The season inches closer every day, and there’s a buzz surrounding this Iowa football team as they progress through fall camp. With just over three weeks until the opening kick, here are several positive indications coming out of the practice facility.
Buzz on Offense
There’s been an upgrade in talent on the offensive side of the ball, no debate there. The questions are if that talent will translate into a tangible improvement. From what we know so far, the offense has been clicking during Iowa’s fall camp. Quarterback Cade McNamara has been delivering the ball very well, making all the right decisions. The experience he has under center brings with it expectations of good decision-making and elevated offensive production. Based on the buzz surrounding the offense at camp, McNamara is doing just that.
To go along with that, the receivers have been explosive early on. Some videos have emerged from practice, and they show McNamara and the receivers connecting on downfield passes. For an offense that struggled mightily last season, a dynamic passing game is going to open up a lot of options for this group to improve. Defenses will be forced to respect Iowa’s passing game in a way they didn’t need to in previous seasons. This change will contribute to the running game improvement as well.
Running Back Buzz
Looking at the backfield, Kaleb Johnson and company are looking physical and ready for a very productive season. We’ve said it here before, but Johnson can have a 1,000-plus yard season if the offense plays to their potential. He was recently named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List for 2023. The last Hawkeye to win the award was Shonn Greene back in 2008. The offensive line is returning 114 career starts and adds two transfers to the mix. With a quarterback whose passing game defenses will have to respect, that really opens the door for the running backs.
Leshon Williams and Jaz Patterson are battling for that number two spot on the depth chart at running back. Williams is entering his redshirt junior season, and Patterson, like Johnson, is a true sophomore. Williams will likely get on the field quite a bit, but it would not be surprising to see Patterson push to get reps at the number two spot.
Buzz on Defense
Defensively for Iowa, the front four are looking very good so far at fall camp. It’s been discussed that this defensive front might be Kirk Ferentz’s deepest in his tenure at Iowa. The group is anchored by Joe Evans at defensive end, but there are probably nine guys who will rotate in upfront. Deontae Craig’s name will be said a lot this season at the other defensive end spot. He’s a guy that hasn’t started a game for the Hawkeyes on defense, but has 24 games played and had 6.5 sacks in 2022.
Another player making noise up front is sophomore Aaron Graves who played in 12 games last year as a true freshman on the defensive line. In 2022, he registered three sacks and six tackles for loss. Graves is currently listed as the second-string defensive tackle behind Noah Shannon. Shannon is one of the players involved in the sports gambling investigation ongoing at Iowa. Depending on the outcome, Graves may find himself in the starting role come September 2nd.
Defensive Back Buzz
Another group with buzz in the first week of fall camp for Iowa is the defensive backs. At safety, Xavier Nwankpa has made some spectacular plays including a one-handed interception. The former five-star recruit has tremendous football tracking capabilities and has been showing that at camp. He might have some of the best hands at safety since the late Tyler Sash, who patrolled the skies during Iowa’s 2009 Orange Bowl season with six interceptions.
TJ Hall is a player we mentioned to follow during this season’s Fall camp session. He has been making strides all off-season and is continuing to do so at camp. He’s likely the number three guy at cornerback behind Cooper DeJean and Jermari Harris. Hall is a true sophomore who’s going to get on the field a decent amount this season to supplement the starters. He was a talented recruit and is trending toward being ready to see significant action this year.
Photo courtesy: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
