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No, it's not (really) football. But it's about as close as we're going to get until Iowa takes the field against Miami (OH) on September 3rd this fall. That's right, it's open practice time:
— IowaFBLive (@IowaFBLive) April 6, 2016
There's an autograph session at 5:30 PM and the practice itself gets underway at 6 PM. It's going to be chilly -- the forecast calls for clouds and temperatures in the low 40s -- so you might want to pack an extra blanket or hoodie if you're going to the practice.
The practice itself will consist mainly of drills and some scrimmage action, although there's been some chatter that they might do something a little more fan-friendly (extended scrimmaging, perhaps? More game-like action?). We'll have to wait and see, I suppose.
There are a lot of things to watch during the open practice, but the two things that most interest me are the battle in the trenches (last year Drew Ott and Nate Meier terrorized Iowa's offensive line and kept the offense from doing much of anything in the open practices; can this year's more experienced offensive line hold its own against the defense?) and at wide receiver (Does anyone look good? Can anyone get separation and catch the ball?). What are you most interested to see?
We'll update the comments with observations and videos from the Iowa media members in attendance, but feel free to post your own observations if you're also in attendance. Let's get a (very early) sense of what Iowa looks like with the 2016 season several months away.
The usual rules apply.