Tag: Alex Padilla

Where do Iowa quarterbacks Spencer Petras, Alex Padilla land in ESPN’s FBS quarterback tiers?

ESPN recently ranked every FBS team’s starting quarterback situations. Where did Iowa’s Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla wind up?

Have you ever wondered what tier every quarterback situation in college football is in and how they rank amongst their peers? Me too! With sickos like us in mind, ESPN’s David M. Hale embarked on the massive project and ranked every FBS quarterback situation into tiers.

Ranked in the 15th tier labeled “This is fine dot gif” are both Iowa quarterbacks Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla. The tier referencing the popular meme of the dog saying “This is Fine” as the house around him burns isn’t really the most glowing endorsement of Iowa’s quarterback situation.

Here’s how Hale described this group of quarterbacks in the 15th tier.

These teams combined to finish 49-19 last year, with all five winning at least nine games. Of those 19 losses, however, 11 came in games when they scored 21 or fewer. The QB play was something akin to driving a 2002 Honda Civic — slow, unsexy, but usually reliable enough to get from Point A to Point B — right up until the wheels fall off and the engine catches fire. – Hale, ESPN.

Other quarterbacks in the tier include Northern Illinois’ Rocky Lombardi, UAB’s Dylan Hopkins, San Diego State’s Braxton Burmeister (remember when Virginia Tech chose him over Hendon Hooker last year?), and all three of UCF’s potential starters. Again, not the most glowing endorsement for Iowa’s quarterback situation.

Looking at some fellow Big Ten quarterbacks, it should be no surprise that Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud is leading the 1st tier of “Heisman or Bust.” Stroud is an early candidate for the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. A bit further down the list in the “Pretty… Pretty Good” third tier is Purdue passer Aidan O’Connell.

The “You might not have noticed, but they’re pretty good” seventh tier hosts a number of Big Ten quarterbacks including the Michigan boys Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy, Michigan State’s Payton Thorne, and Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa. It should be noted that former Nebraska Cornhusker turned Kansas State Wildcat Adrian Martinez joins this tier as well.

While Petras and Padilla might not have the praises of some of the other Big Ten quarterbacks, Penn State’s Sean Clifford and Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan ranked above them in the “Veterans With Moxie” ninth tier, they at least aren’t the lowest-ranked in the conference.

Northwestern’s Ryan Hilinski, Illinois’ Tommy DeVito and Artur Sitkowski, and Rutgers’ Noah Vedral and Gavin Wimsatt make up the “technically, they’re Power 5 QBs” 18th tier… ouch.

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Can Spencer Petras and the Iowa Hawkeyes’ passing offense become passable in 2022?

The Iowa passing offense was not great in 2021. Can Spencer Petras lead an actually passable passing attack in 2022?

Little known fact, the Iowa Hawkeyes were a bad passing team last year. The team finished with a 10-4 record and had an appearance in the Big Ten championship game, mostly in spite of the passing attack.

Austin Nivison of 247Sports was recently joined by David Eickholt of Hawkeye Insider to take a look at the fledgling Iowa passing offense and see if it can improve in 2022.

“At the end of the day, Spencer Petras is probably going to be the starting quarterback on Sept. 3, unless Iowa brings in a transfer quarterback … Petras being a third-year starter and you look at the numbers last year, and yeah he dealt with some injuries,” Eickholt said. “Throw in Alex Padilla. He flashed at some moments, but again you look at the numbers, and they aren’t there.” – Nivison, 247Sports.

Last year the Hawkeyes were 109th in total passing yards per game with a measly 180.1 per game. After passing for two touchdowns against Penn State on October offense, the offense did not throw for a single score the rest of the year. Literally, the next passing touchdown came against Kentucky in the bowl game in 2022.

For the passing troubles, it is necessary to look at the quarterback Spencer Petras. All signs point to Petras starting once again, despite some speculation that backup Alex Padilla could provide some competition over the spring. Last year Petras completed his passes at a 57% clip, and only threw 10 touchdowns, one more than his nine interceptions. Add in the fact that he didn’t even reach 2,000 passing yards, 1,880 in 2021.

