LUNCH LINKS IS IN THE TRENCHES

Hello.

Iowa’s defensive line coach Reese Morgan and linebackers coach Seth Wallace (Iowa football has five coaches on staff with two first names by my count) met with the media yesterday as part of the spring football car wash where every position coach puts in a little facetime with the public.

In some cases, this is the only time these position coaches are made available to the media other than on ... media day, where everyone is up for grabs. This is a good time for reporters and fans to check in on the lesser-known members of staff, which is great, because there are some pretty cool personalities under Ferentz.

And one of those personalities is Morgan:

The first question Morgan fielded yesterday was about defensive line depth, something I mentioned of concern in my spring camp primer last week.

With the absence of Matt Nelson from spring ball with an injury (he’s also apparently prepping for the MCAT) Cedrick Lattimore is getting most of the time at nose guard, along with Dalles Jacobus, a walk-on from Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The interior depth was a little concerning for Morgan, so the team has commissioned former defensive end Chauncey Gholston to slide in at tackle:

He’ll join Brady Reiff and Garret Jansen for reps there.

Parker Hesse isn’t out of the question to trot out on the interior, either. The coaching staff said they visited Georgia and Arizona State (for some reason) and after watching the DAWGS, decided an 8-man rotation on the defensive line is the way to go when pushing up against an offensive line that weighs over a ton.

The state of Iowa’s defensive ends — anchored by Hesse, Anthony Nelson and AJ Epenesa — is less worrisome, though.

Speaking of worrisome ... there’s really no good way to replace guys like Bo Bower, Josey Jewell and Ben Niemann in the linebacking corps. Kristian Welch is poised to take over for Josey in the middle, and the junior from Wisconsin is fighting off Amani Jones and Jack Hockaday for playing time.

(via Tom Kakert)

Tim Polasek’s North Dakota State was the only other serious offer Welch got out of high school, which is a real familiar theme at Hawkeye Football Inc. There was some talk of Iowa linebackers playing different positions during games, but I’ll believe that when I see it.

And that was sort of the gist of media day. Outgoing Iowa players, such as Akrum Wadley, were made available for what I believe will be the last time as they prepare for the NFL draft. John Bohenkamp had a really nice piece on Wadley that I urge you to read.

And the rest

• This piece from NESN goes all-in on Riley McCarron and the Patriots.
• Only two teams have improved on their recruiting rankings each of the five past years. Iowa is one of those teams.
• Oh ho ho we had a Bob Stoops sighting at practice yesterday!

I believe he was in town for a speaking engagement. We will learn more later on today, I’m sure.

• Keegan Render is embracing his new position at center.
• Really nice piece on Amari Spievey and his battle with depression.
• You can worry all you want about Iowa’s receiving corps, but Noah Fant isn’t. If Fant is cool with the wideouts, I am too.
• Mel Kiper has Josh Jackson and James Daniels going in the first round of the draft. ($$)
• Kinda sad to think about the directions these two programs have gone in since then:

• The Ferentz’s dispute with their neighbors just won’t go away!
• And finally, Wright Thompson on Geno Auriemma is appointment reading.

Go forth, and go Hawks.