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  3.  <title>Black Heart Gold Pants -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>Swelling with Iowa Hawkeye pride since 2007</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47511/bhgp-fave.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2025-05-09T08:21:52-05:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2025-05-09T08:21:52-05:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2025-05-09T08:21:52-05:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Iowa Baseball: Back “Home” to Des Moines</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5RJLUtPR-buhWpYpUN9-9iT21Vk=/102x0:1115x675/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74073665/HawksWin.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Hawks win third game vs Washington&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;The Hawks salvaged game three against the Washington Huskies. Take on #10 Oregon State this weekend&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="td4pM5"&gt;My mom had more sayings than Aesop. One of her most repeated sayings was “all good things come to an end.” Well, Mom, yes and no. The Hawks’ streak of dominating the B1G ended in Seattle, as Iowa went 1-2 versus the &lt;strong&gt;Washington Huskies&lt;/strong&gt;.  However, &lt;strong&gt;Reece Beuter&lt;/strong&gt; went all Superman on the cold-weather puppies, and the Hawks can confidently come back to the state of Iowa for a tremendous challenge and opportunity against the #10 &lt;strong&gt;Oregon State Beavers&lt;/strong&gt; in Des Moines. &lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="5dIBUZ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 1 – Missed Opportunities&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="83TZ2R"&gt; &lt;em&gt;Washington 4, Iowa 3&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="2eoDd9"&gt; Despite holding Washington to a .115 batting average, Iowa couldn’t take advantage offensively, batting just .219 and leaving seven runners on base. A solid pitching effort kept it close, but the Hawkeyes came up short in the series opener.&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="t3zcQx"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 2 – Offensive Struggles Continue&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="jS42AL"&gt; &lt;em&gt;Washington 3, Iowa 1&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="pCTj9F"&gt; Iowa dropped its first conference series of the season after a tough night at the plate—going just 1-for-20 with runners on base and 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. &lt;strong&gt;Aaron Savary &lt;/strong&gt;delivered a strong start with 10 strikeouts, but a ninth-inning walk-off sealed the loss.&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="vCZehX"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 3 – Strong Finish&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="QO0GME"&gt; &lt;em&gt;Iowa 8, Washington 0&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="itrqka"&gt; Iowa bounced back in dominant fashion, shutting out Washington in the series finale. &lt;strong&gt;Reece Beuter&lt;/strong&gt; threw seven scoreless innings, and the offense came alive with contributions throughout the lineup. The Hawkeyes showed resilience and ended the weekend on a high note.&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;h3 id="PS0Qqz"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Team Comparison&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  31. &lt;h4 id="eQgWVg"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;Batting&lt;/strong&gt;
  32. &lt;/h4&gt;
  33. &lt;ul&gt;
  34. &lt;li id="a7glFr"&gt;
  35. &lt;strong&gt;Iowa&lt;/strong&gt;: Team batting average of &lt;strong&gt;.307&lt;/strong&gt;, with 62 home runs and a slugging percentage of &lt;strong&gt;.497&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  36. &lt;li id="0MwJuc"&gt;
  37. &lt;strong&gt;Oregon State&lt;/strong&gt;: Slightly lower team average of &lt;strong&gt;.288&lt;/strong&gt;, but more home runs (73) and a higher slugging percentage of &lt;strong&gt;.493&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  38. &lt;/ul&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="mpSJP2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Edge&lt;/strong&gt;: Even — Iowa is more consistent overall; Oregon State packs more power.&lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;h4 id="Q0ziR7"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;Pitching&lt;/strong&gt;
  41. &lt;/h4&gt;
  42. &lt;ul&gt;
  43. &lt;li id="v8G4wx"&gt;
  44. &lt;strong&gt;Iowa&lt;/strong&gt;: Team ERA of &lt;strong&gt;3.59&lt;/strong&gt;, holding opponents to a &lt;strong&gt;.209&lt;/strong&gt; average.&lt;/li&gt;
  45. &lt;li id="i2ctdK"&gt;
  46. &lt;strong&gt;Oregon State&lt;/strong&gt;: Slightly higher ERA at &lt;strong&gt;4.56&lt;/strong&gt;, opponents hitting &lt;strong&gt;.234&lt;/strong&gt; off them.&lt;/li&gt;
  47. &lt;/ul&gt;
  48. &lt;p id="GroOpm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Edge&lt;/strong&gt;: Iowa — stronger top-to-bottom pitching and better opponent suppression.&lt;/p&gt;
  49. &lt;div id="dZhEMx"&gt;
  50. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  51. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Can't touch the Hawks  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Iowa's pitching staff leads the nation with 6.74 hits allowed per nine innings. They rank second with nine shutouts on the year. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Iowa ranks third in the nation with a +206 run differential behind only Arkansas and Tennessee. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/9WaMPXFzZI"&gt;pic.twitter.com/9WaMPXFzZI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1919489698558349466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  52. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  53. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  54.  
  55. &lt;/div&gt;
  56. &lt;h4 id="iMLCoZ"&gt;  &lt;strong&gt;Fielding&lt;/strong&gt;
  57. &lt;/h4&gt;
  58. &lt;ul&gt;
  59. &lt;li id="6PCdD5"&gt;
  60. &lt;strong&gt;Iowa&lt;/strong&gt;: Fielding percentage of &lt;strong&gt;.972&lt;/strong&gt;, with 39 double plays.&lt;/li&gt;
  61. &lt;li id="jvSZHo"&gt;
  62. &lt;strong&gt;Oregon State&lt;/strong&gt;: Nearly identical &lt;strong&gt;.982&lt;/strong&gt; fielding percentage, with 37 double plays.&lt;/li&gt;
  63. &lt;/ul&gt;
  64. &lt;p id="xEJ2Zx"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Edge&lt;/strong&gt;: Oregon State — tighter defense with fewer errors despite more games played.&lt;/p&gt;
  65. &lt;p id="5ghzoy"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  66. &lt;h3 id="L3CuZa"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Iowa Hawkeyes Standouts&lt;/strong&gt;
  67. &lt;/h3&gt;
  68. &lt;ol&gt;
  69. &lt;li id="UNQExh"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gable Mitchell (SS)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  70. &lt;li id="aJpsPn"&gt; Batting .347 with 39 RBIs and 17 doubles. A consistent leadoff threat and defensive anchor. And yes, if you are wondering, Gable is the grandson of Iowa legend Dan Gable. &lt;/li&gt;
  71. &lt;li id="2Aqk1I"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Reese Moore (C)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  72. &lt;li id="5iQzMw"&gt; Batting .335 with 9 home runs and a team-high 43 RBIs. Also caught 7 runners stealing.&lt;/li&gt;
  73. &lt;li id="0Pt8mW"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cade Obermueller (LHP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  74. &lt;li id="JlkNbH"&gt; ERA of 2.51 with &lt;strong&gt;94 strikeouts&lt;/strong&gt; in 68 innings. Iowa’s ace and top draft prospect.&lt;/li&gt;
  75. &lt;li id="TDtxG7"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Reece Beuter (RHP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  76. &lt;li id="AG8ylW"&gt; 6-0 record, 3.13 ERA, and a strong 13-inning scoreless streak. A rising star on the mound. &lt;/li&gt;
  77. &lt;/ol&gt;
  78. &lt;div id="50ghMM"&gt;
  79. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  80. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Beuter's last three starts: 19.0 IP, 1 R, 9 H, 5 BB, 23 K &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The righty has tossed 13 straight scoreless innings  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ReeceBeuter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@ReeceBeuter&lt;/a&gt; x &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/iasskz8eeS"&gt;https://t.co/iasskz8eeS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1919138407533420715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 4, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  81. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  82. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  83.  
