Iowa football player interviews
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00:00 Is Cade looking good at practice?
00:02 Yeah, you know, he's just taking it day by day.
00:04 Each day, you know, it's always something new.
00:07 The amount of reps he gets or whatever it is,
00:09 but he's been out there quite a bit with that.
00:12 How much different is it when you have a different quarterback
00:16 behind you in terms of just your process?
00:18 You know, it doesn't really change a whole lot for me.
00:20 They know what they're supposed to do.
00:22 They give us the buck points and we just go out there and do what we do.
00:24 The snap doesn't really change a whole lot,
00:26 so there isn't really a whole lot of change.
00:28 How often does the line come along as a group?
00:30 I'd say we've grown a lot in the sense that we've gotten to know each other
00:34 a lot better and we know how each other plays,
00:36 so we can kind of play off that.
00:38 We're really excited to come out this Saturday and play together.
00:41 How much more comfortable do you feel in year two
00:44 as opposed to last year at this time when you were still kind of--
00:48 Yeah, so I mean, I have a whole two spring walls underneath me
00:51 and a season in two full camps now playing center,
00:54 so I'm a lot more comfortable with the position I am.
00:56 I know a little bit more about playing the position,
00:59 my fundamentals, and things like that, so I'm a lot more comfortable.
01:03 Has there been anyone recently that comes to the group
01:06 that I'm not surprised with it,
01:08 you've been encouraged by Saturday?
01:11 Oh, man.
01:13 I mean, it's hard to choose just one guy, but--
01:18 You've got to pick one.
01:19 Yeah, I should try to pick one. It's tough.
01:21 We're going to see who--
01:22 Yeah, I mean, Tyler Ellsbury.
01:24 I mean, he's just--the attitude he's put--
01:27 I mean, he's grown so much in just the way that he plays.
01:31 And then, I mean, Jeremy Chaplin, too.
01:35 I mean, a lot of the guys in the room have just grown so much
01:38 so it's hard to pick a select few,
01:40 but those two guys definitely have developed their game quite a bit.
01:43 Jeremy's dunker. He's the youngest starter on this all-I.
01:45 So what have you seen from him in the past few weeks?
01:48 Man, he's--I mean, you've seen him.
01:50 He's just a ginormous, big, strong dude.
01:53 He's a physical dude.
01:54 I mean, that's just what you see in the way that he plays, too.
01:56 He wants to hit people. He enjoys that.
01:58 His physical features just help him out when he gets out on the field,
02:02 which makes things a little bit easier for him.
02:04 But, I mean, just that physicality from him.
02:07 He loves to play the game. I think that's the biggest thing.
02:10 He wants to be out there with us, and I think everybody sees that
02:13 in the way that he plays.
02:15 Does the line group feel deeper this year?
02:19 Yeah, I think you can sub anybody in there at a position,
02:21 and we're all going to be comfortable with the way that we play.
02:24 We have quite a few guys that can rotate in the game.
02:26 I don't know what's going to happen.
02:28 That's for the coaches to decide.
02:30 But, I mean, I've gotten reps with everybody, and I'm just as comfortable
02:32 with Nick or Connor as I am with Rusty and Tyler.
02:36 So, I mean, they can put anybody in there.
02:38 What is the biggest thing for you guys to finally hit somebody else?
02:41 Oh, it's super exciting.
02:42 Yeah, I think it's great going against our defense.
02:44 They're always a great defense, but sometimes those are your buddies, too.
02:48 And just to be able to cut it completely loose out there on the field is great.
02:52 And for 60 plays or however many we've got, it's going to feel great.
02:55 What's that process been like through camp, figuring out the starting five
02:58 at least for this week?
02:59 I mean, there's probably going to be a rotation at some point,
03:01 but figuring that out, what's that journey been like?
03:03 Yeah, all that's up to Coach Barnett at the same time.
03:07 I think right now we've got a great rotation of guys going,
03:09 and everybody's ready for whatever their name or number is called.
03:13 At the same time, there's a certain just feeling we have,
03:17 which is everybody's just ready to go out there and compete
03:19 against those other guys.
