University of Iowa Football

Media Conference
Thursday, January 7, 2016

Kirk Ferentz
COACH FERENTZ: Welcome to everybody, and Happy
New Year. Just start out by expressing our
condolences; everybody in the department certainly
was saddened to hear about Barb Elliott's passing two
nights ago. Coach Elliott is one of the all-time great
people in the history of this university, not just the
athletic department. He was here when I got here in
1981 and he and Barb have remained very active in
the Iowa City and university community. It's a real sad
occurrence. Our condolences certainly go to Coach
Elliott and his entire family.
Next on my list, it was announced that Jim Reid is
taking the coordinator position at Boston College; it's a
bittersweet thing. I've known Jim for a long time,
basically going back to the late 70s. Jim has done a
wonderful job with our football program over the past
three years, tremendous coach, tremendous person,
and did nothing but give his absolute best to our
football program in every phase: Supervision of his
players, academic supervision, recruiting, certainly the
coaching aspect.
Just very appreciative of everything that Jim did for our
program over the last three years and wish him nothing
but the best moving forward. It's always hard to lose a
good person, but this move made total sense for him.
He's going back home. It's an opportunity to be a
coordinator and I think he'll certainly have a positive
impact on their football team there. Just want to thank
Jim for his contributions.
We released a depth chart and I'll be happy to talk
about that as we go along. Depth charts in January is
basically just a starting point. You can take it for
whatever it's worth and there will be a lot of changes to
that, most likely, and developments as we move along
but it's a starting point.
Two things to note on the roster. Needless to say, we
are all really pleased to learn that Desmond wanted to
come back for his senior season. Personally I think it's
the best thing for him on all levels, not just as a football
player but as a person. I think it's just a great thing. I
know he's going to be a great teammate and hopefully
develop into one of our strong team leaders. I think he
certainly has that opportunity and that expectation.
Thrilled to get him back.

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

Drew Ott, we're still working on that. That's still in

process and really no decision, final decision has been
made on that. Needless to say, we'd love to get him
back, too and we'll do all we can to advocate for him.
It's already being done but we'll wait and see how that
pans out.
The only other real news item, Terrence Harris, back
before the Bowl trip, we decided mutually he's going to
move on to another opportunity. So I think he's
considering a community college right now, and that's
kind of where we're at on the roster.
Medically, we've had two players that are coming back
have surgery this past week, both James Daniels and
Josh Jackson had successful surgery, earlier in the
week. I think it's fair to say they will both be limited or
out of spring practice, and in Josh's case, probably
limited. But we expect a real good outcome for both
players. That's the hard part about the game, but it is a
reality.
And outside of that, right now we are not anticipating
anybody having surgery. A couple ones that are still up
in the air, we want to give it a bit more time and see
how we go but nothing major to discuss at this point on
that. Those are just some clean-up items to cover and
I'll be happy to talk about them in a second.
Just go back to last January, I talked about when you
are in coaching and if you're doing anything that's
competitive, you're going to experience highs and
you're going to experience lows and we've certainly
done that over the last 17 years right now.
I think if you look back at the last three years, we felt
really good coming out of 2013, thought that team
played at a high level, really maximized opportunities
that were in front of them and really did a good job.
Last year we came up short too often in too many
circumstances and we talked about that last January.
And really I think what came out of that was the fact
that it was an open book for us as a staff.
Went back and re-examined just about everything we
did and everything that we were doing, the things that
we talked about last January. As a result of that, I think
we made a lot of small tweaks and made little changes.
It's like anything in life, little things can add up to big