  84. &lt;/div&gt;
  85. &lt;h3 id="sSJFo4"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Oregon State Beavers Standouts&lt;/strong&gt;
  86. &lt;/h3&gt;
  87. &lt;ol&gt;
  88. &lt;li id="vdXhsB"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Aiva Arquette (INF)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  89. &lt;li id="B7BDA7"&gt; Batting .350 with &lt;strong&gt;16 home runs&lt;/strong&gt; and 56 RBIs. One of the top sluggers in the Pac-12.&lt;/li&gt;
  90. &lt;li id="CX3hdB"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gavin Turley (OF)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  91. &lt;li id="g5MaSk"&gt; Matches Arquette’s .350 average with 15 HRs and 54 RBIs. A true power-speed combo.&lt;/li&gt;
  92. &lt;li id="tTBy3G"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ethan Kleinschmit (SP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  93. &lt;li id="57F9Dq"&gt; 6-3 record with 75 strikeouts in 62 innings. Leads OSU’s rotation with a 4.21 ERA.&lt;/li&gt;
  94. &lt;li id="OOrUpE"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Wilson Weber (C)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  95. &lt;li id="UYUW8j"&gt; .318 average with 7 home runs, strong behind the plate (caught 14 runners stealing).&lt;/li&gt;
  96. &lt;/ol&gt;
  97. &lt;h2 id="EQJJSw"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;B1G Standings / Postseason Outlook:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  98. &lt;p id="DZdecv"&gt;The Hawkeyes are atop the &lt;strong&gt;Big Ten Conference &lt;/strong&gt;with a record of 21-6. The &lt;strong&gt;UCLA Bruins&lt;/strong&gt; sit in second place at 17-7. The Hawkeyes finish up conference play in a few weeks when they host the&lt;strong&gt; Oregon Ducks&lt;/strong&gt; (16-8), 3rd place in the B1G. &lt;/p&gt;
  99. &lt;p id="EZ54kO"&gt;There’s a lot of baseball to be played, including the Big Ten Tournament, but it’s hard not to peek ahead to see what the Hawks have to do to make the postseason. Certainly, a regular-season conference champion is worthy of making the tournament. However, the automatic bid goes to the tournament champion. When it comes to that, it gets a little scary. &lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;p id="0khF7A"&gt;The Hawkeyes have a chance to make some ground in their RPI rankings with their next two opponents. Oregon State is ranked #10 in RPI, and the Oregon Ducks are ranked 24th. Comparatively, the Hawkeyes’ RPI is #65. Iowa has steamrolled much of the B1G until now, but some mid-week losses have thrown wrenches in the gears. This team could do some damage in postseason play because they can throw three very good starting pitchers out there. Let’s not let anyone make the determination if we do/don’t make the postseason. Let’s take it, Hawks! As always, it’s great to be a Hawkeye. Go Hawks!&lt;/p&gt;
  101. &lt;p id="Ymwzoh"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  102.  
  103. </content>
  104.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/5/9/24424797/iowa-hawkeyes-baseball-back-home-to-des-moines-rick-heller-bhgp"/>
  105.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/5/9/24424797/iowa-hawkeyes-baseball-back-home-to-des-moines-rick-heller-bhgp</id>
  106.    <author>
  107.      <name>Bartt Pierce</name>
  108.    </author>
  109.  </entry>
  110.  <entry>
  111.    <published>2025-05-02T06:42:00-05:00</published>
  112.    <updated>2025-05-02T06:42:00-05:00</updated>
  113.    <title>Taking a look at Iowa’s roster after a former Drake commit follows McCollum</title>
  114.    <content type="html">  
  115.  
  116.    &lt;figure&gt;
  117.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round-Wichita" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CQ_VlESDtIKGdIGG6yIYDsXlHns=/0x0:8001x5334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74060912/usa_today_25732947.0.jpg" /&gt;
  118.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kirby Lee-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  119.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  120.  
  121.  &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tate Sage becomes the 10th player for the 2025-26 Hawkeyes&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="28PqJs"&gt;Earlier this week, forward Tate Sage out of Weatherford, Oklahoma committed to the &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com"&gt;Iowa Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt;. Previously, he was committed to Drake but followed Ben McCollum to Iowa City.&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;div id="ixg8TI"&gt;
  123. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  124. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Due to the recent coaching change at Drake University, I’ve decided to release my NLI and follow Coach McCollum and staff to the University of Iowa! &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/wfordbball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@wfordbball&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WfordEagles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@WfordEagles&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BrystonWilliam3?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@BrystonWilliam3&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/IowaHoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@IowaHoops&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/xHm5LZjxWH"&gt;pic.twitter.com/xHm5LZjxWH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Tate Sage (@TateSage2) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TateSage2/status/1917686641612763141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 30, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  125. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  126. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  127.  
  128. &lt;/div&gt;
  129. &lt;p id="1hmPWW"&gt;Sage is an unrated prospect according to the recruiting industrial complex. Essentially a total unknown from a town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere. But we’re Hawkeye fans and know great athletes can come from anywhere - Cooper DeJean was stunting on fools on the basketball court, football field, track, etc. as a high schooler from a town which wasn’t even 1,000 people.&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;p id="CkwW1C"&gt;Even so, he does appear to have the skillset of someone who shouldn’t have been that under-the-radar.&lt;/p&gt;
  131. &lt;div id="Attj3V"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15004839/661c94a12078f565cd07e701" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  132. &lt;p id="qcTnFF"&gt;What immediately jumps out is that he moves well for his size and dunks easy. He’s a fluid shooter (can’t miss!) and runs the floor well to the spots you’d want to see somebody going in transition. The shots are catch and shoot, catch and reset, and off the bounce. Nice passer, too.&lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="Yk7Q2M"&gt;This isn’t a one-for-one comp but I think there’s a chance we look at him similarly to how we viewed Aaron White: “how didn’t anyone else find this guy?”&lt;/p&gt;
  134. &lt;p id="S8A4r9"&gt;Anyways, he’s &lt;a href="https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/basketball-men/2025/05/01/iowa-basketball-tate-sage-ben-mccollum-drake-hawkeyes/83121648007/"&gt;coming to Iowa sight unseen&lt;/a&gt; because he’s that dedicated to McCollum and his competitiveness, demonstrated on the pickleball court during his Drake visit. His doubles partner was his twin brother and D-II Pitt State commit, Ethan.&lt;/p&gt;
  135. &lt;p id="iQJ4Uz"&gt;Let’s get onto some roster thoughts: For a refresher, here’s where it stands:&lt;/p&gt;
  136. &lt;div id="BroAZa"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="table:12588863"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  137. &lt;p id="SN0ic0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Net talent is no worse than who &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;could &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;have returned&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;p id="htaUHS"&gt;If you’re like me and have been cautiously optimistic about the roster overhaul, here’s some reason to start ramping that up. The five highest rated outgoing contributors Josh Dix, Owen Freeman, Pryce Sandfort, Ladji Dembele &amp;amp; Bryce Harding are ranked 16, 26, 156, 238, &amp;amp; 318 &lt;a href="https://www.on3.com/college/iowa-hawkeyes/basketball/2025/industry-comparison-transfers/"&gt;according to On3&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  139. &lt;p id="L1BDO4"&gt;Comparatively, Bennett Stirtz, Alvaro Folgueiras, Brendan Hausen, Cam Manyawu, and Tavion Banks are 2, 35, 71, 220, and 291. Sure, there’s a world where the roster is “trading” only Harding and Dembele for Stirtz and Manyawu but that’s simply not the nature of a coaching change. McCollum has done very well to leverage his current relationships to bring in guys who would help many teams...not just the Drake Bulldogs masquerading in Black &amp;amp; Gold.&lt;/p&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="ekh96g"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Iowa has positional size&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  141. &lt;p id="SmO1Ix"&gt;This is a kind way of saying that Iowa does not have much beef in the interior but make up for it with height &amp;amp; length at guard/wing. There’s nobody on the roster shorter than 6’4” and that can go a long way in terms of making teams work to get into their offense and prevent Iowa’s big men from being taken advantage of.&lt;/p&gt;
  142. &lt;p id="2canxo"&gt;The pairing of Folgueiras &amp;amp; Manyawu is also intriguing as hell. While Manyawu does not have substantial height, he has the beef to soak up Big Ten centers like Dembele did, also at 6’8”. This will allow Folgueiras to defend slighter power forwards and aid the defense as a backside rim protector. Offensively, Manyawu can occupy the interior while Folgueiras uses his multi-dimensional game to play outside-in.&lt;/p&gt;
  143. &lt;p id="WR6sEs"&gt;Banks &amp;amp; Koch figure to be backups to those two but McCollum is also hoping freshman Trevin Jirak “&lt;a href="https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/basketball-men/2025/04/30/iowa-basketball-roster-coach-ben-mccollum-hawkeyes/83272442007/"&gt;can get adjusted to this level quickly&lt;/a&gt;.” But the Iowa head coach did not seem to concerned with the roster makeup, stating that he’s focused on position-less basketball (outside of point guard) with guys who can dribble, pass, and shoot. (that felt like a McCaffery quote) &lt;/p&gt;
  144. &lt;p id="ML3AGr"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;There seems to be enough shooting on the roster&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  145. &lt;p id="RPTC3T"&gt;Stirtz, Hausen, &amp;amp; Folgueiras were all high volume shooters around 40%. Koch has that ability. Can the right bench guys emerge? McCollum is known for developing shooters so if Kael Combs or Isaia Howard can turn into a 15-20 minute/game microwave that will provide a depth this roster appears to lack.&lt;/p&gt;
  146. &lt;p id="NqCTGz"&gt;And that’s really what it comes down to: this team has the makings among the top 3-5 players and those guys will drive the overall success of this team. How development comes along and fit with each other and within McCollum’s system will help determine whether Iowa can handle the ebbs and flows of a Big Ten season which will be full of them.&lt;/p&gt;
  147.  
