IAFB Players 122923
Hawkeye players from Orlando
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Getting we end up getting married on July 3rd, 2022, and she was able to travel to
00:06 Nashville last year and she was able to travel to this bowl game too. So it's
00:11 nice to be able to have her tag along. But we're going to Universal. She's not
00:16 going, but as a team, we're going to Universal tomorrow, I believe. And yeah,
00:21 so that'll be pretty cool. Was that where you propose? Yes, yes. Propose
00:26 at Universal. Schematically, I think Drew Martin was talking about how
00:30 Tennessee spreads it out. Both Milton did that and this new guy, Nico, does it too.
00:35 What as a defensive lineman do you have to do to kind of take advantage of those
00:39 opportunities where they're not exactly stacking the bucket? They're not exactly
00:43 a Wisconsin of 20? Right, right. Just, you know, make plays when the opportunity
00:47 provides itself. And the biggest thing we're focusing on is tempo this week.
00:52 They have a really fast paced offense that is trying to get to the next play
00:56 as quickly as possible. And we're just trying to simulate that as much as we
01:01 can with the scout team. They've been doing a pretty good job of that. So just
01:05 trying to trying to get up, get set as quickly as we can. What does that look
01:09 like? Talk more about that simulation. Just they're setting the ball. They're
01:14 trying to run a play as quickly as possible. We are getting set on defense.
01:18 Yeah. Logan, what kind of impact did KB make on your career? Oh, Coach Bell is
01:23 great. It's been amazing to be able to play with him. He has really helped me
01:28 grow as a man, helped me grow as an individual in more ways than I could
01:32 even begin to explain to you. But the thing I'll always remember is how much
01:37 of a straight shooter he was and how he will never pull a punch. Even if that's
01:42 what you think is best for you, he will tell you how he sees it. And we had a
01:47 conversation 2020 season after that. And that was one of the biggest moments of
01:54 growth for me as a player, as an individual. And that's kind of what
01:58 helped spark my career a little bit too.
02:01 Yeah.
02:06 Set us back, but none of us are using that as an excuse. We're all pushing
02:10 forward and we've all been trying to improve this whole entire season. And I
02:14 see it every day when we're at practice as well.
02:15 What do you see that's improved?
02:18 What do I see?
02:19 Yeah.
02:19 That's a tough question.
02:23 I don't know. Just as time goes on, we've built more chemistry with each
02:28 other. Our communication has grown.
02:30 For one in the receiver room, like I was just telling him, I think some of the
02:35 receivers have stepped up as leaders, specifically Caleb Brown. Like I said to
02:39 him, he's just got like something about him that's easy to follow. He's got like
02:43 this charisma and his energy is always high. So I'm excited for the wider
02:46 supergroup going forward for sure.
02:48 How do you prepare for a team when you're not sure who's going to be on
02:51 defense?
02:52 Exactly. We were just talking about that. This is the first time we've watched
02:56 film where we're watching film on guys that won't be in the game, you know, so
03:00 just trying to watch like the tendencies of the defense and see how they work as
03:04 a whole is what we're looking at.
03:06 Of the teams you've been a part of, how would you compare the culture and
03:11 togetherness of this team?
03:14 To be completely honest, I think this is the most fun year I've had as a
03:18 high school player. Before this year, I was a little bit worried about if I
03:22 would enjoy it because I'm so old and a lot of my friends left. So I was
03:27 stressing out about it at first, but all the things that this team has
03:31 overcome and it's been really fun to be a part of, you know. I mean,
03:36 obviously we lost like some of our best players, but to still go 10 and 2 or
03:40 whatever we went is pretty special, you know. So I've had a lot of fun this
03:45 year. I feel like the brotherhood on this team is pretty strong. We've all
03:48 stuck together in such a crazy season. It just goes to show how much we care
03:53 for each other.
03:53 So when you hear that bowl games don't mean as much or don't matter as much,
03:58 what does it mean to the players on this team?
