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IOWA SPRING SCRIMMAGE: VIDEO + RECAPS

Ooh and aah over the last bit of Hawkeye football-ish action you'll get to see until fall.

By RossWB

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BTN

Some highlights, via BTN:

Additional highlights via the Gazette:

More here.

A few individual play highlights from Blair Sanderson:

More here.

And some recaps/spring notes:

7. It's good to have Ike back

Perhaps the most under-reported injury of the 2015 Hawkeye season was the high-ankle sprain that right tackle Ike Boettger suffered Oct. 10 against Illinois. He didn't play again until a few snaps in the Rose Bowl.

Sure, Iowa's line was OK without him, but he had been blossoming as a fixture on the right side of the line.

Hawk Central: 10 things we learned this spring about Hawkeye football

(AP) Iowa had hoped that the return of star defensive end Drew Ott would fill out its defense.

The Hawkeyes should be stout on that side of the ball anyway. Iowa suffered its first major loss in 2016 when the NCAA denied Ott's appeal for an extra year of eligibility because of a medical hardship. But the Hawkeyes should still have one of the best defenses in the Big Ten next fall, with seven starters back from a unit that allowed just 19 points a game last season.

AP/BTN: Iowa's defense looks strong heading into 2016 season

Wadley carried nine times for 33 yards Saturday. He still has the open-field explosiveness that made him one of Iowa's top big-play threats a year ago, but there's more to his game now. He moved the pile and dished out punishment to tacklers on a couple collisions.

"He's definitely packing more of a punch," linebacker Aaron Mends said.

"He's a little bit bigger," safety Miles Taylor said. "It's more of a challenge for defenders. He's definitely got his weight up. Still the same quickness. Still the same speed. Even better player."

Hawk Cetral: Beefed-up Wadley prepared to take hits, dish out omelets

Does Iowa have a need at the receiver position? They sure do. Is Boyle a great athlete, and already physically strong enough to play the position? Absolutely. Does his year of experience in the playbook of knowing the route of every receiver in every play help him acclimate even faster? Uh huh.

But quarterback is the most important position in college football. If the staff felt Boyle's long term future at quarterback was bright, he would still be a quarterback. This isn't to say that he couldn't be, or wouldn't be competent at quarterback.

Hawkeye Nation: QB to WR A Familiar Path at Iowa

Small look, yes, but I thought LeShun Daniels looked good. Caught a pass, ran with burst . . .

€” . . . But if this were a gameday, defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson would've been Big Ten defensive player of the week.

I liked Ryan Boyle the wide receiver. He's a take-charge kind of athlete. Very confident. Caught the ball well today. This can work, but let's give it more than three practices to jump to any sort of conclusion.

The Gazette: Iowa spring game stats and lineups

Last year, the spring event was played before almost no one. It had rained that morning and the night before. The game-time weather was windy and raw. It was less than four months after the Hawkeyes' dreary 7-6 season. The team had less buzz than a bee with a torn ACL.

Was all that one big, bad omen? Hardly.

A year later, the conditions were sunny and comfy. Saturday's wind was a welcomed breeze, not an icy tormentor.

The buzz? The crowd of 18,460 clearly thought the Hawkeyes were the bees' knees after their 12-0 regular-season of 2015, with linchpins C.J. Beathard and Desmond King back for encore senior years.

The Gazette: Hlas: This spring, everything was sunny in Kinnick

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