Tag: Hawkeyes Football

Iowa Hawkeyes offer 2024 recruit Kennedy Urlacher, son of former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher

The Iowa Hawkeyes have offered class of 2024 cornerback Kennedy Urlacher, the son of former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have officially offered class of 2024 defensive back Kennedy Urlacher. The last name may ring a bell to many as he is the son of former Chicago Bears and future Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Urlacher is early along in the recruiting process as a member of the 2024 class. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. The defensive back currently attends Chandler High School in Chandler, Ariz.

According to 247Sports, Urlacher is a three-star recruit, the nation’s No. 56 cornerback and the No. 19 player from the state of Arizona in the 2024 cycle.

His father recently discussed Kennedy’s recruitment with CBS Chicago’s Marshall Harris.

“He’s getting a lot of hype because of his size and his ability. He’s athletic. The thing I like about him is that he’s knowledgeable. He works his tail off in the weight room. But the kid is smart. He actually thinks I know something about football. For a couple of years, he thought I was a complete idiot.

“So it’s nice having him ask me questions about football. Good questions too, coverage questions. Things that, if you didn’t play football, you wouldn’t understand. So it’s nice to see him ask, what I think, are good questions. Athletically he’s there and he busts his butt every single day, which I appreciate,” Brian Urlacher said of his son Kennedy Urlacher.

The other schools interested in Urlacher are much more local to him than the Hawkeyes, although Iowa is the biggest offer to come through to this point. Urlacher has also received offers from Arizona, New Mexico and Northern Arizona.

New Mexico offered all the way back on Sept. 8, 2020. Arizona and Northern Arizona offered on March 29, 2021, and June 10, 2021, respectively.

Iowa currently has four in-state players committed in the 2024 class: offensive lineman Cody Fox out of East Buchanan High School, linebacker Cam Buffington out of Winfield-Mt. Union High School, athlete Derek Weisskopf out of Williamsburg High School and athlete Preston Ries out of Monticello High School.

According to 247Sports, the Hawkeyes’ current set of commits comprise the nation’s No. 2 class. Rivals and On3 currently rank Iowa’s 2024 class as the country’s No. 3 class.

Here’s a look at Urlacher’s freshman season Hudl highlights from the 2020 season at Chandler High School.

CBS Sports ranks Kirk Ferentz as the No. 13 Power 5 coach nationally

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli ranked Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz as the No. 13 Power Five football coach in the country.

In a recent ranking of the 65 Power Five head football coaches in the country, CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli ranked Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz at No. 13. Coming in just outside the top 10 says a lot for what Ferentz has been able to build in Iowa City.

Known for the consistency and a program that churns out NFL talent year after year, it is no surprise to see Ferentz this high on the list. His tenure at Iowa has been successful by nearly every account and has even picked up steam the last few years.

Ferentz climbs four spots after going 10-4 last year and winning the Big Ten West. It was the second time the Hawkeyes won 10 games in the last three seasons after doing so only once (2015) from 2010-18. Ferentz has been at Iowa since 1999, and you know what you’re going to get. The Hawkeyes are going to be solid defensively and frustrate their fans on offense while winning anywhere between seven and 10 games. – Fornelli, CBS Sports

As Fornelli stated, the head man has Iowa turning a bit of a corner with two seasons of 10 or more wins in the last three years. Dating back to 1999, the Hawkeyes have failed to reach six wins just three times in Ferentz’s entire tenure.

The top five of Fornelli’s rankings look like this: Alabama‘s Nick Saban is No. 1, Georgia‘s Kirby Smart is No. 2, Clemson‘s Dabo Swinney is No. 3, USC‘s Lincoln Riley is No. 4 and Texas A&M‘s Jimbo Fisher is No. 5.

Surrounding Ferentz in the rankings are some familiar foes. Penn State head football coach James Franklin finds himself at No. 15, while Wisconsin head football coach Paul Chryst comes in at No. 14. These seem rather fair and even rankings as the trio of Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin typically take turns winning against each other.

A rather precarious decision—and one that is downright flabbergasting—is somehow ranking Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell ahead of Ferentz at No. 12. There is really no metric, stat, record or anything else out there showing Campbell is a better coach than Ferentz.

First off, he has never even beaten Iowa. He is 0-6 against Ferentz. Secondly, Campbell doesn’t have a single 10-win season in his career whereas Ferentz has done so two out of the past three seasons.

Putting Campbell above Ferentz in Power Five rankings seems to ignore head-to-head and every other statistic, but I can promise you Kirk won’t care. He doesn’t care about his ranking or anything else. All he cares about is doing his thing and continuing to win games.

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Iowa’s Sam LaPorta among TEs on Pro Football Focus’ 2023 NFL draft watch list

Iowa Hawkeyes tight end Sam LaPorta finds himself once again included as a name to watch this season as a top 2023 NFL draft prospect.

As we anxiously await the start of the 2022 college football season, it seems that it could be a question of what total is higher: the number of days until kickoff or the different outlets recognizing Hawkeyes as 2023 NFL draft prospects.

This time we see Sam LaPorta once again included as a top tight end prospect for next year’s draft. Pro Football Focus has included him among their 2023 NFL draft offensive players watch list as a candidate that should only increase his draft stock.

PFF’s Michael Renner believes LaPorta is coming back to improve a draft stock that would have already found an NFL home had the tight end left Iowa City following the 2021 season.