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things if they are done properly. So I'm pleased with

the way that process went but the most important thing
is our players really did a great job of buying in and
being committed. They did a wonderful job there.
As a result of that, the 2014 season, was not only
historic but it was really enjoyable to be part of that.
Anybody that was involved with this football team I
think really enjoyed the experience. We had a lot of
great people involved and a lot of great people working
together. Certainly to win 12 ballgames was
significant. That was historic. To compete in the Big
Ten Championship game and to compete in the Rose
Bowl, those are things that really were very special.
So certainly very tough to come up short in the last two
ballgames. The Championship Game we've already
talked about, basically 30 seconds away from winning
that game. But bottom line is we didn't get it done.
And then the Rose Bowl, just in a nutshell, we played
an outstanding football team and we had a lot of
respect for Stanford going into the game. It's like
anything: until you get on the field, you don't get a full
appreciation I think for how good or where a team is,
and that was an excellent football team, there's no
question about that. My guess is the final rankings will
reflect that.
I'd say the same thing about Christian McCaffrey, since
that time, after the ballgame, I was thinking about it,
and I'm not sure we've played against a more
impactful, dynamic football player in 17 years than him.
He's just a tremendous football player and is a threat
every way possible; is a guy that can touch the ball,
and can't say enough about him. As good as he was
on film, he's certainly more impressive in person. Their
whole football team is impressive.
Stepping back from that, thinking about it a little bit, if
you look at both those programs that we lost to at the
end of the season, they both have earned great
success over the last five years. Both of them had
years that people might consider down, if you look at
the other four collectively; that is the nature of football,
and overall, over five years, they have just had
tremendous programs.
For us, the good thing is it gives us a chance to really
learn, to grow from this experience. When you see it
firsthand, experience something firsthand, it's
significant. Going back to 1999, we didn't have much
fun up in Madison, Wisconsin. But the only good thing
that came out of that in my mind was we came out of
that in our first year. If you wanted to know what it took
to be a Big Ten Championship football team, that was
it. We saw it firsthand there and we saw Dayne set the
record.

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

So we got to experience it and we learned from that

and we grew from it and good things came out of that,
and really, I'm hopeful that that's the same case here
with these two ballgames. Both those teams have
played in championship games and they have played in
Rose Bowls, and for us it was a first-time experience.
Our goal is to learn from it and be a better team as a
result of that.
Along with that, I want to say how proud I am of our
football team. Specifically our players; they are the
ones that do the hard work and sacrifice and work so
hard. But I think our staff, our support staff, all did a
great job over the last 12 months and they certainly
deserve credit.
It gets back to where we were last January. I said our
goal is to perform at a championship level, be it on the
field, be it academically, citizenship-wise, and I think
this team certainly did a great job. If you look at it and
the traits that this team displayed on a consistent basis,
their hard work ethic, their resilience, their dedication,
and most importantly their dedication to each other and
then the spirit of community that was present on this
football team. To me, those are thing that are
important in sports and are important I think in our
state and our values in Iowa, really are in harmony with
those things.
Again, I'm just really proud of this football team. They
did a tremendous job and accomplished a lot of great
things and they can all walk away feeling really good
about what they have done. That said, we'll be back
together on the 19th for the first time and we'll turn the
page at that point, and the reality is, this is a new team
coming together here on the 19th. It's a new year and
we'll have new challenges in front of us.
The biggest thing, it's always been a fine line in sports
and athletics between winning and losing, and really
that's where winning starts in my mind. You have to
understand that and certainly at our place, we need to
understand that. There really are no givens. To that
point, it's conceivable, we could have a better football
team and not win 12 games next year. That's realistic.
Just like Desmond King could play better next year and
not win the Thorpe award. There's no givens on that,
either. That's just how it goes.
But the real big thing I think as we move forward right
now is that we learn and grow from the things that have
happened, the 12 regular-season games, the two postseason games. And basically, again, this team has
really modeled good behavior for next year's football
team. We'll really expect this team to do that.
And then the next thing is to evolve and improve, and

