Kirk Ferentz On The Side 7-26-23

Inside The Hawkeyes
Inside The Hawkeyes
  • last year
Iowa Coach press conference
Transcript
00:00 Back in the spring, you were talking about Taylor Johnson,
00:02 he didn't work on his blocking.
00:03 Can you say from the strides he made heading towards this fall in the fall
00:06 campaign, do you see him getting the ball for the carries and
00:09 be the primary rusher this fall?
00:10 >> We'll see how it plays out.
00:11 You know, LeSean's done a great job and Jazz, I think, is a good prospect too.
00:15 So, but that's a typical story for young backs,
00:18 is that the blocking part's usually a little bit, probably the biggest challenge.
00:23 I just, somewhere in the last month or two, I heard an NFL player talking about
00:27 the same thing an NFL coach talking about, that's when guys get to the NFL,
00:31 all of a sudden they gotta learn how to block a little bit, cuz it's paramount.
00:34 It's critical if you're gonna have a good passing attack.
00:37 But he's doing a good job, and he'll be fine.
00:39 >> Have you tried Swarm beer yet?
00:40 >> No, I haven't.
00:42 I got, no, I haven't.
00:44 So, I will though, I promise you.
00:46 I'll make sure by the next time we get together anyway.
00:48 >> [LAUGH] >> Who just told me it was really good?
00:52 Somebody yesterday was actually talking about it.
00:54 >> Have you tried Swarm vodka yet?
00:57 >> No, no, I haven't tried any vodka this summer, so.
01:00 >> [LAUGH] >> Not that I have anything against it,
01:02 but no, I haven't had any.
01:03 >> Which one do you like the most of the one day event?
01:05 >> A lot. >> [LAUGH]
01:06 >> A lot, yeah.
01:08 A lot, it was a marathon.
01:10 Although, you know, I used to take the guys out to dinner.
01:11 >> Sure. >> That was enjoyable, but
01:13 I'm okay with this.
01:14 >> So, your depth chart came out today.
01:16 I don't, a lot of times we have to tell you what it says.
01:19 >> I looked at it, not mine.
01:19 >> Okay, okay.
01:20 So DeYoung, I had a Colby, we talked about a line over there.
01:23 Is there anything?
01:24 >> Right now, don't even worry about it.
01:26 >> Okay.
01:27 >> As I've been saying, it's probably eight, nine guys competing for a starting job.
01:31 Maybe more, who knows?
01:33 I mean, we'll see.
01:33 That's part of camp.
01:36 We're gonna figure all that out.
01:37 And the nice thing, don't really plan right now, plan Connor outside.
01:42 Just want him to kind of stay left, right guard.
01:44 Whereas Nick can do both.
01:47 He's got really, I think, good position flexibility.
01:50 With DeJong out, he had a work all tackle basically in spring and
01:55 did a really nice job.
01:56 So just you see him being a lot more comfortable with what he's doing.
02:00 He's got confidence in what he does now.
02:02 And that's reassuring.
02:04 So yeah, it's wide open.
02:05 I'm sure right now, we'll know a lot more in about four weeks.
02:09 >> With the transfers, Kayla Brown, Seth Anderson, they're not on a depth chart.
02:14 But is that just sort of a reflection they got to earn their spots?
02:17 >> Yeah, I just haven't seen Kayla, and Seth was out basically all spring too.
02:19 So, and DeJong were out of bodies.
02:22 He was out all spring too, I understand.
02:23 >> Yeah, yeah.
02:24 >> Yeah, so it's just, again, that's kind of the same thing.
02:28 I think we know what we have with Nico, obviously.
02:31 And then I think Deontay's really done a nice job.
02:34 And he's just got to stay on the field, which I think,
02:38 hopefully all his bad luck's done.
02:40 And so I'm really curious to see how the rest of that stuff just comes out here.
02:45 And I don't think we'll know those answers till late August as well.
02:50 I certainly would expect Kayla to be in that mix.
02:52 And I wouldn't be surprised if Seth is, but it's gotta happen organically.
02:56 >> I was just asking James Franklin about Marvin Harrison Jr.
03:00 >> Yeah.
03:01 >> When you think of that guy, does he remind you of anyone?
03:04 And how does he?
03:05 >> He's just such an unusual player.
03:11 Start with his size, I mean, just to have his skill set, his precision, and
03:17 be the size he is, it's pretty rare.
03:20 And his dad, not even close size-wise, right?
03:22 I mean, just not even close, but it's equally a really good player.
