Tag: Logan Jones

Logan Jones’ Week 3 performance earns top marks from Pro Football Focus

Logan Jones commands Iowa’s offensive line and his Week 3 performance was excellent, earning top marks from Pro Football Focus.

The Iowa Hawkeyes‘ performance on the ground against Western Michigan in the 41-10 thumping was some of the best run blocking that the Hawkeyes and their faithful have seen in a while. That all starts up front with the offensive linemen and is spearheaded by the captain of the offensive line, the center.

Iowa’s center Logan Jones put on a fantastic performance in Week 3. He led the way for the Hawkeyes on the ground. Jones was the one to get things going in a game that saw Iowa run for a total of 254 yards on the ground to the tune of 5.9 yards per rush.

His performance wasn’t just good for Iowa or the Big Ten, though. Logan Jones’ Week 3 performance graded out as the highest-graded center in the Power Five.

Jones paved the way for junior Leshon Williams to have a career day, going for 145 rushing yards on just 12 carries. The Hawkeyes also added in 50 yards from freshman Kamari Moulton, and 31 yards from fellow freshman back Terrell Washington Jr.

This performance is one of extreme encouragement as they get ready to begin Big Ten play with a road trip to Penn State. If Iowa can continue to see success on the ground game like this and pair it with their defense, they become a very dangerous team for anyone to face.

Logan Jones is where it all starts up front and he is showing all of the signs that he is ready to keep this thing rolling for the Iowa Hawkeyes and return them to their standard of how they expect to run the football.

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Iowa with pair of players on The Athletic’s 2023 college football Freaks List

In football, the moniker “freak” is one of the few times it’s a positive. Iowa has two “freaks” on The Athletic’s 2023 Freaks List.

Being called “freaky” or called a “freak” in football is one of the adjectives of the game that, while normally can shed a negative light, is a term of endearment. The Iowa Hawkeyes have athletes and players that fit this build.

Each year, The Athletic releases its list of the top 100 “freaks” in college football. These are the top 100 players that bring an immense amount of athleticism combined with skill to the game that sets them apart. The Hawkeyes have two players on The Athletic’s college football Freaks List of 2023 (subscription required).

14. Cooper DeJean, Iowa, defensive back

Safety? Corner? Linebacker? The 6-1, 210-pound junior can do it all for the ferocious Hawkeyes defense. DeJean exploded onto the Big Ten scene last year, setting an Iowa record with three pick sixes among his five interceptions last year. He also made 75 tackles and three TFLs. The former high school quarterback (who also lettered three times in basketball, track and baseball each) won the Iowa state long jump title (23-7 1/2 inches) and 100 meters (11.16) and has continued to get more explosive since he’s been in college.

This offseason, he spent a week with NFL combine trainer Jordan Luallen, who clocked DeJean at 0.92 in his flying 10s and had him at 2.39 in his 20-yard sprint out of a two-point stance. “His numbers were insane,” Luallen says. “He has the capability of breaking 4.3 (in the 40) at 210 pounds.”

Luallen has worked with a bunch of Freaky athletes who have gone on to the NFL. He says DeJean has a unique blend of a football freak with track skills. “His acceleration is incredibly fluid and super powerful. He’s the best athlete I’ve seen in person, pound for pound.” – Feldman, The Athletic

DeJean showed his ability to make freakishly athletic plays last year on defense, punt returning and covering punts. His testing numbers speak for themselves. Getting stamped as the best athlete pound for pound by a trainer who spends his life around NFL athletes is as high of a compliment that a “freak” can get.

52. Logan Jones, Iowa, center

A former state champ in the shot put and discus in Iowa, Jones, a 6-3, 290-pound converted defensive lineman is high on the Hawkeyes’ lifting board with the second best hang-clean — behind Freaks alum Tristan Wirfs at 465 — and recently squatted 700 pounds to set the Iowa record. The Hawkeyes’ starting center also vertical —jumped 36 inches. He and teammate Gennings Dunker both broke the all-time Solon Beef Days hay bale toss record by going 14 feet. Dunker ultimately won with a throw of 14-6.