04:01 I mean, one thing we talk about a lot is how many Iowa football teams have won
04:08 11 games ever, and I think it's only three. So to be a part of something
04:13 like that is pretty special. And we know bowl games are really like what
04:18 team wants it more at this point. Like some teams are gonna go to bowl trips
04:21 and they're gonna want to go on vacation the whole entire time. But we
04:24 know we could have fun on bowl trips, but when it's time to play and it's
04:28 time to come out here and get better, like we have to be 100% focused on
04:31 that. And that's what I see from us all the time, which really stems from
04:34 from Coach Ferris and the coaching staff and the leadership on this team.
04:37 So thank you. Any of the younger series? One of your pro kick coaches was
04:41 here. Yeah, yeah, that was nice. Good to see McKenzie for sure. Yeah. What
04:47 does he mean to you? I mean, he's just been a really big help since I got
04:51 here. Really, probably especially kind of this year, you know, like I probably
04:54 said a few times this year earlier on in the year, I was really wasn't
04:57 performing the way I wanted to perform. And then, yeah, kind of reached out to
05:02 McKenzie and who's obviously been a friend of mine for a couple of years.
05:05 And yeah, he just kind of said a couple of things and has really helped me
05:08 with my punting game, but more so a lot of things off the foot as well and
05:11 just trying to focus on the right things. And I'm really fortunate enough
05:14 to have him as a friend and as a coach and as well as the other guys that I
05:18 mentioned, like Jason Baker and Nate Canning as well. So I'm really
05:21 fortunate to have such great people that really helped me along my journey.
05:24 Did you get to meet up with the Tennessee kicker and all your friends
05:28 with them? Yeah, it's funny. I don't really know whether I should say this
05:31 or not, but I caught up with him last night just in the lobby of the hotel.
05:34 We didn't really talk about football or anything like that too much, but yeah,
05:39 really excited to see him out on the field. Unless Iowa never punts, you
05:43 should set the all time record. What's that mean to you? I think first and
05:48 foremost, I like my chances of punting on Monday, but yeah, I don't really
05:54 pay too much attention to all those records and things like that. But it's
05:58 one of those things that I was kind of thinking, you know, we punt a lot. No
06:01 one else punts as much as we do. It's probably one of those things that I'll
06:04 have for quite a while. Hopefully Reece doesn't break it next year. But yeah,
06:08 it's obviously pretty special to kind of go down in the record books or
06:11 something like that. But I really don't focus on that stuff too much. You know,
06:14 people keep saying, "All you gotta get is 20 yards." Or, "What if I shank it 18
06:18 yards out of bounds?" I still don't have it, do I? Do you ever have mixed
06:21 feelings watching the offense thinking, "Man, I'd really like to get out there
06:25 and punt?" Oh, sometimes, you know, sometimes there's a couple of games
06:29 where we're not punting much at all. I'm like, "Damn, I really can't help the
06:32 team the way I want to." But if I'm not out there, it's also a good thing from a
06:35 winning point of view.
06:37 This time last year, you know, you were kind of tearing with the decision to come back.
06:41 Now that it looks like it's coming full circle and you're back in this position,
06:45 do you think of how much it improves the fact that you're on this record,
06:48 your A-guy award?
06:49 Yeah, and I think, you know, people ask me that, "Oh, are you glad you came back?"
06:52 Absolutely. But I will say one thing, the NFL has never really been a money
06:56 thing or anything like that. It was just more so, "Well, how can I take my game to
07:00 the next level?" A lot of people kind of just told me, "Well, you can always improve."
07:05 And that's one thing I'm always trying to improve. And coming back to college,
07:08 I feel like that's really helped me as well. And I feel like I've really taken a couple
07:13 of massive steps in the last probably 18 months, 12 to 18 months. So, yeah,
07:18 really glad I came back and I don't regret it at all. And in fact, it's really helped me
07:22 progress as a punter, a player, and a person, and a teammate, and a leader as well,
07:26 which I know is just as important as punting in terms of the transition
07:30 to the next level.
