Kirk Ferentz Press Conference News and Notes: 3/22

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke with the media at the start of Iowa's spring football practice sessions. Here are some of the most notable things he said during that press availability.

Injuries have emerged as a key concern for Iowa this spring. Ferentz noted that 10-12 players have had surgeries since the end of last season. A further 10-12 players are currently dealing with soft-tissue injuries that will have them missing time during spring practice.

WR Jacob Bostick was noted as dealing with a foot injury that will keep him out all spring. WR Seth Anderson is dealing with a soft-tissue injury that will keep him out for most (or all) of spring practice.

As far as QB Cade McNamara's availability:

"Not full throttle, but still coming off the rehab, the surgery. Good news is he’s been throwing some individual stuff, throwing on his own. He’s able to do some seven-on-seven right now. As long as there’s nobody around him, as long as he’s comfortable, we’re going to let him participate in that.

He’s not going to move around a heck of a lot right now. I think we’re still probably a month and a half, two months from him being full, full speed. He’s able to do some things like that."

The news was better for TE Erick All:

"We’ll be smart about how much he works, not to overdo it right now. He was full speed this morning. We expect him to be out there all spring."

Ferentz was asked about a potential leadership void on the team with the departure of upperclassmen leaders like Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Riley Moss, and Kaevon Merriweather. He acknowledged the impact of their absences, but says he feels good about the new upperclassmen who were mentored by Campbell, LaPorta, Merriweather, et al and saw good leadership being modeled.

"I think the guys have done a good job of — the guys that are older guys now have seen good leadership modeled, Riley, all those guys. So they’ve learned from them. I think they also feel an obligation to help fill those voids. They have to earn that. It’s not something you can give anybody. They have to earn it through how they act and how they go about their work every day..."

He also singled out McNamara for his leadership skills.

"Mentioning Cade, looking across the field at him, sure struck me as a leader. Watching him on film going into that game, struck me as a leader of a really good football team. That’s an added plus when you can have somebody join your team like that that has experience already."

Ferentz had very little to say about the recently-settled racial discrimination lawsuit involving the Iowa athletic department.

"I think that’s been resolved. Nothing more I can say about it."

He also had no comment on several Iowa political figures calling for Iowa athletic director Gary Barta to resign or be fired.

"I really don’t [have a comment]. I’m only thinking about this season and this team, yeah."

Ferentz also declined to discuss the performance objectives that Gary Barta inserted into Brian Ferentz's contract ahead of the 2022 season.

"That was really between Gary and Brian, that arrangement. Gary supervises Brian for obvious reasons. That’s really the same thing. It’s in the books. We’re moving forward. That is not something we’re thinking about. We’re thinking about our whole football team having a great season."

Ferentz threw cold water on the popular fan notion of Cooper DeJean seeing time on offense, primarily due to Iowa's lack of depth in the secondary.

"If we had more guys, we would have done it last year, too. You saw what happened when we took him out. Our coverage is not quite as full as maybe some other people’s. Cooper can play anywhere on the field I think on the perimeter, offense or defensive. I believe that. Any of the five DB positions... He’s that kind of athlete, really versatile, tremendous athlete. If we had that opportunity, but right now we’re not even thinking about it."

Ferentz was asked about the offensive line's struggles and he acknowledged the unit's underperformance in recent seasons, citing the lack of experience and continuity as key factors in those subpar performances.

"The more I watch film, especially in the offensive line, it’s just hard to duplicate experience, whether it’s playing or practicing. From my experience, the only way you get better is going out there, you have to practice it, you have to rep it, just get better at developing your skills, plus physical maturity helps. I still remain very cautiously optimistic if we can get what we need to get done in reasonable fashion, I think we’re going to be just fine.

"But I’d be misleading if I said the last two years have been the standard we want or hope for. It is what it is. Obviously Linderbaum played really well. We’ve had individuals play well, but for that collective, what we’re looking for, we’re not there."

When asked about C Logan Jones, Ferentz noted that last year was his first season playing college football. He was optimistic Jones can focus on improvements and getting better now that he has a year of college football under his belt.

"Just keep playing. He has so many good things. I talked to him about getting his hands up quicker. You see times on film where it’s not natural yet. But he will. Like, he will. He’s got a great attitude. He kills the out-of-season program. Everything he does, he’s a guy who is always out front working and pushing."

He praised OL Nick DeJong for the improvement he's shown in the offseason and the confidence he's displaying.

"By saying this, Nick DeJong has had a really good out-of-season. He’s had injury issues since he’s been here. You can see him right now, today is only our first practice, but the confidence. Just seems like a different guy right now because he feels confident, he knows he’s trained and is ready to go."

Ferentz acknowledged OL Beau Stephens and Gennings Dunker as two other players who had done well in the winter, though Dunker was now one of the players dealing with an injury.

"Both of them had good winter programs. With Beau, it’s all just about slowing things down for him a little bit. Only been on the field one day. I thought he had a good day today.

Gennings is one of the guys that’s out. Hopefully we’ll get him back next week or the week after. He’s the guy that needs the reps. He has all kinds of potential. You got to really learn how to play, too, and you only do that by being out there."

Ferentz praised several players for the progress they made at the end of last season, or during bowl preparations in December, or during the winter strength player.

On the defensive line, Deontae Craig, Ethan Hurkett, and Max Llewellyn got singled out.

"Deontae is a guy who, again, you talk about ascending players. Last year, just watched him, you could kind of see it coming. I don’t think he’s done yet. I think he’s got all kinds of upside in front of him, too.

Anxious to see some of these guys. It’s going to be interesting. Llewellyn out there. Ethan Hurkett is healthy. He’s got a good motor."

Ferentz also noted "high" expectations for CB Jermari Harris, returning after a year lost to injury.

"It’s going really well for him. He’s doing great. Jermari is one of the guys that comes to mind. He went through a tough circumstance medically, a tough injury, so disappointing to him. He tried to come back. It became apparent when he did try to come back that it wasn’t going to be positive, so he went ahead and had it addressed.

But all the way through, he’s been invested, he’s been a great teammate on the field, totally involved. He’s been helping lead. You talk about the leadership void, he’s going to be one of those guys. He is out in front. Not he will be, he is. Totally invested."

Ferentz was asked about players who stood out in Music City Bowl preparations and could be in line to take a step forward.

"[Koen] Entringer had a good — he was showing signs, then got injured. Xavier [Nwankpa] did play. Really did a good job there. Same thing. It’s exactly like Cooper’s story. He played more as the year went on, kept getting more and more comfortable."

He also singled out Jaziun Patterson as a player who was doing well and could become a bigger factor in the rotation at RB.

"Jaz, I sort of jump back to Leshon, a reference, one play a couple years ago, Leshon made a run, kind of like, Oh, okay, that’s not bad. I would say the same thing about Jaz. The run he made in the bowl game kind of got my attention. He hit that thing hard.

Not easy to know what he’s going to look like this spring. Tremendous guy. Done a really good job in the classroom. He’s really settled in well. It’s going to be fun to watch him compete. I think it’s really healthy competition right now."

Finally, Ferentz was impressed with Wisconsin transfer QB Deacon Hill's play (and size) since his arrival in Iowa City:

"First of all, he’s big. Bigger than most quarterbacks I’ve been around. That’s the first impression. He throws the ball well, has a great personality. We’re really excited. This is only one practice out there. I think he has a good feel for what’s going on, what he’s doing. Throws the ball very, very well."

A full transcript of Ferentz's comments is available here or here.

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