Hawkeye Sports quick hits on football schedule, Sandfort's return, Fitz retires & more

we have a new start time for Iowa football the UCLA matchup has been announced we got a ton to get into we got basketball we got baseball we got football and it's all Hawkeyes and we got it for you today all locked on Hawkeyes you are locked on Hawkeyes your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome in I'm Trent Condon and this is the lockdown hawkey podcast thanks for making lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day we're available wherever you find podcasts and you can also watch us on YouTube while you're on YouTube make sure you hit that subscribe button helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans well we got a ton to get into here today so much news items coming out nothing to get real indepth about nothing to dig deep on just kind of a cursory glance and a bunch of different Hawkeye topics that are out there and the big story of today here on Wednesday is the announcement that Iowa will be playing against UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Friday night as the Big 10 has announced with fox six matchups over the course of the Season uh that will be played on big Fox on Friday night something that we talk about these TV windows we knew it was going to be coming I hate it personally but I know I'm I'm not alone on that front but there's plenty of people out there that aren't busy on Friday nights looking for some sport content I enjoy getting back late and being able to watch some of these games after I'm done finishing up high school football but it is the new reality and it's the reality of the Big 10 and what this is going to look like going forward you're looking for Standalone Windows you're looking for opportunities to certainly build an audience in a game like this with Iowa UCLA I think is certainly going to generate interest well we're talking about this game towards the end of the season the Hawkeyes I believe are going to be a very good team again this season I don't think there's any doubt about that I anticipate the improvements offensively coupled with an elite level defense coming back this year and though there's still concerns and there's coin flip games that could go either way as we know throughout the course of the season I was just been so good at them I mean there's a real possibility when IA gets to that point they'll be nine games into the season they're seven and two maybe even 8-1 I don't think it's a stretch to say that now it could go the other way they're also in there at 5 and four and we're just talking about getting Bowl eligible and that's the way they're going to wrap up the season but I expect big things out of this team this year and I think this one has a a chance to be really good not only that it also gives the ability for Hawkeye fans to get out there and also get home and get home either Saturday or Sunday take an extra day in La do it on the front end of the trip do it on the back end of the trip you already know it's going to be a night game I think that's something that is very nice I'm making plans maybe potentially going out to Vegas for a day or two before making my way to La that's kind of the game plan that I'm working through right now and checking with the misses at home also trying to make that happen but that's what we're talking about right now and these are fun now west coast trips for Iowa football certainly under Kirk fence have not going gone very well you go back to the 2004 season losing to Arizona State and just the bludgeoning that they took in that game had the weather delay before the game even began and then just were absolutely run off the field by an Arizona State team was pretty good but Iowa played their worst game of the season it wasn't even close a week later they go out to Michigan played better ultimately falling in that 137 and then they ripped off seven consecutive victories to end the regular season and capped off the season with the win in the Capital One Bowl Drew Tate to Warren and the touchdown that I think Hawkeye fans certainly will remember where they were if you were around for that one West Coast trips continue another one out to Arizona that one a few years later didn't go well Iowa battled their way back it just felt like they were pushing the boulder uphill all game long Nick fs and Company got it done a Miss extra point by Trent mossbrucker was definitely big in that one too and that's uh where we were and afterwards Kurt ference basically said well we're not going west anymore it's something that he didn't want to schedule we saw the home and homes that happened after that you had what Syracuse pit a schools like that and then with the change from eight Big 10 games to nine and basically any of those home and home series that we see outside of the Iowa State game have gone away well now with new these new additions when the conference schedule comes out you have flexibility you're going to go where the conference tells you you're going to go and that's going to mean a road trip this year to UCLA next year to USC good news also this UCLA team under Foster in year number one is not going to be very good um I think this is going to be a Hawkeye party I anticipate we're going to see a ton of fans out there and if you made that long trip out to the Rose bow before and well unless you're really old it has not gone very well 1980 85 91 