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that's what sports are about. That's what life is

certainly about. And to me, it's all based on the
fundamentals, it always has been; whether it's the skills
that go into being a good football player, the
fundamentals of good team work, and certainly the
fundamentals of being a good citizen, being a good
student. All those things are going to serve our guys
well down the road. That's our ultimate job is to make
sure when they leave the program that they are
prepared to do some good things as young adults and
then adults.
And then the last thing is a personal thanks to our fans.
The turnout in Indianapolis was unbelievable. What a
great environment. Just so good to be part of that.
And I would say the same thing about the showing in
Pasadena. Again, the turnout of our fans, it's
phenomenal. It's legendary, and again on behalf of our
program, our team, I want to let our fans know how
much they appreciate all they do and the support of our
program.
Q. Were you surprised that Desmond came back?
Winning the Thorpe award and all that stuff,
seemed like he would have a real big chance in the
draft.
COACH FERENTZ: I wouldn't use the word
"surprised," but I was pleased. Yeah, my sense was in
December that he was giving it serious thought. I don't
want to say he was leaning towards coming back but I
think he had an open mind it and we encourage that.
The big thing we encouraged him to do was get good,
valuable, accurate information from knowledgeable
people and I think that entered into his decision.
But I think it's a little bit like Brandon last year. I think
he enjoys the college experience. I think he values
being a team leader. I think he values the opportunity
to be part of something special. And it is more fun. It's
more enjoyable than pro football, and every one of our
players says that; and I've coached in the NFL, I'd say
the same thing.
And the bottom line is, pro football is going to be there
for him. But now he has a chance to get in the NFL
hopefully a year from now with a college degree in
hand. It's important to him; it's important to his family.
Q. With Jim Reid's departure, he has a stellar
career and seemed to be instrumental in elevating
your linebackers year over year, because he
coached all three, and they grew and got better.
What are you looking at next? Is this going to be a
national search? Do you have an idea of where
you want to go?

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

COACH FERENTZ: I've got a couple ideas in my mind.

There's no pressure to make a decision right now.
Probably the only thing I would say that's really
pertinent to it is we were not the same program we
were three years ago.
So the profile Jim brought to our program at that time I
thought was really important and very valuable. Norm
Parker had retired, and I'm not saying that Jim filled
that role but Jim was a coach who had a really broad
resum, a resum that had a lot of depth to it at all
levels.
What he brought to our program at that time I thought
was really important. We are in a different state right
now. I'm going to try to take my time and just think it
over and do what's best for our football team and our
program long term. But yeah, it's a little different
scenario or climate right now than maybe it was three
years ago.
Q. Is it because of Phil Parker being solidified as
defensive coordinator?
COACH FERENTZ: Absolutely. Phil was young into his
coordinatorship at that point. There's a reason you go
back when Marv Levy was coaching, they had some
pretty good teams. I did see a 30-for-30 somewhere in
the last month. They had a lot of guys in their 60s and
70s coaching on that team, but there's a lot to be said
for wisdom. There's a lot of value in that and certainly,
Jim brought energy, brought wisdom to our program at
that time, and to me it was a perfect fit at that stage.
Q. Do you anticipate making any changes to your
staff?
COACH FERENTZ: You know, we'll see. It's like every
year, right now, I'm just kind of at the infant stages of
going through things and thinking things out. It's
amazing, we played six days ago and it's just been a
blur.
So I just want to think things out. Ultimately, we are
going to do what's best for our team and make sure
that we give our guys the best chance they can to get
coached and make sure our coach is in the right spot
so that they can do the best things that suit their talents
and abilities.
Q. With C.J., what do you anticipate -- I don't know
what you need to see out of him but what do you
anticipate getting out of him?
COACH FERENTZ: My hopes would be the best
players we've had in our program, and I think C.J. has
an opportunity to be one of those players, the best
guys we've had in our program have had their foot to
the floor board every day here. Just start to finish.

