Just prior to Big Ten Media Days, The Iowa athletic department shared a release briefly detailed the fact that senior defensive tackle Noah Shannon has been involved in the school's sports gambling investigation.
Within the announcement, Shannon shared that he would not be attending Big Ten Media Days.
"I didn't anticipate it being a big deal, but [Noah] just didn't feel comfortable," Ferentz said at Tuesday's event. "We as coaches were pretty much out of all this, other than some information we got. It's really about the law firm that's working with the players and the NCAA, so information has been pretty sporadic."
As Ferentz revealed during the day, Shannon is not the lone Hawkeye football player involved in the investigation.
"Long story short, he just didn't feel comfortable because he is under investigation, as are several other guys," he said of Shannon and other players later in the day. Earlier in the day, Ferentz indicated that "it's not a large number of players" involved in the gambling investigation.
No information about the other players involved in the investigation was provided by Ferentz.
Of note, Shannon was included on the cover of Iowa's newly released media guide, and his name is listed first on the depth chart released earlier today.
So, uncertainty remains --- in more ways than one.
"Long story short, we don't really know what the outcome is gonna be," Ferentz added. "I don't know [if our players are going to have to miss games]. I don't even want to project. We'll see what they come up with. It could be a range of things. It could be education for the players, it could be suspensions. We don't know. We'll just deal with whatever it is when it comes forward."
Despite the unknown, Iowa's head man remains optimistic.
"I'm very hopeful that the NCAA is going to take his opportunity to re-examine their approach going forward much like they've done with drug testing," Ferentz continued. "Marijuana is legal in how many states. You know what I mean? I'm not supporting marijuana usage either, but I think we've got to be reasonable about how we do this. Whether it's drug usage, betting, or a lot of things, I think the best thing to do is be proactive educationally. That's how I feel about it."
"There's 49 states -- I don't think there's college football in Alaska -- but there's 49 states where there are. I promise you the guys in our investigation and at the other school (Iowa State) aren't the only ones who could be in that investigation. So, let's acknowledge it, let's admit what is, and let's figure out how to approach it intelligently moving forward."
Ultimately that hope has Ferentz looking to August as a potential end date to the investigation so the program can indeed move forward.
"I'd be throwing darts [by naming a date it ends], but obviously we're hopeful it's earlier in August than later," he said. "But, I have no idea what the process is upfront. It's pretty much out of our hands at this point."
