“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
-Jim Valvano
College football programs around the country talk about being a family. At the University of Iowa, it’s not just talk. The Hawkeye program is family in its truest sense.
For a pair of former Hawkeyes who have been fortunate enough to see their sons follow in their footsteps, it’s been a dream come true. For their sons, it has been a dream fulfilled.
In the late 70’s and into the early 80’s, Bruce Kittle played offensive line for Iowa. Dave Croston followed and played into the mid-80’s. Kittle and Croston were team captains in their senior seasons with the Hawkeyes were part of teams that played in a Rose Bowl. Both were also coached by a man named Kirk Ferentz, who was the offensive line coach under Hayden Fry.
Little did they know that one day they would see their son’s follow in their footsteps, earn scholarships to the University of Iowa to play football, play in a Rose Bowl, and become part of the leadership of group of a Hawkeye team in their senior year. Both are coached by Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and his son, Brian on the Iowa staff.
At Iowa, they don’t just talk about being a family, they are a family. It’s that family bond and having a head coach at Iowa who was the position coach of a pair of former Hawkeyes that is the common denominator.
“I think a big part of that is because of Kirk Ferentz and the man he is. If you are a parent and you want to send your kid somewhere to play football, that’s the guy you want coaching your son,” Dave Croston said.
“When I was at Iowa and Kirk was coaching the offensive line, we were doing summer workouts and we had to take turns holding Brian (Ferentz).” Bruce Kittle shared. “There is that continuity and consistency with the program. Kirk has done a great job of building on that and establishing that family feeling in the program.”
Family has always been at the root of everything that Dave Croston and Bruce Kittle have done raising their children. Croston has four children and Kittle has a two and just being present isn’t what being a father means to them. It means setting the right example and being an active participant in raising their children. It means talking and sharing life lessons with them, and also coaching them.
“I made a choice to step off the career track and try to make enough money to have a house and things like that, but to be there for my kids and be available to my kids,” Bruce Kittle said. “I wouldn’t trade anything for that experience. I wasn’t a great baseball coach or basketball coach, but being there with him on a day to day basis was important. One thing that sports does is teach lessons about success, failure, and all those type of things. Having the opportunity to speak to him in the moment when he’s going thru those things was important.”
“I coached Cole all thru football, especially when he was young. When you are coaching, you want to be there and guide them thru not just learning the game, but teaching them lessons along the way. It was important for me to be there and be a part of that learning process,” Dave Croston said.
For George Kittle and Cole Croston, the sons of Hawkeyes, the sacrifice made by their dads is something they appreciate more and more each and every day.
“He has always been there for me, no matter what sport I wanted to play or was playing,” Cole Croston said. “I actually remember at one point, Iowa State was sending me letter and the moment I knew my dad loved me was when he said if I wanted to go to Iowa State and play that he would still support me. I told him I would never do that, but I knew he was in it for the long run and wanted me to do what I wanted to do.”
“It’s meant everything to me. He was honestly the only coach I ever had until 7th or 8th grade. He doesn’t know anything about baseball and he coached baseball,” George Kittle said with a laugh. “He loved it. He loved every minute of it and I did too. He did it because he loves being around us and wanted to share all of those experiences with us.”
When Cole Croston and George Kittle arrived on campus in the fall of 2012, they weren’t the five star recruits with big offers and high expectations. They were both undersized and knew that there would be a hill to climb.
Croston would be walking on to the Hawkeye program and that is never an easy undertaking for anyone, especially someone who arrived at about 240 pounds and was planning to play offensive line.
Earlier in the year, it looked like the Sioux City native might end up playing college basketball. Iowa assistant coach Reese Morgan had been in touch from time to time, but his best option might have been playing hoops at Morningside College or Northwestern College in Orange City, IA. Morgan then offered Cole Croston the opportunity to walk-on and everything changed.
“Later in the year during my basketball season, Iowa asked me to walk-on, which was incredible. At that point I thought maybe this was something I could do and hopefully make a career out of it,” Cole Croston said.
His father recalls the waiting game that occurred for his son, but when Iowa came calling the process quickly ended.
“He hadn’t fully decided on football until Reese Morgan started really recruiting him and he came down for that last visit that’s kind of reserved for the walk-on kids and asked him to join the team. That’s what sealed it for him. He dropped everything else,” said Dave Croston.
For Bruce and George Kittle, the recruiting process was also very much a waiting game. George Kittle was living down in Norman, OK at the time where his father was an assistant coach for former Hawk Bob Stoops. He had an opportunity to play for Air Force, but was likely headed to Weber State to play football until the Hawkeyes came thru with the last minute offer on signing day.