03:26 I'm not diminishing him, but he's a rare player, just a rare player.
03:31 Tough to defend on him.
03:34 >> Kirk, we know a little grudging is supposed to come here and
03:38 release a statement about being involved in some way with the investigation.
03:43 Was your expectation that it would all be concluded by now?
03:47 Or why did he come and- >> Well, yeah,
03:50 I mean, we learned at different stages what was what and all that.
03:54 So, first thing, I hate picking three players.
03:59 I absolutely hate it.
04:01 Survey the player constantly, survey the staff, and
04:04 just kind of go with the results.
04:07 But yeah, I really didn't anticipate a big deal.
04:11 I think he just didn't feel comfortable.
04:13 We as coaches, we're pretty much out of all this, other than we got some
04:18 information, cuz it's really about the law firm that's working with the players and
04:24 then the NCAA.
04:24 So information has been pretty sporadic.
04:27 But anyway, long story short, he just didn't feel comfortable cuz he is
04:31 under investigation, as are several other guys.
04:34 And the thing I, again, I understand the rule,
04:38 we're all about not condoning gambling for college athletes,
04:42 especially on college sports.
04:43 It's a real opportunity here to, again,
04:46 let's maybe revise our thinking or reexamine what we're doing.
04:49 But I'll get sure that humanistic side of things,
04:52 like Noah's one of our best guys.
04:54 And this poor guy was really feeling badly last week, really badly.
04:58 Feels like he let his team down, etc.
05:01 And my wife's mad cuz this guy hasn't done anything.
05:05 There's no criminal offense here.
05:06 He's 22, 23 years old.
05:07 He hasn't hurt anybody, hasn't done anything wrong.
05:11 So to see him feeling the way he was feeling, it just made all of us feel badly.
05:15 And it's great to see a guy go like that.
05:18 And again, I'm not, if you gamble, then you gamble.
05:20 I don't know the extent of all that stuff.
05:22 But it's been an education for me, just examining what are our policies versus
05:29 what world are we living in right now.
05:32 And I'm very hopeful that the NCAA is willing to take this opportunity to
05:37 reexamine the approach moving forward, much like they've done with drug testing.
05:42 You got marijuana legal in how many states?
05:45 And we're, you know what I mean?
05:46 It's just, I'm not supporting marijuana usage either.
05:49 It's just, I think we gotta be reasonable about how we do it.
05:52 And I think whether it's drug usage or betting or a lot of things,
05:56 the best thing to do is be really proactive education.
05:59 That's how I feel about it.
06:02 The other thing I'll just throw on the works again is there's 49 states,
06:06 I don't think there's football in college, football in Alaska, but
06:08 there's 49 states where there are, I promise you, the guys in our investigation
06:12 at the other school aren't the only ones that could be in that investigation.
06:16 So let's acknowledge it, let's admit what it is, and
06:19 let's figure out how to approach it intelligently moving forward.
06:23 >> Do you think your players are gonna lose games?
06:26 >> I don't know, I don't wanna project.
06:28 I'm encouraged that the standards, new standards came out, at least that to me
06:33 is a signal that they are paying attention to what's going on.
06:37 There have been more than a couple signals that what's going on at the NCAA
06:40 is encouraging.
06:41 Seems like there's a new life there, which is great.
06:43 So we'll see what they come up with, and it could be a range of things.
06:49 It could be education for the players, could be suspensions.
06:52 I don't know, we'll just deal with whatever it is when it comes forward.
06:55 >> You're the athletic department's supporter, does that make things harder?
06:59 >> That's what I'm saying, it's just, and again,
07:03 my son James is telling me that it's on Game Day.
07:06 I don't watch college game day, I'm sorry to admit that, but
07:09 I'm just gonna do it, it's superstition.
07:12 But yeah, they're talking about spreads and all that.
07:16 We got a really fancy TV system now, we got YouTube TV, right?
07:19 So I get ESPN News, not just one and two like we used to have.
07:23 Mary's opened the budget up a little bit.
07:25 So I got ESPN News on, and
07:26 they got lines on the opening day of college football games on the left.
07:29 I'm like, I don't pay attention to that stuff, now I am.
07:33 It's like, no kidding.
07:35 So to think that kids aren't gonna be attracted to that, and
07:38 I understand they give you the, bet with us and we'll give you $300,
07:42 you can lose $300 of our dollars, and then you'll lose all the rest of your money.
07:46 It's just like, let's acknowledge that and let's deal with it.