  148. </content>
  149.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/5/2/24422075/iowa-hawkeyes-basketball-former-drake-commit-follows-ben-mccollum-tate-sage-bhgp"/>
  150.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/5/2/24422075/iowa-hawkeyes-basketball-former-drake-commit-follows-ben-mccollum-tate-sage-bhgp</id>
  151.    <author>
  152.      <name>BoilerHawk</name>
  153.    </author>
  154.  </entry>
  155.  <entry>
  156.    <published>2025-04-29T15:39:36-05:00</published>
  157.    <updated>2025-04-29T15:39:36-05:00</updated>
  158.    <title>Iowa Baseball: This is Getting Ridiculous (ly) Fun</title>
  159.    <content type="html">  
  160.  
  161.    &lt;figure&gt;
  162.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Idmj2yqVttRGn8gp3plDAXJnfQo=/0x0:4096x2731/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74056351/bbhawks.0.jpg" /&gt;
  163.        &lt;figcaption&gt;You get a win! You get a win! You get a win!&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  164.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  165.  
  166.  &lt;p&gt;The Hawkeye Train Keeps on Chuggin’&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2 id="wmd8of"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hawkeyes Sweep Hoosiers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  167. &lt;p id="jnjq4h"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 1: Friday Night Nail-Biter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  168. &lt;p id="WIyvWL"&gt; Iowa opened the series with a hard-fought 2-1 win over &lt;strong&gt;Indiana &lt;/strong&gt;in 10 innings. Big Fella &lt;strong&gt;Blake Guerin&lt;/strong&gt; played small ball and laid down a clutch bunt to bring home the winning run — a strong reminder of his skill at the plate. Pitchers &lt;strong&gt;Cade Obermueller&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;Brant Hogue&lt;/strong&gt;, and &lt;strong&gt;Anthony Watts&lt;/strong&gt; combined to shut down Indiana’s offense, keeping the Hawkeyes in the game despite leaving 10 runners on base. It wasn’t easy, but Iowa found a way to finish strong.&lt;/p&gt;
  169. &lt;p id="bjlR2r"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 2: Saturday Statement Win&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  170. &lt;p id="NPvNZG"&gt; The Hawkeyes turned up the pressure on Saturday, defeating Indiana 13-2 in seven innings. Freshman &lt;strong&gt;Jaixen Frost&lt;/strong&gt; jump-started the offense with a two-run homer, while &lt;strong&gt;Ben Wilmes &lt;/strong&gt;capped the day with a grand slam that secured the early ending.&lt;/p&gt;
  171. &lt;div id="FPxviX"&gt;
  172. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  173. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anotha one  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/S9g2VgMLOP"&gt;pic.twitter.com/S9g2VgMLOP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1916581888174551055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  174. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  175. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  176.  
  177. &lt;/div&gt;
  178. &lt;p id="EekpMP"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Aaron Savary &lt;/strong&gt;was steady on the mound, allowing just two runs across nearly seven innings. With the win, Iowa clinched the series and continued its strong run through Big Ten play.&lt;/p&gt;
  179. &lt;p id="JQBUSa"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 3: Sunday Series Sweep&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  180. &lt;p id="5nDzlU"&gt; Iowa completed the sweep with a 10-0 shutout on Sunday, winning in seven innings for the second straight day.&lt;strong&gt; Andy Nelson&lt;/strong&gt; powered the offense with two home runs, while &lt;strong&gt;Gable Mitchell&lt;/strong&gt; added a three-run shot.&lt;strong&gt; Reece Beuter &lt;/strong&gt;dominated on the mound, striking out seven and allowing just three hits. Indiana’s offense struggled to find momentum, and Iowa sent fans home early with another impressive all-around performance. &lt;/p&gt;
  181. &lt;div id="14czxr"&gt;
  182. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  183. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;These guys are pretty special.&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/2hvVciUxLs"&gt;pic.twitter.com/2hvVciUxLs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1917242269339443394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 29, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  184. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  185. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  186.  
  187. &lt;/div&gt;
  188. &lt;h3 id="94V34m"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hawkeyes In First Place (B1G)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  189. &lt;p id="YC8C3U"&gt;Iowa has taken a commanding lead in the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes are 20-4 (.833) in conference this year. &lt;strong&gt;UCLA&lt;/strong&gt; is 16-5 (.762). The Hawkeyes play at fifth-place &lt;strong&gt;Washington&lt;/strong&gt; this weekend. The Hawkeyes are 31-12 overall. Washington is 25-21. &lt;/p&gt;
  190. &lt;h3 id="BdCivu"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Iowa Dominates the B1G Statistically&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  191. &lt;p id="HIU2XQ"&gt;There are times when stats can be misleading. This is not one of those times. The first place Hawkeyes are dominating when it comes to statistics. The Hawkeyes rank first in six of nine major categories [batting average, home runs, RBI, runs scored, hits, stolen bases, ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched)]. The only three categories in which the Hawks don’t lead the conference are home runs, runs scored, and stolen bases. Iowa is second in runs scored. &lt;/p&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="QoQpWo"&gt;Individually, &lt;strong&gt;Cade Obermueller &lt;/strong&gt;leads the conference in ERA (2.42), and Iowa’s other two starting pitchers, &lt;strong&gt;Reece Beuter &lt;/strong&gt;(3.54) and &lt;strong&gt;Aaron Savary&lt;/strong&gt; (3.56), rank in the top six. &lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;p id="MZqELQ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Gable Mitchell &lt;/strong&gt;is tenth in the league in batting average (.352). &lt;/p&gt;
  194. &lt;h3 id="lFPAiR"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;On Deck: Illinois State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  195. &lt;p id="Dc0QEl"&gt;The Hawkeyes host&lt;strong&gt; Illinois State&lt;/strong&gt; on Tuesday, April 29. The 6 pm game can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network and seen on B1G+. The Hawks have stumbled in a few of these mid-week games. It will be important to start strong and dispatch those pesky Redbirds before they make a mess of Duane Banks (and our RPI). I’m still a little salty the Hawks lost 10-8 to these fake Cardinals on March 25.&lt;/p&gt;
  196. &lt;h3 id="cejONl"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In the Hole: Washington Huskies&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  197. &lt;p id="r60BQd"&gt;The Hawkeyes head west to Seattle, Washington, to take on the Huskies. &lt;/p&gt;
  198. &lt;p id="2QM9KS"&gt;Friday, May 2nd  -  9pm HRN and B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  199. &lt;p id="YkJtZp"&gt;Saturday, May 3rd  -  9pm HRN and B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  200. &lt;p id="jJZ4w1"&gt;Sunday, May 4th  -  1:35pm HRN and B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  201. &lt;p id="qrtlBR"&gt;The Iowa Hawkeyes and &lt;strong&gt;Washington Huskies&lt;/strong&gt; bring two different styles to the field heading into their matchup. Offensively, Iowa has been one of the more consistent teams in the country, posting a strong .311 team batting average and showing good power with 59 home runs. Washington, while still dangerous at the plate with a .279 average and 50 home runs, relies more heavily on individual standout performances from hitters like&lt;strong&gt; Casen Taggart&lt;/strong&gt; (.362) and &lt;strong&gt;AJ Guerrero&lt;/strong&gt; (.343). On the mound, Iowa holds a clear edge with a team ERA of 3.61, showcasing depth and control throughout its pitching staff. Washington’s pitching, meanwhile, has been more up-and-down, carrying a 5.06 ERA and allowing more traffic on the bases. Defensively, both teams are sound, with Washington slightly edging Iowa in fielding percentage (.977 to .971). Iowa’s balance across all phases — hitting, pitching, and defense — sets them up as the more complete team. Meanwhile, Washington’s path to success will likely depend on timely hitting and finding ways to limit Iowa’s high-powered offense.&lt;/p&gt;
  202. &lt;h2 id="SspT6Q"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Heller’s Hawks Hope to Finish Strong&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  203. &lt;p id="SMEaiM"&gt;Including this weekend’s series against Washington, the Hawkeyes have a series against Oregon State, in Des Moines, and Oregon. After that, the Hawks head to the Big Ten Tournament May 20-25. &lt;/p&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="iZ8wiu"&gt;Division 1 baseball is an interesting beast. Indeed, the teams from the South have numerous advantages. Proximity to other “baseball” schools is vital for mid-week games. Iowa is penalized for playing smaller programs like Illinois State, &lt;strong&gt;St. Thomas&lt;/strong&gt;, and &lt;strong&gt;Bradley&lt;/strong&gt; (no offense). Both D1 Baseball and Baseball America have Iowa projected as one of the “Last Four In” for the Field of 64 for postseason baseball. The Hawkeyes don’t want to put their fate in someone else’s hands. Time to make hay and get it in the barn. &lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;h4 id="LnXl1U"&gt;What is RPI, and how is it Determined?&lt;/h4&gt;
  206. &lt;p id="7yWaPv"&gt;In Division 1 college baseball, RPI ranks teams by factoring in their winning percentage (25%), their opponents’ winning percentage (50%), and their opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (25%). It emphasizes strength of schedule over just record, rewarding teams for beating strong opponents. Road wins are weighted more, and home losses are penalized to account for home-field advantage. The Hawkeyes (RPI #60) will face two more teams in the regular season that have outstanding RPI rankings (Oregon St. #12) and (Oregon #36). &lt;/p&gt;
  207. &lt;p id="nsSu76"&gt;As always, it’s great to be a Hawkeye! Go Hawks!&lt;/p&gt;
  208. &lt;p id="GAj5Xj"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  209.  
