mean for the run game, which will be without Xavier Williams. Who might be the featured player against Rutgers? We talk a little men's basketball recruiting with the additon on a new verbal commitment and the next targets for Ben McCollum. The men's and women's Big Ten schedules will be out on Thursday. We preview that and pick some games this weekend, including Iowa at Rutgers.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 724
09/14/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 724
It was a record setting night for Kirk Ferentz and Iowa football. This week in our post game pod, we look back at the Hawkeyes beating UMass, 47-7 and how it was night to honor their long time head coach, who picked up his 206th win at a Big Ten head coach. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo gather for a late night podcast to breakdown what Ferentz had to say after the game, particularly their slight change in the game plan that included more downfield shots in the passing game in the first half. We talk about what Ferentz had to say about injuries on the team and if Kamari Moulton could be back next week? Will he play against Rutgers? What about the meaning of this record setting victory for Ferentz? What did the Iowa players have to say about it after the game and the special relationship that they have with their head coach? We wrap up talking a little basketball recruiting. Iowa picked up a four star commitment in the Class of 2026. What do we know about Ethan Harris and what kind of an impact can he have on the Hawkeyes next fall?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 723
09/11/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 723
It's another edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast with Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann. We open this week with a look back at the loss to the Cyclones and one last group of takes on what went wrong in that game and how close the Hawkeyes were to winnning on the road. Then we discuss the loss of Addison Ostrenga and the impact it will have at the tight end position. We also talk about what Kirk Ferentz and Mark Gronowski had to say this week on Tuesday to the media. What about Iowa taking more shots down the field? What did Kirk Ferentz say about the Hawkeyes throwing the ball more this week against UMass? After that we preview the game against UMass, who is the opponent this week. We discuss the several injuries to the UMass roster, including at quarterback. Is this a game where Iowa really needs to score more than 40 points and can they do that? What about the Iowa defense? Are there concerns there with a low number of sacks and no interceptions so far this year? We then move on to talking about Iowa men's and women's hoops recruiting. We update the visitors who are coming down town and previous visitors who are closing in on a decision. Then we wrap up by picking some of the top games this week against the spread.
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The Chuck Long Podcast
09/07/2025
The Chuck Long Podcast
The Hawkeyes dropped a tough one on the road at Iowa State and the Chuck Long Podcast is back to get the thoughts on the former Iowa signal caller on the game. We open looking back at the play of overall view of the game and then breakdown the key plays that decided the contest. We look at Iowa's defense first and thus far the lack of turnovers and sacks that they have been able to generate thus far in two games. Will there be any changes by Iowa? Then we dive into the offensive side of the ball. We look at the overall view of the passing game and what we think might be the biggest issue and that's not at quarterback, but another posiiton. What can be done to address it moving forward? Finally we discuss the Hawkeyes struggle against ranked opponents, dropping ten in a row and if that is concerning. Then we pick some games for the coming weekend.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 722
09/06/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 722
The Iowa football team fell short on Saturday afternoon in Ames. Iowa State scored on a 54 yard field goal for the second straight year in the final minutes to beat the Hawkeyes for the third time in four years. It was a disappointing defeat for Iowa as their offense continued to struggle in the air. In a combined podcast with Matt Randazzo and his Off the Air Show and Tom Kakert from Hawkeye Report, we take an instant reaction view of the Hawkeyes 16-13 loss to the Cyclones. What did we think of the performance of quarterback Mark Gronowski? Was this loss as awful as some Iowa fans believe or was it actually not an awful loss given that Iowa State is highly ranked and at home and to play them to a field goal game was actually a solid effort in a loss? We discuss the ground game and who do we think should be the lead back next week against UMass, plus is it Gronowski or is it in part because the Iowa receivers struggle to get seperation in the passing game? Was the game plan this week just too conservative? We discuss all of that and more on the instant reaction podcast.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 721
09/04/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 721
It's Cy-Hawk week so we have our extensive preview of the huge game coming up on Saturday in Ames. But, first, we have a potentially huge story to discuss on the podcast involving Iowa women's basketball recruiting. This week Kyle Huesmann and Tom Kakert put in soft projections for a five star 2026 forward to come to Iowa. Kyle and Tom are on the podcast to discuss the latest involving the recruitment of McKenna Woliczko following her visit to Iowa this past weekend. What are we hearing? Do the Hawkeyes have a legitimate shot? Then we dive into what will be a very busy fall of recruiting for the Iowa women's basketball team with several other Top 100 prospects scheduled to be in Iowa City this fall. Who are the top targets and what are the Hawkeyes chances? After that it's time to turn our full attention to Iowa football and the games against the Cyclones this weekend. First we have an extended conversation involving the play of Mark Gronowski. What do we make of his struggles in the opener and if he struggles again on Saturday against the Cyclones how will the Hawkeye fans react? What does the Iowa offense need to do on Saturday to get the win and we look at the Iowa State defense, which we discover hasn't actually put up great numbers this year in terms of sacks and pressures. We then flip over to the other side of the ball where the Hawkeyes will have to slow down Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht and limit his chances to get the ball to his big tight ends. Are the Cyclones going to be able to run the ball against Iowa? Why are the keys going to be turnovers in this game?
