Ethan Hurkett ready to make the transition to college

As Ethan Hurkett gets ready to make the transition to college, he will also be learning a new position, which has already started in Zoom meetings with Iowa defensive line coach Kelvin Bell this month. We caught up with the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Hurkett this week to discuss his upcoming freshman year with the Hawkeyes and much more.

Q: What have you been up to the last two months since the pandemic started?

HURKETT: I’ve just been hanging out with my family and my girlfriend. We’ve had a few bonfires and I’ve read a couple books, just trying to stay busy.

Q: What is your schoolwork and training schedule like?

HURKETT: I’ve actually been done with school since the whole quarantine started. I was able to drop the online classes, so I haven’t been doing any schoolwork. Training wise, I’ve just been lifting with what equipment I have available and then doing some running and some drills. That’s been going pretty well.

Q: What is available to you equipment wise right now?

HURKETT: We’ve got a spot in our garage setup where I have a bench press and a pullup bar and a barbell.

Q: All of this has to be pretty strange just finishing out your senior year of high school this way.

HURKETT: Yeah, it’s weird, but I’m just staying focused on the next step. I don’t really have any distractions at this point, so it’s kind of nice.

Q: As you get ready to make the move to college, is the chance to spend some extra time with family kind of a bonus?

HURKETT: Yeah, exactly. It’s a terrible thing that’s going on right now, but for me being able to spend all of this time with family has been kind of a blessing in disguise.

Q: Talking with the Iowa coaches, who are you staying in touch with and what are those conversations like right now?

HURKETT: Mostly Coach Bell. We’ve been doing these Zoom meetings with the defensive line. We’ve been learning plays and going over what to expect when we do end up going down there at some point.

Q: What do you take away from those meetings as far as your first impression?

HURKETT: I think the main thing is just how different college is from high school. With the playbook and everything, I’m learning so much every time we have a meeting so I’m just trying to soak in as much as I can.

Q: For you, making the move from linebacker to defensive line in college, what are some of the things you are focusing as you get ready to make that transition?

HURKETT: I’m just trying to be a sponge as much as I can. Most of the other guys have already been playing defensive line, so I’ve just got to keep my head down and try to learn as much as I can before I get down there.

Q: With Coach Bell, does he talk much about defensive end or defensive tackle, or is it more about trying to learn how to play both so they can be interchangeable?

HURKETT: He says that we have to be able to learn both so we can play inside and outside. It’s been learning both so you can do your job at any position.

Q: Have you found out what number you are wearing in college?

HURKETT: Yeah, I’ll be #48.

Q: Does that suit you well or what you asked for?

HURKETT: We didn’t really get a chance to ask, but it’s kind of nice because I was #49 in high school, so it’s just one away. I don’t mind it.

Q: What is your height and weight at coming in this year?

HURKETT: I’m about 6-2, 6-3, and around 245 pounds.

Q: Once you get there, will that be another focus is adding weight this coming year?

HURKETT: Yeah, just getting with Coach Doyle and the whole strength staff, and they’ll get me on the right path.

Q: What are you looking forward to when you get to eventually make the move to campus?

HURKETT: Just getting to know the guys and the coaching staff a little better and kind of settling in and getting into a daily routine.

Q: It seems like you guys already have a pretty close knit group in your recruiting class. Who do you stay in touch with the most?

HURKETT: I’ll be rooming with Yahya Black, so we’ve been talking here and there, and then we have a group chat for the whole class, so we stay in touch there too.

Q: Looking ahead, what is that feeling is going be like when you come out of the tunnel at Kinnick Stadium for the first time?

HURKETT: I can’t even really imagine. Just coming out of the tunnel as a recruit was incredible, so I can’t imagine what it feels like as a player. It will be exciting.

Q: When you look back at your recruiting, it all came together pretty quickly with Iowa. What made you comfortable accepting their offer on the spot basically?

HURKETT: Well, for one thing, it’s just down the road, which is really nice, just being able to stay close to home. Then with the coaching staff and everything, I just felt at home there. I think I’ll fit in well with the program.

As a senior, Hurkett finished the season with 70 tackles and 14.5 TFL for Cedar Rapids Xavier.

See highlights from his senior year in the video below.