Expected to take the next step for Iowa as the commander of their offensive line, Logan Jones possesses all of the athletic intangibles one could need. He moves weight in the weight room, is agile and has classic Iowa farm strength. Jones is next up to be the anchor of the Hawkeyes’ offensive line.

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Logan Jones named to Rimington Trophy Watch List

Logan Jones is looking to be Iowa’s anchor up front. That is noticed as he has been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to take a step forward with their offensive line and that starts with center Logan Jones. The 6-foot-3, 290 pound lineman is the anchor of the Hawkeyes’ offensive line. Jones helps with protection schemes, getting everyone on the same page as the quarterback, and ensuring things are blocked up correctly.

As he tries to take the next step in becoming the center that the Hawkeyes are accustomed to having, the Council Bluffs native gets to do so with some preseason recognition. Jones has been named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.

Each year the Rimington Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best center in college football. It’s a trophy that has been dominated by the Big Ten, Michigan’s Oluseun Oluwatimi was the winner last season. Prior to that, Iowa’s very own Tyler Linderbaum was the Rimington Trophy winner in 2021.

Jones joins fellow Big Ten nominees Drake Nugent of Michigan, Nick Samac of Michigan State, Gus Hartwig of Purdue and Ben Scott of Nebraska.

Last season, the Hawkeyes were not up to their usual standard of running the football and that starts up front. Iowa averaged just 94.9 rushing yards per game on a measly 2.92 yards per carry. The Hawkeyes totaled just 1,234 rushing yards all season.

Jones will look to command the offensive line back to the standard that Iowa always carries as the Hawkeyes collectively look to get their offense back on track. Offensive success starts up front and that starts with the center. Being named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List is a good start for Jones to build upon.

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Logan Jones looks to put growing pains behind him in 2023

With a year of experience under his belt, Iowa center Logan Jones is looking to put it all together for the Hawkeyes in 2023.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to switch to a completely new position. It’s made even more difficult when your predecessor did it seamlessly.

Such was the story for center Logan Jones last year. Iowa had been blessed at the center position over the past three years with Tyler Linderbaum. The Solon, Iowa, native made such a miraculous transition from defensive tackle to becoming the best center in college football.

When fans learned that another similar story was brewing, they took off and ran with it.

“I think I said this before — we all kind of got sucked into it last year,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said. “(Jones) just does things with such proficiency. We’re playing our first game last year, I totally forgot that he had never played college football. That’s a big hurdle, a big step for a guy.”

Ferentz was not the only one, really everyone got swept up in the hype. Expectations were not nearly tempered enough for Jones, who spent two seasons at defensive tackle before making the switch to center ahead of the 2022 season. Because of the success of a complete outlier in Linderbaum, everyone kind of forgot that the transition is extremely difficult. Much more goes into the center position beyond pure physical attributes.

“I’d say the hardest part of playing o-line is the fundamentals,” explained Jones in a recent media availability. “The fronts you see, you have to understand what the defense is doing because that will help you with what you’re doing.”

It was an up-and-down season for the Lewis Central product. Despite his fantastic strength and athleticism, his inexperience was on display. He faced a sizable learning curve, especially through the early part of the season.

“Last year I was kind of thrown into it. The first game I had no idea what I was doing, I was like, ‘Holy crap.’ As the season went on, I started to learn a bit more and understand what I was doing and why I was doing it versus just going out there and memorizing what I had to do.”

While the results weren’t always what he wanted, the 6-foot-3 center started every game last year, gaining vital experience. New Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara has also proven to be a valuable mentor to the junior center.

“He’s seen a lot of football. We sit right next to each other in meetings, and I look over in his notebook and he’s got everything highlighted. I mean, his notebook is ridiculous, it’s the nicest set of notes I’ve ever seen. He knows football,” Jones said of McNamara.

Jones also mentioned the benefit of playing with two quarterbacks that took snaps from Rimington Trophy winners.

With two spring balls and a full season under his belt, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, native is ready to put it all together in 2023.

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5 most important Iowa Hawkeyes for 2023 success

Iowa enters 2023 with question marks and some voids, but also returning talent. Who are the five more important Hawkeyes for 2023 success?