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The Chuck Long Podcast
09/01/2025
The Chuck Long Podcast
The first week of the Iowa football season is in the books and that means the return of the Chuck Long Podcast! The legendary Iowa quarterback returns for another season of talking Hawkeye football with Tom Kakert from HawkeyeReport.com. We have plenty to discuss after week one of action, particularly when it comes to the quarterback position for Iowa. We dive into the overall play of Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski. What did Long think of his performance? Was it nerves that will eventually fade away or is it real cause for concern for this season? What did Long see from his throws on Saturday? Were there better throws later in the game as he started to relax a bit more? Long discusses what the difference between a passer and a thrower at quarterback and what he thought of the game plan from Tim Lester. We also talk about the really strong run game from the Hawkeyes and how well the offensive line performed. Then we preview the Iowa vs. Iowa State game coming up this week and if it might be better for Gronowski to be on the road. We react to the first week of action in the Big Ten Conference and pick some games for week two in the Big Ten.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 720
08/31/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 720
Following Iowa's win on Saturday over Albany, there was plenty for Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo. In a special combined episode late on Saturday evening of Hawkeye Report and Off the Air, which is Matt's show, we breakdown all the angle from the Hawkeyes win over Albany by the score of 34-7. We start with the most challenging part of Saturday's win and that is assessing the quarterback play of Mark Gronowski. On one hand, he brought a ground game from that position that the Hawkeyes have been lacking. On the other hand, Gronowski only threw for 44 yards against a limited Albany defense. We also discuss the strong ground attack from the Hawkeyes and how Xavier Williams really shined when he got an opportunity, rushing for 122 yards. We also discuss the health of Kamari Moulton and play of Terrell Washington Jr, along with Jaziun Patterson coming off the bench to play well late. Then we flip to the defense, were other than one drive in the second quarter, the Albany offense was held in check most of the evening. We talk about what the players said after the game and the impactful plays and players that they made against Albany. We also about special teams play in the victory.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 719
08/28/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 719
The season opener for the Iowa football team is rapidly approaching and we have our one final look at the upcoming game between Iowa and Albany on Saturday afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo dive into all the latest news and the storylines that Hawkeye fans will need to follow this weekend. We look at what the expectations are for quarterback Mark Gronowski in his first game as the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. We discuss the running back and wide receiver positons as well before moving over to the Hawkeye defense and why we think they should have a very good day on that side of the ball. We also discuss the great news that was delivered this week to several former Iowa players, who made NFL rosters, some for hte first time. We focus in on the great story that Jay Higgins became by making the Ravens as an undrafted free agent. Then we look at some of the top games on a loaded weekend of college football, including Texas vs. Ohio State kicking things off on Saturday from Columbus.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 718
08/25/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 718
The first two deeps of the Iowa football season are out and that means we have to do a podcast! Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann break down all the news from the day regarding the new two deeps. We start with a look at the Iowa offense and the two deeps. What do we make of the four players being listed at running back? What about the wide receiver position? Did we find out there was a going to be a rotation at left tackle? Then we move to the defensive side of the ball where Koen Entringer is listed at three different positions and what that might mean for the defensive backfield to start the season? We look at a deep defensive line and also some thoughts on special teams. From there, we preview the game against Albany and Huesmann breaks it all down from his research on the Great Danes team this year. Will this be a blowout win for the Hawkeyes? Finally we preview women's hoops recruiting with a huge recruit on campus and get caught up on a strong start for the Iowa women's soccer team.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 717
