Iowa
Leistikow on Iowa football: Appreciating long snapper Luke Elkin, Brendan Sullivan comeback
LeVar Woods knows he has elite specialists entering Music City Bowl
The Iowa special teams coordinator talks long snapper Luke Elkin and return specialist Kaden Wetjen, both all-Americans at their positions.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. − Luke Elkin arrived in Iowa City from Neenah, Wisconsin, with realistic expectations as a walk-on true freshman long snapper in 2021. He surprisingly didn’t make the travel roster for the Hawkeyes’ home opener against Indiana.
But that following week in practice, coaches told him to get ready. He figured it was just something they told freshmen. He was added to trip to Ames for Iowa’s top-10 showdown that week at Iowa State, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in attendance.
After a bad first-quarter snap caused Caleb Shudak to miss a 50-yard field goal in that game, Elkin was tapped to replace sixth-year senior Austin Spiewak. Wearing No. 39 with no name on his jersey, Elkin snapped for Shudak’s first extra-point at Jack Trice Stadium. The snap was good. The kick was good.
And?
“Never come out since,” Elkin said recently, nearing the completion of a quietly impressive four-year Iowa career. “That’s been very, very fortunate for me, and something that’s been very exciting for my family, too, which has been awesome.”
Nobody thinks about the long snapper until something goes wrong. And for four years, Elkin has been on point, whether it’s been snapping to All-American punter Tory Taylor or for field goals, including game-winners each of the past two years against Nebraska.
This year, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) added long snapper to its first team. And Elkin was honored as a first-team All-American, the best in the country at his craft. Iowa has long valued Elkin’s contributions, putting him on scholarship before his junior season.
One of the things that makes Elkin so good is that he played a ton of positions in high school. He’s athletic. He is very fast and can cover kicks. And for a program that values reliability, he’s as reliable as they come.
“I realized (in high school) that I might actually have a shot at this,” Elkin said. “It was just show up every day for practice with consistency.”
As always for Iowa, special teams could be a big advantage in Monday’s Music City Bowl matchup vs. Missouri. The Hawkeyes’ have a noticeable edge with kicker Drew Stevens (perfect 15-for-15 inside 50 yards) over Missouri’s Blake Craig (1-for-7 from 40-49 yards) and at punter with freshman Rhys Dakin.
For 4 years, Luke Elkin found his role as an elite long snapper at Iowa
The Wisconsin native has been the most reliable Hawkeye since being thrown into the fire in a top-10 matchup as a true freshman in Week 2.
The guy snapping for them is a key part of their successes, too. And it all started in a heated Cy-Hawk game in 2021, which Iowa won, 27-17. Elkin has been a fixture ever since. Monday will mark his final game as a Hawkeye.
“For a kid to be thrown into that situation, in a hostile environment, in a rivalry game, I think it speaks volumes about him,” special-teams coordinator LeVar Woods said. “But what we saw in him was that he’s very calm, very relaxed. Didn’t get rattled by very much, and his product was very good. He was very accurate with his snaps. He’s a good player.”
A time of reflection for Quinn Schulte, Sebastian Castro
Iowa’s roster has to be trimmed from 128 this year to 105 by Aug. 1. That has meant a lot of tough conversations between coaches and players about where walk-ons and even scholarship guys stand in the program. There used to be spots for about 45 walk-ons at Iowa. Soon, there will be space for only 20.
“Awful. It’s been the hardest part of this month,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said recently. “It could have been so easily avoided if we stair-stepped it (incrementally).
“Nobody asked me for my opinion or filled me in on the details. I’m sure it was a financial decision, like everything we do. I would argue whatever the dollar amount was, keep it the same and spread it out on 120, 118 (players) instead of 105 and not have bloodletting. That’s the regrettable part in my mind.”
To that point, would Schulte have even made the original 105 as an undersized, walk-on safety out of Cedar Rapids Xavier High School in 2019?
Sebastian Castro explains why he didn’t opt out of the Music City Bowl
The sixth-year senior defensive back previews the Missouri matchup ahead of his final game as a Hawkeye.
“As a true freshman, it would have been hard,” Schulte said Friday. “I really didn’t know what was going on as a true freshman, but I’m confident in the next couple years I would have (made the 105). But I don’t know. We don’t know. I’m grateful that it didn’t happen and get to that point.”