  210. </content>
  211.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/29/24420357/iowa-hawkeyes-baseball-this-is-getting-ridiculous-ly-fun-rick-heller-cade-obermueller-bhgp"/>
  212.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/29/24420357/iowa-hawkeyes-baseball-this-is-getting-ridiculous-ly-fun-rick-heller-cade-obermueller-bhgp</id>
  213.    <author>
  214.      <name>Bartt Pierce</name>
  215.    </author>
  216.  </entry>
  217.  <entry>
  218.    <published>2025-04-29T10:00:00-05:00</published>
  219.    <updated>2025-04-29T10:00:00-05:00</updated>
  220.    <title>NFL Draft Recap - The Draft Picks</title>
  221.    <content type="html">  
  222.  
  223.    &lt;figure&gt;
  224.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: Iowa City Press-Citizen" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RRQu8avuxYt6kvGglIkgbvefRD4=/8x0:4400x2928/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74055698/usa_today_25078410.0.jpg" /&gt;
  225.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  226.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  227.  
  228.  &lt;p id="iBQuq3"&gt;It was a busy Saturday for former Hawks, as the NFL Draft concluded after three days of drama and hysteria in Green Bay. &lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;p id="bMBmWM"&gt;In total, five players saw their NFL dreams come true as Kaleb Johnson, Yahya Black, Mitch Richman, Connor Colby, and Luke Lachey were selected between rounds three and seven.&lt;/p&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="d4VC44"&gt;We’ll start with Johnson, the earliest pick of the extravaganza for the Hawkeyes. Johnson went 83rd overall to Pittsburgh. The Steelers were in need of a running back and they got Johnson, who should be a great fit. Johnson slid some, but this is a great landing spot.&lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;div id="7iBcM3"&gt;
  232. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  233. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Steel City, you just got an absolute STUD  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Kj_Superman2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@Kj_Superman2&lt;/a&gt; ➡️ &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/steelers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@steelers&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLHawks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NFLHawks&lt;/a&gt; x &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLDraft?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NFLDraft&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/ksUrENaXeX"&gt;pic.twitter.com/ksUrENaXeX&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/HawkeyeFootball/status/1915958422597419193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  234. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  235. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  236.  
  237. &lt;/div&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="zsE5nH"&gt;Watch that play, one more time. Or a few more times. You’ll be glad you watched it a few more times!&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="l3qQ4B"&gt;The Steelers went Big Ten-heavy in their draft, picking multiple players from Ohio State, two west coast prospects from Oregon and UCLA, and oh yeah, they also added Johnson’s former teammate in Yahya Black. Black was picked in the fifth round at 164th overall, so Black and Johnson will stay in black and gold in Pittsburgh. We mentioned numerous times that he had a so-so Combine, but Black pulled it out of the fire and slowly climbed draft boards. The Athletic’s full mock draft from Dane Brugler had him at 165 to Philadelphia. Really, really close from Brugler on that pick.&lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;div id="rc6VNf"&gt;
  241. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  242. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Tape speaks for itself.&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/steelers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@steelers&lt;/a&gt; you're gonna love our guy &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Yblack74?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@Yblack74&lt;/a&gt;‼️&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLHawks?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NFLHawks&lt;/a&gt; x &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLDraft?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NFLDraft&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/Lq53jodUwH"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Lq53jodUwH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/HawkeyeFootball/status/1916214056790221103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  243. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  244. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  245.  
  246. &lt;/div&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="2tYp1h"&gt;A surprise pick was Mason Richman, going 234th overall (seventh round) to Seattle. I really didn’t see that one coming, as Richman wasn’t among those expected to be drafted. He was always a sound player with the Hawks, but it’s a bit of a surprise that he was drafted. His durability is a huge plus - he started 52 games at Iowa, including 43 consecutively.&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;div id="3oFLj4"&gt;
  249. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  250. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Adding to the line. With the 234th pick, we've selected G Mason Richman!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/HawkeyeFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@HawkeyeFootball&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/lumentechco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@lumentechco&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/SJTmdVBZmD"&gt;pic.twitter.com/SJTmdVBZmD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1916255087938441578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  251. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  252. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  253.  
  254. &lt;/div&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="UEry7Q"&gt;15 picks later was Connor Colby, at 249 overall to San Francisco. This one is also slightly surprising, as he was scoring roughly the same as Richman was on scouting sites (NFL.com had both Richman and Colby as back of the roster/practice squad players.) Like Richman, Colby is also incredibly durable, as he racked up 50 starts at Iowa. He heads to San Francisco and will join former Hawk and now &lt;a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44915439/49ers-te-george-kittle-says-signed-4-year-764m-extension"&gt;really, really rich&lt;/a&gt; tight end George Kittle. &lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;div id="IALpcb"&gt;
  257. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  258. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Giving the people what they want   &lt;a href="https://t.co/jIITb3tGPN"&gt;pic.twitter.com/jIITb3tGPN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1916263817472053258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 26, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  259. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  260. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  261.  
  262. &lt;/div&gt;
  263. &lt;p id="xK82We"&gt;Last was Luke Lachey, at 255th overall to Houston. This was the third-to-last pick of the draft. Lachey caught four touchdowns his sophomore year in 2022 and looked destined for a huge 2023, but his junior year was cut short due to a bad leg injury against Western Michigan and he never got back to the levels of his sophomore year. Regardless, he joins the Texans as Iowa’s final pick in the draft.&lt;/p&gt;
  264. &lt;div id="74NVLY"&gt;
  265. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  266. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Luke Lachey coming to you live   &lt;a href="https://t.co/lQ34znzsno"&gt;pic.twitter.com/lQ34znzsno&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1916326508433444952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  267. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  268. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  269.  
  270. &lt;/div&gt;
  271. &lt;p id="kwyMQc"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  272.  
