One of the greatest honors a player can be bestowed by their fellow teammates and from their coaches, the Iowa Hawkeyes have their captains for Week 1.
Quarterback Cade McNamara, tight end Luke Lachey, defensive end Joe Evans and linebacker Jay Higgins will represent the Hawkeyes as captains versus the Utah State Aggies.
The talented mix of players is actually a nice portrayal of the hopes for Iowa’s 2023 season.
Outside of Evans, there’s a relative lack of production from the group. At least in Iowa City anyways. Yet, that’s the story of the 2023 Hawkeyes. How much production will Iowa get from new faces and from faces that have been in the program but haven’t been placed in key roles here yet.
Game ☝️ Captains#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/otgop8tV8G
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) August 29, 2023
Of course, McNamara passed for 2,576 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten championship. Obviously, that wasn’t at Iowa, though.
Lachey flashed in a big spot last season, reeling in 12 receptions for 166 yards with a score during the Minnesota and Nebraska games when Sam LaPorta was sidelined with an injury.
Then, there’s Higgins. He slides in to replace Jack Campbell at middle linebacker. Though Higgins tallied 39 tackles last season, including an 11-tackle performance versus Northwestern, he’s only started once in his career. Now, he’s a full-time starter and expected to be one of the Hawkeyes’ best players.
While there’s only one transfer portal addition among that group, the trio is symbolic of Iowa’s offseason shift toward a number of new leaders and hopefully stars in a number of different places.
Lastly, there’s Evans. Unlike the other three captains to start, Evans has been one of the Hawkeyes’ most productive defensive players each of the past two seasons.
The 6-foot-2, 252 pound defensive end has tallied 75 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks over the last two years.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Hawkeyes Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.