Schulte said it’s been “disappointing” to see the process that has basically been the equivalent of roster cuts that has sent a lot of walk-ons to the NCAA transfer portal to seek new opportunities. Now, he’s here along with fellow sixth-year senior Sebastian Castro in Iowa’s secondary. They’re both getting set to play their final games as Hawkeyes.
“I’ve been here a long time, and I love being here,” said Castro, who didn’t opt out of the game because he said he felt he owed it to the program. “Grateful for everything. It changed my life, coming to this program, but it’s time to go. You know, I can’t be here forever.”
Brendan Sullivan on his health, Iowa’s revamped quarterbacks room
Sullivan is planning to stay at Iowa for his fifth-year senior season, and he gets a chance to cement his QB1 status entering the spring vs. Missouri.
Sully’s ready for redemption at QB1 for Iowa
Brendan Sullivan met with the Iowa media for about seven minutes Friday, his first interview since Nov. 5. The quarterback injured his ankle three nights later in a loss at UCLA and hasn’t returned to the field since.
Now, he’s feeling 100% and ready to go as the starter for Iowa against Missouri (1:30 p.m. Monday, ESPN).
“Anybody that’s played any sport competitively knows that it sucks watching your brothers go fight without you,” Sullivan said. “It was not fun being out, but (I) tried to work my butt off to get back.”
Sullivan proved to be a better quarterback option than the now-departed Cade McNamara, but made only two starts – finishing one, a 42-10 win against Wisconsin on Nov. 2. He committed three turnovers in that 20-17 loss to UCLA. Offensive coordinator Tim Lester noted that Sullivan was too quick to bail on his reads and scramble, and that’s what led to his ankle injury.
“It wasn’t fun. Obviously, a poor performance on my end,” Sullivan said. “Didn’t help getting hit a lot, too, which was partially my fault as well.”
What did he learn from that loss?
“Just not letting things spiral. A big thing with me is I get too hard on myself,” Sullivan said. “One bad play leads to another, which is not good at our position.”
4 quick hits from Friday’s practice …
- Safety Koen Entringer was a non-participant. He has been the top backup in Iowa’s secondary. If he’s out, that would change the Hawkeyes’ dime defense and perhaps elevate Zach Lutmer if there’s an injury to Castro, Schulte or Xavier Nwankpa.
- Center Logan Jones was suited up and snapping balls with his left hand, while his traditional right snapping hand remained in a cast after he broke it in a recent practice. There is no official word on Jones’ status, but it’s likely that Tyler Elsbury still gets the start.
- Woods said that two true freshmen have stood out during bowl preparations and could see action on special teams: defensive back Rashad Godfrey and running back Brevin Doll. “When you give them an opportunity, you can tell they’ve been paying attention throughout the whole year,” Woods said.
- True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee made some nice catches with the second-team offense from quarterback Jackson Stratton. He looks to be ready to return to action for the first time since Oct. 26.
Why is Kaden Wetjen “98% sure” he is returning to Iowa for fifth year?
The Williamsburg native and first-team all-American return specialist reveals that he is still not on scholarship, talks 2025 goals.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 30 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.
5 key issues the Iowa Legislature faces in the 2026 session
Eminent domain, property taxes and DOGE cuts are all on the table for legislators this session.
Repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious crimes would receive a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a bill passed by House lawmakers.
House lawmakers debated for more than an hour about high costs, lack of prison space and the bill’s impact on Black Iowans before voting 68-23 to pass House File 2542, sending it to the Iowa Senate.
Seven Democrats, including Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.
“It will put public safety first,” said the bill’s floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “It will ensure that the debt to victims and society is paid. It will prioritize victims and public safety over criminals. It will establish real and effective deterrence that is nonexistent in our current system. It will reduce chaos and violence in our society.”
Here’s what to know about the bill.
What would the House Republican three strikes bill do?
Iowans who accumulate three strikes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence, with no parole, under the bill.
That would replace Iowa’s current law that says habitual offenders must serve a minimum three-year prison sentence before they are eligible for parole.
All felonies, as well as aggravated misdemeanors involving sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault and organized retail theft would be considered level-one offenses that are worth one full strike.
Other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors involving assault, domestic abuse and criminal mischief would be considered level-two offenses worth half a strike each.
Lawmakers amended the bill to remove theft, harassment and possession of a controlled substance from the crimes that would count toward a person’s strikes.
