Iowa football is back, somewhat at least! The Hawkeyes hosted their spring practice—don’t you dare call it a spring game—on Saturday morning, allowing fans to get their first glimpse at the squad ahead of the 2024 season.
It is going to be a somewhat new look for the Hawkeyes this season. While a lot of the names are the same, there is one key new face on the offensive side of the ball in new offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The former Western Michigan head coach was hired over the offseason to replace former offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after a lengthy coaching search.
While not really anyone’s first choice for the job, fans have decided to go into this change with an open mind, hoping for the best from their new play caller. Were things different on that side of the ball? Did Tim Lester implement a new style of offense? How did the quarterbacks look? Is Iowa’s defense going to be the same dominant unit?
To answer some of those questions, here are the top five takeaways from Iowa’s 2024 spring practice.
Yeah… Iowa needs a quarterback badly from the transfer portal
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
When gathering social media reactions from the spring game, there was a common theme centered around the quarterback position right away. Iowa needs one badly. Cade McNamara was out there with a knee brace on, looking like the knee is still a massive issue. The phrase “Iowa needs a quarterback in the transfer portal,” was stated by nearly every beat writer in attendance.
If they don’t get this quarterback issue resolved, it could be more of the same this year no matter how many positives there are to take away from today’s spring game.
Some encouraging signs from the offense
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Listen, we all knew the offense was going to be a ways away for the spring game. This was a historically bad unit over the past few years, and it’s not like they received a sudden influx of five-star talent over the offseason. There is, however, a new system in place from new offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
While they are still a ways off, it’s been encouraging to see some new things from the offense such as an addition of shotgun to the offense. Who knows if the unit will be good, but at least they’re trying some new things!
Marco Lainez impresses
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Maybe we’re grasping for positives here, but Marco Lainez did exactly what he did in his limited performance during Iowa’s bowl game last year. He once again showed some flashes as a runner, bringing something to the quarterback position that Iowa really hasn’t had.
It’s a stark contrast to the restricted mobility of McNamara, and even Deacon Hill. Lainez brings something different to Iowa’s quarterback position, and that might be what they need if they want to break their cycle of mediocrity on offense this season.
Iowa's defense was, well, Iowa's defense
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
No surprises here. As the offense looked out of sorts as they implemented some new ideas, Phil Parker’s defense looked about the same. It helps that they return a ton of talent from last year’s fantastic unit. Don’t expect too much of a variation from Iowa’s usually strong defense under Parker in 2024.
A new man in town at punter
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Imagine stepping in for one of the greatest players in program history. That’s exactly the task of new punter Rhys Dakin. Another Aussie, the freshman punter has the tall task of replacing one of the greatest punters in NCAA history Tory Taylor. He may not be Taylor immediately, but Dakin had some nice punts on Saturday. The future is once again bright at the position.
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