Iowa linebacker interview
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00:00 What's the last couple weeks been like for you to be able now to, you know, you've got
00:04 some All-American awards and kind of recognition of what you were able to
00:09 kind of accomplish here this year? It's definitely been fun. Obviously just young guys are
00:14 getting a lot of practice in, so just helping those guys out, helping Harold
00:18 really step into a role and just seeing how the linebacker room has really grown
00:23 over the year. Obviously it's hard for those guys who are getting a lot of
00:27 reps, but a time like this where I can, you know, just really do what I do I can
00:32 do, help off the field, it's just fun for me and, you know, teammates are really
00:37 really happy for me. You know, I feel like we've had our fair share of defensive
00:43 players who who had a lot of success after the year with honors and
00:47 stuff like that, so it felt good to be one of those players. Have you made any
00:53 decisions yet about next year? Not yet, not yet. You know, I still got to talk to
00:58 Hawk Hawk Hawk, you know, see if he wants to come back one more year. Coach
01:04 Ferrence, Coach Wallace, obviously they've given me all the space I needed and, you
01:09 know, I think there's a couple of guys who have the option to come back, so
01:13 just a lot of factors that play into it. Do you guys talk about that as a group?
01:17 Definitely, definitely. Yeah, just see what everybody's thinking, and you
01:24 know, everybody's different, everybody's got different reasons,
01:27 and, you know, we're just being respectful to everybody's decision. Could it be all
01:32 the guys come back? That'd be a dream come true. I'm sure the Hawk fans will love
01:37 that, but at the end of the day it's up to those guys, up to their families, and
01:43 you know, those are conversations they got to have with their families. What are
01:47 the things that are most important to you as you make this decision? Just not
01:52 how I feel in the moment, you know what I mean? It's a long offseason, so
01:57 you got to know what you're committing to coming back, and then obviously
02:01 nothing's written in stone at the next level, so it's just a fine line
02:06 between... it's a grass greener on the other side, and you know, it's a
02:12 real cutthroat business in the next level, and I think everybody's aware of that. So it's just a
02:17 matter of weighing your options. How about your dad? Is he weighing in on this? Oh, definitely,
02:21 definitely. Obviously my dad's a big Hawk fan, so you know, anytime
02:27 he can get back in Kinnick, I think he'll probably try to do it. Do you lose sleep
02:32 over this, or is this something you try not to think of too much? When I'm on
02:38 the field, I just like to think about football, but I like to say it's just a
02:42 good problem to have, you know? The opportunity to go to the next level,
02:47 opportunity to come back, you know, I think there's good in both
02:51 sides, both decisions, so happy, happy when it's time to make that decision.
02:57 Have you given yourself a deadline? Not really. The sooner, the better,
03:03 though, just so I can go to that Tennessee game, you know, completely be
03:08 focused on winning that bowl game, getting that 11th win. So it sounds like you want to
03:12 make a decision before the bowl game? Yeah, definitely, definitely, but you know,
03:16 if it doesn't happen, I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. I understand this is a
03:21 really big important, big decision for me and my family and my future. Has it been easy
03:26 for you to kind of balance focusing still on football, but also knowing that
03:30 there is a big decision? Now there's good in both, obviously, but try not to
03:33 like consume it too much. Yeah, I think finals week kind of got me out of
03:38 that, just four papers and some exams and econ and they should buy and sell at this
03:45 price and they should be open to trade, you know? So just everything that comes
03:51 with being a college football player kind of just, you know, it helped me out
03:56 a lot. I mean, a full week at just school after the Big Ten Championships, that
04:01 kind of gave me a break to think about things. Might help you with contract
04:04 negotiations. Yeah, definitely. Who else have you just been leaning on in this decision, in the building, outside of the building?
04:10 Yeah, obviously I respect Coach Wallace's decision. I mean, I love playing for
04:15 Coach Ferris, but I spend most of my time with Coach Wallace just because he's my
04:19 position coach and, you know, I respect a lot of what he says and he obviously has
04:25 his fair share of good linebackers under his resume and he sent guys to the next
04:30 level, so anything he says, that's really where I'm making my
04:36 decision off of, is just Coach Wallace. What has his advice been? He's been, what's helped me a lot, he's been
04:42 pretty neutral. He obviously knows that he's biased. He's contracted under Iowa,
04:48 so obviously he's been telling me to come back, but he's been, he's told me to
04:53 put my family first and I think that's helped me a lot and, you know, these,
04:58 Coach Wallace, Coach Parker, Coach Ferris, these guys have been
05:02 recruiting for about 10 years plus. Coach Ferris, obviously a lot longer, but
05:06 they know how to get a kid to, you know, fall in love with the program. It's
05:12 clear I've already done that, so I think it's a little bit easier for them. What's it mean to be in this
05:15 position, to have a chance to make this kind of decision? Yeah, it comes with a lot of
05:19 stress, but I'm happy. I'm happy I'm in a decision. I'm happy that I get to pick
05:25 where I would like to go with my future and, I don't know, it's just, kind of just a
05:30 dream of this moment and it's here, so just hope I, you know, make the
05:36 right one and live with it. Sebastian called it a win-win. Yeah, exactly, exactly.
05:41 That's a good quote from Stroh. Quote that at the top of the article. A lot of players are opting out of these bowl games. What does it say about Iowa?
05:50 Yeah, you probably won't see a lot of guys opt out around here. That's just the
05:55 type of guys we are. I mean, we understand that every game is important to us. We
06:01 want to win every game, getting that 11th win. Obviously, when you win the bowl
06:07 game, it just feels better. Universal parks, your stories will be better
06:12 once you win the game, but we're focused on winning. We obviously, we're gonna need
06:18 our best guys to do that.