Tag: Luke Elkin

Iowa football’s Luke Elkin named to Mannelly Award Watch List

Luke Elkin has been named to the Mannelly Award Watch List, presented annually to the nation’s top long snapper.

At Iowa, the Hawkeyes win in the margins. That means Iowa dials in on special teams in order to win football games.

Every piece of the special teams operation is a key component to the Hawkeyes’ success.

Under the direction of special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, Iowa boasts one of the best special teams units year in and year out.

Last season, Iowa’s Tory Taylor captured the Ray Guy Award, becoming the first Hawkeye to capture the award in the process. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens has been a Lou Groza Award semifinalist each of the past two seasons.

Both of those accomplishments have transpired with senior Luke Elkin as Iowa’s long snapper. The 6-foot-1, 228 pound senior from Neenah, Wis., has appeared in 40 games over the last three seasons.

As a recognition of his contribution to the Hawkeyes’ success, Elkin has been named to the Mannelly Award Watch List.

Created in 2019, the award is bestowed upon the nation’s top long snapper. The Mannelly Award website explains the genesis of the award and shares what it looks to recognize.

We live in the age of the superstar. The big gun. The first pick. The franchise player. But the more we come to understand the game of football, the more we learn to revere the guy who sets every field goal, extra point and punt in motion – including nail-biting field goals that make or break games, seasons and sometimes even careers. It’s time to show some love for the Long Snapper.

Long Snappers don’t make the cover of the program. They’re rarely asked to sign autographs. You don’t typically see them being interviewed before the game. But Long Snappers aren’t driven by these things. Quiet, selfless, focused and courageous, the Long Snapper is content to trade conventional superstardom for the opportunity to do one job very well. 

The spirit of the Long Snapper lives, not just on the football field, but out in the real world as well. The nurse who hands the right instrument to the surgeon is a Long Snapper. The legal professional who works late into the night doing the research that uncovers the precedent that wins the case is a Long Snapper. Anyone who toils in quiet dedication to the greater good is a Long Snapper. No matter what you do, when you do it with excellence in the face of great pressure, you are a Long Snapper. 

The Patrick Mannelly Award presented by Zebra Technologies is a vehicle through which football’s unsung workhorses can finally bask in the warm glow of appreciation. Now we celebrate the best Long Snappers in college football. And in doing so, we honor the Long Snapper in all of us. – Mannelly Award.

Elkin will seek to become the first Hawkeye to capture the Mannelly Award during the 2024 college football season.

The list of winners features Notre Dame‘s John Shannon in 2019, Alabama‘s Thomas Fletcher in 2020, Pittsburgh’s Cal Adomitis in 2021, Penn State‘s Chris Still in 2022 and North Carolina‘s Joe Shimko in 2023.

Elkin earned the team’s Next Man In Award (special teams) as a freshman, Hayden Fry Award as a sophomore and Coaches Appreciation Award last season as a junior. The Neenah High School product was named a preseason fourth-team All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele.

Iowa and Elkin open the 2024 season versus Illinois State on Aug. 31 at 11 a.m. CT from Kinnick Stadium.

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Iowa long snapper Luke Elkin earns scholarship

Luke Elkin, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ long snapper, has earned a scholarship per head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

The Iowa Hawkeyes‘ emphasis on special teams was reinforced by the latest name to earn a scholarship.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz announced on Wednesday that Hawkeye long snapper Luke Elkin has earned a scholarship. The 6-foot-1, 230 pound long snapper from Neenah, Wis., shared Iowa’s special teams Hayden Fry Award with linebacker Jay Higgins last season. Iowa’s Hayden Fry Award is presented to team members who show exemplary leadership and dedication throughout the year.

Now, that leadership has been rewarded in the form of a scholarship.

“He’s been spectacular since he’s got here. Just consistent, dependable, great team guy. And he can cover, too. He’s actually an athlete. I don’t think we’ll put a snap around pass in, but we might throw it to him. You never know. We’ll see. He’s just been super. We’ve been so lucky with deep snappers for 25 years now and just glad he’s on our team,” Ferentz said of Elkin.

Ferentz also revealed that AJ Lawson is no longer on the Hawkeyes’ roster as he has decided to step away from football.  The 6-foot, 193 pound product from Decatur, Ill., is vacating the Iowa defensive backfield to shift his focus entirely to the textbooks.

It’s a decision that Iowa and Ferentz obviously support.

“He’s not. He’s a part of our program, and our commitment to him is graduating right now. We had a discussion back in July and he just came in and he just wants to focus on finishing his degree and should be able to do that next July or August, first week of August. So, that’s our target. Great young guy.

“He was trying to balance both. He was having a hard time, and I told him a while back, really the only thing I care about—and it’s true with every one of our guys—is them walking away with a degree. We’re committed to that, he’s committed to that and we’re going to continue to support him,” Ferentz said.

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

Iowa released their first defensive depth chart of the season. What changes were made for their week one clash against South Dakota State?

Iowa released their depth chart on Monday for their week one clash against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and it surely is interesting. Virtually nothing is changed on the defensive line from the depth chart we’ve already seen, and that might puzzle some.

Some players are listed at different areas on the chart than how we’ve seen them used during camp. The most important thing to note with head coach Kirk Ferentz’s Hawkeyes, the depth chart is not the be all end all. Just like the pirates code, Iowa’s depth chart is more what you would call guidelines instead of rules.

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker and defensive line coach Kelvin Bell know how to utilize their guys best, relying on the depth and versatility abundant with this unit. Expect to see Iowa’s front line look a lot different on game day. That being said, here’s a look at the week one defensive depth chart that was released.

Iowa Hawkeyes: 2022 special teams depth chart

Here’s a look at the Iowa Hawkeyes’ official 2022 special teams depth chart.

With Big Ten Media Days underway, the Iowa Hawkeyes went ahead and released their official depth charts entering fall camp. While there certainly could be changes along the way, there were plenty of interesting notes in both the offensive and defensive depth charts.

Offensively, quarterback Spencer Petras is once again listed ahead of Alex Padilla entering camp. At running back, Gavin Williams is given the early nod over Leshon Williams. One of the interesting notes at wide receiver is redshirt freshman Alec Wick listed within the two-deep.

Meanwhile, along the Hawkeyes’ offensive line, the starters moving left to right look like this: left tackle Mason Richman, left guard Tyler Elsbury, center Logan Jones, right guard Connor Colby and right tackle Jack Plumb.

Defensively, while Lukas Van Ness is still listed as a second-string defensive tackle for Iowa, one has to imagine Van Ness will be used both inside and outside on the Hawkeyes’ defensive line in 2022.

In the defensive backfield, junior Reggie Bracy and sophomore Brendan Deasfernandez are listed as second-stringers at free safety and right cornerback, respectively.

How is special teams shaping up? While Iowa didn’t release the full picture on special teams just yet, we did get some idea of what it will look like entering 2022. Here’s everything we know so far according to Iowa’s official depth chart reveal. As noted and discussed below, there are several notable omissions that will be key during the Hawkeyes’ fall camp.