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USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What Penn State fans need to know about the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2025
A new college football season will soon arrive in Iowa City, Iowa and the big question will be whether or not the Iowa offense will have a new look that thrives more than in recent years. Iowa had some ups and downs as the Big Ten expanded, and the Hawkeyes had some close calls go the other way to prevent a more favorable postseason landing spot. But that has been par for the course for Iowa lately as the Hawkeyes continue to build a solid defense and running game. Will they have a passing game worth reckoning with in 2025? That may be the biggest question. Here's a look at the Hawkeyes entering the 2025 college football season. 2024 in review The theme of Iowa football in recent years has been playing with solid defense and wondering if the offense can do anything. It has been a struggle to get the Iowa offense to click at times. Iowa finished the 2025 season ranked second in the Big Ten in rushing offense but 17th in passing offense. Iowa had 10 touchdown passes and averaged just 20.0 passes per game, the lowest average among Big Ten programs. Kaleb Johnson led the Big Ten in rushing average with 128.08 yards per game and had a Big Ten-leading 21 games. He is now a Pittsburgh Steeler, so Iowa will look to replace his rushing production with Kamari Moulton and Jaziun Patterson. Iowa went 8-5 last season with a 27-24 loss in the Music City Bowl to the Missouri Tigers to close out the season. Iowa had a one-point loss to Iowa State and lost by a field goal to UCLA, but suffered double-digit setbacks against Ohio State and Michigan State. Some would say Iowa was just a few plays away from a 10 or 11-win season, but the Hawkeyes know what needs to improve to flip some of those close games in their favor. Head coach profile Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz returns for his 27th season as head coach of the Hawkeyes, remaining college football's longest tenured head coach. Ferentz will soon become the all-time leader in Big Ten coaching victories as he enters the 2025 season jus one conference win shy of the current record of 205 wins held by Woody Hayes of Ohio State (Penn State's Joe Paterno accumulated 162 wins in Big Ten play during his career, good for fifth on the Big Ten's all-time list). Top offensive player Iowa is home to one of the top offensive linemen in college football this season with offensive tackle Gennings Dunker. Dunker is being scouted as one of the best offensive tackles in the 2026 NFL draft pool and could be a potential first-round draft pick. Dunker was a second-team All-Big Ten player last season and will be a tough challenge for opposing defensive linemen to get around this fall. Top defensive player Defensive tackle Aaron Graves is back in 2025 after recording six sacks for the Hawkeyes last season. Graves was an honorable mention for All-Big Ten last fall and should be in the mix for more All-Big Ten honors this season. Graves would have been a decent draft pick in the NFL draft had he turned pro in 2025, so his return is a nice boost for the Iowa defensive line, which should be very good this season. 2025 schedule Iowa faces some challenges in the Big Ten schedule with three games against teams that were in the College Football Playoff last season, but they also get to play those games at home (against Indiana, Penn State, and Oregon). Penn State has had some tough matchups in Iowa over the years, but the Nittany Lions have owned the upper hand in the series in recent years. This road trip for Penn State is well worth monitoring for a potential upset alert. The Hawkeyes skip games against Ohio State and Michigan this season but will play on the road twice in November against USC and Nebraska. Iowa also plays its in-state rival from the Big 12 Iowa State on the road in Ames, Iowa this season. With a win total floating around 7.5, predicting which way Iowa's season may go seems risky without knowing if the offense will be rejuvenated at all. However, Iowa winning eight games feels very on-brand for Iowa. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What Jadeveon Clowney's release means for the Panthers
On Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers parted ways with eight players—most notably outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney. The move shouldn't have come as much of a surprise—because the writing was not only on the wall, it was all over it. Between the noncommittal statement about his future from general manager Dan Morgan and the report that revealed the front office's interest in trading the 32-year-old defender, Clowney clearly wasn't sticking around much longer. His release, however, is still a puzzling one for many Panthers fans. He was still a solid player in 2024. His 5.5 sacks were tied for the team lead, and we know that this defense needs as many sacks as they can get. Plus, wouldn't his experience alone be valuable to a growing roster? There must be something a former No. 1 overall pick and a three-time Pro Bowler could teach the youngsters, right? Well, yeah. But the Panthers probably didn't make this decision carelessly. We just have to connect the dots to make sense of it all. Here are the biggest takeaways from Clowney's depature . . . The new starter With Clowney gone, the Panthers are now likely to turn one of their starting outside linebacker jobs to Pat Jones II. Jones, one of Carolina's early free-agent additions, was signed to a two-year, $15 million pact in March. He's coming off a career campaign—where he notched bests in combined tackles (39) and sacks (7.0) for the Minnesota Vikings. The 6-foot-5, 264-pounder is actually quite comparable to Clowney in stature and in play style. Along with the pass-rushing ability, Jones is an above-average run defender and has the chops to set the edge. At 26 years old, Jones is viewed by the organization as an ascending talent—hence their investment. He'll be given a chance to establish himself alongside fellow ex-Viking D.J. Wonnum, who was pretty disruptive in his shortened 2024 season. The future The Panthers made a bit of a splash on Day 2 of the 2025 draft, trading up (twice) for a pair of a potent pass rushers. First, in the second round, came Texas A&M's Nic Scourton—who posted a Big Ten-leading 10.0 sacks for Purdue in 2023. Then, in the third round, came Mississippi's Princely Umanmielen—who tallied 10.5 sacks in 2024. Both, given their production and their measurables, have high ceilings. In fact, Scourton and Umanmielen were even considered as first-round prospects by some draft experts. Both are also (obviously) young, and they need the room to grow. Taking Clowney out of the equation might've left them without a perfect mentor, but it did free up more on-field opportunities in 2025. Finding Scourton and Umanmielen chances will be up to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who hasn't been the quickest to turn to his rookie players. Now, he may not have much of a choice as the Panthers continue to embrace their youth movement. The possibilities Along with snaps, the Clowney release also freed up approximately $7.7 million in salary cap space. That amount will be enough to cover the team's 2025 draft class and, potentially, another key free-agent signing. So, could the Panthers finally ink that starting free safety fans have been clamoring for? Are the likes of Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams or, perhaps, Justin Simmons back in play? We'll see . . . Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
USA Today
04-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Wilson's walk-off bunt pushes Washington Baseball past Big Ten-leading Iowa 4-3
Wilson's walk-off bunt pushes Washington Baseball past Big Ten-leading Iowa 4-3 Coach Eddie Smith's Washington Huskies have been one of the biggest revelations in the Big Ten this season, and on Friday, they proved that they could hang with the best team in the conference, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Thanks to a walk-off bunt from third baseman Blake Wilson, the Huskies secured a 4-3 victory over the conference leaders, who came into the game with a 20-4 record in Big Ten play. With two outs and runners at the corners, Wilson stepped to the plate and laid a perfect bunt down the third base line that died along the line before it reached third baseman Kooper Schulte, scoring center fielder Malakhi Nelson. Wilson also drove in the run that tied the game in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly as the Huskies moved to 8-0 in series openers in conference play. A big reason the Huskies have been able to stay undefeated in conference play has been the strong efforts from starter Max Banks. The Chapman University transfer let up 6 hits, 3 runs, and 3 walks, including a solo home run to Andy Nelson, adding 3 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings pitched before he handed the ball over to Josh Emmanuels. Over the final 3 2/3, Emmanuels was nearly perfect. He allowed just one man to reach, on a base hit in the eighth inning, but he was immediately erased by a double play. The Husky reliever tallied 6 strikeouts as he earned his second win of the season. Although the Hawkeyes' pitching staff struck out 15 batters, it struggled in the clutch. Starter Cade Obermuller, who recorded 9 of the 15 strikeouts, let up just 2 hits, 2 runs, and 9 walks over 4 2/3 innings, but he hit three batters, including Cooper Whitton and Casen Taggart with the bases loaded in the fifth, which tied the game at 2-2. With the win, the Huskies improved to 26-21 on the year and 14-8 in conference play, and will return to the diamond looking to take the series from the Hawkeyes on Saturday night at 7:02 p.m. PST.
