Tuesday's Clicks: The Inside Story Of NFL Draft Boards
Tristan Wirfs was the fourth offensive tackle taken in last weekend's NFL Draft.
Wirfs went at No. 13 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the days preceding the draft, the former Iowa lineman was considered a top-10 pick by many, and some had him as the first tackle going in the first round.
Some mocks had Wirfs going to the New York Giants. The Giants did take a tackle, but it was Georgia's Andrew Thomas.
Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media wrote on Monday how Thomas was at the top of the Giants' draft board, as well as seven other teams.
Lombardo wrote:
"The Giants spent much of last week frantically trying to trade down, according to multiple executives and a current general manager, but a market for the No. 4 pick never developed. If the Giants believed Thomas would still be there after moving down, it might have been a mistake: The Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers had Thomas as the top tackle on their draft boards, according to several NFL scouts and executives."
Wirfs said on Friday he was disappointed at first that he was the fourth tackle taken. The Buccaneers, though, give him a chance to block for quarterback Tom Brady, he said, so in the end it's a good place for him.
Hawkeyes at No. 6
Iowa stayed at No. 6 in the preseason men's basketball Top 25 And 1 by Gary Parrish of CBS Sports.
Parrish's take:
"Luka Garza will be the obvious preseason national player of the year if he returns to Iowa for his senior season, which is among the reasons he's expected to return to Iowa for his senior season. Presumably, he'll be joined by the four other starters from a team that finished 23rd at KenPom. And don't forget: Iowa will get Jordan Bohannon back after a redshirt season. So Fran McCaffery should have the best team he's ever had in 22 years as a Division I head coach."
Do you know the way to San Jose?
Joe Lunardi had Iowa playing in Boise in his way-too-early NCAA tournament bracket for next season.
This week brought a minor adjustment, and a longer plane flight.
Lunardi still has Iowa as a 4 seed in the Midwest, but playing in San Jose against 13 seed Yale. Fifth-seeded Kentucky or 12th-seeded Vermont would be a second-round opponent.
The post-spring Top 25
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic has Iowa at No. 19 in his post-spring college football rankings.
Mandel's take:
"Upon further review, I had Iowa too high in January given the players it lost. Kirk Ferentz anointed sophomore QB Spencer Petras as Nate Stanley’s successor in January. He’ll throw to Holiday Bowl MVP Ihmir Smith-Marsette. LT Alaric Jackson anchors another strong Iowa O-line. DE Chauncey Gholston will lead a rebuilding D-line. S Geno Stone left early, but sophomore Dane Belton emerged over the second half of last season."
Today's hand-washing clock
Today's 20-second hand-washing clock provided by the Iowa football Twitter account is Keith Duncan's game-winning field goal against Michigan in 2016.
