The Iowa State Cyclones opened fall practice Monday and afterward, coach Paul Rhoads said it was what you expect from the first day. “There’s some good, there’s some bad, and there’s a lot of inbetween and there’s nothing to be overly excited about at the same time,” according to Rhoads. He says getting back into shape for the daily workouts is one of the first issues they face. “You’ve got rust, you’ve got a little conditioning fall off and that shows. Playing football is always different than working out and training and so there was some conditioning football from play-to-pay wise that we will continue to address on a daily basis, that’s one of the primary things you’ve got to get accomplished during training camp,” Rhoads said. He liked the attitude of the team.

He says the players were intent and had good enthusiasm for the first day. Rhoads says he will stick to his timeline of picking a starting quarterback by the end of next week. Richardson, sophomore Grant Rohach, and redshirt freshman Joel Lanning are vying for the starting Q-B spot. Iowa State will hold their fall media day on August 10th.

(Radio Iowa)

Offensive linemen often get overlooked in football with the focus the quarterback, runningbacks and receivers. But University of Iowa senior Brandon Scherf, of Denison, is getting a lot of notice after deciding not to leave early for the N-F-L. A lot of the attention came from a weightroom video that went viral showing him doing what’s called the “hang clean” of 443 pounds three times. The left tackle says it was just something that happened while working with strength coach Chris Doyle.

Scherf says Doyle asked him what he wanted to do that day and he says he wanted to do something different after lifting 437 pounds two times. “I was just trying to get one, and three popped out. I was happy with it, all those teammates pushing me was a great environment and it’s a memory I will never forget,” Scherf says. Scherf didn’t know that Doyle posted the video until he started hearing about it. “Everbody just texted me, I didn’t know what they were talking about. We were fishing and everybody texted me and I was ‘aw jeeze, so,” Scherf explains. Scherf is 6-5 and 320 pounds, and while he is soft spoken off the field, he tries to send a message during the game.

“We want to be know as the most physical unit on the field, that’s what we are trying to play for,” Scherf says. “Attack, compete, finish that’s our motto and we are just trying to impose our will on other people. We just want to get the last hit in.” The offense has a lot of experience returning along with Scherf and he says that can lead to being good unit. “We can be as good as we want to be,” Scherf says. He says they have four returning linemen, as well as a returning starter at quarterback and receivers, which he says will make a difference. “Like I said, we can be as good as we want to be, we’ve just got to put everything together.” Scherf says the enter fall camp looking to end up on top of the conference.

“Our goal is to win the Big 10 Championship game and to get into that four-team playoff. That’s everybody’s goal and the team that comes the most ready and they do the little details right, they are going to win the game,” Scherf says. Scherf is on several pre-season watch lists and has been named to several pre-season All-Big 10 teams, to go along with the attention he’s received for his weight lifting prowess.

(Radio Iowa)

The University of Iowa wrestling team’s 2014-15 schedule was released today (Tuesday). The Hawkeyes will meet Iowa State in Iowa City at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving. Other highlights on the home schedule include duals with Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern, and Michigan. Carver-Hawkeye Arena will also serve as a host for two rounds of the Cliff Keen National Duals on February 15 and 22. The Hawkeyes’ road dates include meetings with Oklahoma State on January 11, Minnesota on February 1, and four-time defending NCAA champions Penn State on February 6.
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2014-15 Iowa Wrestling Schedule

Nov. 21 (Friday) Iowa City Duals Iowa City, Iowa
(Baker, Cornell, Iowa CC)

Nov. 28 (Friday) Iowa State Iowa City, Iowa

Dec. 6 (Saturday) Michigan State Iowa City, Iowa

Dec. 29 (Monday) at Midlands Evanston, Ill.
Dec. 30 (Tuesday) at Midlands
Jan. 2 (Friday) at Rutgers Piscataway, N.J.

Jan. 4 (Sunday) at Ohio State Columbus, Ohio

Jan. 11 (Sunday) at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.

Jan. 16 (Friday) Illinois Iowa City, Iowa

Jan. 23 (Friday) Northwestern Iowa City, Iowa

Feb. 1 (Sunday) at Minnesota Minneapolis

Feb. 6 (Friday) at Penn State State College, Pa.

Feb. 8 (Sunday) at Maryland College Park, Md.

Feb. 13 (Friday) Michigan Iowa City, Iowa

Feb. 15 (Sunday) Cliff Keen National Duals Iowa City, Iowa
Feb. 22 (Sunday) Cliff Keen National Duals Iowa City, Iowa

Mar. 7 (Saturday) at Big Ten Championships Columbus, Ohio
Mar. 8 (Sunday) at Big Ten Championships Columbus, Ohio

Mar. 19 (Thursday) at NCAA Championships St. Louis
Mar. 20 (Friday) at NCAA Championships St. Louis
Mar. 21 (Saturday) at NCAA Championships St. Louis

Michigan State has played in two of the three Big Ten title games, is the defending Rose Bowl champion and on the best run in program history with 42 wins in four years. Yet the Spartans cling to an underdog mentality. It’s the product of being overshadowed historically by Michigan and Ohio State. Coach Mark Dantonio never wants his team to stop playing with that edge.

The Spartans likely will have to beat the Buckeyes to win the East Division. They also have a major September test with a road game against Oregon. Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin are the top contenders in the West.