08/14/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 717
(Apoligize for the audio getting a little choppy in the second half of the pod). Great to have a very special guest on the show today. We are joined by Todd Brommelkamp, who work with Tom Kakert for several years in the early 2000's while he was the publisher of The Voice of the Hawkeyes Magazine and went on a very successful run as a sports radio host in Cedar Rapids. We stroll back on memory lane to open the show talking about our memories of Iowa football and particularly Kirk Ferentz. We spend a lot of time reflecting on Ferentz and our memories of him at various points in his tenure. We also discuss several of the great games and players that we covered over the years, particularly the bowl games. Todd also talks about covering the Heisman Trophy ceremony in 2002. Then we discuss this upcoming season of Iowa football. What does Todd think about the combo of Tim Lester and Mark Gronowski? Could this season be a very good one for Iowa football? Has Kirk Ferentz kind of taking his hands off the Iowa offense? Are there more questions on the defensive side of the ball heading into the 2025 season? Is there concern at cornerback? We wrap up talking about the Iowa win total of 7.5 and which side Todd is on and his thoughts on the line for the Albany game and the betting line. Then we wrap up getting Todd's thoughts on Ben McCollum and his first impressions of him, along with a few hoops memories.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 716
08/11/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 716
Iowa football media day and the annual Kids Day open practice are in the books. That means we need to get back on the podcast because we have plenty to discuss. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo are back breaking it all down. First we share some big news regarding Matt now being part of the Iowa football broadcast team starting this fall on their pregame show. Then we start by discussing media day on Friday and what we learned from the Hawkeyes players. Matt talks about his long discussion with starting quarterback Mark Gronowski and the confidence he carries with him in conversations. Then we dive into Kids Day practice. We break down all the numbers and the performances, starting with the Iowa offense and the top three quarterbacks. How did Gronowski look? There appears to be a lot of love for Hank Brown on Saturday? What about the young gunslinger Jeremy Hecklinski? We also talk about the running backs and the receivers and who stood out. Is Seth Anderson poised for a breakout season? What about the Hawkeye offensive line? Does it appear that Trevor Lauck is poised to take over at left tackle? Then we flip over to the defense and the starting four along the line. Is Jonah Pace going to start at tackle? Are the starting linebackers all the veteran players? Were there concerns regarding the performance of the secondary on Saturday? Also which true freshmen might be on the radar to play this year?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 715
07/30/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 715
We have a new podcast with a great guest leading into the start of fall camp for the Iowa football team. Joining the show this week is the radio analyst for the Iowa football radio broadcast, Pat Angerer. We are fired up to talk some football, but first, we have to review the Hawkeye Report Top 27 games of the Kirk Ferentz era at Iowa to honor the start of his 27th season and his 70th birthday coming up on August 1st. Angerer and I look back at the numerous games that made that list from his era, including the 2008 and 2009 season and we reflect back on stories from those contests. We also discuss the four most important figures of the Ferentz era and a suprising name for that fourth spot that many people might not consider. Then we start talking Iowa football for the upcoming 2025 season. Practice gets started this week and we break down some of the most significant players to watch and the position groups to monitor this month. We have some real names that could have breakout seasons as well that are shared on the podcast. HawkeyeReport.com is running a special right now. For just $1 for the first 7 days, you can test out being a subscriber. You can also get a one year complementary subscription to The Athletic out of this deal. Simply sign up at the link today and give it a try!
