Iowa getting a strong, versatile lineman in Josh Volk

The Iowa Hawkeyes landed one of their top in-state targets on Friday in Cedar Rapids Xavier offensive lineman Josh Volk. We caught up with Volk's head coach, Duane Schulte, to talk about the kind of player Iowa is getting, his strengths and weaknesses, and much more.

Q: What type of player has he been for you?

SCHULTE: He has been just a big old football player. He has good size, he moves his feet well, and he tries hard.

Q: What are his main strengths as of now as a player?

SCHULTE: I would probably say his versatility. He moves really well for his size. That is probably the best thing.

Q: What areas of his game is he working on now?

SCHULTE: Right now, I think he is focusing on his knee. He is trying to get healthy. He has to get healthy before anything else right now.

Q: How is his knee rehab going?

SCHULTE: I think he is on schedule as far as everything is going, from what he said.

Q: Where is he right now with his rehab schedule?

SCHULTE: I know he just got cleared to run straight forward. That just happened the other day.

Q: What type of leader has he been for you?

SCHULTE: He is learning. He bowed to the seniors last year and when he was a sophomore he bowed to the upperclassmen. He is learning that now with everyone looking at him not only for verbal leadership but also leading by example. He is going to have to step up to that in both regards.

Q: What do you expect his role being this season?

SCHULTE: First of all, he has to get healthy obviously with his leg and also being in shape. The one thing we have emphasized is you not only have to be strong, but you can’t get tired. He will have to be in great cardio shape to do that.

Q: If he does get back healthy, how will he be used?

SCHULTE: He’ll be on our offensive line and we will see about defense once we get to the season. He will probably be at one of the tackle spots for now.

Q: Where does he project out at the college level?

SCHULTE: They have never really said anything about that. It is just somewhere on the offensive line.

Q: How has it been dealing with the Iowa coaches with his recruiting?

SCHULTE: It has been great. Coach Ferentz and Coach Morgan are fantastic people. When they have been here, they have been really good guys. They are down to Earth and obviously know their stuff. They are great people.

Q: What schools were recruiting him overall?

SCHULTE: As far as I know, Iowa, Iowa State, and Nebraska. Michigan State was here last year too. Notre Dame called me and talked about him. He was invited to both of those places. Minnesota was here. I think he went and visited them. Northwestern was also in the mix. There may be some other ones.