And the amendment specifies that the bill would only apply to convictions that occur beginning July 1, 2026.
If someone is arrested and convicted of multiple offenses, only the most serious charge would count towards the defendant’s strikes.
Convictions would not count toward someone’s total if more than 20 years passes between a prior conviction and their current conviction.
Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to say that only a violent crime would qualify as someone’s third strike, but Republicans rejected the amendment.
“The bill still scores murder, felony embezzlement and felony theft the same, even though they are very different crimes,” Wilburn said. “One point is one point and three gets you 20 years with no ability for parole or judicial discretion.”
Holt said the legislation leaves room for judicial and prosecutorial discretion.
“There are deferred sentences, there are plea bargains,” he said. “There is plenty of opportunity for grace and judicial discretion in the legislation that we are proposing.”
Bill could cost millions, require Iowa to build a new prison, agency says
A fiscal analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency said it could cost Iowa nearly $165 million more per year by 2031 based on the cost of housing inmates for longer prison stays.
- FY 2027: $33 million
- FY 2028: $66 million
- FY 2029: $99 million
- FY 2030: $132 million
- FY 2031: $164.9 million
The agency said if the bill had been in effect between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2025, there would have been 5,373 people who qualified for the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.
“An increase in the prison population due to increased (length of stay) will require the DOC to build additional prison(s),” the agency states. “The size, security and other features that a future prison may require cannot be determined, but costs would be significant.”
The analysis noted that South Dakota appropriated $650 million last fall to build a 1,500-bed prison.
As of March 1, the Iowa Department of Corrections’ website describes the state’s prison system as being overcrowded by 25%, with 8,705 inmates compared to a capacity of 6,990.
The Office of the State Public Defender could see a projected cost increase of $1.6 million due to an increased number of trials resulting from the legislation.
But the agency’s estimates come with a caveat — the Department of Corrections did not respond to its requests for data.
“The LSA has not received a response to multiple requests for information from the DOC,” the note states. “Without additional information, the LSA cannot estimate the total fiscal impact of the bill.”
Holt called the fiscal note “an embarrassment to the Department of Corrections” and “an agenda masquerading as math.”
“It is clear, in my judgment, that because they did not like the legislation they went all out and extreme to create a fiscal note that cannot be taken seriously in its assumptions,” he said. “It assumes that nothing will change, that there will be no deterrent factor and that the numbers will continue as usual.”
Black Iowans would be disproportionately impacted by the law
The Legislative Services Agency analysis says the bill “may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant.”
Of the 29,438 people convicted in fiscal year 2025 of felonies and aggravated misdemeanors that constitute a level one offense under the bill, the agency said about 70% were White, 22% were Black and 9% were other races.
Iowa’s overall population is 83% White, 4% Black and 13% other races, the agency said.
It’s not clear how the bill’s impact would change to account for the House amendment removing some crimes from counting towards the three strikes.
“Expanding three-strike laws will intensify disparities — and that’s what this statement shows — by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion,” Wilburn said. “We already have a habitual offender statute. We already have one in place. We have a 10-year low in recidivism in our correctional system.”
Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said California’s three strikes law, passed in the 1990s, worsened racial disparities, and “Iowa is about to repeat the same mistake.”
“I urge every member here, do not pass legislation that our own minority impact statement tells us will deepen inequality in our state,” Ramirez said.
Holt said minority communities in Iowa are impacted by crime and that the legislation “will make citizens of all colors safer.”
And he said the minority impact statement “tells only one side of the story, doesn’t it? It tells the criminal’s story. What about the victim’s story?”
“What about the mother who will continue to tuck her kids in at night and read them Bible stories because she never became the next victim of a violent career criminal?” he said. “Where is that data point in the minority impact statement?”
House lawmakers also approved separate legislation that would increase Iowa’s statewide bond schedule, Senate File 2399.
That bill passed on a vote of 74-19.
Iowans could see more information on judges’ rulings
Iowans would have access to more information about judges’ rulings ahead of the state’s judicial retention elections under a separate measure, House File 2719, which passed on a 73-19 vote.
