Iowa Football Releases Depth Chart for Illinois

Your Iowa Hawkeyes released the depth chart for its Saturday contest against the HATED Illinois fightin’ Berts, and we actually got some shakeups to tell you about!

First, the obvious:

• Alex Padilla remains the starter at quarterback, with Deuce Hogan backing his pass up.

Before you all rush to anoint Padilla as the QB of the future, I want to remind you that Kirk Ferentz is famous for putting these two-deeps out on Monday as a reflection of how the game last Saturday ended, and not a mirror of how the game next Saturday will begin.

That being said... I think we see Padilla for the remainder of the season. Petras’ injury doesn’t seem like the kind that will magically get better in just a few short weeks, and the ceiling just seems so much higher with Padilla, while the floor remains roughly the same.

Other things to note on offense:

• No Mason Richman on the offensive line. This’ll be the second game he’s missed, which is too bad as it seemed like he was improving. Jack Plumb claims his LT spot.
• Annnnnnd Keagan Johnson has usurped Tyrone Tracy as WR1. An unprecedented circumstance for a true freshman wideout to outplay a seasoned veteran with incredible upside and a loaded highlight reel dating back to his very own true freshman season. There’s been rumors of Tracy’s displeasure with how he’s been used this season, but this isn’t the place to give that smoke any fire.
• The fact of the matter is Johnson needs more touches, and this is a cost of that abject reality.

And to the other side of the ball:

• Riley Moss returns to the starting lineup after... returning to the starting lineup against Minnesota. He played well Saturday after missing two weeks, but that also could have been a function of Tanner Morgan throwing the ball exclusively in Matt Hankins’ direction.
• Still no Terry Roberts, which is a bummer because I really like watching that kid.
• And I think that covers everything!
• Goodbye!