2015 yeah those have not been pretty so a potential to actually see a win in the Rose Bowl that's not a bad thing either look it's not the Rose Bowl actual bowl game but it's going there a chance in November to get to La doesn't sound like a bad thing to me either Hawkeye fans let's make it a big party I should be a good one there but again Friday night that game will now be played as we look forward at the schedule this season so that'll be a Friday night game 8:00 Central time kickoff six o'clock if you're out there at the game for the matchup now couple of weird circumstances about this first of all it'll be a quick turnaround after playing back-to-back home games against Northwestern and Wisconsin they'll go on the road it'll be a short road trip a short quick turnaround excuse me uh for the game just six days in between so you're talking about a short turn around and then you get a long stretch off because Iowa has a bye following that UCLA game and they'll have 15 days off before the final two games of the Season another road trip to Maryland and then another quick turnaround against Nebraska I was in a way a little bit hopeful that maybe the Maryland game would be that one that'd be designated on the 23rd move it to the 22nd and be played on a Friday before the Black Friday matchup against Nebraska give Iowa a full week to prepare for the Kon Huskers as I mentioned the other day every dayers you know this I I've never been a person over the last two decades that has been a big believer in Nebraska a lot of smoke not much fire that has come out of Nebraska throughout the years and I've made some money too over on FanDuel betting some unders throughout the years on Nebraska I think they're gon to be good this year and it's not just rayola coming in there but it's what they have on the defensive side of the football and Matt rule he's a little goofy he's a little odd he's a good football coach and a good college football coach we'll put it that way this a guy I think that's going to have Nebraska back up revved up maybe back to the bo Pini years where they're consistently winning nine games a year eight nine games a year I think that's a realistic Benchmark and maybe there can be a breakthrough moment or two uh they hit the transfer portal incredibly well coupled with that good defense and so many returners I think the Huskers are going to be an even more difficult out though I was had their number we know how close those games have been at the end of the season so that's what we have right now we'll continue to look and see what else is out there plenty to talk about though on the football front we'll continue to dig deeper and deeper into things as we make our way through the W uh the summer months and plenty to get into well it didn't go very well for Iowa baseball today at the Big 10 tournament it was a pitcher duel that didn't go the way of the Hawkeye some big mistakes cost them and now the road to the NCAA tournament was already difficult how much more difficult is it we'll talk about that we got basketball talk we'll talk about Payton sford after a disappointing showing in the NBA draft combine the likelihood that we'll see Sanford coming back for his final season in a Hawkeye uniform wrestling was some good news throughout this week and the women's basketball program and retirement happening no not Lisa bler another retirement in the coaching staff and a little bit on Caitlyn Clark as she wrapped up her matchup here this evening as the fever fall to0 and5 ton of topics we got you cover this is lock on Hawkeyes passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time for your money back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us cust customers Tren con back with you once again on the lockdown Hawkeyes podcast as we Bounce Around Here lot of different things to get into let's start with the Iowa baseball team after qualifying for the Big 10 tournament with the number five seed they face off against fourth seated Michigan now before this thing even got started it was supposed to start a day before we're supposed to see Indiana Purdue everything got pushed back we're supposed to have three games on Tuesday turned into games on Tuesday the shuffling around happened because if you saw the picture on Twitter of The Dugout Third Base Dugout in Omaha it was a pool The Dugout was literally completely underwater it was covered in water so we knew there was going to be a delay and push things back Brody Breck was very good once again in this one he finishes the game with 10 strikeouts but it was a couple of errors and in a three to2 loss Iowa it wasn't Michigan making plays that's the frustration and listening to coach heler after the game you could definitely hear that frustration wild pitch leads to two runs Iowa bounces back ties it up in two then an extra innings a baseed load of walk is ultimately Dooms the Hawkeyes as they fall so not only do they fall to the back side of the bracket and that means you had to be perfect from here on out a double elimination tournament you cannot afford another loss and that means going out there and winning what five games in a row six games in a row whatever it is to get back into this one incredibly difficult to do that but not only that because of the upset that happened number one seed and League champion Illinois goes down in the opening round to Penn State that's who the Hawkeyes are going to have to face