NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With two practices in Nashville in the books, the Hawkeyes are eager to take the field at Nissan Stadium on Saturday in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
Even though Iowa played the Wildcats in the Citrus Bowl last year, the Hawkeyes aren't all that familiar with them.
In addition, both teams will be without some of their key team members, meaning viewers will have a chance to see some very promising up-and-coming players.
"These young guys are stepping up in big roles," said Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell on Tuesday. "I'm just excited to see what's gonna happen."
Trent Condon, host of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast gives his take on which players Hawkeye fans might want to keep an eye out for.
"Quarterbacks certainly is going to be one. We're going to see whoever throws the first pass and maybe both these quarterback backs throw their first-ever collegiate passes," Condon said.
On the offensive side, Condon is looking forward to seeing Diante Vines on the field.
"One guy [that will be] really interesting to see on the offense is Deontay Bynes. We saw him at times as he came back from a wrist injury at wide receiver, showed some good plays," Condon said. "Now he's gonna be low with Nico Ragaini, the number one target out there, maybe a little bit more of the playbook for him."
Defensively, Condon thinks people will be most excited to see Xavier Nwankpa.
"He was a five-star kid that's a local product; teammate of Kadyn Proctor. . ." Condon said. "People are excited about his future. A local kid and a five-star something is a rarity in Iowa football, so Xavier Nwankpa probably [takes] the number one spot on the list for Hawkeye fans."