Jake's Iowa Recruiting Class of 2023 Film Impressions-Offense

Iowa Class of 2023 QB Recruit Marco Lainez

In preparation of the upcoming college football season, I want to make sure I get some predictions in writing. In the past, I've relentlessly preemptively sung the praises of players that turned into both Iowa legends (Jack Campbell) and...not Iowa legends (Tyrone Tracy).

In these next couple posts, I'll be breaking down the available high school film from Iowa's incoming recruiting class (this year's true freshmen) with my unfiltered opinions written as I watched the film as well as putting together some predictions for what I think their careers at Iowa might project to be.

There's no fun in being right (or hilariously wrong) without having receipts to prove it, right?

Disclaimer: These predictions were written before this season's fall camp began, so my opinions are based solely off of their high school film and not at all affected by their performance since these players arrived at Iowa.

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Marco Lainez

-Solid size for the QB position

-Good mobility. Has shiftiness in the open field and accelerates past high school defenders. Not necessarily going to gash a P5 defense for huge runs, but has the athleticism to extend plays and make a defender miss in a scramble

-Good improvisation skills (helped by the athleticism) and ability to deliver intermediate throws into tight windows while on the run

-Maneuvers the pocket well and doesn’t waste movement. Decisive in terms of committing quickly to evading the pocket and running or scrambling to extend the play with the intent of throwing downfield

-Average to below-average deep ball strength. Has numerous instances where his receivers are running wide open deep and have to decelerate to catch the ball. They’re often open enough to where they still end up scoring (his team is WAY better than every other team they play), but hard to feel great about his ability to hit the deep ball. Not that he’ll be throwing any at Iowa

-Throws a hefty amount of YOLO balls (passes just thrown up with the hope that his receiver can make a play) and gets bailed out by his receivers (who are quite good compared to the competition). Not something that’ll fly at Iowa

-Because his team dominates the competition so much, they can probably pick and choose when they pass, which would inflate his completion percentage due to not having to press much

Main Takeaway: Impressed relative to his junior tape. Wasn’t super high on him after watching that. Has good mobility and can be a legitimate 1 1/2 threat QB (not quite dual-threat, but almost). Not super impressed by his arm, and I’m skeptical that his completion percentage in high school (~80%) is a bit fraudulent. I think he’s a better fit for what Iowa’s offense needs than what they’ve had, but we’ll see if they make changes to make it more offense-friendly at any point. He’s basically a rich man’s Alex Padilla, which might be all Iowa needs going forward. Should strongly contend for the job once Cade moves on.

Trevor Lauck

-Good size, with a frame to put more weight on

-Good mobility

-Looks like not that high of a competition level

-Has a couple plays where I’m pretty sure he got called for penalties on his highlight tape, which is interesting😂

Main Takeway: Looks like a high three-star/low four-star OL prospect. Good to very good upside ultimately, not extremely dominant now. Not expecting him to play particularly early, but maybe gets on the field in year two on campus. Could be a higher-end tackle prospect if it all clicks, but not likely going to flash right away (like Wirfs, James Daniels, etc.)

Cannon Leonard

-Plays guard at a lower level in Illinois, projects as a tackle at Iowa

-Very long and moves well. Has a basketball center build with a bit of extra weight

-Dominates smaller and less athletic players regularly. Clearly utilizes his length advantage, but has good leverage to make the plays

-Not many pass-blocking reps to judge

-Flashes tremendous upside as a pulling OL or getting to reach blocks. A very impressive player on film in terms of blocking in open spaces

Main Takeaway: Not as much of a project as a player as I thought I’d be seeing, but still needs a year or two in the weight room to fill out his frame to withstand facing P5 D-lineman. Dominates lower competition, but that’s more of a prerequisite than a feather in the cap (especially for linemen). Has a more put-together frame as of now than I expected, and still has room to add much more. If he adds 40+ pounds of good weight without sacrificing his lateral quickness in run-blocking, he has measurables to be a coveted NFL prospect at OT. Expect him to challenge for a two-deep spot his third year on campus, but if he’s in the mix by year two, I’d expect him to be a Day 1-2 draft pick, as that signifies he’s put in the work physically and technically to elevate his profile immensely. Overall a good player to bet on upside with

Leighton Jones

-Legitimately a nasty blocker. He doesn’t exaggerate or look for the “highlight block”, but has plenty that come naturally throughout the flow of the play

-Plays in the same class as Lauck (Indiana’s highest class-6A). Looks WAY more dominant

-Played Left Tackle for his high school team, but projects to OG/C. 6’4”, 275 lb. frame that could add some strength

-Moves really well. Linderbaum is kind of the standard here, but I can see some resemblance

-Plays like he’s WAY stronger than his opponents. Basically looks like you dropped a solid D1 lineman into a high school game

Main Takeaway: This could be the next fixture at C for Iowa. Has an already sturdy frame that add some more functional bulk, but moves very well for a guy that projects to IOL. His high school team had him moving in space quite a bit (screens, etc.) and he looked really smooth. Looks much more ready-made than Lauck IMO, but hard to tell if he’s game-ready from day one. If he was enrolling early, I’d consider him in the mix for our line next year, but I assume he’ll be too far behind when he gets there in the summer. Honestly pretty impressed by him, especially if they plan to play him at C. Hard to imagine him being worse than our current guy tbh😂

Terrell Washington Jr.

-Very quick and smooth with lateral movements

-Plays WR, RB, and a bit of running QB. Projects as a FLEX in the mold of Tyrone Tracy/Arland Bruce

-Makes some strong catches with his hands and seems to track the ball well in the air on deep balls

-Smart runner, reads his blocks well and hits the hole quickly

-Meets the baseline requirements for D1 skill position speed, but not a burner

-Plays at the highest level in Texas

Main takeway: If he bulked up (which I have skepticism about), I could see him being a really solid receiving back with ability to flex out to the slot. I think Iowa is planning to use him more as a WR, which I believe he will be fine, but needs to flash way more speed to be a difference-maker in. He fits the mold of a really solid player that could get lots of intermediate receptions due to scheming him open (which Iowa is known for being SO good at), but I think he’s probably going to resemble Arland Bruce as a fine playmaker who seems a little rough around the edges as a WR. Hard to know when he’ll see the field given Iowa’s general ineptitude at WR, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a feature player for 2-3 years unless the offense is in a DIRE position. I could see him having some upside on special teams early

Alex Mota

-Good speed. Not game-breaking speed at the D1 level. Faster than the competition, but the competition level was LOW

-Solid versatility in high school. Projects as a WR at the college level

-Doesn’t get to showcase a tremendous amount of WR skills on tape due to his team using him more as an RB. Has some smooth agility, but hard to gauge how that projects to his route-running capabilities

-Slight frame, but not very tall. Will need at least a year or two to fill out enough to be effective as anything more than a gadget sub

Main Takeaway: Solid athlete overall. A good depth piece with some developmental upside. Tough evaluation long-term because he didn’t get a ton of snaps at his future position but looks comfortable with the ball in his hands as a runner, which could bode well if Iowa ever figured out to use hybrid WR/RBs well. Not expecting him to see the field in the first couple years unless Iowa adds NO transfers and has more attrition

Dayton Howard

-Great height (6’5”) and appears to have a pretty impressive wingspan on tape; projects at WR

-Strong improvisation skills when the play breaks down. Good at finding the soft spot in the zone

-Not a BURNER, but has speed that allows him to breakaway or find an opening for extra YAC. He pulls away from high school DBs pretty easily in the open field

-Very fluid mover both in route-running and after the catch. Really appears on a much different level athletically compared to his competition in high school

-Excellent body control. Makes several contorting/off-balance catches in his senior film

-Willing and able blocker. Gives consistent effort and has leverage to bully small DBs

-Plays at the highest level in Missouri

Main Takeaway: Really impressed by this one. Maybe the most impressive film I’ve seen for an Iowa WR recruit from a total package perspective. He has elite size, tremendous coordination, strong hands, fluid route running, and seems to have high football IQ at his position. He has the makeup of a Tyler Boyd prototype with great size coupled with fluidity in other parts of his game. Though he might not crack the top of the depth chart right away with some of the new offseason additions, my bet would be he gets snaps in games THIS YEAR and challenges for starting as soon as next season. I don’t really trust Iowa’s development of WRs, but I think Howard has the best chance to be the next Iowa high school commit to be drafted into the NFL of anyone in the past few cycles. If Iowa’ offense improves significantly over the next couple years, you’ll become very familiar with Dayton Howard

Jarriett Buie

-Solid size and frame for a WR

-Requisite speed, but not a burner

-Solid hands, but doesn’t have a lot of evidence of being strong at the catch point with the types of routes he ran at the high school level

-Has some general flexibility on jet sweeps

-A little bit stiff as a mover at the high school level

Main Takeaway: Not expecting Buie to be seeing the field on offense early, as I think he has some time and work to develop strength, explosiveness, and fluidity as an athlete. With some work, he can be an option as an X receiver, but I’m pretty confident it’ll take a few years before he’s ready for offense in the B1G in a healthy Iowa WR room

Kamari Moulton

-Tough RB with a low center of gravity

-Well -built, with solid overall size

-Good lateral jump-cuts

-Needs to improve explosiveness and speed both out of the initial break and in straight-line breakaway situations

-Plays in middle-class division in Florida

Main Takeaway: Projects as depth for the RB position. Doesn’t have the top-end speed to make up for his unspectacular overall size as a runner. Deals with contact well in the open field, but doesn’t have the power (yet) to project as a bell-cow back for a Big Ten team. With hard work, nothing is off the table, but he has a relatively low ceiling based off of his film, and I imagine he’ll struggle to get many carries with the depth at RB in front of him and the possibility of Terrell Washington stealing further carries. Would anticipate him being a potential candidate for a strong career in a G5 or FCS setting after a transfer, but the opportunity is all in front of him to prove me wrong

Zach Ortwerth

-Projects at TE

-Solid size, with a frame that could add some solid weight. Doesn’t have a full senior season highlight tape, but look like he bulked up a good amount just from his junior year

-As alluded to above, most of this is coming from his junior film

-Honestly not that physical of a TE for a TE/EDGE player in high school. Has a couple fine finishes on a couple blocks, but I’d expect that from any D1 TE in high school

-Decent mobility, solid route runner for a TE

-Plays at the highest level in Missouri

Main Takeaway: Not in the same class as Laporta or Lachey on tape. Has some solid moments, but doesn’t necessarily stand out on the field. Obviously limited information as he doesn’t have senior film, but he doesn’t clearly project as either a blocking or pass-catching TE, so I assume he’ll have to develop significantly from a physical perspective to find his lane. Probably going to be a few years before he sees the field unless he has developed a TON physically in time since his film came out. Could maybe see the field as a RS So or Jr, but that’s the soonest I’d project without massive attrition in front of him

Grant Leeper

-Good size, with a frame that could absolutely add considerable weight

-Slick route runner, feasting mainly on strong out and corner routes in addition to simple releases

-Strong hands, impressed with his strength at the catch point

-Moves well after that catch. Breaks away from defenders enough to get 10-15 extra yards. Has some Laporta-like moves to shake defenders

-Projects as more of a “Move” TE that excels as a receiver

-Works hard positionally as a blocker, and has the requisite athleticism to make up for a relative lack of power

-Plays at highest level in Indiana

Main Takeaway: More impressed with his film that Ortwerth, both in the short and long-term. Has only played football for one year (his senior season), and flashes lots of athleticism and upside as a pass-catcher. Strong hands, appears very coordinated and smooth for a TE at the high school level. The TE room is stacked as of now, but if Lachey moves on after this year (which I expect), he could be right in the mix with Addison Ostrenga and/or a transfer for playing time. I’d expect him to be on the two-deeps in 2023-24. Overall quite impressed, and I think he has a lot of upside beyond what he showed in his tape. Not as high on him as I was on Lachey/Laporta’s tapes, but he’s clearly the more enticing prospect in this class, and I expect he’ll be an NFL TE with upside as a true impact TE