The 2023 season for the Iowa Hawkeyes feels a little bit like all of the chips have been pushed to the middle of the table and this season is all-in. With the additions via the transfer portal and the dire need to improve offensively, there is pressure. The defense has pressure as well. There are key starters gone and large voids to fill.

Looking ahead to next season, there are a handful of areas that either need improvement or things could go very sideways. There are also areas that are reloading and will be shouldering a huge amount of pressure to drive this team to success.

As we near the beginning of spring practice and will start getting a look at some new and returning Hawkeyes, there are already a handful that are success factors. Here is a look at who the five most important Iowa Hawkeyes are for success during the 2023 season.

Report Card: Grading the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 27-0 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack

The Iowa Hawkeyes blanked Nevada, 27-0. Naturally, the best all-around performance thus far earns improved marks in this week’s report card.

Even though Mother Nature had other ideas, ultimately, nothing could stop the Iowa Hawkeyes from turning in their best start-to-finish performance of 2022. The Hawkeyes improve to 2-1 on the season and will now turn their attention to Rutgers next Saturday night from SHI Stadium at 6 p.m. on FS1.

As a result, the Nevada Wolf Pack exit Iowa City the victim of a 27-0 shutout and drop to 1-2 on the season.

“We got off the mat and got back in the fight and did a good job in unusual circumstances tonight. So to stay focused, that was good to see. Just really pleased. We showed some progress in certain areas. Happy about that. Obviously, it was good to get Nico (Ragaini) back and Keagan (Johnson) back and then Brody (Brecht) was able to get involved a little bit too at the receiver position. So gave us a few more guys to throw to.

“All in all, the team effort was good. Again, you go 60 minutes broken down over seven hours, not easy to do. Defensively, you all saw the game, those guys played a good game. They were aggressive and very tough to run against and they made the passing yardage tough as well. I thought especially in the first half. It was a little disjointed once we got back in the second half. But in the first half I thought we had a little rhythm offensively. The run game wasn’t perfect, but we did some better things so that was encouraging,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of the victory.

Before completely turning the page over to Rutgers, let’s hand out some Nevada grades. Pull up a chair. Class in session.

5 takeaways from the Iowa Hawkeyes’ abysmal opener against South Dakota State

Iowa topped South Dakota State, 7-3. Here’s the five biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ season-opening triumph.

I honestly don’t even feel like writing about this game, or giving this team any attention right now. All credit to South Dakota State. They are not a pushover despite their FCS status and they played hard on defense. They were overmatched on offense, which was always going to be a likelihood with the talent on Iowa’s defense, but they surely were right there to stop Iowa’s offense.

Was that South Dakota State playing out of their minds, or Iowa just being a complete disaster? You can make your own judgement, but I know what my choice is.

I don’t care that they are a good FCS opponent, this Iowa team went into the season with aspirations of making it back to the Big Ten Championship game! That’s how you start out the season at home?! It was an embarrassment, it was a disgrace, and a disservice to every fan that sat through that mess in Kinnick Stadium Saturday. Ferentz and his staff need to figure it out, or this is going to be a long, long season.

That said off the top, let’s look at five of the biggest takeaways for the Hawkeyes versus South Dakota State.

Iowa may have accomplished the unthinkable: Spencer Petras, offense might have gotten worse

What happened versus South Dakota State might be worse than every Iowa fan’s worst nightmare: inexplicably, the Hawkeyes’ offense is worse.

Let’s get the “yeah, buts” out of the way right off the top. Iowa opened with the No. 3 team in the FCS in South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes did so minus their top running back and two of their top three wide receivers with both Gavin Williams and Keagan Johnson sidelined and wide receiver Nico Ragaini announced as out to start the week.

Those injuries are in addition to wide receiver Jackson Ritter and offensive lineman Justin Britt both being lost for the season. Plus, wide receiver Diante Vines isn’t expected back from his injury before at least the midway point of this season it doesn’t sound like.

It’s an offensive line that’s young in spots and looking to replace a first-round 2022 NFL draft pick in former center Tyler Linderbaum. Just to reiterate, South Dakota State is really good at the FCS level and has beaten FBS competition as recently as last season in Colorado State and hung with Minnesota in a 28-21 loss to start 2019.

