As a senior at Cedar Rapids Regis High School in 1977, Matt Petrzelka had a college decision to make. Petrzelka, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound all-state athlete, had received scholarship offers from some of the nation's top programs, including USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Colorado, and Iowa. With so many options at his fingertips, he chose the one place that felt like home.
"I knew I was going to go to Iowa the whole time," he said. The only other place I even remotely considered was Notre Dame. I was a Catholic kid from a Catholic upbringing, and that's the only other place that tempted me."
The Iowa football program, under the direction of Bob Commings, was trying to rebound from a decade-and-a-half of losing football. When he arrived on campus, Petrzelka quickly realized the speed at the college level was drastically different from what he had been used to in high school.
"The major difference is that in college, there are guys your size and even bigger who are much quicker," he said. "No matter how good you were coming in to college, it really takes some time to get used to."
Although the Hawkeyes struggled during Petrzelka's first season in Iowa City, he began to appreciate the lessons learned from his head coach. "Every game we played for (Commings) was absolutely fabulous," he said. "There was just nobody better at motivating young men than he was."
Petrzelka was slowly growing into his tackle position on the field. He was also growing into a better student off of it, but not before he had some fun in downtown Iowa City. "I really went out and raised hell my first three semesters," he said with a laugh. "By about my fourth semester, I started to realize that football would eventually end."
"At that point, I knew I needed to get down and get to work to get my grade-point sky-high."
Following a 2-9 record in 1978, Bob Commings was replaced by now-legendary coach Hayden Fry. According to Petrzelka, Fry's philosophy was to bring out the best in his players, rather than try to change them.
Hayden told all of us that if we would just keep the faith and stay on the right track, the people of Iowa would support us," said Petrzelka. "He wanted us to do it with common hard work, honesty, and integrity."
"Hayden was a great administrator who surrounded himself with great assistants," he said. "Coach Fry was total class, it's as simple as that."
These days Petrzelka, much like he did in Iowa City, is staying busy. He founded Petrzelka & Breitbach Law Firm in Cedar Rapids, and is a full-time trial attorney. Along with his wife Liz, the couple lives on a horse farm in Cedar Rapids with their five dogs and one cat.
An Iowa Football season ticket holder, he has not been surprised by the success of the program under Kirk Ferentz. "He just loves people who have honesty and integrity, and he loves to be a part of building young men's lives," he said. "He also sees the game of football not as a science, but an art."
"Coach Ferentz loves the game of football because there is no gray area. The other stuff that goes along with coaching is the gray area that he really doesn't like."
Petrzelka takes every opportunity he can to tell people about the university he grew up wanting to attend.
"If someone were to come up to me and say 'Why Iowa?' I would just say to them, come see it for yourself, and if it's not for you, I'd be shocked."
Player Profile
#72 Matt Petrzelka
Cedar Rapids, IA (Regis HS)
Left Tackle 1977-1980
Honors:
· Four-year letter winner (1977-1980)
· Iowa Football Co-Captain (1980)
· Drafted in 11th round of 1981 NFL Draft (San Diego)
Nick Mishler is a 2001 graduate of St. Ambrose University and a lifelong Hawkeye fan. Having lived most of his life only three blocks from Kinnick Stadium, Mishler has missed just three home games since the age of 6. Now living in Indianapolis with his wife Sarah, he still attends nearly every Hawkeye home contest. He can be reached at nmishler@hotmail.com.