LaPorta likely could have been a late Day 2 pick in the 2022 NFL draft if he declared after a big junior campaign with 53 receptions for 670 yards. He returned to up his stock even more, as the athletic 6-foot-4, 249-pounder has an all-around projectable NFL game. – Renner, PFF

This assessment seems to be becoming the standard for LaPorta. PFF previously came out with their tight end rankings going into this season and have LaPorta coming in as the No. 5 tight end and No. 90 overall prospect.

As Renner mentioned, LaPorta had a great output last season. That output was good enough to lead the Big Ten tight ends in multiple categories such as yards, catches, and more.

Accompanying LaPorta are a handful of other Power Five tight ends. There is the duo of Georgia Bulldogs, Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington, providing alternative styles. Gilbert is a receiving tight end, while Washington provides blocking efforts. Jaheim Bell out of South Carolina is more underutilized, but is projecting on the flashes he has shown with limited chances.

Former Alabama tight end Jahleel Billingsley now calls Texas home and may be the most naturally talented receiver of the bunch who looks to fine tune intricacies. Lastly, but certainly not least, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer may be the best of the bunch. His all-around game projects him as an NFL starter.

With Iowa likely to continue to feed the ball to Sam LaPorta, he will have every opportunity to improve his draft stock this fall and join the list of Hawkeye tight ends that make the successful jump to the NFL.

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Pro Football Focus puts Hawkeyes LB Jack Campbell atop mountain of Power 5 run stoppers

Pro Football Focus announced Jack Campbell is atop its list of Power Five linebackers in his ability to thwart the run game.

Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Jack Campbell once again finds himself among the top of another impressive statistical category, adding to his already growing hype. The returning leader of the Hawkeyes’ defense now stands atop the Power Five as the co-leader of run stops from the 2021 season.

With his output and production, it is not a shock that Pro Football Focus has come to love the performance Jack Campbell has shown Iowa fans every week he has donned the black and gold. They join 247Sports as an outlet lauding Campbell’s potential at the next level. 247Sports listed Campbell as one of the nation’s players with the best chance to increase their draft stock in 2022.

With 143 tackles last season, a third of those coming as run stops is a statement performance from a linebacker in the Big Ten West. Campbell stonewalled running backs from teams that love to run the ball. Wisconsin, Northwestern, Minnesota, and Illinois all tried to run the ball and Campbell showed up time and time again.

While Jack Campbell may be the heartbeat of this defense, the trio of Hawkeyes linebackers, which includes Seth Benson and Jestin Jacobs, make up the entire backbone. The three linebackers will look to once again be the glue that propels Iowa into another stellar year on defense.

Coming off of a huge 2021, Campbell’s name will only become more prevalent in headlines, but Hawkeye fans shouldn’t bat an eye at that. The All-American and All-Big Ten senior out of Cedar Falls is looking to do nothing but improve in every single way.

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247Sports says Iowa Hawkeyes have the largest difference in best, worst-case scenarios in 2022

247Sports has come out with their best, worst-case scenarios for the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes have the largest difference of any.

With the 2022 football season still a touch over three months away, a lot can change and likely will, but with spring ball wrapping up and heading into summer camp, there is a bit more clarity than we had even two months ago. 247Sports looked at the best and worst-case scenarios for every team in the Big Ten after the conclusion of spring festivities.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the only team in the conference to have a win-loss discrepancy equaling a five-game swing. Most of the other teams had swings in their scenarios that often equaled only two or three games flipping. One would think that the Hawkeyes’ stability under Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz would put them in the group of smallest discrepancy, but it appears to be otherwise.

Brad Crawford of 247Sports does see a way that the Hawkeyes make a repeat appearance in the Big Ten championship game as the West Division’s representative.

Drawing both the reigning Big Ten champions in Michigan and perennial playoff contender Ohio State does add another layer of difficulty that the Hawkeyes have to handle this fall. Aside from that, Iowa should be favored in most games with its two big games in the West again coming against Wisconsin and Minnesota. Wisconsin and Iowa have alternated wins the last two years, while Iowa has had Minnesota’s number recently and won the past seven.

Best-case scenario: 10-2, 7-2; If Iowa’s only losses come against Michigan and Ohio State, that should be enough for a return trip to the Big Ten Championship Game for Kirk Ferentz and company. That would mean head to head wins (and potential tiebreakers) over Wisconsin and Minnesota, the other two programs we consider to be the ones fighting for space at the top of the division. – Crawford, 247Sports.

Crawford also sees a universe where Iowa has their worst year since 2012. If it plays out that way, it would represent just the Hawkeyes’ fourth losing season since 2000.

Worst-case scenario: 5-7; 3-6; This season’s schedule isn’t as favorable as most years for the Hawkeyes. They’ll play Michigan and Ohio State and won’t be the betting favorite in either of those matchups. Should the Week 2 rivalry tilt against Iowa State go south, getting to bowl eligibility could be touch and go the rest of the way. – Crawford, 247Sports.

Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to at least six wins in all but three years of his tenure, even the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Crawford pegs Iowa State as a potential early season stumble even though the Cyclones were unable to dethrone Iowa with a starting quarterback, running back, and tight end that all found homes in the NFL.

Should one or two of the games against Minnesota or Wisconsin go sideways, it may take the Hawkeyes out of Big Ten West contention, but to miss a bowl game would have to be an event of apocalyptic proportions.

There remain questions for the Hawkeyes and large differences in opinions in how they will fare in 2022. Some have them ranked as high as No. 11 or No. 23, while others leave them unranked.

With a stout defense returning that is led by a trio of linebackers with experience, a tight end in Sam LaPorta that is only getting better, the Iowa Hawkeyes should be in a great position to do what they do best: find a way to win games no matter what it takes.

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