10 takeaways from Kids’ Day at Kinnick scrimmage

For the first time this fall, fans and media got a taste of Iowa Hawkeyes football.

The annual Kids’ Day at Kinnick offered the opportunity to highlight this season’s Kid Captains. Like the Hawkeye wave at the end of each first quarter inside Kinnick Stadium, honoring the Kid Captains at this event and all season long is one of the great Iowa traditions.

Of course, there were football drills to be run and a scrimmage to be had. Who stood out during the Kids’ Day at Kinnick? What are 10 key takeaways Hawkeye fans should know?

Take a look at the highlights from Hawk Central below.

And then let’s dive into 10 key takeaways.

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Cade McNamara is currently the Iowa orbit

If it wasn’t abundantly clear before this weekend, it is now. Maybe the reaction felt like a bit of overkill to some, but Cade McNamara is the Iowa football orbit right now. Without him, this whole season goes off course.

When McNamara exited Kids’ Day at Kinnick with a non-contact injury, the response backed up the reality that the Hawkeyes’ season is attached squarely to his bill of good health. It’s also attached to the belief that the Michigan transfer has the ability to morph Iowa’s offense overnight.

The good news? The expectation is that it’s just a muscle issue and not something longterm for McNamara.

McNamara looked good

Putting McNamara’s injury scare to the side, the Reno, Nev., native looked sharp. Sure, there was one mistake that the Iowa defensive backfield made him pay for, but McNamara made plays.

A pair of back-to-back deep completions to wide receivers Seth Anderson and Diante Vines were fantastic to see. Against good coverage, better throws from McNamara resulted in chunk receptions.

The scramble where McNamara suffered the non-contact injury was actually another good decision from the signal-caller. Assuming McNamara heals up swiftly and fully, it’s nice to know his feet can be another dimension for the Iowa offense, too.

Seth Anderson made plays

Seth Anderson apparently likes when the lights come on. Or, in this instance, when thousands show up for the open practice. Kirk Ferentz said it was as good as Anderson has looked so far.

This is the type of receiver Iowa thought it landed out of the transfer portal. The Charleston Southern transfer caught an 11-yard touchdown from McNamara, had a nice catch-and-run on an intermediate crosser and the aforementioned deep shot from McNamara.

Diante Vines appears due for a breakout

Diante Vines just hasn’t been able to stay healthy in Iowa City. Kirk Ferentz noted as much after the open practice.

The 6-foot, 198 pound wide receiver delivered a sign that he’s primed for a breakout 2023 season. The Danbury, Conn., had one of the finest catches of the day.

Kaleb Brown impressed in drills, had another highlight reel moment

A transfer from Ohio State, Kaleb Brown is one of the reasons Hawkeye fans are hopeful the offense will be drastically improved in 2023. It didn’t take long for him to demonstrate why.

Brown’s quick twitch and acceleration drew some oohs and ahhs during the drills portion of the day. Then, he hauled in a grab from McNamara in traffic and drew a defensive pass interference penalty in the process.

Jermari Harris forms one of the nation's top CB duos

It’s huge for Iowa that Jermari Harris is back. After the scrimmage, Kirk Ferentz discussed how Harris was trying too hard to make every play when he first got back in the spring.

Now, Harris is settling back into the defensive back that he was before his season-ending injury last year. The Chicago product intercepted McNamara early in the scrimmage and had another pass breakup intended for Luke Lachey.

It was great to see Harris do this minus star cornerback Cooper DeJean and it reinforces the idea that they will form one of the nation’s top cornerback duos once reunited.

Deshaun Lee is the next corner in line?

TJ Hall got the trial by fire situation last year against Nebraska when Cooper DeJean went down. The Huskers picked on Hall and the Fresno, Calif., native talked at Iowa’s media day about how that experience has been a motivating factor for him.

Hall figures to factor in behind the top two options of DeJean and Harris, but it was fellow young cornerback Deshaun Lee that stole the show at the Kids’ Day at Kinnick. The Belleville, Mich., product picked off a pair of Deacon Hill passes, including a 95-yard pick-six.

Might this signal that Lee is the next corner in line behind the top pairing? At any rate, it looks like Iowa has two more corners it can feel good about in Lee and Hall after its starting two.

Deacon Hill is a solid No. 2

The Wisconsin transfer looks like a solid backup quarterback for Iowa. Deacon Hill had some good and some bad. He was intercepted three times, but he did throw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Steven Stilianos.

If he’s pressed into action, Iowa can feel confident that Hill can stand in and make throws like he did on Saturday. After Hill, Iowa is hopeful that it will get Joe Labas back from injury in short order.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye fans also got their first glimpse of Marco Lainez. There were some flashes and freshman moments there. The center exchange created a snap where he stumbled into the fullback and another where it was fumbled altogether.

But, Lainez had a really nice throw over the middle to Zach Ortwerth, had the best quarterback scramble of the day and saw what should have been a touchdown pass to Alex Mota instead dropped.

Brian Allen had himself a day

It was impossible to miss Brian Allen on Saturday. The redshirt freshman was all over the place creating pressures, registering tackles for loss and sacks.

In an already-rich position group, Allen looks like someone to keep an eye on. Deontae Craig had a very productive day as well and Max Llewellyn might have had the best individual pass-rushing move.

Of course, Joe Evans returns for Iowa as does Ethan Hurkett. If not this season, Allen doesn’t look like he’s far away. Or, if there’s an injury up front, look out for the Lake in the Hills, Ill., defensive lineman.

Leshon Williams rips off the biggest run

Leshon Williams had the best run of the day, ripping off a 32-yard touchdown scamper. Kaleb Johnson figures to be the starter among the running backs and is due for a big sophomore season if he keeps ascending.

But, it’s nice to see the depth on display. Williams showed that he’s not to be forgotten about. Jaziun Patterson had a nice day with some tough running as well.

Freshman running back Kamari Moulton was also particularly impressive among the young running backs, bowling his way into the end zone on a six-yard touchdown run.

Drew Stevens was mostly good

Hey, how about a bonus takeaway? Drew Stevens was good for the most part. He did miss a pair of field goal tries, pulling a 53-yard try wide right and a 44-yard try wide left.

Still, he knocked through 4-of-6 field goal tries during the scrimmage portion. Stevens connected on field goal tries of 22, 48, 29 and 54 yards.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire