There’s always a danger in drawing grand conclusions from observations based on one practice in fall camp.

After all, the Iowa football team will have many practices during camp leading up to the first game of the season on August 31st against Miami, OH.

Having said that, while the snapshot isn’t the entire photo album of camp, we can gather a little bit of feeling about what we think the direction of the team seems to be thus far.

Overall, it was a pretty positive day if you are an Iowa football fan. There’s certainly more work to be done, but the positive takeaways far outweigh the negatives as we inch closer to the start of the 2019 season.

Here are ten quick thoughts on the 2019 Iowa football team based on what we saw on Saturday.

1. I keep saying this and the feeling is still true, the team chemistry on this team is really strong. That may not impact the wins and losses on the field, but I am struggling to think of a group that is as close as this one.

Great example was late in practice I saw Djimon Colbert taking Seth Benson and then Jaydon McDonald aside and going through the mistakes that he saw them making and teaching them on the fly what they need to do to grow as a player. That’s selfless leadership and you don’t see that every day.

2. While Kirk Ferentz said he wants to continue to play things out, I think the punter race is just about officially closed. It was an uneven day for graduate transfer Michael Sleep-Dalton. He got off to a slow start, but from the middle of practice on he was really very good. Colton Rastetter wasn’t bad and in fact had a couple of nice punts, but I think Sleep-Dalton ends up being the punter.

3. I’ve admitted that I probably think way too much about the battle for the backup quarterback position. Unless Nate Stanley gets hurt, it won’t really matter this year. I like to look ahead a bit simply because we all want to know who the next in line will be at the most important position on the offensive side of the ball. Based on what I saw Saturday, edge to Spencer Petras. He’s not as mobile as Peyton Mansell, but based on this one day, Petras looks like he has the edge to be Stanley’s backup.

4. Mekhi Sargent didn’t get a lot of work on Saturday. That’s not a huge surprise because Iowa likes to be careful with their leading running back, particularly when it’s practice that includes a scrimmage and live hitting. Having said that, Toren Young did play a lot and he really looked like a strong contender for plenty of work this fall. He was strong with the ball, as usual, and showed a little more wiggle than we have seen in the past. Ivory Kelly-Martin also looked as good as we have seen him since the first game last year.

5. One of the most common questions that I get this time of year is which true freshmen will see action? The door is still open for quite a few players to participate in their first year on campus and Kirk Ferentz said he would probably have more to say in the next week or two on that front. He also said the decisions would be driven by not only their play, but a need for depth at a position. Dane Belton looks like a lock to play this year. He was working a limited number of reps with the first team and quite a bit more with the second unit. We know Phil Parker likes to play true freshmen so put him on the list. It wouldn’t shock me to see someone like Jack Campbell or Jestin Jacobs end up playing this season, mainly on special teams. I’m also intrigued with Logan Lee on the defensive line. He seems to be adapting very quick. From a need perspective, maybe one of the freshmen tight ends, probably Josiah Miamen seems to be higher up the depth chart. While the offensive line is pretty crowded, I think Justin Britt is a name to watch.

6. There’s been plenty of hype heading into the season regarding A.J. Epenesa. He lived up to it on Saturday. Epenesa is darn right unfair to try and block in pass rush situations. Kirk Ferentz says he has plenty of work to continue to do and he’s right about that, but Epenesa is a living up to his billing.

7. Speaking of living up to the hype, I bring you Oliver Martin. While there is a real possibility that Martin doesn’t see the field his fall, there’s no denying that Martin is a big time talent. On one catch in particular, Martin went up between two defenders and hauled in a reception.

8. Sticking the receivers, this group might be as deep and talented as any in recent memory. Ihmir Smith-Marsette put Seth Benson on a spin cycle with his fancy footwork. Brandon Smith had a few good recepions and went up for passes. Nico Ragaini continues to improve, as does Tyrone Tracy. If Iowa gets to play Martin this season, that would give the Hawkeyes a true five deep at wide receiver.

9. Speaking of depth, the Hawkeyes have plenty of that at cornerback. Michael Ojemudia and Matt Hankins are rock solid. Their backups, Riley Moss and Julius Brents continue to improvement. Terry Roberts, who is probably not in the two deeps at this point, had one of the better examples of pass coverage on the day when he knocked away a deep throw.

10. You get the feeling that Seth Wallace actually has a good situation at linebacker. He’s still tinkering around with players at different positions, so things are still unsettled. That’s not a bad thing because it’s keeping players hungry and focused. Iowa might only play two true linebackers this season, but they will have earned it if they want to be a starter. Basically, given the talent on hand, it’s a good problem to have.