By Tyler Devine

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Spring practice is in full swing, and with one open practice in the books, it’s time for some reckless speculation.

So without further ado, here are five way-too-early, extremely bold predictions for the 2021 Iowa football season.

1. Tyler Goodson will rush for at least 1,200 yards.

This is a tall task considering Iowa is replacing three starters on the offensive line and only eight running backs in program history have reached the 1,200-yard mark.

The last time it happened was when Marcus Coker rushed for 1,384 yards in 2011. Remember him?

Iowa is going to need the production with only four scholarship running backs on the roster and just two, Goodson and Ivory Kelly-Martin, with any meaningful carries under their belts.

Des Moines native Deavin Hilson will be on campus this fall and will likely play running back, but he could also play linebacker.

2. Matt Hankins will have at least four interceptions

This is only bold considering that Hankins has three picks in 38 career games played.

Part of the reason Hankins doesn’t have more career interceptions is because Hankins is Iowa’s best lockdown cornerback and teams don’t throw his way as often.

3. Joe Evans will lead the team in sacks

Considering Evans is listed as John Waggoner’s backup, this one might be a little farfetched.

The junior Ames native only had one sack last year, but with Daviyon Nixon and Chauncey Golston headed to the pros, the sack production will have to come from somewhere and Evans has been a pass rush specialist his entire career.

The 6-foot-2, 248-pound Evans did have four sacks in eight games in 2019 while mostly playing on third down.

4. Charlie Jones will return three punts for touchdowns

This might be the boldest and is probably unfair to Jones, because three punt return touchdowns would tie Tim Dwight’s single-season record set in 1997.

The 6-foot, 187-pound Jones had one punt return touchdown last season.

5. Caleb Shudak will break the single season scoring record

OK, maybe this is the boldest.

It also might reveal a lack of confidence, or over confidence, in the offense because field goals are typically the result of a stalled drive.

Shudak could do a lot of the damage on PATs, though.

Nate Kaeding and Shonn Greene currently hold the record with 120 points in the 2002 and 2008 seasons, respectively.

Granted, Kaeding made a whopping 57 PATs that season and that team scored more points than any other in program history.

Keith Duncan almost did it in 2019 with 119 points but had to break the Big Ten single-season record for made fields goal (29) to do so.

Only five players in Iowa history have scored over 100 points in one season.

The senior Council Bluffs native missed his only career field goal attempt last season, a 52-yarder against Northwestern.

Shudak has handled the kickoff duties for the past two seasons and has made one career PAT.