The Iowa secretary of state’s office would be required to publish information including:
- The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the state’s bond schedule
- The frequency that the judge releases someone on their own recognizance for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense
- The frequency that the judge’s final sentence is lower than statutory recommendations or a prosecutor’s recommendations
- The number of times the judge issues a deferred judgement, deferred sentence or suspended sentence
- The number of times the judge’s rulings are reversed on appeal due to abuse of discretion or error of law
- The average time it takes the judge to rule on a motion or case
- The number of cases the judge has resolved compared to the number of cases on the judge’s docket
The data would have to be displayed with a five-year trend line beginning five years after the bill takes effect.
The Secretary of State’s Office would also be required to maintain a searchable database of all judicial opinions and orders for the judge’s current term and the preceding six years. The decisions would be redacted when appropriate.
And judges would have the opportunity to write a 2,000-word personal statement on their judicial philosophy or data trends present in their rulings.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Luke Truesdell’s attorney has filed as of Sunday to appeal his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Truesdell was sentenced last week to three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years for the deaths of four people killed in rural Linn County.
A jury convicted Luke Truesdell, 36, in November on the first-degree murder of Brent Brown, 34; his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids; and Amanda Parker, 33, of Vinton. They also found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids.
His attorneys previously argued multiple reasons for a retrial that could potentially be brought up again.
They said that one juror was overheard talking about news on the case.
They also said the prosecutors inflamed the jury, rather than focusing on the facts.
His lawyers said there is no direct evidence that Truesdell committed the murders.
Truesdell’s defense also pointed to Truesdell’s father, Larry Tuesdell, who was found covered in blood at the scene but never fully investigated. Authorities have not been able to locate Larry.
The state disagreed, citing overwhelming evidence including DNA on the murder weapon, eyewitness testimony and video of Truesdell entering the garage where the four people were found dead.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Ballard boys basketball players talk qualifying for state
Ballard’s Jude Gibson, Parker Miller and Evan Abbott discuss a 79-45 3A Substate 7 final win over Oskaloosa to punch the Bombers’ ticket to state.
The Iowa high school boys state basketball tournament is just around the corner and the full field has now been set.
By March 13, four teams will be crowned state champions and there are plenty of worthy squads vying for the title. On Tuesday, the final brackets were released and we now have a clear picture of the eight teams in each class hoping to take home the trophy.
Here’s a look at the first-round pairings and the full state tournament schedule for next week’s IHSAA action.
Class 4A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule
State quarterfinals, Monday, March 9
- No. 4 Dowling Catholic vs No. 5 Dubuque Senior, 5:30 p.m.
- No. 1 Cedar Falls vs No. 8 Urbandale, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10
- No. 3 Waukee Northwest vs. No. 6 Johnston, 10:30 a.m.
- No. 2 Waukee vs No. 7 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 12:15 p.m.
State semifinals, Thursday, March 12
- TBD vs. TBD, 10:30 a.m.
- TBD vs. TBD, 12:15 a.m.
State championship game, Friday, March 13
Class 3A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule
State quarterfinals: Monday, March 9
- No. 1 Ballard vs. No. 8 Gilbert, 10:30 a.m.
- No. 4 Pella vs. No. 5 Carroll, 12:15 p.m.
- No. 2 ADM vs. No. 7 Xavier, 2 p.m.
- No. 3 Storm Lake vs. No. 6 Solon, 3:45 p.m.
State semifinals, Wednesday, March 11
- TBD vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m.
- TBD vs. TBD, 7:15 p.m.
State championship game, Friday, March 13
Class 2A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule
State quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 11
- No. 1 Kuemper Catholic vs. No. 8 Union Community, 10:30 a.m
- No. 4 Treynor vs. No. 5 Grundy Center, 12:15 p.m
- No. 2 Unity Christian vs. No. 7 Western Christian, 2 p.m.
- No. 3 Regina Catholic vs. No. 6 Aplington-Parkersburg, 3:45 p.m.
State semifinals, Thursday, March 12
- TBD vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m.
- TBD vs TBD, 7:15 p.m.
State title game, Friday, March 13
Class 1A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule
State quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 10
- No. 1 St. Edmond vs. No. 8 Woodbine, 2 p.m.
- No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Bellevue, 3:45 p.m.
- No. 2 MMCRU vs. No. 7 Boyden-Hull, 5:30 p.m.
- No. 3 Bishop Garrigan vs. No. 6 Marquette Catholic, 7:15 p.m.
State semifinals, Thursday, March 12
- TBD vs TBD, 2 p.m.
- TBD vs TBD, 3:45 p.m.
State title game, Friday, March 13
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