off against tomorrow so it's going to be a quick turnaround Iowa was got to be ready to go anticipate that OB Mueller will be the guy that will get the ball in this one he'll get his opportunity against the Eli know Iowa played pretty well at times against Illinois in that series to wrap up the regular season towards the end of the regular season before Florida International at the end at principal Park played pretty well still lost two out of three here but now it's over and if this falls short if Iowa goes 0 and2 in the Big 10 tournament after what a disappointing year this has been this is going to go down I think as one of the more disappointing Seasons certainly in recent history in Iowa Sports I don't think it's overstated for a team that had the kind of expectations that they had if you qualify as a five seed have no shot to be a tournament team short of winning the Big 10 tournament and then you go 0 and2 in the Big 10 tournament a lot of reasons for it we know that but that will go down certainly as one of the more disappointing years in Hawkeye sports a lot of other things going on let's continue here lock down Hawkeyes let's jump over to some wrestling we'll save the basketball for last but couple of wrestling notes for you first up on this bront great story absolutely love this Nelson brands had his look like career taken away in his final season this past season as he was part of the gambling Pro and we can get into and we've talked plenty in the past about what happened how this came out uh the potential of some shady things being done by the DCI how this all came to fruition and that's a topic for another day but for the guys that were wrapped up you initially there was that thought hey they did something illegal it's no good right made your bed you got to lie in it well we found out there's a lot more to this story Nelson Bran's a guy that really seemed to be ascending and he was making his way up the podium a guy that you felt had potential this year a busting through maybe being a top three four guy in the country at his weight class and then it was gone and it looked like he was going to call it a career and he was going to move on and there was a few things out there went through everything that you're supposed to he went through and went through the appeal process with the NCAA I think as we learned with the NCAA those knuckleheads were not willing to even listen and that's the unfortunate part doesn't matter if we're talking about Noah Shannon uh some of the other players that are out there that were involved in this what we found out is the NCAA wasn't listening and we got what we got throughout the course of the Season Nelson BRS was done and now he comes back and he'll get another shot at Redemption I wrestled about a month ago and wrestled pretty well in a freestyle tournament so great to see absolutely a guy that's very easy to root for Terry br's son uh Tom's nephew and a guy that really is going to I think help this lineup out maybe can create a little bit of a bridge between the youngest Ferrari that is coming in next season still don't have any word about AJ and what's going to happen there uh but you do have that part Angelo I believe uh the youngest Ferrari coming in yeah that component and you also throw into the mix I was adding another All-American as they'll be adding to the mix Kyle Parco will be coming in from Arizona State guy that has some really quality victories All-American status there building this team up we talk about it a lot when we're talking about wrestling here on lockd on Hawkeyes and it's it's difficult Penn State has created such a monster that just catching up to them you just even finishing second the Gap is still so significant well the only way you can get better well you get better but secondly you get better guys and this is another one where you add to the depth at 141 149 149 he got couple of NCAA qualifiers in the past and ratchy and uh vovi from Oklahoma State so you got both of those guys but what is their upside you know what what's the ceiling maybe of both of those guys blood round maybe an All-American but not going to win a National Championship it's not to say that K Pargo is GNA come in there this season to win a National Championship you look at the returning starters there and though he's had some success against some guys that finished above him on the podium this a guy that's definitely going to help out likely going to be an All-American has a chance to make his way up the rung some good news uh certainly on that front as we bounce around here a lot of different topics here today locked on Hawkeyes we're going to get into the basketball front we're going to talk men's basketball Payton sford and the potential for a return after it looked like maybe he was treading just a couple weeks ago that he was going to be keeping his n in name in the NBA draft are we coming back on the backside of that one plus a big retirement for the Iowa women's basketball team and some thoughts tonight as it just wrapped up Caitlyn Clark plays her fifth game in the WNBA and it went like the first four at least in terms of the wi loss but some good things out of Caitlyn we'll talk about that we roll through this is lock on Hawkeyes when it comes to your financial future you think you've done it all you've saved you've researched you've invested all that you can 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Analysis