All of this is true. It doesn’t change or excuse the fact that this looked and felt like rock bottom for Hawkeye quarterback Spencer Petras and the Iowa offense.

This was a flat-out embarrassing offensive performance for a program that spent all offseason looking to address a group that finished No. 121 nationally in total offense a season ago, averaging 303.7 yards per game.

Iowa ranked 101st in the country in rushing yards per game with 123.6 and 109th in passing yards per game with 180.1 last year. In 2021, Iowa registered an average of 16.5 first downs per game. In scoring offense, the Hawkeyes finished ranked No. 99, averaging 23.4 points per game.

So far, not so good in the improvement department. Iowa managed to do worse than each of those averages from last season. The Hawkeyes finished with a measly 166 yards of total offense, 109 passing yards and 57 rushing yards. Even though the score looks like the Hawkeyes tossed a conventional touchdown and PAT on the board, Iowa scored its seven points by virtue of one field goal and a pair of safeties. Oh, by the way, Iowa finished with 10 first downs and was 4-of-17 on third-down conversion tries.

In fact, Iowa’s seven points were the fewest by a winning Big Ten team since Iowa’s 6-4 triumph over Penn State in 2004. The Hawkeyes are also the first Big Ten team to win a game without scoring a touchdown since Nebraska beat Michigan State 9-6 in 2018.

At halftime, Petras was 6-of-15 passing for 41 yards with an interception. He finished 11-of-25 for 109 yards. All of the talk about this being a new-look offense sure didn’t hold up over the course of game one.

It could be as simple as Iowa truly doesn’t have a better option than Petras at quarterback. That’s what Ferentz said to start this season.

“It’s a long evaluation, and we evaluate everything, we tell our guys starting in January. Obviously we’re not doing football stuff, and both Spencer and Alex are both quality guys, but just the time on the field, I think Spencer has outperformed Alex a little bit at this point. He’s further ahead and gives us a better chance to be successful. That’s not to diminish what Alex has done. Both have improved.

“Now the thing is can we put this whole thing together and be a little bit more productive offensively. Both guys have done a good job. Spencer has continued to climb,” Ferentz said earlier this week when asked why Petras was able to secure Iowa’s starting quarterback job.

If that’s the case, then so be it, but it’s difficult for fans to reconcile not seeing other quarterbacks like Padilla or Labas get their chance outside of practice and in a game to try to deliver better for Iowa.

After all, as many in the Iowa echo chamber would pass along, right now, it doesn’t feel like it can get any worse. So, why not give those other two a chance and see if it can provide a spark?

It will get sold and painted as a positive that Iowa won the game 7-3 over South Dakota State despite offensive struggles. It’s not. It’s a negative that Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz were able to stick with Petras for the game’s entirety and win.

It sets up for the Hawkeyes to stay with a quarterback that means this team’s ceiling isn’t a Big Ten championship or maybe even a return appearance in the Big Ten Championship game. Today was the day to try out and see what it looked like once again with backup quarterback Alex Padilla or redshirt freshman Joe Labas.

Instead, the moment came and passed and now it’s on to Iowa State where tinkering at the quarterback position in-game could mean losing to your biggest rival for the first time in the past seven meetings. Obviously, the Iowa coaching staff hopes it doesn’t come to that.

The results versus the Jackrabbits indicate that it’s probably a matter of time before it does. Like the frustrating play that has defined Petras’ career at Iowa in the past, the San Rafael, Calif., native overthrew targets with regularity, struggled against pressure to identify where his open receivers were, he was intercepted on a pass behind his intended target in tight end Sam LaPorta, and missed a deep shot to wide receiver Alec Wick that could have helped sealed the game.

To be fair, Petras deserves a pass in this regard: like the subpar play that defined the back half of last season, it truly isn’t and wasn’t all his fault. The offensive line showed some serious weaknesses in game one.

Petras was under regular duress and the offensive line never could establish the Hawkeyes’ patented run game. Leshon Williams ended his day with 24 carries for a hard-earned 72 rushing yards, though he even had a costly fumble on Iowa’s lone offensive drive that seemed destined for the end zone. As a team, Iowa averaged just 1.6 yards per carry.