“We never got a letter from Iowa or a visit, but about two weeks out from signing day, a lot of it had to do with Reese Morgan and Ken O’Keefe and they had a pair of scholarships out to two running backs and if either of them said no, George was in,” Bruce Kittle recalled. “They called the night before and they were waiting and they both ended up going elsewhere.”
George Kittle was all of about 190 pounds at the time and he and his father knew there would be plenty of work ahead, but the opportunity to follow in his dad’s footsteps left him speechless.
“My dad got in touch with me that day around 11 a.m. and said the coaches were going to call me to offer a scholarship and to be completely honest, I was almost breathless,” George Kittle said.
The hard work began and after redshirting the climb was underway. Before they saw any playing time, there was a special moment for a pair of dad’s who once wore the Iowa uniform, they saw their son’s wearing the black and gold run out of the tunnel in the Iowa Swarm formation, just as they did years ago.
“It was surreal at first. The first thing you get to see him come out of the tunnel and you have such a proud feeling as a parent. It’s a proud feeling as a legacy to the program and having played for Iowa,” said Dave Croston.
“It still gives me chills seeing him run out of the tunnel,” Bruce Kittle said. “If you are standing there in the cleats, it’s a special experience.”
George Kittle says his father talked about the experience of coming out of the tunnel many times, but it was even better than he imagined the first time he did it as an Iowa player.
“One of my dad’s favorite things ever was coming out of the tunnel on the field at Kinnick. He told me the first time you do it is the greatest thing ever and I have never been more excited in my life. I almost passed out from the excitement.”
The early years of the Iowa careers of George Kittle and Cole Croston were more about building than actually playing. Croston popped up on the depth chart and received a few snaps in blowout wins and by his sophomore year, he was playing on the field goal and extra point teams on the line. Kittle played as a redshirt freshman and his first career catch was for 47 yards against Missouri State and saw playing time in his first two years, but also battled a few injuries along the way.
This past season, both Croston and Kittle played significant roles in Iowa’s undefeated regular season run. Kittle led the Hawkeyes in touchdown receptions with six, including one that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Croston started the year as a backup tackle and moved into the lineup after an injury to Boone Myers and never looked back, starting the final ten games of the season.
Seeing the success that Cole has had at Iowa and the road he has had to travel as a walk-on who has earned a scholarship, has brought even more pride to an already proud dad.
“I have admired him greatly for what he’s done because I saw what a tough road it was for walk-on’s when I was playing at Iowa,” Dave Croston said. “He came in at 240 pounds and in his first fall camp he lost ten pounds. I was never concerned that Cole couldn’t compete at this level, but he was at 230 and now you look at him and he’s 310 pounds and faster than he was when he arrived. I wasn’t overly surprised by his play last year because I knew about all the hard work he had put in to get there. When he got his chance he made the most of it and I am really proud of the way he prepared and performed.”
Kittle is now up to 250 pounds and running just under a 4.6 in the 40 yard dash and according to his father, last year something his son had been building towards since arriving at Iowa.
“The one thing I am most proud about George is just that, he’s invested and put a penny on the pile every day. We talked about it early in his career, about being patient and believing in himself. If he trust process, invested every single day, and kept his focus on doing what he does and let it take its course that it would pay off and it really has.”
Now a pair of sons of former Hawkeyes head into their final season of doing what their father’s did before them. As they head into their senior year, Cole Croston appreciates more and more, not only what his father has done, but what he continues to do on Father’s Day.
“It’s a special day no matter what, but to be able to do something my dad did here at Iowa and being as close to him as I am, Father’s Day is extremely special to me,” Cole Croston said. “It’s a shared experience and I think even though we are very close, this has brought us even closer because we have gone thru so many of the same experiences now and we talk about it all the time.”
George Kittle isn’t shy about calling his dad his best friend. When his parents moved back to Iowa three years ago, it was one of the happiest moments in a long time. He loves being around his dad as much as possible.
“He’s my best friend and I can talk to him about anything. I can call him at 2 a.m. just to talk and he’s there for me and he’s the easiest person to talk to that I have ever met. Father’s Day has always been a big thing in my family and now that he’s back here and I will be able to share the whole day with him and tell him how much I appreciate him is really special to me.”
When Cole Croston and George Kittle started this journey at the University of Iowa they followed the example set by their dads. They taught their sons by being a good father. Now the fruit of their labor of love is there for all to see. They are the legacies of former Hawkeyes, but it’s more than that. They are two young men who had great father’s that believed in them every step along the way.
