iowa special teams coordinator
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00:00 >> How's been the overall preparation for the whole game coming up?
00:04 >> Preparation's been good.
00:05 This is a good team we're facing in Tennessee.
00:08 Very good on special teams, have been for a long time, know them very well.
00:11 Just from watching them and studying them over the years past, but
00:15 it's a really good team we're playing.
00:16 I think our preparation's been good.
00:18 It's been nice to be down here in normal weather and sunshine and
00:22 a little bit of clouds, but good sunshine down here.
00:25 >> Coach, the back ten title game, Colin makes that huge tackle.
00:28 What was your reaction to that play?
00:30 >> My reaction to the play was I couldn't figure out why he didn't make the tackle
00:33 the first time inside the ten.
00:36 He and I have talked about that.
00:38 It's a great play by him, great effort by him, but
00:40 also feel like he could have made a great play on the front end.
00:43 I also think it speaks to him and speaks to his effort and
00:46 how he plays and speaks to our culture here at Iowa.
00:50 Never giving up, always finishing plays.
00:54 I just wish he would have tackled the returner on the first seven yard line
00:57 instead of the opposite of the first seven yard line.
00:59 >> Can you tell us about your trip to Australia?
01:01 >> Yeah, it was a good trip, fruitful trip, definitely long, and
01:05 took me a few days, almost a week or so to get back to normal, coming back here.
01:10 But it was a good trip.
01:11 Young man that's coming in here is an incredible young man, great family.
01:16 His parents, his mom is actually from the United States.
01:18 Dad grew up as a farmer, so it's kind of interesting, a farmer in Australia.
01:23 It's interesting the ties back here to Iowa.
01:26 Obviously, he and Torrey know each other a little bit, and
01:30 I'm really excited for him to get here as I am the other freshman coming in, too.
01:33 >> Can you compare the two?
01:34 Is he similar to Torrey personality wise at all?
01:36 Are they different styles of guys?
01:38 I know he's a little bit younger than Torrey.
01:39 >> Yeah, I don't think it's fair to compare anybody to Torrey.
01:42 Compare those guys, and obviously he knows he's gonna walk in a situation where
01:46 they're big shoes to fill.
01:48 Expectations can be high, all those kind of things, but he's gotta be himself.
01:52 And that's one of the conversations I have with his parents, and
01:55 then with him separately.
01:56 Don't come in here trying to be someone else, be yourself.
01:58 We recruit you because we like you, and
02:00 not because we expect you to be like somebody else.
02:03 And that's any player that you bring in, you're gonna recruit someone.
02:07 But I think he's definitely a talented kid.
02:09 He's a little bit younger, so there's some maturity and
02:12 some growth that happens with younger players as opposed to older players.
02:15 But yeah, I'm anxious for him to get here and can't wait to work with him.
02:19 >> You had some in-state guys, too.
02:21 They were punters, really highly acclaimed, but you zeroed in on Reese.
02:24 So what was it about him that was so attractive to bring him to Iowa?
02:27 >> Yeah, I think if you just follow kind of how we've done things here,
02:31 you look at talking about Torrey, he's done an excellent job here.
02:34 It's really hard for us not to go back to that same type of deal and
02:39 feel very strongly about the guy coming in as I do with Torrey going out.
02:42 And wish everyone well and wish everyone their best moving forward in their
02:47 careers and definitely follow those guys.
02:49 But definitely feel like we've got the right guy.
02:52 >> Can you imagine, I mean, could you have imagined the career that Torrey did end
02:55 up having, from kicking a punt off the ground to empty stadiums to getting
03:00 off the plane in Australia, he told me about the time in Minnesota where it was so
03:05 cold and he laughed at him.
03:07 >> Yeah.
03:07 >> What can you say about his journey that's about to happen?
03:10 >> I think his journey is incredible, but I also think it speaks to him and
03:13 kind of how things are here at Iowa.
03:16 This is a place where you can come, you can be yourself.
03:19 It's a place where you can come and you can start to thrive and
03:23 develop as a person, not only as a player, but as a person.
03:26 Start at the top with Coach Ferentz.
03:27 Myself and other coaches on our staff that have played under Coach Ferentz have
03:31 been not only developed as players, but been developed as people.
03:34 And there's no better person to watch every single day than Kirk Ferentz.
03:38 All the ups and downs of being a man and being a human being,
03:42 we've seen Coach Ferentz do all those things firsthand.
03:45 And I think it speaks not only to him, but all the guys that have followed him and
03:49 watching him.
03:50 And then you add in the recruiting piece, there's no better place than Iowa for
03:54 a young man to come into and thrive and develop.
03:56 So I think Torrey has been a benefactor of that.
04:00 Definitely happy with what he's done here.
04:01 He's got a very bright future at the next level.
04:04 Anxious to watch him and anxious to help be a part of that.
04:07 >> How much do you care about Torrey having the all time record for
04:11 single season hunting?
04:13 >> How much do I care about it?
04:15 I mean, I want everything that he can possibly have that's good for him.
04:18 I don't think it has any effect on us, game plan, anything like that.
04:21 But definitely excited for Torrey and
04:24 want him to have all the things that he can possibly get.
04:27 >> How difficult is it prepping for
04:29 a team when you're not really sure who's gonna be out there?
04:32 >> As far as?
04:33 >> The Tennessee Volunteers.
04:35 >> Are you talking personnel?
04:37 >> Personnel, yes.
04:38 >> Special teams is like that every week.
04:40 You never really know who's in, who's out.
04:42 And basically, you have to find their best players and
04:45 what do they do best and try to zero in on them.
04:47 So I think that's probably a little bit more lens to special teams because we do
04:51 that every week.
04:52 And frankly, on our side, we're not always sure who's in, who's out,
04:56 based off what their role is in offense or defense.
04:58 So I think it's pretty standard old hat.
05:00 Offense, defense, I don't wanna speak for those guys.
05:03 >> How has Drew responded to his little slump that he had at the end of the year?
05:07 >> I think Drew has been working incredibly hard.
05:09 Drew is an incredibly talented young man.
05:12 He's also very young.
05:13 And I think we've all seen some of those things.
05:14 I think he hit a little bump in the road, but he's worked incredibly hard.
05:18 And I think his teammates have been very supportive of him,
05:20 talking about the specialists in particular, and watching him work.
05:24 And Drew's gonna be fine.
05:25 Drew's long term, I think, is phenomenal, phenomenal talent.
05:29 And I'm really anxious to see him get back on the field.
05:31 I know he's anxious to get back on the field as well.
05:34 >> Two more questions.
05:35 How much of a teachable moment was Cohen's effort?
05:39 Not the execution of missing a tackle inside the fight, but getting up and
05:42 running.
05:43 And I've seen hundreds of coaches on Twitter saying, look,
05:47 this is the kind of effort we need.
05:48 And I guess from that perspective, how- >> It's definitely a teachable moment,
05:53 I think, for all levels of football.
05:54 But it's also a microcosm or metaphor for life, right?
05:58 Like when you screw something up or you mess something up, you get yourself up,
06:02 you bust your tail and you finish.
06:04 And that's what that play is.
06:05 And I think you can look at that, not to get totally philosophical.
06:08 I think that's a really metaphor for life.
06:11 And I think the years go by, we'll go back and look at those plays.
06:15 A little fresh for me right now to be overly excited about that play,
06:20 cuz I also feel like we could have made it the front end.
06:24 But I think long term, it's definitely a great play.
06:27 It's a play that people should show often, if you're talking about effort.