“Like I said, I think there’s so much pressure on Petras to really stand out and perform. He’s lost some weight, which has helped his mobility a little bit. Losing (Tyler) Linderbaum is obviously massive, but I do think Iowa’s offensive line is gonna take a step forward next year. Then you get Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce, who I do think will be two pretty capable receivers. I’m very high on Keagan Johnson, former four-star from 247Sports. Sam LaPorta, I think he could be a first-team All-Big Ten caliber tight end with his numbers he put up last year. Again, the pieces are in place. It really is gonna come down to quarterback play for Iowa,” Eickholt said. – Nivison, 247Sports.

Yes, all the past blame shouldn’t be placed solely on Petras. The play calling needs to be better and more creative and the pass catchers have to take a step up.

All that said, Petras needs to be better, and with the rest of the offense expected to take a step forward, it is on him to do the same. He has the experience, multiple years as a starter, and now in his final season as a Hawkeye, he needs to deliver if Iowa has any aspirations of making it back to the Big Ten championship game and hopefully putting in a much better performance.

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CBS Sports picks Minnesota as Big Ten West division champion

At least one writer sees Iowa’s reign atop the Big Ten West as a short-lived one. CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson picked Minnesota.

CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson has a bold prediction for the Big Ten West division in 2022. Patterson sees neither Iowa repeating nor Wisconsin taking the crown, but Minnesota advancing to the Big Ten championship game.

Iowa is in the midst of an ongoing quarterback battle on an offense that finished No. 121 nationally in total offense at 303.7 yards per game last season. With that in mind, not picking Iowa to repeat as Big Ten West champions isn’t necessarily the most shocking thought in the world, but choosing Minnesota instead of Wisconsin definitely qualifies as a surprise.

The Golden Gophers nearly won the division in 2021 despite significant injury issues. It just flew below the radar because many wrote off P.J. Fleck’s team following their loss to Bowling Green. Minnesota’s ability to figure out different ways to win suggests the program does have a strong foundation, and one of the keys to establishing that foundation is back with Kirk Ciarrocca returning as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Ciarrocca was Minnesota’s OC for three seasons, last in 2019 when the Golden Gophers went 11-2, and I think his return sparks a breakthrough Big Ten championship game appearance. – Chip Patterson, CBS Sports.

Minnesota was a strong team last season, finishing with a 9-4 record in a bounce-back season. The return of Ciarrocca appears to be a big one for the Golden Gophers. When Ciarrocca was last coaching the team, quarterback Tanner Morgan experienced his best season. Morgan’s play has dipped after a very strong 2019 season.

The Golden Gophers will have stiff competiton for the crown in the West. Wisconsin is always a tough team, as is reigning champion Iowa. Do not forget about Purdue and Nebraska as well. It will be a dogfight for a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

The Hawkeyes captured the Big Ten West last season with a 7-2 mark in conference play. In Iowa’s 6-0 start to the 2021 season, the Hawkeyes won all three of their games against Big Ten East opponents to start league play 3-0.

That string of victories included the season-opening triumph over then-No. 17 Indiana, 34-6, a 51-14 blowout of Maryland and a 23-20 victory over then-No. 4 Penn State inside Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa stumbled after that, losing its first two contests against Big Ten West opponents in Purdue and Wisconsin. Purdue held the Hawkeyes to just 271 total yards of offense and a lone score in a 24-7 win on Oct. 16, 2021. Iowa starting quarterback Spencer Petras was intercepted four times against the Boilermakers, including three times in the game’s final four minutes.

It was more of the same against Wisconsin. Iowa had just nine first downs and 156 total yards of offense in Madison, Wis. Petras finished that game with only nine completions for 93 passing yards as Wisconsin topped Iowa, 27-7.

Iowa rebounded, though, winning each of its final four regular season games. A banged-up Petras played just three series at Northwestern. Backup quarterback Alex Padilla helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 17-12 win at Northwestern and proceeded to start the next three games for Iowa.

In his first career start, Padilla passed for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for another in Iowa’s 27-22 win over Minnesota. The Hawkeyes followed that victory with a win over Illinois, 33-23, and closed the season with a 28-21 win at Nebraska after Petras came off the bench to help spearhead the rally.

All of it added up to the Big Ten West division title. Whether or not the Hawkeyes found any remedy to its ailing offense remains to be seen. Envisioning Iowa as a repeat Big Ten West representee in the conference championship game hinges on just how much progress that unit makes.

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Iowa Hawkeyes Snapshot Profile: No. 6 Keagan Johnson

Keagan Johnson burst onto the scene as a true freshman. What lies ahead for the sophomore in 2022?

