Hawkeye Football Recruiting Updates with Brian Smith after latest commits

back into the recruiting world today Brian Smith joins us once again our Scout here on lockdown we break down the newest Hawkeye commits the offensive line it has been a problem lately what has Iowa done to help that with the class of 2024 it's a deep dive into recruiting coming up today locked on Hawkeye you are locked on Hawkeyes your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] I'm Trent Condon and this is the lockdown Hawkeyes podcast thanks for making lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day we're available wherever you get podcasts you can also find us on YouTube just search locked on hot guys hit that subscribe button helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans today it is recruiting after last weekend what has been already very fruitful with three commits along with a preferred walk-on candidate making their commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes we'll talk about that in a couple other things with our man from Lockdown our scouting director Brian Smith who joins us again here today Brian thanks for joining us as always how you doing doing well sir how about yourself doing well now first things first so your last couple of appearances we've gotten some feedback now one thing we have to get right and I got to do this right out I let it go the first couple of times it's Ferris not France ference Brian ference rhymes with parents and for a guy that's been around for 25 years I can understand a few Hawkeyes it's got a little butt hurt about that not getting his name right you are not alone though Brian absolutely not you are not the only person to do it hell when he was hired I was in college at the time nobody remembered him he was the offensive line coach under Hayden Frye nobody remembered the name like we all wanted boxes obviously yeah and who is this guy nobody knew how to say his name but yes ferrets rhymes with parents so just had to help you out and you know he had the people out there getting all excited on on the comment section on Twitter there so ferrets is the name but Brian seriously uh great to have you on here and a lot going on I want to just start with uh what we've talked about a couple of weeks ago you know this big recruiting weekend that most every team across the country now does and the way that they do it now I was already got three commitments of recruited guys also a preferred walk-on that had some FCS offers that's already made a commitment as well as a preferred walk-on but there is a real conversation in Hawkeye recruiting circles that they brought in eight guys that were uncommitted along with all the guys that were were already committed that took their official visits last weekend and it sounds like from the Hawkeye recruiting people there's a real chance they get all eight of those guys that had offers I mean that's something I don't follow recruiting at the same level as you you followed at a national scale but have you heard anything like that I mean just the sheer volume bring in 11 guys that are already committed eight more that are uncommitted and a real possibility that every single one make an official visit is going to end up committing to the Hawkeyes the only times that I've seen that is when there's like five guys or something to get up to you know eight push and ten kids I'd really have to go back and look that's a really because it only takes one to make that false I can't remember one um good on the hawk I don't know what they're doing all of a sudden you don't think of Iowa as a quote-unquote recruiting Juggernaut but that's pretty impressive great stat man that's that's what I'm going to have to ask my buddies about on the recruiting Trail because I I do not remember one you know for the most part Iowa is somewhere between 25th and 40th pretty much every single year in recruiting for the last quarter Century now of Kirk fairness that's kind of their spot there's the outliner Liars the 2005 class I was in the top ten they've had a couple of top 20 classes but that's usually the range that they are in and they're once again trending uh that direction but you know they're going out there looking for some versatile kind of guys and a guy that we've touched on before and the commitment that they got is Reese vanderzee so it sounded like for the longest time it was between Iowa and Iowa State I know Nebraska tried to get involved and just couldn't gain any traction there with that new coaching staff but It ultimately became an in-state kid he's from Northwest Iowa certainly Ames is a lot closer than Iowa City the way that Iowa state has used big X receivers a lot better than what Iowa has done there yet Iowa got it and Northwest Iowa even though Ames is closer that is very much a Hawkeye hotbed part of the state that's way that it's been for certainly my whole lifetime of 43 years it's just the reality of what it is there but when you have a guy like vanderzee big receiver Iowa States had success what do you think Iowa did to sell him of what he can do in this offense the kind of player that he can be and and getting past hey yeah you might catch more balls over there but ultimately your best home is in Iowa City we believe we can turn you into a player much like Iowa State a wide receiver