It’s week one, so overreactions are a dangerous game, but this was wildly uninspiring offensively from a program that needs improvement on that side of the football in the worst way.

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Week 1 Iowa Hawkeyes offensive depth chart versus the South Dakota State Jackrabbits

The Iowa Hawkeyes

The season-opening week for the Iowa Hawkeyes is upon us and that means it’s almost time for Iowa to lock horns with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes released an offensive depth chart ahead of Big Ten Media Days, but, now that kickoff is this week, the Hawkeyes have revealed an updated offensive depth chart.

Fans suspected that Spencer Petras would remain as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback. That is the case in the season-opening depth chart. What other surprises await Hawkeye fans in the first in-season depth chart reveal? Let’s take a look at the full Iowa offensive depth chart for South Dakota State.

Iowa Hawkeyes hopeful that youthful offensive line sheds 2021 criticisms

Injuries forced several into action in 2021. Now, Iowa’s offensive line youth movement has the Hawkeyes headed back on the right track.

If you watch any of the Hawkeyes in 2021, you know that the offensive line was very un-Iowa like. Typically the motor that guides the high-powered black and gold rushing attack, Iowa’s front five were undermanned and overmatched for much of the season. The rushing attack was sub-par, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.

This was with a 1,000-yard rusher in Tyler Goodson, a back who has possibly earned a roster spot with the Green Bay Packers this preseason. There was also far too much pressure on Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras. The deficiency really held Iowa back from what they do best, leading through their offensive line play.

In Chad Leistikow of Hawk Central’s latest report, there is a ton of optimism internally regarding the O-line.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz relayed his optimism that things would be better in 2022. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz remarked that “we’ve seen results” when it comes to improvement. Quarterbacks Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla have been enthusiastic about concept changes in the passing game. And in the “Kids Day at Kinnick” scrimmage on Saturday, the offense looked crisper than usual at this time of year.

Why the bullishness across the board?

Because of the horses up front. – Leistikow, Hawk Central.

It will be a very different unit than the year prior, something that has caused alarm for some. Of course, losing super center Tyler Linderbaum is a massive loss. His impact carrying the offensive line last year cannot be overstated.

There is a reasonable logic that since the Iowa line underperformed last season and lost their best player heading into this season that it could pose a massive problem to the offense once again. However, there is now a massive injection of youthful energy up front.

“It’s awesome. The kids’ ability to come out every day with an energy to them, just the way they’re working and the physicality they’re playing with right now,” Barnett said with Hawk Central of the Hawkeyes’ youth. “They’re going to make mistakes. But, man, they’re doing it at full speed. The meetings have been great. They’re thick in that Iowa camp development phase, and it’s been enjoyable.”

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz remarked after Kids’ Day that he saw a jump with last year’s offensive line before and during the Vrbo Citrus Bowl against Kentucky.

“I thought all season long last year that—again, we have access to practice, you guys get to see our team on Saturdays, so I saw that growth. I think in the bowl game, that was probably as close as we were to looking like we want to look,” Ferentz said.

Left tackle Mason Richman also commented that they are looking a lot better as a whole this year. While they lost some experienced players, they are on to “better and newer things.”

Richman leads the charge for the new generation of Hawkeye bullies. As a redshirt freshman, Richman got his feet wet starting at left tackle. There were some growing pains, but it was valuable experience going against some of the best pass rushers in the nation. He’s added some mass during the offseason, self-reportedly up to 315 pounds now, and has the makings of the next great Iowa offensive tackle. He’s a boulder who’s light on his feet but still packs a punch.

Connor Colby also received starting time as a freshman last season, filling in at right guard. Colby is another rangy, athletic lineman who has filled in at right tackle over the offseason. He has that inside-outside potential and is another lineman to keep an eye on. Left guard Tyler Elsbury and defensive tackle turned center Logan Jones have also impressed.

This line is bigger and younger than last year, and is hungry to prove that Iowa is still the crown jewel for the big guys up front in the Big Ten.

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