The Hawkeyes return one of the most experienced offenses in the Big Ten. In multiple offensive positions, Iowa boasts seasoned seniors who will continue to be reliable pieces for Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. That list includes standout tight end Sam LaPorta and slot receiver Nico Ragaini.

Fans sort of already know how most of the returning receivers can play and what value they add to this team, but [autotag]Keagan Johnson[/autotag] is a potential star Hawkeye fans should be excited for in 2022.

In his freshman year at Iowa, Johnson was the team’s leading deep threat, averaging over 19 yards per catch. While he didn’t receive a ton of work in Iowa’s run-heavy system, Johnson made the most of his touches. Johnson excelled the most in the short game where he could use his speed after the catch to make a play happen.

The Bellevue, Neb., native’s pair of fourth-quarter catch and runs against Penn State and Minnesota this past season are just a glimpse at the talent Johnson possesses.

The 6-foot-1, 197 pound wide receiver will have the opportunity this year to prove that he can keep rounding out his game to more than just occasional flashes. Iowa has to make it an objective to involve him in the offense a lot more as Johnson could be the star the Hawkeye wide receiver room has sorely missed since the departure of Ihmir Smith-Marsette.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Bellevue, Neb.

Ht: 6-1

Wt: 197

Class in 2022: Sophomore

247Sports composite ranking

2021 four-star / No. 23 athlete / No. 3 player in Nebraska

Career Stats

Receiving & Rushing Table
Receiving Rushing Scrimmage
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
*2021 Iowa Big Ten FR WR 9 18 352 19.6 2 3 8 2.7 0 21 360 17.1 2
Career Iowa 18 352 19.6 2 3 8 2.7 0 21 360 17.1 2
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/9/2022.

Depth Chart Overview

Keagan Johnson is currently slotted to be the Hawkeyes’ top receiver, at least it appears that way on the depth chart. Listed as one of Iowa’s starting wide receivers in the spring’s initial depth chart reveal, look for Iowa to try and possibly get creative with Johnson. With his natural athleticism, he can be used in an abundance of ways, not just in the traditional X-receiver role.

Iowa has not really featured a receiver since Smith-Marsette, but Johnson could certainly change that. LaPorta garnered a majority of the receiving work in 2021, while the rest was pretty equally divided among the wideouts. Hopefully, Johnson can gain that true No. 1 status with a strong sophomore season.

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Iowa Hawkeyes Snapshot Profile: No. 89 Nico Ragaini

Redshirt senior wide receiver Nico Ragaini’s individual growth could correlate with Iowa’s offensive improvement in 2022.

For the Hawkeyes’ passing offense to improve, they must work to turn experience into more consistent play. All across the board, Iowa is returning starters on offense.

Iowa only has to replace three players, albeit a trio of standout players. Where Iowa really doesn’t have to replace anyone is at wide receiver. The receiving corps has another summer to develop more chemistry with experienced senior quarterback Spencer Petras, and they need it to translate into more production for the team to take that next step in the Big Ten.

Nico Ragaini is one who will look to finish his lengthy Iowa career strong. A former two-time New Haven Register’s Athlete of the Year in high school, Ragaini has found his role as the Iowa slot receiver.

Mostly a short-yardage player, Ragaini is relied upon to make tough catches over the middle of the field. While his stats have been steady throughout his career for the Hawkeyes, one area to clean up in his final season is in the drops category.

Ragaini has shown throughout his time at Iowa that he can make key plays. His big score against Penn State last year is plenty of evidence. Ragaini had the game-winning, 44-yard touchdown reception from Petras in that Hawkeye victory. Now, the challenge for Ragaini entering 2022 is proving he can be the consistent down-to-down player Iowa fans know he can be.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: East Haven, Conn.

Ht: 6-0

Wt: 191

Class in 2022: Redshirt senior

247Sports composite ranking

2017 three-star / No. 200 wide receiver / No. 6 in Connecticut.

Career Stats

Receiving & Rushing Table
Receiving Rushing Scrimmage
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
*2018 Iowa Big Ten FR WR 1 1 7 7.0 0 0 0 0 1 7 7.0 0
*2019 Iowa Big Ten FR WR 13 46 439 9.5 2 1 2 2.0 0 47 441 9.4 2
2020 Iowa Big Ten SO WR 8 18 191 10.6 0 1 1 1.0 1 19 192 10.1 1
*2021 Iowa Big Ten JR WR 12 26 331 12.7 1 0 0 0 26 331 12.7 1
Career Iowa 91 968 10.6 3 2 3 1.5 1 93 971 10.4 4
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/7/2022.