07:50 Common sense, that's all.
07:51 >> It seemed like on stage over there, you indicated you didn't think any of
07:55 your players would bet on Iowa or anything like that.
07:58 >> I know, again, there's a lot of stuff we don't know.
08:01 I'd like to think I would have known that by now.
08:03 I think that would have probably come down to us.
08:06 I don't wanna speak, cuz there's a lot of things we're unclear on,
08:09 not because I can't, cuz I don't know.
08:11 But I'd like to think if they knew that, they would tell us.
08:13 Cuz that, I mean, you can't do that.
08:15 If you can't bet on Iowa, you can't bet against Iowa.
08:18 That's common sense too.
08:19 >> [LAUGH] >> I have no indication.
08:22 I think a lot of it's harmless.
08:24 And I know each and every individual at this point who's involved.
08:30 And they're all really good guys.
08:33 So again, I think it's just emblematic that this is something going on everywhere.
08:39 >> There's been a lot of talk about the player safety and hazing.
08:43 How do you make sure something like that is not in your locking room?
08:47 How does something like that even take root?
08:49 >> Yeah, you can't make sure of anything.
08:52 It's just, that's where it's really important that you have strong
08:55 leadership internally.
08:57 Can't just be the coaches, cuz coaches can't be everywhere.
09:00 And that brings up a topic, I'm not a big one.
09:04 I don't go through the locker room a lot, unless there's nobody there.
09:06 At the end of the day, I might go through and see what it looks like.
09:09 Is there crap on the floor?
09:10 Things like that bother me.
09:12 But I'm not in there on a routine basis.
09:17 Some of our coaches do go through there.
09:20 But you like to think somebody's gonna come forward if there's an issue.
09:22 You like to think that.
09:23 But I'll go back to what I said about Bill Walsh's book.
09:27 Back in the era when hazing was thought to be common practice, I think,
09:32 it was accepted.
09:34 He never believed in it.
09:34 I think that's why he was ahead of his time.
09:36 It's just, you're trying to build an organization.
09:39 You're trying to build a team where people feel like they're welcome there,
09:43 they belong there, and an opportunity to earn respect.
09:48 And we tell all of our guys, they're selected.
09:50 Nobody just walks in the building and joins.
09:51 Every team, you have to go through a process, walk on a scholarship.
09:55 So everybody starts on equal ground.
09:57 Now, if you're a clown and you're not going to class and all that stuff,
10:01 well, yeah, you might go down a little bit.
10:03 But everybody deserves an opportunity to do things that they want.
10:06 College football, shouldn't want to do.
10:08 Get a degree, have a good experience in football.
10:11 And I'll go back to my experience in the 80s.
10:12 I was marveled when I got here, just the closeness that the team seemed to have.
10:16 Got theories about it, cuz so many guys are from out of state.
10:18 I just think everybody understood it was important to get guys involved right away.
10:23 But it was that way, and again,
10:26 just wintertime we brought 11 newcomers in.
10:31 Two were high school players, nine guys that weren't.
10:34 And I think there's a reason they transitioned so well,
10:37 cuz our guys welcomed them in the program.
10:39 And they treat them like they've been with us for,
10:41 even guys that weren't here, played somewhere else for years.
10:44 But you're on our team now, you're one of us, and here we go.
10:47 >> Well, to your point, if somebody's being a clown, as you said, and
10:51 players, their teammates want to have accountability.
10:54 >> Yep. >> How do they accomplish that
10:56 without devolving into something like that?
10:59 >> Well, I mean, you gotta have strong leaders.
11:02 And to me, leadership is if I'm watching a guy do something I know is not right,
11:07 and I'm gonna talk to the guy about it.
11:09 And then if that's not successful,
11:11 then let somebody else know who can't do something about it and correct it.
11:15 And we're trying to always build that, it's a continual process internally.
11:20 Nobody's ever got it done 100%, but I just think winning teams,
11:23 winning organizations understand what's good and what's bad.
11:26 There's nothing, I just can't understand what would be helpful,
11:29 making somebody feel like they've gotta do something stupid to join their team.
11:34 It's hard work, what we do is hard work, that's the test.
11:38 Can you do that hard work, are you willing to do it?
11:41 Obviously older guys do it better than younger guys.
11:42 But it's, yeah, it's just, I can't imagine there's a coach in the world that
11:48 really would approve of this, I just can't imagine.
11:51 Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think any of us are trying to do it.
11:55 We're trying to build teams and create a sense of, hey, you're a part of this.