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 714
07/21/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 714
The Big Ten will be gathering in Las Vegas this week for the conference media days. With that in mind, we bring on our good friend Scott Dochterman from The Athletic to talk about the Big Ten Conference and the main storylines that we will be covering this week. Scott and Tom Kakert open the discussion by talking about Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and why this week is extremely important for him in terms of establishing his leadership moving forward with regard to the college football playoff and beyond. Then we move on to a discussion of the College Football Playoff in general and if the Big Ten will go to a playoff weekend once the playoff ends up expanding and what that will look like. We then move on to talking about how the House settlement is working so far and if having a hard cap situation for spending will actually work? Also, are they essentially trying to kill off collectives? What will the end game be eventually for colleges and athletics? Then we engage in a little discussion about Kirk Ferentz, who turns 70 years of age on August 1st. How much longer will Ferentz be coaching? What would he do if he wasn't coaching? We also talk about new Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski and what he will bring to the table for the Hawkeyes at the position? Who do we compare him to as a quarterback? Finally we talk about potential Big Ten coaches who could be on the hot seat this season if things don't go well. Are there any surprises?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 713
07/11/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 713
The college football season is inching closer and that means it's time for our annual over/under podcast. We specifically focus on the Big Ten and Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo are joined by Chad Leistikow from the Des Moines Register to give our thoughts on the over/under win totals for the entire conference. We start with Illinois and wrap up with the Hawkeyes and give our thoughts on each team and their schedule. Which teams are going to be going over their betting win total? Who will struggle to reach their victory betting mark? Did the guys have an agreements on the Big Ten teams and how they would do? Who do they think will win the Big Ten title this year? We also look at Iowa football this season. What are our predictions for the Hawkeyes? Who are some of the players that will emerge this year and what areas are question marks?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 712
07/04/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 712
Happy 4th of July to everyone. Please enjoy the day with family and friends! One of the silly traditions that we started over two decades ago was picking Iowa football games for the season on July 4th. So, here we are once again and with a podcast, we decided to also discuss it here. Not fully, but we give you the nuts and bolts of what was predicted. What record will the Hawkeyes have in 2025? Will there be any surprises along the way. both good and bad? What bowl game is being predicted? Also as a companion, we give some names to watch this season. Players on the Iowa roster who are on the rise and should make significant contributions on the field this season. Then we also have our "bold" predictions for the 2025 Iowa football season. Individual players and what they will do this season. Crazy stats that the Hawkeyes haven't hit in over five years that I think they will achieve this season. But, before we get to football today, there is big news brewing on the men's basketball recruiting front. 2026 forward Trey Thompson might be on the cusp of reclassifying to be a 2025 recruit and join the Iowa basketball roster this season. How did this happen? More importantly, is this going to happen? What would Thompson bring to the Hawkeyes if he decided to come to Iowa and when will he officially make a decision?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 711
06/30/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 711
It's what we like to call a housekeeping edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. Since we have been interview heavy most of this month we haven't caught up on a lot of news that been popping up for Iowa athletics. Tom Kakert, Kyle Huesmann, and Tanner Lafever are on the podcast talking all things Hawkeyes. But, we open talking about the change that's coming to On3, the home for our site, once we officially bring our old home of Rivals on board on Tuesday. After that we have a great discussion with Tanner about the state of Iowa wrestling and the Hawkeyes having their top recruit, Beau Bassett de-commit. It was a significant blow to Iowa wrestling and potentially to the future of the program. We dive into the possible/rumored reasons for Bassett moving on why Tom and Terry Brands are likely not going anywhere. Then we talk with Kyle about women's hoops. We were at practice last week and give our first thoughts on the new additions of Addie Deal and Emely Rodriguez, along with all the returning players and we discuss the potential starting lineups and why Kyle and Tom might disagree on one starter this year. Kyle then updates us on Iowa baseball and the transfer portal. We talk about the huge portal return of Anthony Watts and how he will fit into the starting rotation next season. We also talk about the other portal additons and also turn our attention to the roster limitations that are coming and how it will impact Hawkeye baseball. Finally we look at the betting odds for three Iowa football games and the fact that the Hawkeyes are underdogs in all three of them and if there are any we should be wagering on. We wrap up going in-depth on football recruiting. Several new commits and we look at all them and tell you about at least one commitment that's expected to happen this week.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 710
06/26/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 710
