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Hawkeye Conversations: John Alt

We catch up with former Hawkeye John Alt to look back at his recruiting process, time at Iowa and NFL
We catch up with former Hawkeye John Alt to look back at his recruiting process, time at Iowa and NFL

Before John Alt arrived at Iowa, he was one of the most highly sought after high school prospects in the Midwest with offers from many of the best schools in college football. He looks back at his recruiting process and why he chose the Hawkeyes, his time learning how to play offensive line under Kirk Ferentz, and finding a long term NFL home in Kansas City.

Q: When did you start getting college interest to play football?

ALT: I would say probably sometime during my junior year, maybe after my junior season. By the time we got to the middle of my senior year it was really a full court press from schools all over the country.

Q: You were really highly sought after as a recruit. Was there a moment when all the schools kind of started showing up and offering?

ALT: I think it really just all started to snowball during my senior year. I was a Parade All American, so that got a lot of attention back then. I would say that during my senior year there was a core group of about ten schools at just about every one of my football games and they would also be at my basketball games.

Q: Do you remember your first offer?

ALT: I honestly can’t remember which school offered first. (laugh) I think it was either Minnesota or Iowa. They both offered early on.

Q: Were you just playing tight end at that point and was that the position schools were recruiting you to play in college?

ALT: Yeah, I was playing tight end and defensive end. I think about 75% of the schools wanted me as a tight end and then there were a few schools, like Nebraska, that wanted me to play defensive end. I think UCLA wanted me there too. At that time I was about 6-7 and about 235 pounds, so I kind of fit the tight end profile more.

Q: Which schools were showing the most interest and how did you figure out your visits?

ALT: Honestly, I had no idea how to handle the recruiting process. It was so foreign to me and the family life was pretty hectic at the time because we were pretty poor, so I didn’t have a lot of resources. So I just listened to the schools, evaluated them, and tried my best to compare them. I was just looking for the right fit and tried to find the right feeling and that’s what I did when I picked Iowa.

Q: Did you take several official visits in the recruiting process?

ALT: Yeah, I took all five. I went to Arizona, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern. Notre Dame had some heavy interest. I kind of narrowed it down to the Big Ten and looked at Notre Dame as well. Then it really ended up coming down to Iowa, Minnesota, and Notre Dame.

Q: You mentioned you didn’t have a lot of real guidance making a decision. How did you get to settling on Iowa?

ALT: I think Coach McCarney had a lot to do with it. It was him and Barry Alvarez and Bernie Wyatt. They would come up a lot and then I met Coach Fry, which was a big moment for me. I really believed in his vision for the program he was trying to build at Iowa and felt that they were turning things around. I liked that they were the center of attention in the state and that it wasn’t too far away from my family. I knew I couldn’t go too far away, but at the same time I wanted to get away from home a little bit.

Q: You mentioned those guys recruiting you, Dan McCarney, Barry Alvarez, and Bernie Wyatt. Those are some pretty persuasive individuals when it comes to recruiting. I’m guessing they did a good job of selling you on Iowa?

ALT: It really was a big factor for me. They made me a top priority and Barry was at a lot of my games and the fact that he would give me feedback, both positive and negative and help teach me was a good thing. Dan McCarney and Coach Fry took a real interest in my family and that was important to me. It was a great fit for me.

Q: When he was recruiting you, this was before Hayden Fry was really Hayden Fry at Iowa. This was before he really had major success at Iowa. Did he still have that presence about him?

ALT: We really clicked right away. Coach Fry was no nonsense, but at the same time he was fun. I was impressed by his demeanor and his intelligence. I remember when I saw him for what was his 80th birthday and he immediately asked me about how my family was doing and he remembered all their names, which was really impressive to me. I felt like Coach Fry was going to be a big part of Iowa football for a long time and that was important to me.

Q: Do you remember anything about the day you committed to Iowa? Was that a signing day thing?

ALT: It was a signing day thing for me and my family was really excited and I was too. It was a huge relief. My sister had been screening phone calls day and night and it had become a chore during the recruiting process. I was kind of relieved.

Q: Back in those days it was more of a wild west show with recruiting with coaches camping out and things like that. Were there any crazy stories?

ALT: (laugh) Yeah there was crazy times. There was a real dog fight with all the recruiters who were trying to get time with us. It wasn’t like today. They were at all the game and much more personal than it is today. It kind of made it crazy in those days.

Q: As you have gone through all this with your son’s, do you see how it is so different now?

ALT: With Mark it was different because the football guys were at hockey games. You would see coaches at his games. Then with hockey the offers are really accelerated and they were offering in his sophomore year. Honestly they start watching him starting when he was 10 or 11 years old. In football he really came into his own in his senior year. His passion was hockey and he chose to play it. That seemed more normal.

