Iowa Open Practice: Injury, Lineup Info
Iowa held its annual open practice to cap off spring football on Saturday, which gave fans and Iowa media an early glimpse of Iowa football prior to the 2023 season. Several players did not participate in the open practice due to injury-related concerns.
A rundown of the players who did not participate today:
OL Connor Colby
OL Michael Myslinski
OL Daijon Parker (left foot in boot)
OL Mason Richman
WR Seth Anderson (hamstring)
WR Nico Ragaini
FB Eli Miller
DL Logan Lee (recovery from surgery)
DL Noah Shannon (recovery from surgery)
DL Yahya Black (left foot in boot)
While that is certainly a lot of absences and you hate to see players missing time, the good news is that most of those players are expected to be back for fall practice and should be available when the season kicks off in September.
Miller and Sullivan appear to be the only two players expected to miss the entire season due to their injuries. Miller will miss the fall, but should be available after next season. Unfortunately, it sounds like Sullivan's playing career is over.
QB Cade McNamara was a limited participant, sitting out the 11-on-11 scrimmage portion of the practice, but throwing in the 7-on-7 drills.
LINEUPS
Those absences led to some unusual lineups and rotations on both sides of the ball.
First-string OL: LT Gennings Dunker, LG Beau Stephens, C Logan Jones, RG Tyler Elsbury, RT Nick DeJong
First-string DL: DE Deontae Craig, DT Aaron Graves, DT Jeremiah Pittman, DE Ethan Hurkett
Also, with McNamara not participating in the scrimmage portion of the practice, Wisconsin transfer Deacon Hill and Joe Labas split time at QB. Hill took approximately two-thirds of the reps with the first-string offense, while Labas saw most of his action with the second- and third-string offense.
Both players made some good throws, though, and it seems like their battle for the QB2 role behind McNamara will continue into fall practice with Hill in the early lead.
TIGHT ENDS
To the likely surprise of no one, the tight ends were the standout performers in the passing game. One, injuries and precautionary holdouts further limited Iowa's already thin and inexperienced wide receiver options. Two, regardless of injuries, the tight end unit is probably the best and most explosive unit on the offensive side of the ball for the Hawkeyes.
Both returnee Luke Lachey and Michigan transfer Erick All stood out with strong performances today. All spent more time lined up as as traditional tight end, while Lachey was used in multiple roles.
The backups to Lachey and All, Addison Ostrenga and Steve Stilianos, also had some notable catches during the practice today and stood out positively.
Iowa has managed to develop some truly impressive depth at the tight end position in recent seasons, and the tight ends figure to be a key component of Iowa's offensive attack this fall.
SPECIAL TEAMS
A year ago, both Drew Stevens and Aaron Blom struggled at the open practice as Iowa searched for a replacement for Keith Duncan in the placekicker role. Blom eventually won the job out of fall practice, but after starting the season just 1/3 on field goal attempts, he gave way to Stevens. Stevens, a freshman, made 16/18 field goal attempts last season and also went 24/24 on extra point tries. Both Stevens and Blom were on-point with their kicks on Saturday.
FOR THE KIDS
Last, frequent Iowa visitor Dallas Clark announced a large gift to the UI Children's Hospital, with a check for $101,000.
The Hawkeyes' philanthropic connection with the UI Children's Hospital remains one of the strongest, most enduringly popular aspects of the football program. The Wave has already created an indelible mark on the hearts of college football fans nationwide, and there is simply no downside to gifts continuing to pour in to support all the important work done at the UICH.