Hawkeye Report Podcast Hawkeye Report Podcast

It's a rare solo Hawkeye Report Podcast. Tom Kakert flying solo to discuss the latest news in the world of Iowa athletics. 
First we once again pub the Chuck Long Charity Auction that wraps up on Saturday night. You can register and bid at this link: ctcqc.home.qtego.us/
We also give some early pub to the Rally For Reid football camp coming up on June 21st in Davenport. More on that event, hopefully next week. 
Now the news of the week. We do a little housekeeping getting everyone caught up on what turned out to be a very busy and eventful week in Hawkeye sports. We first discuss the start for Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. She's being guarded closely and tighter than any player in the league. What should be take away from the start she has had and is there glimpses of progress? 
Then we stick with Iowa women's hoops and talk about hte Jan Jensen hire. What did she have to say about recruiting? What about hiring an assistant coach to replace herself on the staff? They will be on the road this weekend, how was that addressed? And after talking to Iowa AD Beth Goetz, how were they able to keep this massive news under wraps for a few days?
We move on to Iowa men's hoops and the signing of Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore. What is Iowa getting in Traore and how did he perform against high major foes? How does this impact the Iowa frontcourt this season? We also look at how Payton Sandfort performed at the NBA Combine? Is he expected to return for one more season? When does he have to decide?
Finally we discuss the Iowa football team adding a wide receiver, who happens to have been the roomate of new Hawkeye QB Brendan Sullivan.

EMERGENCY PODCAST!!! Massive news for the Iowa women's basketball program. Lisa Bluder has announced her retirement. That's huge news, but Iowa also announced that associate head coach Jan Jensen will be taking over as the new head coach. 
Tom Kakert and Kyle Huesmann dive into all of this. We start with Lisa Bluder announcing her retirement and try to put her career in perspective. From her humble roots coaching at St. Ambrose to 24 seasons leading the Iowa program, Bluder did it by building a great culture at every stop. We discuss her legacy and how she was able to take the program to a level no one thought was possible going to back to back national title games. We also talk about how it is fitting that Bluder and Caitlin Clark end their Iowa careers together. 
Next we look at the immediate hiring of Jan Jensen. It should have been a surprise, but we talk about the quick decison and the impact that decision will have on the Iowa program moving forward. What could be some of the assistant coach options for Jensen as she looks to complete her staff? What about the recruiting impact? Jensen led the recruitment of nearly every prospect, but what will their reactions be?
We also do a few minutes on Iowa baseball heading into post season play next week in the Big Ten Tournament and what they may do with their rotation. 

A special edition of the Hawkeye Report Podcast. On this show we are joined by J.R. Koch and his son Cooper, who will be headed to Iowa City to play for the Hawkeyes this fall. We catch up with both of them for a joint podcast to discuss Cooper and his development as a player. How does he compare to his father in terms of a game?
We discuss Cooper starting to come to Iowa camps when he was in fourth grade and how he eventually earned the full attention of Fran McCaffery, who offered him a scholarship before his ninth grade year. We also talk to J.R. about his relationship with McCaffery and how he actually recruited him when he as at Notre Dame. 
We also discuss how J.R. Koch looks back at when he arrived on the Iowa campus. We also discuss with Cooper about how excited he is to get to campus and be with his new teammates in the month of June to start working out as a Hawkeye. 

It's a new Hawkeye Report Podcast and we launch the bidding for the Chuck Long Charity Auction which benefits the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities. Listeners of the podcast can enter a special drawing for gift cards and special gifts by registering and placing at least one bid on an item. Just place an HR (for Hawkeye Report) a space after your name when you register. You can bid at this link. 
https://qtego.us/qlink/ctcqc
On the podcast, we are joined by our great friend Dan Burich, who was the first emcee of hte auction and he also covered the Hawkeyes for many years in the 80's and 90's. He has plenty of stories about Hayden Fry, Lisa Bluder at St. Ambrose and much more. Plus we tell some other fun media stories as Dan was responsible for Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo meeting each other.
After we visit with "The Wildman" we move on to discuss the latest edition to the Iowa football team, quarterback Brendan Sullivan. What are our thoughts on the Hawkeyes adding a quarterback? Do we think the Hawkeyes will add another quarterback? What other positions might also see an addition? WR? Defensive tackle? 
Then we discuss the Indiana Fever games being added to the schedule at WQAD in the Quad Cities and WOI in Des Moines. 

Even though it's technically the off-season, there's always plenty going on in the world of Iowa football and basketball. Tom Kakert and Matt Randazzo jump on the podcast this week to discuss all the latest Hawkeye news. 
We start with a look at the quarterback situation in Iowa City. Deacon Hill hit the portal last week. Tommy Poholsky joined him on Monday. That leaves the Hawkeyes with just three quarterbacks on the roster heading into the summer. Should Iowa fans panic? Nope. We discuss why Iowa has already been looking to the transfer portal this spring. We also look at why it's not as crowded in the transfer portal so far this spring and why the Hawkeyes will eventually find someone.
Also, Iowa is hunting for a wide receiver in the portal. We discuss their main target and look at other potential wide receivers in the portal if they were to miss on their #1 choice. Finally, we look at the scholarship situation for the Hawkeye football team and as of Monday, they are still over the limit.
Then we move on to the NFL Draft and discuss Cooper DeJean going to the Eagles and his surprise drop out of the first round. Tory Taylor going to the Bears and why that's a great fit. Erick All going higher than expected to the Bengals and finally Logan Lee going to his favorite team, the Steelers. 
After that we look ahead to the NFL Draft next year. Could it be a record setting one for from an Iowa perspective with potentially seven players being drafted by NFL teams a true junior who could be among them. Could Luke Lachey end up being a first round pick?
Finally we wrap up talking Iowa basketball and a portal visitor this past week in Matt Cross. Where do the Hawkeyes stand with him and who is the competition? 

We take a little bit of a break from Hawkeye news to turn our attention to a very special cause that we love to support each and every year. It's the Chuck Long Charity Auction to help support the Children's Therapy of the Quad Cities.
We are joined by our good friend Chuck Long and the President and CEO of the Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, Angie Peterson, to discuss the upcoming event and how by just registering to bid will put you in a drawing for free gifts, even if you don't post a winning bid. 
We talk about history of the program, which is celebrating 75 years this year, and we discuss how Long got involved in the event. Then we discuss the bidding beginning on May 10th and wrapping up on May 18th and how you can get involved. 
How about some great Hawkeye items that will be up for bid, including a signed helmet from Cooper DeJean, a signed basketball by Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall, a 10 year bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, life size cutout of Caitlin Clark, Taylor Swift signed album, and so much more.