This year is completely different for Joe with the virus and doing facetimes and phone calls. You have schools that you have never been to and for Joe it’s hard because he wants to get on the campus and see places.

Q: When you get to Iowa what is your freshman year like?

ALT: The first year was tough. It was unusually tough leaving home. It’s a new routine and kind of a business like approach. After that it was nothing but great times at Iowa and great friendships. It’s amazing to me just how many people from my time at Iowa are still around the program. I don’t know any place that has that type of consistency where you see the same faces all the time.

Q: You were at tight end for the first year, right?

ALT: Yeah, the first two years. In the first year I played mostly special teams and some tight end. In the second year I split time at tight end with Mike Hufford and eventually moved into a starting role. I ended up starting in the Rose Bowl and after that game Bruce Kittle, who was very good tackle, was graduating and Coach Fry came up to me and was giving me hints that left tackle might be the place for me. (laugh) I remember I went to the Rose Bowl at about 253 pounds and left there at about 263. He said I was eating my way out of the tight end spot. (laugh) We had fun at Pasadena and that was a great team.

Q: Everything kind of came together for you guys in 1981. What do you remember about that team?

ALT: The thing I will always remember about that team was we had an outstanding defense. We were ranked very high defensively all season. On offense we would grind it out a little bit and hit a few big plays. We tried to work the time of possession and keep the defense fresh and ready to go. It was a team that had great chemistry.

Q: That was also the era of the stand-up tight end. Was that an attractive thing for you in the recruiting process?

ALT: (laugh) it was pretty new to us at tight end. All of us at tight end would talk about it, especially on the goal line, what are we doing? The answer was always so we could read coverages, but we didn’t catch too many footballs either. (laugh) It was certainly a novelty, sort of like the Tiger Hawk and it was one of those things that put Iowa on the map.

Q: Then eventually Kirk Ferentz comes into your life as a position coach. He’s a young coach on the offensive line. What was he like as a coach?

ALT: He was a great coach for me. He had all the knowledge on how to play tackle. He learned from Joe Moore on how to coach offensive line and I had really long arms for pass protection and he put those to use and taught me how to do it. He really took me under his wing and made me into a tackle and that allowed me to play in the NFL. He’s a great guy and got the most out of our group. He had a lot of energy back then and really kind of ran around the field.

I was so raw at the position and I just took it all in. I owe him a lot in my life.

Q: Do you remember NFL Draft day and what that was like in 1984? Were you watching it on TV?

ALT: Yeah I do. We were at a friend’s house and my family was there. Mark Bortz was there and a few other guys and Coach McCarney and Coach Ferentz showed up. Everyone was just so excited when I got picked in the first round and that was an unreal feeling for me. I went from having nothing to having a signing bonus, which gave me the ability to take care of my family, so it was a really emotional moment.

Q: Today we have mock drafts everywhere, so you have an idea. Did you have any idea what round you would end up going in that day?

ALT: I did hear a little bit. They had the USFL Draft earlier that year and I went in the third round. They asked me if I wanted to play there and had told them no, so I went in the third round there. After that my agent had told me I would probably go in the late first or early second round in the NFL Draft and they were right.

Q: Then you were off to Kansas City and playing in the NFL. That had to be a dream come true for you.

ALT: It was and Kansas City is a lot Iowa City in a lot of ways. It was perfect place for me. Had I gone to Seattle, who was going to take me with the next pick, I’m not sure how I would have done out there. I was really happy that I was able to stay in the Midwest with a passionate group of fans that supported the team. Plus it was team that was on its way up and kept getting better during my time there. It was a lot of fun and their fans are a lot like Iowa fans. I couldn’t have asked for e better place to play in my career.

Q: You did something that is really pretty rare in professional sports today, have a long career and play in one place for all of it. That had to feel good.

ALT: it really did. I had a chance in my second to last contract to be a Plan B free agent and Minnesota and Philly had expressed interest, but it was hard for a player to move in Plan B. Kansas City always matched and I was happy to stay there.

Q: You made a couple of Pro Bowls and All Pro teams in your career, which is also quite an achievement.

ALT: It was an amazing honor. To me the All Pro teams were more gratifying from a personal perspective. The Pro Bowls, you get asked about, but All Pro is your position in both conferences and I took a lot of satisfaction in that.

Q: Then after you retire, you are put in the Chiefs Hall of Fame, which means your name is in the stadium in the ring of honor. That had to be a pretty special for you and your family.

ALT: The first thing I thought about was Mr. Hunt. I had a tremendous amount of loyalty to him and the organization, so I was really thankful. Again, it’s another one of those honors that I really look back upon with great pride.

Q: Are you still involved in coaching at the high school level?

ALT: I do a little bit of coaching of the tight ends and tackles for Joe’s team. I go over pass protection and run blocking with them. I have had a lot of coaches over the years and plenty of experience, so I show them what I think works best based on body types and things like that.

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