It's a special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. We are joined by Iowa men's basketball head coach Ben McCollum for pod talking all things Hawkeye basketball. Of course we open the pod talking about the viral video clips from last week when Cooper DeJean played pickup ball with McCollum and his staff. It's a fun story about how the head coach might have stacked the deck that day on his team. Then we start talking Iowa hoops and building a roster from the ground up for the second staight year. What was that like this time and did McCollum find it more challenging due to the inflated price tags on prospects? We discuss a couple of the new faces on the roster who were not with him at Drake and what he has seen from them and the weight room workouts that his plays do all the time and how and why he runs things that way in that area, including having his staff in the there offering encouragement. We discuss the plan ahead from Iowa on how they hope to get students back and more involved in Hawkeye men's basketball and potentially moving them closer to the court. We also talk about the recruiting and his philosophy on that front and how this era is harder from a planning perspective. Then we wrap up discussing where he is at on the non-conference schedule this year and what he expects it to be moving forward.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 709
06/26/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 709
We continue our coaches series this week with a fantastic new podcast interview with Tyler Barnes. These days Barnes is the General Manager and Chief of Staff for Iowa Football, which means he overseas not only the recruiting operation for the Hawkeyes, along with managing the NIL operation as far as making player payment decisions. We open the pod talking about how a dead period doesn't actually mean dead period for someone in Barnes position. Then we dive into the new era of college football that begins on July 1st with schools paying players. He discusses how he came up with his payment formula based on NFL teams that were successful. Then we dive into quite a few recruiting topics. Is a prospect asking about money out of the gate a red flag for Iowa football? What's negative recruiting look like today against the Hawkeyes? Will we see more high school players enroll early in January. What does Barnes think about some of the NCAA proposals regarding recruiting, including being able to sign in August before your senior year? What about a single portal period in April? Then we talk about the 2026 recruiting cycle for Iowa. What has it been like? Are they thinking of changing their big recruiting weekend at the end of the month?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 708
06/24/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 708
Our huge week of podcasts continues. Next up is special guest, Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett. We go in-depth about his job and the players that he works with on a daily basis. The conversation starts with how he and the linemen had to adjust starting last year in the new offense being installed by Tim Lester. What was that process like? Then we move on to the veteran trio that will anchor this year's offensive line for the Hawkeyes. We start with a discussion of the value and leadership coming from the center position and Logan Jones. How important is he to what Iowa does up front? Then we discuss the development last year of Beau Stephens and the incredibly interesting and strong play from Gennings Dunker. We talk about Dunker turning down potentially opting for the NFL Draft and not taping his hands in games, which started last year. We then look at the left tackle position and what Barnett sees as his options there. At the open guard position, what about the athletic freak that is Kade Pieper and how will he fit in to a potential starting five. After that we discuss a wide variety of players who are younger and on the rise into the two deeps or will soon be in there like Leighton Jones, Cannon Leonard and others. Who is the backup center heading into the season?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 707
06/23/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 707
In this edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast we are joined by our regular football podcast partner, Chuck Long, as we spent more than an hour talking Iowa football with second year offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Both Long and Lester were raised in Wheaton, IL, so we open the show discussing growing up there and how the community has changed, plus which high school was really the blue collar school. Then we dive into the Iowa offense and start with a look at the quarterback position. We get Lester's thoughts on Mark Gronowski and how he has progressed since the spring. We also get his thoughts on what he has seen from Hank Brown and the rest of the quarterback room, including the freshmen. Lester gives his thoughts on the wide receiver room, which is much deeper and more talented than it was a year ago. He has a few players that seem to be on the rise heading into the summer months. We also talk about the entire running back room and Lester has some interesting comments about a couple of younger backs at Iowa. Finally we talk about the tight end group and how that group has a pretty good diversity of talent, starting with the veterans and a group of young talented veterans. We gets Lester's thoughts on quarterback recruiting and retention in today's environment and how Iowa handles that and the impact of the use of development periods that can help. We discuss headset communications between coordinators and quarterbacks and building chemistry by using it. We also discuss why more college programs don't run the Shananhan offense and why it could be appealing to NFL teams since half the league seems to run that offense. Finally we wrap up talking about Lester having a pair of senior analysts at his disposal and how that have already paid off for game prep moving forward and how they might be used during the season on game day with one potentially coaching on the sidelines.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 706
06/17/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 706
A semi emergency podcast on a Monday night. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo hop on the pod to discuss the de-commitment of Iowa's three star quarterback commitment in the Class of 2026. On Monday afternoon, Cash Herrera announced that he was no longer committed to Iowa. What's the real story behind the scenes? We discuss what really happened here and how this whole commitment and eventually parting of the ways was probably always going to happen due to different levels of confusion. What was the final straw in this relationship from Iowa's perspective? Then we look at the big recruiting weekend coming up for the Hawkeyes. All of their current commitments in the Class of 2026 will be in town along with several uncommitted prospects. Which player will be the most wanted this weekend for the Hawkeyes? Which position group do they need to hit with on the big visit weekend? Then we flip over to basketball recruiting with three prospects on campus this week, including a pair from the Class of 2026. Also, where does Iowa stand with one of their top targets, Colin Rice, who is currently on an official visit to Nebraska?