visit the brand behind every great investor yahoofinance.com the number one Financial destination that's yahoofinance.com once again yahoofinance.com back with you one final time it's Tren con and with you on today's lock on Hawkeyes thanks for making lock on Hawkeyes your first listen every day so as we Bounce Around Here lot of topics lot of different newsy type items as we just give you a little glance at things coming up on tomorrow's program we'll be talking football a lot of football coming up and we'll be doing it with our inside Guru Brian Smith as we'll take a look at a couple more of the incoming players for this recruiting class two guys that maybe can help the Hawkeyes this season and a couple of offensive skill position players we're going to talk a little bit about them the latest commitments that Iowa football has had for the class of 2025 and a little bit more on coming your way in your feed tomorrow right now let's talk hoops and pton Samford it didn't go well at the NBA draft combine so he goes there he makes the decision that he is also going to not just go through workouts go through the measurables do all those things but also he's gonna play in a scrimmage those scrimmages are some bad basketball and for a player like Payton Sanford that needs to work off the screens needs to have play set for him to get a shot those kind of things it is not the right environment for his strengths and he saw that struggled to get a shot off when he was able to get the opportunity there just wasn't a whole lot of wiggle room but that's one thing and Scouts and evaluators and GMS they also know that part of it they understand some of the limitations in the setting that they're playing at that you're going to get from a number of these guys it's not a death now if you play poorly in these but when you you couple it with what we saw out of the measurables when pton Stanford struggled in the vertical leap a lot of the athleticism tests that you have that also I believe added to some of the issues for pton Sanford another thing about pton when you look back at his numbers and something that you know all these coaches and GMS if they're thinking about drafting him potentially in the second round or looking at is the inconsistency that we saw from him over his first three years on campus now the first year he was just trying to find his right finding a place in the rotation he was the eighth ninth 10th guy in there come in we know he's a designated shooter that's what he was going to come in had a slump but was able to bounce back his sophomore year got off to just That Hideous start in Big 10 play and then turned it around and shot it at a high level and you also saw that inconsistency this year if pton safer decides to come back for another season that's something that he needs to iron out he needs to show that ability to be a consistent scorer a guy that can score in all kinds of games and if the shots not falling finding other ways to get involved I thought you saw that at times out of Sanford a year ago but it needs to be even better and that three-point shooting percentage probably needs to be at that Elite level needs to be 40% plus to be on The Radars next year's NBA draft is going to be better there's going to be more depth many people will tell you here this class of 2024 this draft class is maybe as poor as we have ever had not in just in terms of top end Talent who you're going to take number one who you're going to take taking the top five top 10 things like that but just the overall depth of this class which leads to a guy like Payton Sanford having a chance to be selected but you also have to be smart about it there's plenty of second round picks that are done before it even gets started and if a team doesn't have a plan for you if you don't get that phone call hey we're looking to take you at I'm just throwing out a random number 45 we're g to take you at 45 we like you we like you're going to do what's the plan is it a two-way deal is it we're going to put you for a year in the G League that's the direction we're going to go and give you a real opportunity then in that second season there has to be a game plan they can't just be being selected so you're selected there has to be something behind it and I think that's something that Payton Samford probably is is dealing with right now you see the mock drafts out there after the performance at the combine those really have dropped back remember we talked about the Yahoo one that had him in number 26 going to the Wizards back before the combine began and now a lot of those he has dropped down the draft list ultimately we're selfish here this is the Hawkeye podcast and what we care about is the Hawkeyes pton stford hey be great if he got that shot got that opportunity got a two-way deal and the way he went but selfishly for Iowa basketball for the importance of this season after missing the tournament for the first time in six seasons a year ago I would needs to get back without Payton Stanford I don't believe they have a roster that's going to be back in the NCAA tournament you put them back in there I think at minimum they're on the right side of the bubble and a chance for even more that's the belief I have of this program the consistency that they've shown year in and year out in the Big 10 you know they're going to be a difficult out they've shown it throughout the better part of the last decade and