11:59 >> Kirk, Kirk. >> When I say clowns,
12:00 I'm talking about doing stuff that anybody can do.
12:02 We could recruit anybody off the street, and my sister could go to class, show up
12:06 for a medical appointment, just do things like you're supposed to do.
12:10 As simple as that sounds, I coach some pro football, it's not always that simple.
12:13 Some guys, they just don't take care of the things that everybody can do, and
12:18 that's just being a good teammate, taking care of business.
12:21 >> Kirk, do you have a timeline on when you think this, or
12:24 have been alerted to when there should have been?
12:28 >> I'd be throwing darts, but obviously hopeful.
12:30 Earlier in August and later in August, but I have no idea what the process is in
12:35 France, so it's pretty much out of our hands at this point.
12:39 >> But it will be August?
12:40 >> I hope.
12:41 >> Okay.
12:41 >> Now we are talking about, that's a discussion of what happens.
12:46 We don't hear anything, how can a player play?
12:50 I'm not an expert on this, and hopefully we don't get to this point where I need to
12:53 know it, but I would assume if you play a player who ends up getting
12:58 suspended, or if you end up fourth hitting, so my guess is you have to hold them out,
13:02 based on what I saw this spring.
13:04 I hope we're not in that situation.
13:06 >> Two more questions.
13:06 >> Yeah. >> Cooper was a fourth grader in high school.
13:10 I don't mean to- >> I was right on that,
13:12 he played baseball too?
13:13 >> Yeah. >> I thought he,
13:14 I mean, figured he might play in the band too.
13:16 >> I don't mean to make this sound backhanded, but
13:20 are there things you've seen him that he's genuinely struggled with?
13:24 It doesn't even have to be athletically.
13:26 >> Yeah, yes and no.
13:26 I know he played baseball cuz he had a two week slump, I remember hearing that.
13:32 Two week slump, like his sophomore year.
13:34 That was his most devastating moment.
13:36 >> [LAUGH] >> I'm like, really?
13:37 Boy, that's tough.
13:39 I had a lifetime slump.
13:40 >> [LAUGH] >> But
13:43 I think he's a really good illustration.
13:47 Like this guy's a pretty good player.
13:49 Right now, he played really well last year.
13:52 But I think his story, it's kind of a mix between Fant and Hawkinson.
13:55 It's like Noah played as a freshman.
13:58 TJ was on the Scott team the entire year.
14:00 Two years later, they've gotten the draft.
14:02 So, and then Noah, he's like 20th, I think, right?
14:06 So two different paths, but
14:07 an important time getting to is like Cooper initially a year ago.
14:10 He was a good player, good prospects, special teams, all that.
14:14 But as the year went on, we could just kind of see,
14:17 he's getting confidence, really figuring it out.
14:20 And by the end of the year, he's a really good football player.
14:22 So we thought we knew what we had there.
14:24 So I guess my point is his path wasn't a struggle necessarily.
14:29 It's just that transition that guys go through, especially first year guys.
14:33 And now, a year later, totally different player than we had at the field last fall.
14:38 A lot more confident, and that confidence kept growing.
14:41 And special teams up all nine yards, and just, you just see him really,
14:46 as you see, he's a really quiet guy, kind of understated, but
14:49 he's a fierce competitor.
14:51 >> To revert back to the depth chart, Nick Jackson listed as a second string Mike.
14:56 >> Yes, again, that's the same discussion.
14:58 Yeah, we'll figure all that out as we go.
14:59 And we obviously know Jay, we know Fish.
15:03 Fish has really ascended.
15:05 Carson got hurt a little bit in the spring.
15:08 He missed a lot of spring.
15:09 So we think we know what we got, but he's still got some things to learn.
15:13 And then I think we know what we got with Nick.
15:15 So it's not 100% sure, but
15:18 I'd be pretty confident to say he's gonna be starting for us this year.
15:22 That's what we brought him here for.
15:24 >> And no injuries?
15:25 Any major injuries, health updates, or anything like that?
15:28 >> Nothing right now.
15:29 >> Beyond Eli Miller was spraying.
15:31 >> Yeah.
15:32 Nothing a little too deep.
15:36 >> You bet, I mean, spring was a- >> Knock on wood, yeah, nothing a little too
15:39 deep.
15:40 Guys are coming back.
15:42 >> Yeah.
15:43 >> Mason's fine, all that stuff.
15:44 So that's, which is why they sat out in the spring, so hopefully they'd be ready.
15:48 I think we're in good shape there.