Depth Chart Overview

The slot looks to once again be Ragaini’s in 2022. Hopefully, Ragaini can create a cohesive duo over the middle with senior tight end Sam LaPorta as Spencer Petras’ go-to players in key situations. Receivers such as Keagan Johnson will be able to provide more assistance down the field, leaving the dirty work over the middle of the field to Ragaini. How much Ragaini’s production improves could be an indicator of just how much the Hawkeyes’ offense overall improves in 2022.

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Iowa Hawkeyes Snapshot Profile: No. 25 Gavin Williams

Redshirt sophomore running back Gavin Williams looks to build upon his performance in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl against Kentucky entering 2022.

Tyler Goodson, Iowa’s leading rusher in 2021, is off to the NFL and joining the Green Bay Packers as an unrestricted free agent. That means there’s plenty of room in the Hawkeyes’ backfield for someone or multiple players to replace Goodson’s production.

The Suwanee, Ga., native ended the 2021 season with 1,151 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 256 carries. Goodson topped the century mark on four occasions last season, rushing for 153 yards against Kent State, 141 yards at Northwestern, 132 yards versus Illinois and 156 yards at Nebraska.

When Goodson elected to opt out of the Vrbo Citrus Bowl against Kentucky, it offered an early casting call for the future of Iowa’s backfield. Redshirt sophomore running back Gavin Williams earned his first career start as a result.

In the process, Williams was also the first Iowa running back to make their first start in a bowl game since Jordan Canzeri did so against Oklahoma in the 2011 Insight Bowl. The Dowling Catholic product made a nice case for himself entering 2022 by setting career highs in both rushing yards and carries.

While he was listed atop the depth chart to begin the spring, Williams needs to continue to prove that he can match Goodson’s production and durability after the 2022 season boots off. Here’s a look at Williams’ Hawkeye profile thus far and his depth chart outlook for 2022.

Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 23 in 247Sports’ post-spring football rankings

The Iowa Hawkeyes have come in at No. 23 in 247Sports’ post-spring college football rankings.

In the most recent top 25 rankings from 247Sports, the Iowa Hawkeyes find themselves making the cut and coming in at No. 23 in the country. In the previous rankings, the Hawkeyes found themselves at No. 16.

Rankings after spring practices should always be taken with a grain of salt and this case is no different. Iowa chose to rest some of their key players due to injuries and preserving them for the fall. As you can see below, the list of inactive players was littered with key contributors.

That said, the Hawkeyes’ slide in the rankings is explainable. Their spring practices saw a quarterback competition heat up that looks like it will continue into the summer and training camp. The voters may look at that as uncertainty at the most important position and knock Iowa a bit for that.

While it is a quarterback competition, it could lead to improved play across the board at the position. In what appears to be a three-man race between [autotag]Spencer Petras[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Padilla[/autotag], and [autotag]Joe Labas[/autotag], it could spark each of them to perform at the next level giving Iowa a boost at the quarterback position voters may not be accounting for.

The Hawkeyes find themselves in the top 25 in large part to their defensive and special teams units. Each of these units have consistently been solid for Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

Defensively, Iowa will have experience returning and quite a bit of it. At linebacker they get [autotag]Jack Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Jestin Jacobs[/autotag] back leading the charge. [autotag]Riley Moss[/autotag] plugs in at defensive back coming off of a 2021 where he was named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.

The defense will be its usual self under defensive coordinator Phil Parker and can be expected to keep the Hawkeyes in games.

On special teams, Iowa has one of the best weapons in the entire country. Punter [autotag]Tory Taylor[/autotag] is a special asset that can change a game in one play. At the open spring practice, Taylor had multiple punts that exceeded 65 yards. His ability to flip the field will give the Hawkeyes the field position advantage more often than not.

Rankings now are always a little bit suspect, but nonetheless it is nice to see the Hawkeyes getting national respect as a top 25 team. Should the quarterback competition enhance that group’s play, Iowa’s ranking may climb much higher than No. 23.

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Iowa Hawkeyes light up social media in reaction to open spring practice

Iowa closed its spring with an open practice. Here were some of the best social media reactions.

Iowa put a bow on their spring work with one final open practice in front of fans from Kinnick Stadium. It was one last chance for the Hawkeyes to get in some work before their summer program kicks off in earnest in June.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with reporters after the Hawkeyes’ open practice and discussed the progress his team made throughout the spring.

