Flash back 11 months, and there were three Iowa Hawkeyes weighing NFL draft decisions who ultimately opted to return to college for one more year.
These three players had legitimate opportunities in the NFL. And they did most of their senior seasons in Iowa.
Jack Campbell returned and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and was the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Campbell has the potential to advance to the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but is considered a Day 2 pick at the latest. Still, he chooses to play the Music City Bowl against Kentucky on Saturday rather than join college football’s growing trend for top prospects to retire from bowling games.
Riley Moss was the reigning Big Ten defensive back of the year and had a healthy 2022 season, his fifth at Iowa, and was again an all-league first-team pick. Perhaps it would be considered risky to hurt his NFL potential by playing Saturday’s game at 11 a.m. CT (ABC TV), but Moss is going to play.
Sam LaPorta’s stay-or-go decision last January landed just before the NFL’s reporting deadline. It was a tough pick after becoming the first Iowa tight end in 30 years to lead the team in receptions, but he eventually came back and led Iowa in catches (53) and receiving yards. (601). He became a Mackey Award finalist and was the Big Ten’s tight year-end. He has nothing more to prove. And yet, he plays the game on Saturday.
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The Hawkeyes’ only denial for the game for NFL purposes is safety Kaevon Merriweather, and with Cooper DeJean coming back from a scary knockout against Nebraska in the regular season finale, Iowa is feeling good about their secondary. even without Merriweather.
The motivation for three Iowa captains in Campbell, LaPorta and Moss to play once more was easy to come by, they said. Campbell made his comments after the Iowa-Nebraska game on Nov. 2. 25; LaPorta and Moss spoke Thursday before leaving for Nashville.
“Like I said last year when I stayed, you only get a limited number of opportunities to put black and gold, and I can put black and gold in Nashville” , Moss said. It’s an exciting place for us. I’m excited to go out one last time with the boys, to finish with a win and end my career on a W.”
Of all of them, LaPorta would have the most reason to sidestep the game. He missed the last seven quarters of Iowa’s season with a torn meniscus and had surgery. In the days leading up to the trip to the bowl, LaPorta was back on the court and swore he would be 100%.
He meant physically. But while he was talking about the motivation for the game last Thursday, he was also talking about being 100% mentally ready to ride.
“One more opportunity to play with my boys,” LaPorta said. “I have been here for four years. I gave a lot to this program. And it’s given me more than I’ve dreamed of since I’ve been here. It’s just very important for me to play once again. Put on black and gold and lay it all out there.
We were talking about it (Thursday) in a team meeting. If you’re not 100% invested, we don’t want you. We want the guys to go as hard as they can. If you are here, you are in it and you are invested. I am here and I want to be here.
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Often when it comes to college football season, the more motivated team has a game day advantage.
Kentucky (7-5) will miss star quarterback Will Levis and star running back Chris Rodriguez for this game due to the NFL draft. That doesn’t necessarily mean Iowa (7-5) definitely wants this one more than the Wildcats. And it will be the departure of a third-string quarterback in Joe Labas who never took a picture in college.
But there should at least be no doubt that the guys who dress for the Hawkeyes want to be there. It’s a mentality that starts at the top with head coach Kirk Ferentz, who has always emphasized the importance of bowl games for his players. The team had its first practice in Nashville on Monday on a snowy field at Franklin Road Academy. Temperatures were in the 20s and 30s.
“The guys who trained with us did a great job,” Ferentz said. “Whether it’s the strength and conditioning work or the times we’ve been on the court, the energy has been good and I feel like we’re making good progress.
That’s kind of where we are right now. The good news, I just think you got a bunch of guys that love football. They respect the opportunity presented to them. They respect what it takes to beat an opponent like Kentucky, and they work hard. So this part is good.
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How much did this mentality deceive the younger members of the team? Well, the feeling is that they hope to prove themselves. And there are more opportunities with notable transfer gate departures at wide receiver in Arland Bruce IV and Keagan Johnson. The second student in red shirt Diante Vines finds himself with a lot of motivation. A player who struggled to stay healthy during his two years at Iowa, including a broken wrist that cost him the first six games of the season, seized the opportunity to step onto field.
Saturday should mark his first bowling game.
“For me, it’s an exciting game, because you never know when this game can be taken away from you,” Vines said. “With the kind of injuries I’ve had, whenever I can step onto the pitch, train or play, I’m more than excited and ready to go.”
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow covered the sport for 28 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.
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