I think that will continue but you have to have pton Samford back finally little women's basketball for you Jenny Fitzgerald announces her retirement does not come as a surprise fact if you've been listening here to lock on Hawkeyes lately believe we touched on this a little bit maybe a week ago uh Fitz you know one of the coaches that probably doesn't get her due so a couple years back she made the decision she was going to step back a little bit more in fact she was ready to retire and had to be coerced a little bit and talked into coming back and they found an advisory role what do they call her the special assist into the head coach so they were able to find that and they were able to carve out a roll off the road not recruiting anymore didn't have to do any more of that as other coaches kind of moved up the pecking order but she was able to do some of the things that she's at her best we know Lisa bler she was the head coach and then he had Jan Jensen working with the post and we talk about the development throughout the years that we saw from post players here recently Monica sonano Hannah stalky going back to Player of the Year Mega gustason and there's been a whole lot more and that's what Jan does but Fitz did the guards that's was her expertise is working with the guards and did an incredible job I mean you think back of of the great players the last 20 years in the back court that Iowa had and it was a lot of work that Fitz was putting in with these players but also here the last couple of Seasons coach Fitz was the one she was a Caitlyn whisper that's how it was relayed to me she was the one that when Caitlyn was getting out of line she'd be the one to tell her to step back she'd be the one that had to have those difficult conversations she was the one that could tell her to knock it off when she needed probably to hear that from time to time and and she was incredibly important not only that I had the game plan what they did against South Carolina two years ago in that final four game down in Dallas pulling that huge upset and punching their ticket into the national championship game a Great Scout a great coach and somebody that look with Jan Jensen taking over I don't want to say that she's going to be forgotten but it's gonna be about Lisa and Jan but there were three and all three of them had an incredibly important part of building up this team getting them to back-to-back national championships getting them two and El leite eight all three of them deserve a lot more credit and hopefully here people will not forget just how important Jenny Fitzgerald was to this team to this state and what she did for Iowa women's basketball finally Caitlyn Clark just wrapped up watching Caitlyn here this evening as the Indiana Fever Fall 2 and5 Caitlyn got off to a slow start again basketball not falling for the shot was not falling really got going in the second half including the fourth quarter but had an opportunity maybe to win the game with about 10 seconds left in one of the longest final 12 seconds of a game that I've ever seen fumbled a pass they got the jump ball Boston then tipped it the wrong direction Aaliyah Boston's really struggling Caitlyn Clark is figuring it out but there's still a long ways to go the physicality of this league coupled with just awful officiating it's a tough go and I think Caitlyn's probably going to realize after this season and maybe when she actually has a little bit of time to get ready for a season as opposed to what she's going through obviously this year right after a month after she finishes up her playing career playing for a national championship for the Hawkeyes that physically she's going to have to get stronger you know she goes from what feels like a pretty big point guard you know a six- foot point guard in the college level and watching her and in that times the ways that she towered over defenders not the case anymore and even the ones that she is taller than the physicality of this league she knew it coming in we all I think knew it to a certain degree coming in but watching more WNBA certainly that I ever have in my life the physicality at times leads to some ugly basketball it's something that I would like to see cleaned up in order to do that you have to have better officials and that is something we're certainly not seeing in the WNBA there it was a PO perie jumping around a lot of different topics six different ones that we hit on today football heavy episode coming into your feed tomorrow looking forward to that talking with Brian Smith a lot of recruiting and looking forward to Iowa football coming up and what they're going to have we'll talk plenty with him thanks for making lock down hawkey your first listen every day hey do you watch Fox Sports FS1 ESPN all day long do you have to turn down the volume because of all that shouting well it's time for you to make the switch it's locked on sports today a free 247 sports streaming Channel That's programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming lock down sports today brings you can't miss analysis opinions and news all streaming 247 on YouTube or you can also find it on the free Amazon Fire TV channels app all part of the lockedown podcast Network your team every day we got you covered on the Hawkeyes we got you covered on your favorite team and thanks for making lockdown hawkey your first listen every day we'll talk to you again tomorrow go Hawks