a position I was not great at recruiting I would guess that they're trying to sell them on you can be the reason we move up the ladder I mean if you're not selling that I'd be disappointed I mean because obviously you want to get better I was passing game has been terrible so hey man why don't you come here and make us be different that would be the first thing I would guess and I'm just going to go to your point from your intro about him I'm guessing there's a lot of people in his family that prefer Iowa to be honest I bet that's the biggest Factor yep that is that is often the deal uh I grew up in Indiana and it was Indiana or Purdue and there was no in between I mean it period I mean like relationship like fist fights the whole nine and I'm sure it's similar I know I mean it's ugly and it's the same deal in Iowa so why in the world would I think that that wasn't a factor I bet you if you did a silent poll behind the scenes of his family it would lean strongly to the color yellow and it wouldn't be the one that's in here absolutely we got plenty of that him as a prospect he's a big receiver six four six five he's got the size to him what about the speed I know you've watched film on him what do you see as it pertains making that jump up playing you know small School Iowa football going up to the Big Ten you still got to have some Wheels to you what do you see speed wise with vanderzee in that big frame I would guess electronic he's a 4-7 kid which is still moving everybody's like oh he's not forth there are only a few guys that really run that right off the bat every kid I meet tells me runs four or five all right and I stand next to the end of the line at some of these combines I know what the numbers are you can only lie until you get on that line and then I can make eye contact with you and make fun of you when you lied to me I've seen kids run four nine that told me they ran four five so we didn't have an interview at that point they just got marked off the list but with that being said his speed is a little bit different because they're going to throw jump balls to him he's a different guy in the red zone some of the best receivers I've ever seen like I grew up at Indianapolis Colts fan and Marvin Harrison had an incredible ball skills and fast and all that but it wasn't exactly a jump ball guy because he wasn't that big he's a different kind of receiver this kid will take it off your head even though you know what he's going to do that's very frustrating because he's at least six four he's a big dude I think he's going to be 230 235 when he's done filling out he's kind of reflects tied in type of guy yeah what look does he catch the football he's got great hands too yes and that's the bottom line Iowa is not going to go get Josiah Trader from Miami you know what I mean they're not going to get those kids so they have to do it a little bit differently I still think they can get some more kids than they do but they're going to probably have to prove it on the field receivers are usually pretty picky about where they go and I get it you know they're connected to the quarterback position so Iowa got a player that I think can play early and he's got an upside earner maybe not but he's faster than you think and the size makes up for it anyway well you mentioned that uh Flex tight end it very well could be the case for Gavin Hoffman sure get him down from the Kansas City area on the Kansas side of things it was Missouri it was Arizona State he's a kid that his recruitment definitely is ballooned here uh during the Spring and into this summer Iowa gets on campus I told you before we started recording Brian talked to one of the parents that was on the trip and this was the one they weren't exactly sure about it was difficult they said to kind of get a read from the family and from him but he was one of the first after the weekend to make his commitment what do you see from him uh he's he's got the frame and tight end you uh it's it's definitely something that continues on and people continue to talk about it with George Kittle and what he has done kind of creating tight end you off season and what he's done there and all the great tight ends that have come from Iowa what do you see from Hoffman I was a little bit surprised at how well he moved in short area space usually longer guys struggle with that he's not the shortest kid either he's got some size to him if you can make people miss that changes the kind of routes and where they play you at bubble screens short passes like Slants and under routes that becomes a bigger deal and that's not exactly been Iowa's strength of weight to those kind of players they need more of it and again he's got the wingspan they're getting some big receivers I don't really care if you call it Flex tight Ender or receiver it's the same thing to me anyway uh Flex Titan might be counted on to block a little more but this kid's added about 20 pounds depending on what you believe based on the recruiting rankings and all that in these services in the last year I think he's another kid they can weigh 230 or more and still be just fine because he makes plays after the catch so I was getting players that quite frankly they need to get on the perimeter they had to get better outside the numbers I know the first time I came on this show yeah I