  273. </content>
  274.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/29/24419477/nfl-draft-recap-the-draft-picks"/>
  275.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/29/24419477/nfl-draft-recap-the-draft-picks</id>
  276.    <author>
  277.      <name>SirNicholas33</name>
  278.    </author>
  279.  </entry>
  280.  <entry>
  281.    <published>2025-04-25T08:04:51-05:00</published>
  282.    <updated>2025-04-25T08:04:51-05:00</updated>
  283.    <title>Prospect Preview: Jay Higgins</title>
  284.    <content type="html">  
  285.  
  286.    &lt;figure&gt;
  287.      &lt;img alt="Iowa Hawkeyes v Maryland Terrapins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OMnntqWEFuJf6BOeV8H_8maZsCo=/0x0:4310x2873/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74045212/2195097137.0.jpg" /&gt;
  288.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  289.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  290.  
  291.  &lt;p&gt;Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to let go.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="zKNPyF"&gt; What can be said about the illustrious Jay Higgins that hasn’t been said already? A program guy who spent his entire career with Iowa, a massive threat to any offense in all of College Football, a stand up player and person beloved by fans and teammates alike. Kirk Ferentz said of Jay this year, “Jay is, as you well know, a tremendous person, excellent leader, and obviously a good football player.” So, Jay Higgins has earned the full respect and commendation of his teammates, his coach, and the Iowa faithful. Who else does he have to prove himself to?&lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;p id="mgPzsO"&gt; In short: the scouts. &lt;/p&gt;
  293. &lt;p id="w0mGaT"&gt; Jay Higgins did not have a good combine. That’s the simple truth. But after an impressive pro-day, Higgins is still primed to be taken by an NFL team come the draft on Thursday. So, these questions arise: Who is going to get the biggest steal of the draft, and why would they draft him?&lt;/p&gt;
  294. &lt;p id="2vvQIL"&gt; Who is harder to predict, but as for the why? The writing is on the wall. Make no mistake, any NFL team that does not take Higgins in this draft regardless of the depth at MLB walks away from Lambeau without having truly unlocked their full potential. 31 teams leave Wisconsin without Higgins on roster. The 32nd will have won the draft. &lt;/p&gt;
  295. &lt;p id="VR8Peb"&gt; Of course, it takes some courage to say such strong words about an average-rated MLB. To say something so brash, so confident, one must have the proof to back it up. And, if anything said here is even remotely true, Jay Higgins can walk the walk. &lt;/p&gt;
  296. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="tJAZYp"&gt;
  297. &lt;h2 id="aBVfxL"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Stats&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  298. &lt;h3 id="2cdcQc"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2024&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  299. &lt;p id="nUVSG7"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-53 Solo Tackles&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="D20sSm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-1 Sack&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="TmasAv"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-2 Forced Fumbles&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  302. &lt;p id="v06tj6"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-4 (yes, 4) Interceptions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  303. &lt;p id="r3IxxE"&gt;Jay is currently the 17th ranked Linebacker in this year’s class, but fret not, numbers are in fact deceiving. Despite poor measurables, scouts note his football IQ, great strength in coverage, and more importantly, his high floor. With the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl-draft"&gt;NFL draft&lt;/a&gt; being as boom or bust as it is, teams are always looking for plug and play starters or backups who might not have a Ray Lewis, Luke Kuechly ceiling, but have a floor akin to maybe a CJ Moseley or Jack Campbell. &lt;/p&gt;
  304. &lt;p id="axyboq"&gt;Beyond the scouting reports, Higgins has a long highlight reel of tape coaches are sure to fall in love with. Five years of CFB experience, for three of which he was a certified starter? Already enough tape to give Jon Gruden the night of his life. The strength of Higgins’ tape isn’t it’s quantity, however, it is it’s quality. Higgins has some of the best defensive highlights I’ve ever seen at the college level, and I am excited to watch them back again and again so, years down the line when I’m raising my own little Hawkeyes, I can plop them down in front of the holographic TV and show them The Man in the Middle’s own highlight reel. &lt;/p&gt;
  305. &lt;p id="G92cBL"&gt;Forced fumbles, sacks, safeties, interceptions, you name a defensive stat and Higgins has his own highlight for it. A major part of Higgins’ game is his IQ, built from years of experience and direct coaching from Phil Parker. Higgins’ vision is, frankly, astonishing. His ability to diagnose the offense and adjust his secondary is amazing, and something that GMs will have marked down on their boards come Thursday night. &lt;/p&gt;
  306. &lt;h2 id="Qhw5vB"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Predictions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  307. &lt;p id="2AwV1T"&gt;After his combine performance, Higgins’ draft stock did take a major hit. His consensus 4th round grade fell down to around a 6 or a 7. From a handful of mocks, it seems that Higgins is expected to be picked up in the 6th round to either the &lt;a href="https://www.silverandblackpride.com/"&gt;Las Vegas Raiders&lt;/a&gt; or the &lt;a href="https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/"&gt;Los Angeles Chargers&lt;/a&gt;, both of whom are in desperate need of a linebacker. Both the Raiders and the Chargers are expected to make vast improvements in their offense next season, so at the very least, Higgins won’t have to lead a defense without any support on the other side of the ball.&lt;/p&gt;
  308. &lt;p id="0lwfDf"&gt;Personally, I think Higgins will likely go a little earlier, potentially in the late 5th round. A lot of teams need a strong MLB, and Higgins’ ability to reliably start in his first year is something most teams are likely going to scramble for. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go to the &lt;a href="https://www.revengeofthebirds.com/"&gt;Arizona Cardinals&lt;/a&gt; in the 5th. They’re picking at 152 this year, and it’d be a good move to grab a reliable player like Higgins to compliment Josh Sweat. &lt;/p&gt;
  309. &lt;p id="Y8YtLz"&gt;It won’t be easy to watch Jay Higgins officially leave the &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com"&gt;Iowa Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; and seek out his fortune with the pros, but as the Iowa faithful gather round to tune in to Thursday’s NFL draft, we should all be proud to see Jay Higgins fly the coop.&lt;/p&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="tGQznz"&gt;As always,&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;h2 id="aRTTCv"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GO HAWKS!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  312.  
  313. </content>
  314.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/25/24415989/iowa-hawkeye-footblal-nfldraft-prospect-preview-jay-higgins-bhgp"/>
  315.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/25/24415989/iowa-hawkeye-footblal-nfldraft-prospect-preview-jay-higgins-bhgp</id>
  316.    <author>
  317.      <name>GlendaleHawkjr</name>
  318.    </author>
  319.  </entry>
  320.  <entry>
  321.    <published>2025-04-24T17:09:59-05:00</published>
  322.    <updated>2025-04-24T17:09:59-05:00</updated>
  323.    <title>NFL Draft: How to Watch + Open Thread</title>
  324.    <content type="html">  
  325.  
  326.    &lt;figure&gt;
  327.      &lt;img alt="NFL: NFL Draft-Green Bay City Scenes" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cBRshjpvhXNVRWFJcBzqAtg-X5g=/0x0:8001x5334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74043529/usa_today_26000862.0.jpg" /&gt;
  328.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kirby Lee-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  329.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  330.  