USA Today
30-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Panthers had 1st-round grade on 2nd-round pick Nic Scourton
Panthers had 1st-round grade on 2nd-round pick Nic Scourton The Carolina Panthers hunted down quite a bargain for themselves on the second day of the 2025 NFL draft. President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan joined Wednesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, where he talked about this year's exciting selection process. He revealed that he and his front office actually had a first-round grade on their second-round pick, Texas A&M pass rusher Nic Scourton. "You really have to look at the body of work," Morgan said of Scourton. "Yeah, the production maybe dipped a little bit, but he was still super disruptive out there. He plays with a lot of energy and toughness, enthusiasm. You can just tell that he's passionate about the game. "So, I don't know really play too much into the dip in production. He was still productive in terms of tackles for loss and things like that. He's a guy we obviously felt really good about. We actually had a first-round grade on him. We had him in the late-first round." Scourton, after a Big Ten-leading 10.0 sacks for Purdue in 2023, came into 2024 as one of the top prospects in college football. But that perception, like his production, took a hit—as he registered 5.0 sacks this past season for the Aggies. As Morgan noted, however, the other numbers were there for the 6-foot-3, 257-pounder. Scourton, who still wound up as a first-team All-SEC selection last year, recorded 14 tackles for loss (one off of his 15 in 2023) along with a forced fumble and a pair of passes defensed. The Panthers traded up from the 57th overall selection in a deal with the Denver Broncos to nab Scourton at No. 51. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Panthers draft edge Nic Scourton: How he fits, pick grade and scouting intel
The Carolina Panthers moved up six spots — from No. 57 to No. 51 — in a trade with the Denver Broncos to select Texas A&M edge rusher Nic Scourton in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday. In the trade, Carolina also swapped third-round picks (74 to Denver, 85 to Carolina), fourth-round picks (111 to Denver, 122 to Carolina) and seventh-round selections (208 to Carolina, 230 to Denver). Advertisement Scourton played one season for the Aggies and recorded five sacks in 12 games en route to being a 2024 first-team All-SEC selection. He was productive for a loaded defensive line, leading the Texas A&M in sacks and tackles for loss. Prior to that, he played two seasons at Purdue, where he led the Big Ten with 10 sacks in 2023. Scourton ranked No. 59 in Dane Brugler's top 300 big board. Here's what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide: A thickly built, high-motor rusher, Scourton is quick to shoot his hands, create force and walk blockers into the pocket, but the next step in his development will be diversifying his attack by setting up counters and stacking moves. His hustle also stands out in the run game and directly leads to production (29 tackles for loss over his last 23 games). Overall, Scourton is a banshee off the edge with the quickness and power to work half-a-man and wear down blockers. His game plan is overly reliant on effort and relatively basic, though, because of his average athletic tools. His aggressive worker-bee play style should translate to starting snaps in the NFL. What an anonymous coach had to say about Scourton in Bruce Feldman's mock draft: 'He's a better player than (A&M teammate Shemar) Stewart. He plays the run really well. Got really good pass rush skills with a lot of change-ups and good body control for a big guy. He'll get a lot of effort and motor sacks.' The Panthers needed an edge rusher and they picked up a versatile and productive one. Scourton (6-foot-3, 257 pounds) played two seasons at Purdue, where he recorded 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss in 2023. He transferred to Texas A&M last year and bulked up to 285, which in part caused his sacks to drop to five but that still led the Aggies. Scourton became a team captain at Purdue shortly after turning 19 years old and has plenty of upside. Grade: A Advertisement A night after going offense, the Panthers traded up in the second round to get the edge rusher many thought they would take at No. 8. Scourton racked up 15 sacks over the past two seasons, including a Big Ten-leading 10 in 2024 during his final season at Purdue. Scourton features a blend of power and quickness off the edge. And with his solid base — the 6-2 Scourton weighed 257 at the combine but played at as much as 285 last season for the Aggies — he also should be able to set the edge in the run game. — Joe Person, Panthers beat writer The Panthers return their top two edge rushers from last season in Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum, and signed former Vikings outside linebacker Patrick Jones II in free agency. But the 32-year-old Clowney played a lot of snaps last season, so Scourton's arrival should help them keep Clowney's legs fresher in 2025. With Clowney entering a contract year, Scourton also could succeed the former No. 1 pick if he shows promise as a rookie. — Person Marshall's Mike Green was the edge rusher available — and best player overall — when the Panthers traded up with Denver to take Scourton at 51. But it's unclear whether the Panthers had Green on their board after the two sexual assault allegations made against him in high school and at Virginia. Dan Morgan also could have taken a ball-hawks like Notre Dame's Xavier Watts, the highest-rated safety still available at a big position of need for the Panthers. — Person Given the Panthers' shortage of safeties — there are only three currently on the roster – I would have been tempted to draft Watts, who had 13 sacks over his final two seasons in South Bend. But Morgan is all about staying true to his board, so clearly the Panthers had Scourton rated higher than Watts. Scourton doesn't have the ideal length for an edge and was too heavy last season. But his production in the run game and pass rush potential are an intriguing combination in a player who doesn't turn 21 until August. — Person