talked about it and it's it's probably always going to be their Bugaboo because there just aren't as many of those kind of guys in that area they're just not I could throw a rock and hit one where I live right now and it's because I live in Central Florida they're everywhere it's not that way there so anytime they can get one it's a more important recruiting win for Iowa well Iowa's cleaned up certainly in the state of Iowa we're going to talk about one more candidate when we come back Devin Kennedy an intriguing one he is the Lotus Lois rated recruit at least according to the recruiting service on three but he's a guy with NFL pedigree with his dad Jimmy Kennedy we're going to talk about him and kind of one of those guys that Iowa can mold in a different way we'll do that as we continue here on lockdown Hawkeyes today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel take your first swing at betting Major League Baseball on FanDuel and get 10 times your first bet amount in bonus bets up to 200 that's right just bet 20 bucks you'll land 200 in bonus bets win or lose that's 200 you can spend betting everything for the money line to overrunners of what you think is going to be the first home run of the game all on an app that's safe secure and super easy to use plus when you win you get paid instantly there's no better place to bet on MLB than FanDuel America's number one Sportsbook sign up today and visit fanduel.com locked on to get 200 in bonus bets that's fanduel.com lockdown FanDuel official partner of Major League Baseball Trend kind of back with you alongside Brian Smith as we take a look at the Iowa Hawkeyes 2024 recruiting class and a few other nuggets here so I want to go to one more guy before we talk some more generalities also want to get some offensive line uh thought from you Brian but Devin Kennedy kid just started playing football a year ago he's gained since last August 50 pounds his dad was an NFL first round draft pick was an absolute monster in the middle now he is more of a defensive end he is very angular kid you can see he has size and like 12 tackles last year because he's just learning the game but a program like Iowa and Brian you know the way Iowa does it his drill after drill after drill so fundamentally sound hands in the right place it is incredibly boring to watch I've been there for a couple of practices where they let us in for 15 minutes it is not exactly a fun practice but it is about the fundamentals a kid like this with the pedigree that he has even as he's just learning football this seems like a great candidate for Iowa I don't know if you could draw it up much better and I'm guessing that members of his family let him know that if you're a kid that's already I don't know been through the tutelage with a lot of trainers and stuff I mean you can still go to Iowa and get good coaching but it wouldn't be as important there's uh this is an example Ryan Mack just committed to Miami and he's a kid his dad played at the University of Miami been around football his whole life he's got more technique than some college kids do but he's still got a year of high school left it's because who's been around that's one thing but that's the exception not the rule this kid's only played football for a year he's just massive so he's a big ball of clay what do you do when you have a kid like that you better find him somebody that can help him quickly and let him understand that hey this is a long process lineman doesn't matter if it's o or D hand placement that stuff you were talking about that's so boring is also the reason certain guys get paid and certain guys go home and sit on their couch it's the difference about a 300 pound dudes the ones that do technique right are the ones that get paid so he's got the body I I mean it wouldn't shock anybody if he ended up being all Big Ten at Iowa you know what I mean this is this is like an Iowa story right out of a Playbook man it's a I think it's kind of cool too because obviously the NFL player his dad was a dude he was not fun you better Double D Man he caused a lot of problems so I'm not saying he's going to be as good as his dad I have no idea but you can't teach the frame and Iowa has the coaching that you look for they're so sound on defense they're so sound on offense with what they do in the trenches it's kind of hard not to root for this kid final thing for you today Brian and speaking of that offensive line the last two years about a disappointment and it was awful a year ago you know look at the individual pieces that they've had Tyler linderbaum a couple years ago what he did in the middle and what he became already as a rookie in the NFL obviously Tristan works just an absolute Behemoth out there so you go back to balaga and Anna nada I mean we could play this game all day long but the offensive line has been bad the last two years it's been attrition it's been recruiting misses some of their highest highest regarded guys have flamed out injuries those kind of things it's going to happen so Iowa they're going deep into this one and they hit the chance for portal for a couple of guys that are going to come in and help out this year with the team those guys that took their lumps the last couple of years as underclassmen now they're juniors and you know the offensive line recruiting though for