03:20 And there's not a single guy in the O-line room that I wouldn't want to go
03:23 out there with.
03:24 So that's the most important thing.
03:26 What are some expectations on the offense this year?
03:28 Do you guys welcome those expectations about kind of taking the next step
03:30 from last year?
03:32 I think you hear some of them.
03:34 You kind of turn your eyes from a lot of them.
03:36 But at the same time, it's the same mindset that we've got every day.
03:40 Our expectation is just to compete and get better.
03:43 Those are our expectations.
03:45 What's the offensive line in general?
03:47 You probably noticed in the offseason you needed some improvement.
03:49 How have you seen that process work and has it improved,
03:51 do you feel, since last year?
03:53 Yeah, I mean, I think there's improvement.
03:55 And I think there's a certain way we want to go about our business.
03:58 And I think that started way back in January.
04:00 It started right after that bowl game.
04:02 And the way we came back this offseason just worked each and every day
04:05 and competed against each other, that was the most important thing for us.
04:08 And, yeah, it's just each and every day, all of us going out there,
04:14 just having a purpose, I think that's the most important thing.
04:16 I think sometimes last year we might have gone out there
04:18 and just gone through the motions.
04:20 But our coaching staff and some of our leaders have really emphasized
04:22 going out there with some purpose and motivation.
04:25 Cade practiced on Friday in some capacity.
04:27 Do you expect him out there on Saturday?
04:29 That's not up to me.
04:31 I think that's a Coach Farron's question, obviously,
04:33 and you'll probably hear that from everybody else.
04:35 But, no, Cade, he's out there practicing with us,
04:38 so we're glad to have him back out there.
04:40 What kind of lead?
04:41 Pretty good.
04:42 Yeah.
04:43 Everything's feeling good.
04:44 I'm ready to go.
04:45 I've been practicing.
04:47 I'm looking forward to the game
04:48 and looking forward to what the team's going to do on Saturday.
04:50 So it should be fun.
04:52 So load management during training camp, right?
04:54 Is that what we called it the other day?
04:56 Yeah, we could go with load management.
04:57 But, yeah, the coaches are very understanding with me, which I think is awesome.
05:02 And I was a little dinged up for a little bit, but I'm all good.
05:06 I've been practicing.
05:07 The foot feels good, and I'm ready to go.
05:10 How's Ben with Cade getting back out there after his issue?
05:14 Yeah, he looks good out there.
05:16 I can't really tell any difference between them, so that's obviously exciting.
05:22 I know he's going to be locked in, and even if it is bothering him,
05:24 I think he's a pretty tough guy.
05:26 If there was someone who had to play a little banged up or was some bothering him,
05:33 I think he would be fine doing it because he's pretty good, obviously.
05:37 I don't know how much you pay attention to the offensive line,
05:40 but a lot is made of the offseason about it needing to be better.
05:43 What have you seen just in camp with those guys up front?
05:46 Yeah, I don't know.
05:48 I feel like I've had this question before, but we kind of have a--
05:52 obviously our offense is a little bit changed, even at the receiver standpoint.
05:55 So I've really just focused on my job and, like,
05:58 try to pick up what the defense is doing, and I really can't tell what the line is doing.
06:03 I mean, I think they're doing good.
06:04 I have faith in them.
06:05 And just like they have faith in the receivers and everyone else.
06:08 So I think we should be good going into Saturday.
06:11 You talked about changes at receiver.
06:13 Is it just different route concepts, route trees?
06:16 What are the differences that you guys have had?
06:19 Just like asking more of the receivers, like trying to pick up the coverage
06:22 and realize who is guarding us so that we could know where the one-on-one is,
06:26 pretty much simple stuff like that.
06:28 So that's really it.
06:31 How have you just dealt with the injuries leading up to this season, like mentally?
06:37 I know you've had to deal with those a lot in your career.
06:39 How have you kind of just recovered?
06:44 I don't know, just getting as much rehab as I possibly can and really sticking to it.
06:48 It gets really easy to get lazy with your rehab
06:52 and not want to go in there and do the little things that make you feel better.
06:55 But over the long run, they really do help.