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 705
06/16/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 705
A wide ranging Hawkeye Report Podcast to begin the week. Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann open the show with an update on the Iowa baseball program. Huesmann runs down the latest from the NCAA transfer portal with a couple of players leaving and maybe a couple of potential players heading to Iowa and the crunch of the roster getting smaller also in play. Then we turn to women's basketball and a look at the non-conference schedule for the squad this year. Will it be another challenging non-con schedule for the Hawkeyes? After that we update women's and men's Iowa basketball recruiting. We discuss the top targets and visitors coming to campus in the next few weeks for official visits. Finally we have some fun draft of women's basketball players from the Lisa Bluder era. We pick eight person teams of players from the Lisa Bluder era of Iowa women's basketball. Tom and Kyle bounce back and forth with their picks and discuss the top players of an amazing era of basketball, including back to back trips to the national title game. How many players from that era were drafted? Who had the better team? We will let you be the judge.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 704
06/12/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 704
Our string of podcasts during the month of June continues with a very special guest. We are joined by our great friend of the pod, Zach Johnson to talk golf, Iowa hoops, Hawkeye football, and the state of college athletics today. We open talking about Johnson's upcoming event held at Elmcrest Country Club on Monday June 30th. It includes former Hawkeyes Cooper DeJean and Keegan Murray hitting the course at that event. More details here: Also, we discuss the upcoming John Deere Classic in early July and talk about Lisa Bluder and former Hawks Riley Moss and T.J. Hockenson playing at the event. Then we dive into Iowa athletics talk. We discuss the Hawkeyes stealing a basketball coach away from Drake. Johnson is very close with the Drake program and he talks about what he saw last year from Ben McCollum and get his opinions on the change in leadership within the program. After that we get Zach's thoughts on the new era of college athletics that is officially underway following the House settlement this past week. What will it mean for the future of college athletics? Will it move things back to the old days of cheating in college athletics? Finally we wrap up talking a whole lot of Iowa football. We discuss the Hawkeyes season ahead and what Johnson things of the Iowa team in 2025. We also talk about Kirk Ferentz, who will be 70 in August, and how he keeps going with no end in sight and why he is able to continue to coach at a high level. We wrap up the show discussing the top games of the Ferentz era.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 703
06/10/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 703
It's another special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast during our summer run of shows. We are pleased to be joined by former Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder. It's been 13 months since Bluder retired from coaching, we catch up with the legendary head coach and find out what she has been doing. We look back at Bluder's amazing coaching career, starting with her time at St. Ambrose back in 1984 fresh out of college and a great story on how she ended up landing the job leading the Bees program. Then we talk about landing the Drake job and then finally when Dr. Grant from Iowa called her to offer Bluder the Hawkeye job. We talk about developing a culture in a program and how she was able to do that during her career. Did she ever consult with or talk about culture and team development with Kirk Ferentz during their tenures? One topic that was also talk is Bluder's ever expanding coaching tree. It's growing year after year with former players and assistant coaches entering the coaching profession. What does this mean to her to see them enter the profession and have success? We also discuss the growth of the women's game at the college and professional level and her part in that expansion. What does she think of the women's game growing the way that it continues to do? What was it like being at the center of that groundswell and what it felt like to be there. We also discuss how Caitlin Clark has always been someone who says the right thing to the media even when there might be folks trying to get her to slip up. Bluder will be speaking at the John Deere Classic on July 1st as part of their Executive Women's Day with a morning event. Lastly, also on July 1st, Bluder will be speaking at a luncheon at Bally's Casino in Rock Island as part of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois event. You can get tickets here:
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 702
06/10/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 702
