Hawk Central Hour
Des Moines Register Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow leads the conversation with our beat writers and frequent special guests to discuss the latest in Iowa football, men's and women's basketball and more. Follow coverage from the entire Hawk Central team at hawkcentral.com or with the Hawk Central app.
Episodes
It was just one practice out of nine, Kirk Ferentz reminded us. But Jeremy Hecklinski's dominant performance at quarterback has certainly shifted the QB conversation with Iowa football, 3 weeks ahead of the season opener. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman react to what they saw at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, August 15.
Only three-plus weeks until the season, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman convene to offer their, mild, hot and ghost-pepper takes on the Iowa football season ahead. We choose 10 bold predictions in all, covering the offensive and defensive sides of the ball completely. And with media day on Aug. 14 and Kids Day at Kinnick to follow, Chad and Tyler provide a preview of what they're looking to learn.
Back from vacation, the Register's Chad Leistikow reconvenes with Hawk Central teammate Tyler Tachman about the recently completed Big Ten Media Days while looking ahead to the start of fall camp for the Hawkeye football team. We discuss the potential of Tony Diaz living up to expectations, what a QB battle might look like that extends into September and the benefits of brewing competition at center and in the secondary. We also to...
The Register's Tyler Tachman recaps the most important storylines from Iowa football's appearance at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman convene for 56 minutes, the bulk of which is devoted to evaluating potential breakout players on the 2026 Iowa football team. Who is the No. 1 pick in our offensive and defensive drafts? Plus, some Big Ten Media Days preview talk and women's basketball practice evaluations.
After some vacation and the departure of our radio show on KXnO, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman are back together for a fresh episode of Hawk Central after an action-packed Wednesday in Hawkeye sports. Chad and Tyler break down what they've seen so far from Iowa men's basketball practice and who are "locks" to make Ben McCollum's rotation. We also talk receivers and quarterbacks in football after some interesting i...
For the third straight summer, Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester sits down with the Des Moines Register's Chad Leistikow to talk football and preview the upcoming Hawkeye season. Big topics covered include the quarterback battle ahead, the Shanahan system evoluation at Iowa and whether Lester has the pieces to finally run the offense he wants.
The Register's Chad Leistikow sits down with George Barnett, who is entering his sixth year as Iowa's offensive line coach, and they cover a lot of good ground. This is Barnett's first interview since his offensive line won the Joe Moore Award. We discuss the impact of that honor, the NFL Draft, how his father's death shaped his coaching journey and what's next for the Iowa offensive line in 2026 and beyond.
The Register's Chad Leistikow outlines how the layoffs at KXnO impact Hawk Central going forward before bringing on Tyler Tachman to discuss Iowa basketball's latest schedule addition (Virginia Tech) and the NBA Draft experience for first-rounder Bennett Stirtz. The last 70% of the show is Chad's sit-down interview with Iowa football assistant defensive line coach Jay Niemann, who provides insight into a potentially concerning posi...
The Register's Hawkeye beat reporter Tyler Tachman breaks down where the Iowa football and men's basketball programs stand on the recruiting trail.
Sean Bock of 247Sports joins the Register's Tyler Tachman to talk all things Iowa men's basketball. We dive into recruiting, along with potential lineup combinations and schemes for the 2026-27 season.
The summer program is about to begin for Iowa football and men's and women's basketball, and it is a really big summer for all three. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman start with football's biggest summer story lines, including of course the quarterback situation between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Oh, and highly acclaimed QB recruit Tradon Bessinger arrives soon, too. Chad recaps his recent conversation with Io...
Readers wanted to know who would be tougher to replace, Kirk Ferentz or Beth Goetz? Is Iowa's next football coach on staff? How much patience will Goetz have with Tom Brands? And in the back half of our show, Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman take questions about the manner in which we cover the Hawkeyes. We lead with the Iowa women scheduling a home-and-home series with national power UConn.
The Register's Chad Leistikow hosts a special-edition Hawk Central with the architects of the Iowa women's basketball offseason in LaSondra Barrett (recruiting coordinator) and Sean Sullivan (general manager). The coaches explain how the five-player class (four college transfers, one freshman) came together over the course of nearly 40 minutes. To finish the show, Chad is joined by Register colleague Tyler Tachman to discuss the Bi...
A heavy men's basketball episode of Hawk Central this week, as head coach Ben McCollum's new contract opens up a lot of discussion about the future of the program. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman, who is at the NBA Combine, talk through the particulars plus look ahead to the recently-revealed Big Ten schedule breakdown. Chad also offers insight into a change for the Iowa women, and we react to the Washington footbal...
With spring football and the NFL Draft in the books, we truly usher in the offseason Iowa's major sports, and it's a good time to reflect on the some award-winning performances. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman debate the top transfer, top freshman, most surprising story and more in this early-May episode of Hawk Central. We also discuss some of the best moments from Tyler's 1-on-1 interview with basketball coach Ben...
Coming out of Iowa's spring football practices, the Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman rank the team's position groups, one through nine, to provide context about where the 2026 Hawkeyes should be strong and where they could suffer. Chad and Tyler have completely different rankings 1 through 4, but then become more aligned when getting to the team's biggest weaknesses.
Live from Iowa City, the Register's Tyler Tachman and Chad Leistikow dissect all they saw from Iowa football's open spring practice.
There's a lot happening in Hawkeye sports in late April, starting with the double-weekend pickups for Iowa men's basketball in Ty'Reek Coleman and Andrew McKeever. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman break down their arrivals while evaluating the Ben McCollum Year 2 roster as a whole. We also explore Iowa football's QB battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski. Finally, Dargan Southard makes his final Hawk Central...
A breaking-news Tuesday starts with Iowa football being forced to vacate four wins from its 2023 season from a recruiting violation related to old friend (or foe, perhaps?) Cade McNamara. The Register's Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman delve into the NCAA ruling, Ben McCollum's quiet portal moves and Jan Jensen's big Georgia splash.
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