06:58 I don't know, a lot of people--just like in my six years,
07:02 I've learned that everything you do in the treatment room has helped you.
07:06 So it's pretty easy for me to get in there and do all that extra stuff.
07:09 And the trainers, I feel like we have really great trainers that really help me out.
07:12 So that's pretty much it.
07:15 I've seen a side of stuff like that.
07:17 My biggest step, I think, is understanding the game mentally.
07:20 Transfer is coming in.
07:22 Seth's been here longer than Caleb.
07:23 How have you seen those two guys really grasp the playbook
07:26 and what they kind of need to do to make an impact?
07:28 Yeah, those dudes are both smart guys.
07:29 They came in right away, put their head down, went to work,
07:32 and they're both out here making great plays all the time.
07:34 You can't say enough about those two guys.
07:36 They grew their job, and they're just a hell of a players.
07:40 How big of a boost was it--I know I won't push you about starting quarterback--
07:43 but how big of a boost was it just to get Cade kind of back into the system,
07:47 back in the swing of things after he'd been out for a couple weeks?
07:49 Yeah, always a great thing because we all know he's a big quarterback,
07:52 one of the best in the nation.
07:53 So to have him out here, have him run our offense is something that we need,
07:57 we want, and something that makes our offense move a lot better.
08:00 And Deacon's a capable quarterback with it, too.
08:02 He does a hell of a job out there, too.
08:04 So having both those guys being able to be our quarterbacks,
08:06 we're definitely in a good place.
08:07 What have you learned about both quarterbacks in just this fall?
08:12 Personally, are you talking about football-wise?
08:14 Personally and football-wise.
08:15 Personally, I learned that Deacon was Samoon, which I didn't even know that.
08:18 That was cool that I found that out.
08:20 Both of them, really, I just learned that they're both just great quarterbacks
08:22 and great guys, and they're just looking to do the right thing for the team
08:26 and not care too much about the media and stuff that comes with being a quarterback.
08:29 They care more about making sure the offense runs how it's supposed to run
08:33 and keeping everyone as a team.
08:35 Does Deacon like to air it out on the regular as much as he did in the fall open practice?
08:39 Deacon definitely has the arm, so he definitely wants to showcase it quite a few.
08:43 Us as receivers, we love it because we like getting down there and catching the big play
08:46 and stuff like that.
08:47 But, yeah, he definitely has a big arm and he showcases it often.
08:52 How much different will the offense look to the people outside on Saturday?
08:57 I think we're still going to play Iowa football.
08:59 So we're still going to be gritty, hard-nosed guys out there, running the ball,
09:04 blocking good.
09:06 I think just with the passing game, we just advance a little more,
09:09 and it's going to be a good seat to just do everything we missed last year
09:12 and just get it done this year, just on certain routes, certain depths of routes,
09:16 and just being in the right spot.
09:17 So it's going to be Iowa football, how we want it to look,
09:20 but definitely in the right direction.
09:22 So there's not going to be a situation or a play where people are like,
09:25 "Wow, where did that come from?"
09:28 I think we wanted that last year too, so we're definitely going to get that this year.
09:32 I would say more with the more playmakers we have
09:34 and being able to have Caleb, Seth, Nico, Eric Hall, Luke, those guys,
09:38 the big weapons that we have.
09:40 So being able to get the ball to those guys, I think every time they get the ball,
09:43 you might be able to go, "Woohoo," to that, just because those guys are able to get the ball
09:47 and make plays with the ball every single time they get the ball.
09:49 Can you tell improvement on the offensive line, just in terms of having more time
09:53 to get into your routes and stuff like that?
09:56 Are you able to tell?
09:57 Yeah, definitely, because, you know, the defense loves to yell, "Sack!"
10:00 every time something gets a deep ball or anything like that.
10:02 So around this time, I've been actually catching a lot more,
10:05 and I mean us as youths, been catching a lot more deeper passes
10:08 and not hearing that loud "Sack!" scream.
10:10 So that gives us a lot more confidence that--like I don't really look at the line often,
10:13 but that's just a little mental note for me that I know they're doing their job.
10:17 So it's a good thing to actually not hear "Sack!" all the time.
10:20 [laughter]