  331.  &lt;p&gt;There are a few Hawkeyes who will hear their names called this weekend.  Will any be called in round one?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="RAVwvL"&gt;Draft day is officially here!  &lt;/p&gt;
  332. &lt;p id="dvliP9"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl-draft"&gt;NFL Draft&lt;/a&gt; kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT on this evening, Thursday the 24th.  The draft will be held live at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  For those of you not planning to venture into enemy territory and watch in person, the festivities will be broadcast on NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC over the course of the weekend.&lt;/p&gt;
  333. &lt;p id="ED8IVx"&gt;No Hawkeyes are expected to go tonight with &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/23/24414524/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-prospect-preview-kaleb-superman-johnson-player-profile-bhgp"&gt;RB Kaleb Johnson likely to be the first off the board&lt;/a&gt; in the late second or early third round.  Those will be held on Friday, April 25th with rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 26th.  You can read our &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/22/24413640/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-preview-mock-kaleb-johnson-yahya-black-luke-lachey-bhgp"&gt;full analysis of Hawkeye prospects expected to be selected in this weekend’s draft here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  334. &lt;p id="P1PNnO"&gt;Here’s a look at the full schedule of events and how to watch.&lt;/p&gt;
  335. &lt;ul&gt;
  336. &lt;li id="wcpVfH"&gt;
  337. &lt;strong&gt;Round 1: Thursday, April 24:&lt;/strong&gt; NFL Network, ESPN, ABC &lt;/li&gt;
  338. &lt;li id="TVOkOn"&gt;
  339. &lt;strong&gt;Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 25:&lt;/strong&gt; NFL Network, ESPN2, ABC &lt;/li&gt;
  340. &lt;li id="gPZtgD"&gt;
  341. &lt;strong&gt;Rounds 4-7: Saturday, April 26:&lt;/strong&gt; NFL Network, ESPN, ABC&lt;/li&gt;
  342. &lt;/ul&gt;
  343. &lt;p id="er38IT"&gt;As for tonight, here’s a look at the order for the first round.&lt;/p&gt;
  344. &lt;h2 id="xVmgUO"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2025 NFL Draft 1stRound Order&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  345. &lt;ol&gt;
  346. &lt;li id="1tlQcC"&gt;
  347. &lt;a href="https://www.musiccitymiracles.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tennessee Titans&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 3-14&lt;/li&gt;
  348. &lt;li id="7J3RfL"&gt;
  349. &lt;a href="https://www.dawgsbynature.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cleveland Browns&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 3-14&lt;/li&gt;
  350. &lt;li id="pirlUN"&gt;
  351. &lt;a href="https://www.bigblueview.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New York Giants&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 3-14&lt;/li&gt;
  352. &lt;li id="S9FWWq"&gt;
  353. &lt;a href="https://www.patspulpit.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New England Patriots&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 4-13&lt;/li&gt;
  354. &lt;li id="52IdqN"&gt;
  355. &lt;a href="https://www.bigcatcountry.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jacksonville Jaguars&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 4-13&lt;/li&gt;
  356. &lt;li id="o7TDqo"&gt;
  357. &lt;a href="https://www.silverandblackpride.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Las Vegas Raiders&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 4-13&lt;/li&gt;
  358. &lt;li id="LjlST8"&gt;
  359. &lt;a href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New York Jets&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 5-12&lt;/li&gt;
  360. &lt;li id="Z8ZlnG"&gt;
  361. &lt;a href="https://www.catscratchreader.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Carolina Panthers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 5-12&lt;/li&gt;
  362. &lt;li id="yZEHvN"&gt;
  363. &lt;a href="https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Orleans Saints&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 5-12&lt;/li&gt;
  364. &lt;li id="AsvNA7"&gt;
  365. &lt;a href="https://www.windycitygridiron.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chicago Bears&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 5-12&lt;/li&gt;
  366. &lt;li id="Gm9YRH"&gt;
  367. &lt;a href="https://www.ninersnation.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;San Francisco 49ers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 6-11&lt;/li&gt;
  368. &lt;li id="MgxFDf"&gt;
  369. &lt;a href="https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dallas Cowboys&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 7-10&lt;/li&gt;
  370. &lt;li id="PnwVs6"&gt;
  371. &lt;a href="https://www.thephinsider.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Miami&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Dolphins&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 8-9&lt;/li&gt;
  372. &lt;li id="oY2M3V"&gt;
  373. &lt;a href="https://www.stampedeblue.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Indianapolis Colts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 8-9&lt;/li&gt;
  374. &lt;li id="UCcmPs"&gt;
  375. &lt;a href="https://www.thefalcoholic.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Atlanta Falcons&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 8-9&lt;/li&gt;
  376. &lt;li id="5RmehE"&gt;
  377. &lt;a href="https://www.revengeofthebirds.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arizona Cardinals&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 8-9&lt;/li&gt;
  378. &lt;li id="bePTub"&gt;
  379. &lt;a href="https://www.cincyjungle.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cincinnati Bengals&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 9-8&lt;/li&gt;
  380. &lt;li id="H0xPdJ"&gt;
  381. &lt;a href="https://www.fieldgulls.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Seattle Seahawks&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  382. &lt;li id="ApMfBR"&gt;
  383. &lt;a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tampa Bay Buccaneers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  384. &lt;li id="SYK4t5"&gt;
  385. &lt;a href="https://www.milehighreport.com"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Denver Broncos&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  386. &lt;li id="RK4uiD"&gt;
  387. &lt;a href="https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pittsburgh Steelers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  388. &lt;li id="K2OPLU"&gt;
  389. &lt;a href="https://www.boltsfromtheblue.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Los Angeles Chargers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 11-6&lt;/li&gt;
  390. &lt;li id="PaVhWm"&gt;
  391. &lt;a href="https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Green Bay Packers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 11-6&lt;/li&gt;
  392. &lt;li id="kvwDlz"&gt;
  393. &lt;a href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota Vikings&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 14-3&lt;/li&gt;
  394. &lt;li id="4EXzVe"&gt;
  395. &lt;a href="https://www.battleredblog.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Houston Texans&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  396. &lt;li id="ZHDsbq"&gt;
  397. &lt;a href="https://www.turfshowtimes.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Los Angeles Rams&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 10-7&lt;/li&gt;
  398. &lt;li id="1PHQoQ"&gt;
  399. &lt;a href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Baltimore Ravens&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 12-5&lt;/li&gt;
  400. &lt;li id="pxzrz7"&gt;
  401. &lt;a href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Detroit Lions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;,&lt;/strong&gt; 15-2&lt;/li&gt;
  402. &lt;li id="d5tHM6"&gt;
  403. &lt;a href="https://www.hogshaven.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Washington Commanders&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 12-5&lt;/li&gt;
  404. &lt;li id="QYzmXb"&gt;
  405. &lt;a href="https://www.buffalorumblings.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Buffalo Bills&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 13-4&lt;/li&gt;
  406. &lt;li id="8FbrPf"&gt;
  407. &lt;a href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kansas City Chiefs&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 15-2&lt;/li&gt;
  408. &lt;li id="RWRzO1"&gt;
  409. &lt;a href="https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Philadelphia Eagles&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, 14-3&lt;/li&gt;
  410. &lt;/ol&gt;
  411. &lt;p id="bGUt6R"&gt;In round one, all eyes will be on the first handful of picks where we could see Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty taken very early.  We’re also expecting to see several QBs taken in the top ten picks.  &lt;/p&gt;
  412. &lt;p id="ymiSG8"&gt;In &lt;a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/ncaab"&gt;this week’s FanDuel Reacts poll&lt;/a&gt;, SB Nation asked the community which QB they think will have the most NFL success. &lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  414.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qg6ha1oo1zOVfkeFaP_iWr4rlgk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25966986/_National_3_42225.png"&gt;
  415.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  416. &lt;p id="0BBDYR"&gt;Looking forward to seeing one of Tim Lester’s Iowa QBs on that list in the near future.&lt;/p&gt;
  417. &lt;p id="dvVM19"&gt;The other notable question of the week was in regard to draft picks by conference.  Not a shocker the SEC came out on top at 53% of the vote.&lt;/p&gt;
  418. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  419.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0vOhffZFkB538kYQRmcrmGJxt8s=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25966984/_National_1_42225.png"&gt;
  420.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  421. &lt;p id="8yZUhI"&gt;It is interesting how few votes the conferences outside the Big Ten and SEC got and that gap is likely to widen in coming years.&lt;/p&gt;
  422. &lt;p id="BFu5Ih"&gt;Enjoy the opening round of the draft tonight.  Keep those eyes peeled on Friday for some Hawkeye names to be called.&lt;/p&gt;
  423. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Jb14Hb"&gt;
  424. &lt;p id="Ob9kqm"&gt;Brought to you by FanDuel.&lt;/p&gt;
  425. &lt;p id="PG4bzR"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  426. &lt;p id="u2DW2G"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  427.  
  428. </content>
  429.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24415625/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-how-to-watch-first-round-order-fanduel-conference-quarterback-bhgp"/>
  430.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24415625/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-how-to-watch-first-round-order-fanduel-conference-quarterback-bhgp</id>
  431.    <author>
  432.      <name>JPinIC</name>
  433.    </author>
  434.  </entry>
  435.  <entry>
  436.    <published>2025-04-24T11:13:03-05:00</published>
  437.    <updated>2025-04-24T11:13:03-05:00</updated>
  438.    <title>Prospect Preview: Yahya Black</title>
  439.    <content type="html">  
  440.  
  441.    &lt;figure&gt;
  442.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Football: Nebraska at Iowa" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ntPFNknzXBbsKf8NjWP04LQt6Z4=/0x0:5459x3639/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74042572/usa_today_24875146.0.jpg" /&gt;
  443.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  444.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  445.  
  446.  &lt;p id="f7dSv0"&gt;Unlike our &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/23/24414524/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-prospect-preview-kaleb-superman-johnson-player-profile-bhgp"&gt;Man of Steel&lt;/a&gt;, Yahya Black doesn’t have a ton of those mind-blowing plays Kaleb Johnson accumulated over three years in Iowa City. Of course not - Johnson is a running back, while Black is an enormous human playing defensive line. Guys like this don’t stand out aside from them being, well, massive guys that does a lot of the dirty work in the trenches. &lt;/p&gt;
  447. &lt;p id="Z1NhTi"&gt;But there IS a game in which Black painted his Picasso and had the standout play of his career that should be looked at as the best-case scenario as we enter the NFL Draft starting tonight in Green Bay.&lt;/p&gt;
  448. &lt;p id="do7pXk"&gt;Rewind to October 14, 2023. Iowa at Wisconsin. Wisconsin had largely handled the rivalry between the two in the 2010s, winning 7 of 8 games starting with the 2010 barn burner that I wish I could scrub from my memory. Iowa had turned the tide in 2020, lost the 2021 game in Madison, then won the 2022 matchup in Iowa City. Wisconsin went through a coaching change but were still the big dogs in the Big Ten West, averaging over 200 yards rushing per game going into the Iowa matchup and winning their first two league games by a combined 32 points.&lt;/p&gt;
  449. &lt;p id="AE6s7O"&gt;Enter Mr. Black.&lt;/p&gt;
  450. &lt;p id="6KG6KA"&gt;Wisconsin’s once-powerful rushing attack was held to an anemic 96 yards on 28 carries as Iowa danced away with consecutive wins over Wisconsin for the first time since 2008-2009 and their first win in Madison since 2015. Braelon Allen, someone who vultured a few touchdowns in the NFL last year, had just 87 yards rushing. &lt;/p&gt;
  451. &lt;p id="9kRiLk"&gt;Key to all of this was Mr. Black, eating up blocks left and right as Wisconsin tried in vain to overcome Iowa’s impenetrable 9-point advantage. Black turned into a wall on the defensive line, preventing Wisconsin from doing, well, anything in that game. &lt;/p&gt;
  452. &lt;p id="fC5uxM"&gt;And we &lt;em&gt;almost &lt;/em&gt;got a Big Man Touchdown, probably the most memorable play of Black’s career. With the Badgers trailing Iowa 10-6 early in the fourth quarter, Wisconsin was backed up near their own end zone facing a 3rd and 9 at their own 8. Iowa sent pressure from Sebastian Castro, but Castro missed Braedyn Locke for a sack and a safety. In steps Black, who owned his lineman at the point of attack with a bull rush and absolutely smoked Locke. Locke fumbled the ball, but the ball landed behind Black and was recovered by a Wisconsin lineman. &lt;em&gt;Thisclose&lt;/em&gt; to a Big Man Touchdown.&lt;/p&gt;
  453. &lt;div id="kXLUhA"&gt;
  454. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  455. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;What a hit from Yahya Black to force this ball loose for the Iowa safety    &lt;a href="https://t.co/L2mN5KY0wd"&gt;pic.twitter.com/L2mN5KY0wd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/CamMellor/status/1713327668546961660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 14, 2023&lt;/a&gt;
  456. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  457. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  458.  
  459. &lt;/div&gt;
  460. &lt;p id="nGRVWD"&gt;The 2-pointer put Iowa up 12-6 and they went into Boa Constrictor mode. Kirk Ferentz’s favorite mode. For the game, Black had 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, and the forced fumble for 2. He ate blocks all evening for Jay Higgins (13 tackles), Castro (7), and Nick Jackson (6). Nice night for Mr. Black...&lt;/p&gt;
  461. &lt;p id="K8NAej"&gt;Oh - Wisconsin is 6-9 in Big Ten play since that night.&lt;/p&gt;
  462. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="KkMs5w"&gt;
  463. &lt;h2 id="5ibJmK"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Stats&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  464. &lt;h3 id="UUDNhd"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2024&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  465. &lt;h4 id="8Jlm0f"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;- 34 tackles&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  466. &lt;h4 id="ZXX490"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-1 sack&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  467. &lt;h4 id="uKlJQs"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-1 forced fumble&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  468. &lt;h4 id="hXXUuw"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;-2 passes defended&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  469. &lt;p id="ZdJpYr"&gt;It wasn’t as productive a 2024 for Black as his 2023 campaign when he finished with 51 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 5 passes defended, and the forced fumble at Wisconsin. &lt;/p&gt;
  470. &lt;p id="KCC4lE"&gt;Still - Black had a nice season for an Iowa defense that was good, but not up to their recent standards in 2024. His one sack was, of course, against Wisconsin. Otherwise, Black was just a huge guy in the middle of the defense that ate blocks. He did this his entire career, eating blocks for Jack Campbell, Jay Higgins, and Nick Jackson, et al. &lt;/p&gt;
  471. &lt;p id="CNADwq"&gt;Immediately, Black’s measurables remind me of Carl Davis, a similarly huge guy that played defensive tackle for Iowa from 2011 to 2014 and has bounced around the NFL for nine seasons. Davis weighs in at 6-5, 332 pounds. Black’s &lt;a href="https://www.nfl.com/prospects/yahya-black/3200424c-4119-3035-bbe7-97ab87c61409"&gt;NFL.com&lt;/a&gt; page lists him at 6-6, 336 pounds. Basically the same fantastically big person. These guys eat up blocks and allow the guys behind them to make plays. Expect the same from Black. Not a glamorous job, not a position or assignment that’s going to register a ton of gaudy statistics, but important in keeping the linemen on the other side from getting to the second level. That’s what Black will do, and will do well.&lt;/p&gt;
  472. &lt;h2 id="d9qsY8"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Predictions&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  473. &lt;p id="AyyKfz"&gt;As I wrote in &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/22/24413640/iowa-hawkeye-football-nfl-draft-preview-mock-kaleb-johnson-yahya-black-luke-lachey-bhgp"&gt;Tuesday’s preview&lt;/a&gt;, Black seems to be one former Hawkeye that is rising on various draft boards despite an &lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/2/28/24374662/iowa-hawkeyes-nfl-draft-combine-jay-higgins-yahya-black-bhgp"&gt;iffy&lt;/a&gt; Combine showing. A few still have him later on day 3, with one site having him to one of the slew of Las Vegas’s picks at the back end of the sixth round/early in the seventh round. Others have him slowly moving up the draft. Dane Brugler has him going to Philadelphia at 165, which sounds like a fantastic place to land and some nice beef in the middle of that defensive line. Daniel Jeremiah has Black as his 150th-rated prospect in the draft. Pick 150 is Miami. Not a bad spot either, landing on a team that’s been in the playoffs two of the last three years and narrowly missed in 2020 and 2021. Pittsburgh is also a viable landing spot early in the sixth.&lt;/p&gt;
  474. &lt;p id="dDrXgD"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  475.  
  476. </content>
  477.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24414911/prospect-preview-yahya-black"/>
  478.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24414911/prospect-preview-yahya-black</id>
  479.    <author>
  480.      <name>SirNicholas33</name>
  481.    </author>
  482.  </entry>
  483.  <entry>
  484.    <published>2025-04-24T08:57:27-05:00</published>
  485.    <updated>2025-04-24T08:57:27-05:00</updated>
  486.    <title>Iowa Baseball: First Place Hawkeyes!</title>
  487.    <content type="html">  
  488.  
  489.    &lt;figure&gt;
  490.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/F6ZR_eGnNbzGSO_jV2VhXPkFAgI=/320x0:3776x2304/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74042119/HawksBB.0.jpg" /&gt;
  491.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Hawkeyes take sole possession of B1G lead&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  492.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  493.  