Iowa they're going and bringing in four guys Cody Fox is a guy that would have been a pretty big Regional recruit but he committed two years ago almost now so he's a guy also small school football that's one that I always wonder about those small school guys I mean it's one thing when you're playing you know you're playing one of the big schools a Suburban School in Illinois or you're playing down there in Florida in some of the big classes even here and the increase in Iowa at the big school level but as an offensive lineman I mean how difficult is it for you to scout somebody that's just 120 pounds bigger than everybody else and you know what you can do when you're going up against a defensive lineman there's 170 pounds at the high school level how do you Scout that how do you watch that film knowing yeah he's going to be bigger and stronger than everybody else what else are you looking for the everything starts below the ankles man their flexibility and their stance how they shoot out of their stance how explosive they are then you just kind of eye the frame those are the basics that I've been taught by guys to get paid to coach o line and then we get down to the effort stuff do they hustle on screens outside zone I'm not taking the lazy kid even if he's athletic that that's not a good culture thing it's but a place like Iowa do you think that I mean anybody on that's that I mean it's that's not gonna go well so I think that you have to look at those and then finally just pure pure power there are certain guys that just move people but then there are other guys like this is just ridiculous so I know it makes it more difficult with some of the small school kids it's been that way in Nebraska too even when Osborne was it was the same thing they took a lot of like eight man football guys how do you Scout that he's mauling this kid well he should Maul let's get so you know Iowa staff I doubt it's going to be any different they're going to look at the effort in the athleticism and then you just got to trust your strength and conditioning program um one of the ways that guys get ranked differently is based on where they go like this is not an uncommon conversation if a kid commits to Iowa especially if it's a small school kid and it's an O lineman we're not worried about it we know he's going to get coached right now but if it's a quarterback look it we're not as confident it's just true so you got to be realistic about it Iowa has done such a good job even before this coaching staff but they even had a Hayden fry it always said good offensive lineman it's just been a staple with that program forever so there's a little Comfort there absolutely hey Brian always enjoy our conversations thank you so much for joining us here today today and it sounds like there's going to be a few more commitments around the corner we'll make sure as they come in here in the next couple of weeks we'll get you on again and talk a little bit more about the future Iowa Hawkeyes thank you Brian Take Care thank you that's Brian Smith our scouting director here you can find him on Twitter at FB Scout underscore Florida a lot of great content from him as we talk Hawkeyes we'll come back put a cap on things here on this edition of lockdown Hawkeyes thanks for joining us here today and as always thanks for making locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day tried kind of back with you one final time on the lockdown Hawkeyes podcast as always thanks for making locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day so as we wrap things up here today A lot of recruiting conversation a lot going on as we flip the calendar now into a new month and that means a lot happening in the world of the Hawkeyes a lot to talk about a lot to and get excited about about this Iowa football team for 2023 we talked about the future but coming up this season what we have going on there is a plenty of expectations with the squad and the developments on the recruiting excuse me on the gambling investigation front the new NCAA guidelines that have been handed down we've talked about that earlier last week and I think a really important thing for Iowa football and and some of the concerns that still lingered out there I think they have dissipated even more with what we heard on that front so plenty going on there the ramp up the expectations are going to be there every dares we're also having fun this summer you can go back and check out what we have on the throwback Thursday editions as we go back and take a look back at some of our favorite teams in Iowa football and basketball history and a lot to talk about obviously with that we will continue on that route coming up next week we have plenty for you here on lockdown Hawkeyes getting ready for that holiday season I'll still have you covered on a podcast a couple of times next week as we come to you locked on Hawkeyes we're a little bit off the daily schedule but we'll be ramping right back up there is a lot to talk about with Iowa football Iowa basketball of course the Women's Basketball team getting ready for fall Sports there's always is something happening in the world of Hawkeyes and thanks for making lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day that'll do it for today we'll talk to you again next week have a great weekend and go Hawks