07:31 Simple stuff, but they do it well. They don't have that many concepts,
07:35 but what they do is run different concepts out of the same formation.
07:40 So it's kind of tough to get a little bit of a tail, but the more tail you watch,
07:43 the better you'll be.
07:44 - Regarding that decision again, what are the biggest factors you're weighing when
07:50 it comes to, "Do I stay? Do I go?" Obviously, you don't have a decision,
07:54 but the pros and cons.
07:56 - I haven't really put too much thought into it. I've really been focusing on
08:02 Tennessee, and I said I'd take a...I'd attack that challenge. I'll cross that
08:05 bridge when I get there. So really next week, if we could fast forward a week
08:10 from now, I'll have a better answer for you. But right now, I'm locked in on
08:13 Tennessee, trying to enjoy this home. I got it.
08:16 - Looking back, throughout your Iowa career, is there a favorite Phil Parker moment?
08:20 - There's so many I can't even tell you. I can't even tell you.
08:25 I love coaching. He's one of one. He's one of one. So he's so many over these last
08:32 five years. Some good ones, but nothing I'm willing to share.
08:38 - What was it like the first time that you met him?
08:41 - The same way.
08:42 - I think another thing, too, is just my football awareness and just the more and
08:45 more film I watched, just understanding what the game's like and how the offense
08:51 is trying to manipulate you and just putting myself in better positions to
08:55 obviously make plays and help my team.
08:57 - Thanks so much, Cohen.
08:58 - Cohen, you said you've grown a lot this season, kind of heading into the last
09:02 game of the regular this season. I guess going forward into the future, what are you
09:06 going to improve? What do you look to improve on, I guess, as your skills as a DB?
09:10 - I think things I want to improve on is I think I want to obviously become a
09:14 better man, be able to play man a little bit better. I think I win it a few
09:18 times in diamond. I think that definitely helped improve my man
09:21 abilities, but just working on playing man, getting some better zone eyes, just
09:26 becoming a better football player and just finding different ways I can
09:29 help my football team.
09:31 - How's the overall preparation been going down here in Florida?
09:34 - It's been fun. It's been amazing. I mean, we get to be outside, you know, in Iowa.
09:39 It's obviously windy and a little chilly and just being out in Florida, liking the
09:42 sun, I like being outside. So it's fun, especially prepping for Tennessee. It's a
09:46 great opponent, great opportunity to get to play on a big stage, so I'm excited.
09:50 - It actually snowed yesterday in Iowa.
09:51 - Really?
09:52 - Yeah, so...
09:52 - Finally, but yeah.
09:54 - Walk me through kind of what was going through your head throughout that.
09:58 - I mean, yeah, I basically, you know, we had a play called and I ran down there
10:04 and I was thinking I was gonna be able to make that tackle inside the five and
10:07 I whiffed and I just remember getting up and seeing that somebody hadn't
10:11 tackled him yet and I just got up and just ran my hardest to just try and get him.
10:15 - Did you think you were gonna get him?
10:16 - I mean, I kind of, when I kind of got up, I kind of just started running and I
10:21 was like, "I'm gonna try and tackle him before hopefully nobody, hopefully
10:24 somebody stops him," but I just kept running and then I just finally kind of
10:28 around like the 15, I kind of knew I kind of had a chance to maybe get him and I
10:31 just kept running.
10:32 - What does that say? I mean, it's gotten so much attention, that play. What do you make of all the attention that you got for missing a tackle? Obviously the hustle...
10:40 - I mean, I think it just goes to show that, you know, at the University of Iowa, they just
10:45 develop hard-working guys and they try their best to just recruit hard-working
10:49 guys and just to go to show that like the play is never over and, you know,
10:53 unfortunately Michigan was able to score after that play, but I think that, you
10:57 know, plays like that you can show that, you know, the game's really never
11:00 over and you can still prevent touchdowns, stuff like that, just by
11:03 working hard.