Three Questions Iowa Will Face at Big Ten Media Days
Big Ten Media Days kick off tomorrow in Indianapolis. Along with Kirk Ferentz, Cooper DeJean, Jay Higgins and Luke Lachey will be made available to media from all across the conference.
The players will be available 1:15 PM CT and 1:45 PM CT, on Wednesday, July 26, while Ferentz will meet with the media from 11:15-11:30 PM CT and 12:30-1:15 PM CT. The event can be watched live on Big Ten Network and the FOX Sports App.
What are three of the most-pressing questions Ferentz and the players will face?
Will the offense be better?
Priority questions number 1-10 for Ferentz and each of the players will have to do with Iowa's new-look offense this upcoming season. Between the additions of Cade McNamara, Erick All, Kaleb Brown, Seth Anderson, Rusty Feth and Daijon Parker, the personnel will be drastically different in 2023.
However, will the unit led by Brian Ferentz produce at a higher rate than the 130th-ranked offense of yesteryear? And if Brian is back, are things going to change schematically or in terms of play-calling?
As Brian said in the pre-spring game presser, "We're going to do the same things, we're just going to do them better."
The lone player representative from the offense in Indianapolis will be junior tight end Lachey. One has to imagine he'll receive plenty of questions about the differences between last year's starter, Spencer Petras, and this year's expected starter in McNamara. He'll also likely get a lot of questions about what he has learned from All, and if the offense will look any different in terms of scheme.
In Iowa circles, this topic is almost beating a dead horse, but members of the Big Ten and national media are likely to keep poking at the topic during this event.
Can Jay Higgins replace Jack Campbell?
Losing the Dick Butkus Award winner from one of the top defenses in the country last season is certainly something the Big Ten Media will focus on -- and for good reason. Over the last two seasons, Jack Campbell put together 271 total tackles for the Hawkeyes and was dubbed the nation's best linebacker.
That begs the question: Can Higgins live up to that standard?
After a tertiary linebacker role and time spent on special teams, Higgins is stepping into the limelight as the mike linebacker for the first time in his career. He had his most productive season in 2022, finishing with 39 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
"I've seen a lot of growth out of him so far," Logan Lee said in March. "He's been able to run the defense. It's a lot of fun to have new guys like him in there. Watching from the sidelines, it's been great to see how much he is improving. You're never going to replace Jack Campbell, but he is Jay Higgins and he's going to do a darn good job for us."
"I've got to be the leader of the defense," Higgins added in the spring. "That's what the Mike linebacker position entails. When we're out there on the field, Coach (Seth) Wallace and Coach (Phil) Parker can only coach so much. Someone out there has to run the show, and I've waited three years to do it."
How many games will Noah Shannon miss this season?
Initially scheduled to be sent to Indianapolis along with Lachey and DeJean, Noah Shannon shared with the public last week that he has decided not to attend due to his involvement in the gambling investigation among Iowa Athletics.
"Being selected to represent the Iowa Hawkeye football team at Big Ten Media Day is a tremendous honor and privilege," he said in a statement. "I am grateful for the opportunity. However, given the circumstances I told Coach Ferentz it would best for him to select another player. Since the NCAA review is not yet complete, I don’t feel it is right for me to represent the team."
Though Iowa's defensive line depth is one of the roster's strengths, it's not ideal to be unsure of the eligibility status of one of your starting defensive tackles at this point in the year. Between 2021 and 2022, Shannon posted 91 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks.
As we saw and heard from Big 12 Media Days, anyone and everyone wants to know who will be available for Iowa State for their opener against Northern Iowa on September 2. That line of questioning is sure to to be sent right down the pipe to the Hawkeyes tomorrow.
Not only does Iowa's current situation throw Shannon's name into the fire, but questions are likely to be asked about who else on the Iowa roster could be involved in the investigation and how many games they might miss this fall. It's likely that Ferentz and the players may respond to those questions with responses along the line of "no comment" or "we're just waiting for the investigation to be concluded" -- but the questions are likely to be asked all the same.