Our summer of podcasts continue with one of, if not the best special teams coordinators in the country in LeVar Woods. We hit on quite a few topics on the podcast, but open with him being a parent this past weekend and dropping off his son, Mason, who will play football at Iowa, at the dorms on Sunday. What was that like as a parent? We also talk about Mason rooming with Iose Epenesa and the long time relationship that Woods has with the family, having played a role in recruiting all three of the Epenesa boys to the Hawkeye football program. Also, we discuss on the podcast if Woods asked Kirk Ferentz for advice on coaching his son and what he expects it to be like this year and beyond. He also shares a great story about being in a team meeting yesterday and writing down notes from Ferentz and see his son do the same thing in the same meeting. We then discuss growing up in the northwest corner of Iowa and the incredible influence of his high school coaches in his life and how they helped prepare him for being a Hawkeye. He also talks about today and recruiting that area and why it's been such a great area for Iowa football to find players. He also discusses several players who are from that area that will have an impact on the Hawkeye football team this fall. Then we wrap up discussing his position group this year. He dicusses the overall group and chemistry of the players. We discuss the development of Rhys Dakin and the maturing of Kaden Wetjen as a return man. Finally he shares an incredible story about Wetjen receiving the Jet Award from Tim Dwight at a recent banquet in Omaha.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 701
06/05/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 701
We continue our summer series of podcasts catching up with former Hawkeyes and this time it's one of the best players in Iowa basketball history, Aaron White. We talk to White about his recent journey playing in Japan and what that has been like. We look back at his Iowa career and deciding to be a Hawkeye and how he was able to help lead Iowa to their first win in the NCAA Tournament in over a decade. We discuss that 2014-15 season and how White put that team on his back in the last six games of the regular season to not only make the tournament, but win a game and what that meant to the program. We discuss his coach, Fran McCaffery being let go recently by Iowa and how that felt for him, a sa former player. He talks about his relationship with McCaffery and how they always kept in touch over the years and how he appreciated that he had faith in him out of high school. Then we talk about White and his family living overseas while he continued to play after college all over the world. What has that been like for his family and his wife and why he has enjoyed playing Japan the last few years. There are also former Hawkeyes playing in Japan and he discusses how they have played against each other. We also talk about how if NIL had been around how his post college life might have been different than the path he took.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 700
06/02/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 700
We get the week started with a fun and entertaining new Hawkeye Report Podcast. This one opens with the start of workouts for Iowa men's basketball coming up on Monday and what we are looking to see in the coming weeks from the new look Iowa squad. We talk about the Iowa roster and if Ben McCollum is done building it or could they continue to add players? How are they going to approach the next week with regard to figuring out what they might need as far as a roster? Then we jump over to football for a few minutes and talk start times that were released last week along with when the Hawkeye football players will start to report to campus next week for summer workouts. Finally the biggest portion of the podcast is Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo doing the Fran McCaffery era draft. We pick nine players each in a snake draft format from the McCaffery era and see who had the best draft of the two of us? Give us your thoughts on if Tom or Matt had the better player draft.
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Hawkeye Report Podcast 699
05/28/2025
Hawkeye Report Podcast 699
We continue our new assistant basketball coaches series with a name that will be familiar to Iowa fans joining us. Josh Sash, who is the older brother of former Iowa football standout Tyler Sash, joins the pod. He joined Ben McCollum's staff last year at Drake and is now continuing as an assistant coach at Iowa. Starting the podcast, we talk about his journey in coaching. He discusses his start at William Penn and then being a video coordinator at Providence and then assistant coaching at the junior college level and then eventually being the head coach at Indian Hills Junior College. What did those experiences teach him over the years? How did it prepare him for the current environment in college basketball? We discuss how he ended up on Ben McCollum's staff and we dive into several of the players that are coming over from Drake and what he has seen in their develop. We get his thoughts on the pace that Bennett Stirtz plays at, the new addition of Joey Matteoni and what he brings to the Iowa roster. Plus, are the Hawkeyes still looking to add to the roster? Could that happen after they start practice? Finally we wrap up talking about his younger brother, Tyler, and his legacy at Iowa and how he was at one point a possible Iowa hoops recruit before becoming an All American football player for the Hawkeyes.
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