Hawkeye Report Podcast Hawkeye Report Podcast

Our summer of podcast series continues. This time we are joined by Masters and British Open champion and Iowa superfan Zach Johnson. On July 1st, Johnson will be hosting his foundations golf classic, which benefits his Kids on the Course program that has impacted thoughts on kids in the Cedar Rapids area. You can learn more about the event here:
https://zachjohnsongolf.com/zjf-classic/
We also talk about the upcoming John Deere Classic and former Hawkeye Keegan Murray playing in the event this year. Last year it was Caitlin Clark playing in the event with Johnson for the first nine holes. Johnson talks about how impressive Clark has been in handling all the attention that is coming her way and if the comparisons to Tiger Woods and what he did for golf vs. what Clark is doing for women's basketball are fair.
Then we discuss some Iowa football and the upcoming season. Will the Hawkeyes exceed their 7.5 win total this year? Can they get to 10 wins and potentially be in the mix for a spot in the college football playoff. We wrap up talk about some of the incoming freshman football players that we are excited about heading into this season. 

We continue our summer podcasts and go off the beaten path a bit as we are joined by fantasy analyst for Yahoo Sports and Iowa alumni Andy Behrens. We talk about the Chicago area native landing at the University of Iowa and what attracted him to the Hawkeyes. What was his college experience like from a sports perspective going Iowa football and basketball games and some of the special games that he attended. 
Behrens is also a women's basketball fan even before Caitlin Clark arrived. He talks about being a season ticket holder and making the journey to their NCAA Tournament run this year, including being at the iconic win over LSU to clinch a trip to the Final Four. He's also a Chicago Sky season ticket holder, so how is he approaching the conflict between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.
Then we discuss how he got involved as a fantasy sports writer and turned it into a career. We dive into the Iowa tight ends in fantasy football and how he was telling anyone who would listen heading into last season that they should draft Sam LaPorta. We wrap up talking about why we think college fantasy football has never taken off and what it would take for it to get going. 

We continue our coaches series for the summer podcasts by visiting with the Director of Player Development and Assistant Coach for Iowa Basketball Tristan Spurlock. His daily job involves helping to develop the Hawkeyes players on the court and also now he is getting involved on the recruiting side as well with several prospects. 
We open discussing Spurlock and his early life in basketball as a player and the journey that it took him on around the world. Then that journey somehow ends up in Iowa City at the gym ran by a former Iowa player and during Covid, a place where Hawkeye players began playing pickup basketball. That evolved into working out players like Patrick McCaffery and then being offered an opportunity by Fran McCaffery. 
We talk about his job in player development and what that is like on a day to day basis. How he developed the way he works with players each and every day. Also, does that conflict with players who have their own workout coaches?
Then we discuss the current Iowa roster of players, starting with the new freshmen Cooper Koch and Chris Tadjo, who just arrived on campus and what Spurlock thinks of them thus far. Then we discuss the transfers and go over the rest of the returning players and how they have been performing in workouts so far this summer. 

Our week of podcasts continue with a turn to Iowa Football. We are thrilled to have Iowa defensive line coach Kelvin Bell on the podcast today. We open talking about growing up in Olive Branch, Mississippi and making his way to Iowa City, IA to play for the Hawkeyes. 
Bell talks about his coaching journey, which began at Iowa City Regina High School and included stops at Cornell College, Wayne State, and Trinity International coaching offensive line, before landing a GA role at Iowa.
We discuss the coaches along the way that were important to Bell and his development and then we turn the discussion to playing defensive line and the current roster of players. We discuss the four likely starters and the key reserves who could play a role this season along the defensive line and the potential of some true freshmen who just arrived on campus. 
Finally we wrap up talk about the state of college football recruiting and the role of NIL in sports. How is it impacting recruiting and what parents and prospects want to learn about a program when they visit. Then we get a few book recommendations for Coach Bell for your summer reading. 

Our summer of podcasts continues, this time with another great one featuring an Iowa women's basketball player. We are joined by a new member of the Hawkeye squad, transfer Lucy Olsen, who speaks about her reaction to the retirement of Lisa Bluder in great detail and how she got a call from her and Jan Jensen before the news was released. 
We talk to Olsen about arriving in Iowa City and getting right into the gym to get shots up and that gym rat mentality that she has to her game. What have practices been like for her so far in Iowa City? Does she have a strong relationship with Taylor McCabe so far and how has Abby Stamp been to work with from a coaching perspective? 
We also discuss Iowa fans and the reception she has gotten so far since arriving in Iowa City and the type of player that Hawkeye fans should expect to see this winter. Also how excited is Olsen to play in front of big crowds in Iowa City? 

We continue our summer of fun interviews this week on the podcast. We are joined by Iowa women's basketball shooting guard Taylor McCabe. The sharp shooting guard is very honest and open about her career at Iowa and how she may have thought about leaving after this past season. 
McCabe also talks about what it was like the day that she and her teammates found out on a Zoom since they are all at home that Lisa Bluder was retiring as Iowa's head coach and that Jan Jensen was going to replace her. She also talks about how much she will miss Coach Fitz, who also retired with Bluder. 
Then we dive into the first few workouts with the new team and how things are different without Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall. What does she think of her new roomate Lucy Olsen and how they are both gym rats. She also has praise for one of the new freshman players early on in practice.