  494.  &lt;p&gt;The Hawkeyes sit alone atop the Big Ten.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 id="Qi4vMW"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hawkeyes Sweep Wolverines&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  495. &lt;p id="eyxgwf"&gt;The&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Iowa Hawkeyes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;went on the road to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and came home with another broom. The Hawks have been doing a great deal of cleaning up on the diamond this spring. &lt;/p&gt;
  496. &lt;p id="9IvcaJ"&gt;In game one, Iowa led early (3-0) but fell behind. Iowa’s bullpen threw zeros over the final five innings, and the Hawkeye offense did enough to get the win. &lt;strong&gt;Ben Wilmes&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Miles Risley &lt;/strong&gt;each went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in. &lt;strong&gt;Daniel Wright&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;Anthony Watts&lt;/strong&gt;, and &lt;strong&gt;Brant Hogue &lt;/strong&gt;combined to not allow a Wolverine to score. &lt;/p&gt;
  497. &lt;p id="5X8nyv"&gt;In game two, the Hawkeyes had solid pitching and clutch hitting. &lt;strong&gt;Aaron Savary&lt;/strong&gt; improved to 6-0 going seven innings, allowing one earned run, and striking out seven. &lt;strong&gt;Chas Wheatley &lt;/strong&gt;earned the save, throwing 1 &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;⁄&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; innings of scoreless ball and striking out three. &lt;strong&gt;Ben Swails &lt;/strong&gt;went 2-for-3 and scored a run. &lt;/p&gt;
  498. &lt;p id="DiIjCH"&gt;Game three saw another excellent start from &lt;strong&gt;Reece Beuter&lt;/strong&gt;. R-Beuts went six innings, allowed just one run, and threw eight strikeouts. &lt;/p&gt;
  499. &lt;div id="srCz1e"&gt;
  500. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  501. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Beuter ties a career-high with 8 Ks  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Hogue headed to the mound.&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/x2Ht9U4uB3"&gt;pic.twitter.com/x2Ht9U4uB3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1914035047671238757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 20, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  502. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  503. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  504.  
  505. &lt;/div&gt;
  506. &lt;p id="rQCfMK"&gt;This ballgame was tied in the eighth inning, but the Hawkeyes busted it open with four runs in the ninth. &lt;strong&gt;Miles Risley &lt;/strong&gt;went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Ris also played tremendous defense. &lt;/p&gt;
  507. &lt;div id="N87wKc"&gt;
  508. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  509. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;MITCH. WOOD.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;BASES CLEARING DOUBLE!!!&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/z46UEwtw9p"&gt;pic.twitter.com/z46UEwtw9p&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1914050949124940242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 20, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  510. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  511. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  512.  
  513. &lt;/div&gt;
  514. &lt;p id="6XObo0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mitch Wood &lt;/strong&gt;pinch hit and, with two strikes, cleared the bases. &lt;/p&gt;
  515. &lt;div id="iYjUt2"&gt;
  516. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  517. &lt;p lang="und" dir="ltr"&gt;RIS  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hawkeyes?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Hawkeyes&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/G6qdza3Xqa"&gt;pic.twitter.com/G6qdza3Xqa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Iowa Baseball (@UIBaseball) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UIBaseball/status/1914869292115415336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 23, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  518. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  519. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  520.  
  521. &lt;/div&gt;
  522. &lt;ul&gt;
  523. &lt;li id="RpOLfS"&gt;Iowa has seven straight Big Ten series wins&lt;/li&gt;
  524. &lt;li id="eJCAv0"&gt;This was Iowa’s third Big Ten sweep of the season&lt;/li&gt;
  525. &lt;li id="Tpgn33"&gt;The Hawks improve to 27-11 (17-4 in the B1G)&lt;/li&gt;
  526. &lt;/ul&gt;
  527. &lt;h3 id="mtCovo"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Two Hawkeyes Named to Midseason Watch Lists&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  528. &lt;p id="g9RXuV"&gt;Iowa’s &lt;strong&gt;Gable Mitchell &lt;/strong&gt;and &lt;strong&gt;Cade Obermueller&lt;/strong&gt; were named to two prestigious watch lists last week. Mitchell was named to the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, and Obermueller was named to the Pitcher of the Year Watch List. &lt;/p&gt;
  529. &lt;p id="mesawc"&gt;The Brooks Wallace Award goes to the nation’s best shortstop. Gable Mitchell is batting .351 with 30 RBI. He is fielding .946 and has 93 assists to lead the team. &lt;/p&gt;
  530. &lt;p id="LhHkOx"&gt;Hawkeye pitcher Cade Obermueller is 4-2 with an ERA of 2.50. In 57 &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;⁄&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; innings, Obe has 79 strikeouts, just 20 walks, and allows a paltry .202 against him. &lt;/p&gt;
  531. &lt;h3 id="CoPs9M"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hawkeyes Dropped a Mid-Week Game to Western Illinois&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  532. &lt;p id="nzyGu5"&gt;Iowa faced &lt;strong&gt;Western Illinois&lt;/strong&gt; on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Hawks fell 7-3. It has been interesting/concerning that the Hawkeyes are cruising in the Big Ten and playing inconsistent ball against non-B1G teams (“lesser” opponents) in midweek contests. Ultimately, that could be a problem come post-season. The Hawkeyes host &lt;strong&gt;St. Thomas &lt;/strong&gt;(Minnesota) on Wednesday, April 23. The game is at 6pm and can be heard on the Hawkeye Radio Network and seen on B1G+. &lt;/p&gt;
  533. &lt;h3 id="Xnaakh"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;On Deck: Indiana Hoosiers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  534. &lt;p id="NszIRq"&gt;The Hawkeyes and &lt;strong&gt;Hoosiers &lt;/strong&gt;will face off this weekend in Iowa City (Duane Banks Field). The Hoosiers are 22-18 / 12-9 on the season. Both teams are good with the lumber. The Hawks are batting .310, while the Hoosiers are hitting .306. Indiana has shown more pop so far, hitting 70 home runs to Iowa’s 51. The Hawkeyes are slugging .500, and the Hoosiers are at .532. Both teams can plate runners in bunches. &lt;strong&gt;Korbyn Dickerson&lt;/strong&gt; has 17 HRs, and &lt;strong&gt;Devin Taylor &lt;/strong&gt;has 13 long balls. &lt;strong&gt;Reese Moore &lt;/strong&gt;(9) and &lt;strong&gt;Blake Guerin&lt;/strong&gt; (8) lead the black and gold in that category. &lt;/p&gt;
  535. &lt;p id="2meMiN"&gt;On the mound, at least on paper, the Hawkeyes have a significant advantage. Iowa’s ERA is 3.65, compared to IU’s 6.03. Iowa’s opponents are batting .216, while the Hoosiers are allowing opponents to hit .270. &lt;strong&gt;Cole Gilley&lt;/strong&gt; (3.92 ERA) is Indiana’s best pitcher. &lt;/p&gt;
  536. &lt;p id="xz8Vym"&gt;Both teams are solid defensively. Iowa’s fielding percentage is .970. Indiana is picking the ball at a .967 clip. The Hoosiers have 45 errors to Iowa’s 41. &lt;/p&gt;
  537. &lt;p id="t6KXLu"&gt;Friday, April 25    Indiana  6pm (Star Wars Night) HRN / B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  538. &lt;p id="w1pX58"&gt;Saturday, April 26  Indiana    2pm (Letterwinner’s Day) HRN / B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  539. &lt;p id="C1rM1z"&gt;Sunday, April 27    Indiana    1pm (Youth Teams Day) HRN / B1G+&lt;/p&gt;
  540. &lt;p id="0kWSgf"&gt;This is a fun team to listen to / watch. Let’s keep it rolling, Hawks! Are we getting too spoiled, wanting, and expecting another sweep? I think not. &lt;/p&gt;
  541. &lt;p id="s4IX54"&gt;As always, it’s great to be a Hawkeye. Go Hawks!&lt;/p&gt;
  542.  
  543. </content>
  544.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24414979/iowa-baseball-first-place-hawkeyes-big-ten-standings-college-rankings-bhgp"/>
  545.    <id>https://www.blackheartgoldpants.com/2025/4/24/24414979/iowa-baseball-first-place-hawkeyes-big-ten-standings-college-rankings-bhgp</id>
  546.    <author>
  547.      <name>Bartt Pierce</name>
  548.    </author>
  549.  </entry>
  550. </feed>
  551.  

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