“I think overall just, you know, if you look at the whole 15 days total, I think we’ve made some progress, seen some individual growth. That’s really what we talk to the guys about throughout the start, the onset of spring practice and throughout, it’s really more about what kind of individual growth can we see. We’ll worry about the cohesion part later on and I think we’ve seen a lot of areas where there is that growth. I think clearly—and today’s indicative of this—that we’ve still got a long ways to go right now.

“But overall, again, the work habits have been good, the attitude’s been good and I think our leadership’s been good. Probably a little bit, you know, maybe we’ve got a little bit more personality than most of our teams at this point. I think that’s because we’ve got some really good older players, experienced players, so that part’s all good,” Ferentz said.

With fans and media in attendance, Iowa scrimmaged and gave Hawkeye nation a glimpse into what 2022 might have in store. Here were some of the best social media reactions from the open spring practice that was for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

5 things Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said following the Hawkeyes’ open practice

Here’s five things Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz had to say after the Hawkeyes’ spring slate concluded from Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa welcomed fans inside Kinnick Stadium to view the Hawkeyes’ final spring practice on Saturday. Though the Hawkeyes had their fair share of notables out, fans did get a glimpse at all three quarterbacks on Saturday afternoon.

It’s been no secret that senior Spencer Petras, junior Alex Padilla and redshirt freshman Joe Labas have been battling to lock down the starting quarterback duties for the 2022 season. While Petras has been listed as the starter from the beginning of the spring, the opportunity for one of the other two quarterbacks to impress throughout the spring, summer and fall has been available.

In addition to the quarterbacks and skill talent on display, it was the first look for fans at the 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes in general. Here were five things Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz had to say about his team’s open spring practice and the spring as a whole.

Iowa Hawkeyes Snapshot Profile: No. 8 Alex Padilla

Junior quarterback Alex Padilla made three starts for the Hawkeyes last season. What’s the outlook for his 2022 season?

If the Iowa Hawkeyes want to maintain their seat atop the Big Ten West division, they need their offense to take a step forward in 2022.

Iowa cannot expect to stave off West division contenders with an offense that averaged only a hair over 23 points per game in 2021 and was held under 10 points in three different conference matchups. The division has some heavy competitors to fight off in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and a Nebraska team that’s much more formidable than their three-win 2021 season suggests. If they want to score more, it starts at quarterback.

The quarterback battle will come down to returning senior starter Spencer Petras and last year’s junior backup Alex Padilla. Due to a shoulder injury that sidelined Petras for a few weeks, Padilla was given the keys to the Iowa offense.

While the statistics were not great for the first three games, the former three-star Padilla still did enough for the Hawkeyes to recover from their first two losses and Iowa went 3-0 in games he started. While not necessarily the sole cause of victory, he wasn’t costing them games. His performance was pretty similar to Petras’ to start the season: good enough to not mess everything up while the rest of the team did their thing. Everything went off the rails for Padilla against Nebraska, completing only 35% of his passes and throwing a pick before getting the hook for a returning Petras.

Typically, an event like that with the starter coming back the next season would close the door on one’s tenure with the team and open a new adventure in the transfer portal. However, Padilla is still here and ready to fight for the starting spot.

After taking back over for Padilla, Petras’ play did not inspire much confidence after throwing just a single touchdown pass in his final two starts. The offense only scored 20 combined points to close out the season and the lowlight was a 42-3 beating by Michigan in the Big Ten Championship.

The Hawkeyes’ offense took a big step back last year and will lose some key starters on offense this year, including potential first-round 2022 NFL draft pick in center Tyler Linderbaum. With an experienced defense that was already one of the best in the country last year, the Hawkeyes just need average quarterback play to have a successful season. Petras will most likely get that opportunity first, but if he doesn’t take a step forward, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz might look to Padilla to inject some life into the offense.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Englewood, Colo.

Ht: 6-1

Wt: 197

Class in 2022: Junior

247Sports composite ranking

2019 three-star / No. 35 pro-style quarterback / No. 8 in Colorado

Depth Chart Overview

Currently, Padilla is listed as the backup behind Spencer Petras, the same as last year. Given the play of the returning starter last year, Padilla has a shot to take the starting gig… but right now it appears Petras has the advantage. The quarterback battle is one to keep an eye on.

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