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You know, just look at that wall right there, at least the
guys that I know personally, that's how they thought.
They are all about improvement and pushing forward
and there's not a player or coach that can't get better.
And that's how C.J. is wired, fortunately. That's why
he's got a chance to be a great player in our history.
He's already done some unbelievable things.
And the other thing I'm looking forward to is seeing a
healthy C.J. Beathard. I think he's probably looking
forward to it more than any of us. That would be a
really good thing. He's got a lot of things he can do to
improve right now and he's well aware of that.
Q. Do you think he'll be ready to go?
COACH FERENTZ: I'm optimistic, yeah. I'm optimistic
on that, sure.
Q. The national profile is definitely going to
change; 12-0, played in the Rose Bowl and
returned the most amount of players of anybody in
the Big Ten so you're probably going to be Top-10.
That has its own set of challenges to go along with
it.
COACH FERENTZ: History just keeps repeating itself,
doesn't it. It's so funny how it goes. Things are
predictable. Sorry to interrupt you.
Q. What have you taken away from some of these
teams like 2009 to 2010 where it was close but
didn't happen; how can you apply that to now?
COACH FERENTZ: Sure, it's a great question. It's kind
of what I said, there's such a fine line between winning
and losing, and we are in a little bit of a unique
position.
When a Drew Ott gets hurt, we can't just run another
guy out that looks pretty much like Drew and Drew
didn't look like Drew three years ago or four years ago.
So for us, it's such a fine line. That's what our players
need to understand -- our players and staff really need
to keep understanding for us to win 12 games, I mean,
just about everything has to go right; and we couldn't
keep our quarterback healthy and ironically we had
more injuries this year than I can remember. I'm sure
we've had other years that would rival it, but things
really have to be right for us to get there.
So to that point, you just look at the guys that we've
lost off this football team after Friday, last Friday. We've
got a lot of work to do. And you look at our depth right
now and all the vacancies that have been created and
the voids that have been created, the void in
leadership. And not that -- I've said it many times, we
didn't have much leadership. Wasn't bad leadership
but we just didn't have much personality back in the
spring. All those things get developed.

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

And I'll say this right now: For us to be a Top-10 in

September, I can't think of a time since I have been
here that we have been, legitimate. We may have
been in the papers, but legitimate, no. We've been it in
November, and even October at times we've been
there. But for us, it's an uphill climb and it's how we
take those steps.
So that's going to be the message to the team no
matter where -- and you just wrote my August speech,
because whenever it comes out, I guess it's June, it's
always at the Trans American golf outing. That's about
when somebody comes up and says, hey, you guys are
ranked whatever.
It really doesn't mean anything. Kind of like the
recruiting rankings. They don't mean much in
February. Three years later they might be relevant but
not when a guy signs a paper.
Q. How did Desmond let you know about his
decision?
COACH FERENTZ: He actually let Phil know first. Phil
got the good news first. They have got a great
relationship, very close relationship. Spoke to both he
and his mom and they were both really pleased. I
know he spoke with C.J. that day. I've read that -- I
took that as a really positive sign. I think it just gives
you a reflection of the way our guys are thinking and
that kind of closeness, it's how good things happen.
And I think there's a respect between those guys and
just I think everybody on the football team had a really
strong respect for each other. So when I heard that,
that was really a positive thing, as well. I'm guessing
C.J. might have been recruiting them. Swear I didn't
put them on it. I don't operate that way but I think all
the guys are thinking the same way.
Q. Got to feel good to have one guy on offense and
one guy on defense that can kind of be the pin
man, the leader?
COACH FERENTZ: What makes me feel better is that
we have got more than one on both sides. We have
some really good young people coming up that have
already embraced that leadership role. We saw that
during the course of the season. I kept talking about
our seniors, but there are a lot of guys in the junior,
sophomore class that are doing the same thing. We
have got a big void because we just graduated 21
pretty good guys and now we have to try to fill that
void, so we have plenty of room for guys to jump on the
boat, that's for sure.
Q. How different will this off-season be compared
to a year ago?

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COACH FERENTZ: We had guys last year but it was

just, it's always that process. Really to your point, it's
not going to be a lot different other than the outside,
how people perceive us. That will probably be a little
different and that comes with winning. It comes with
losing. All those things, you can write that script out of
your head. It's how we handle it and how we deal it
and what we do.
Goes back to my point about the fine line. The most
important thing is the people in this building have to
understand just what a fine line it is and we are starting
all over again. We haven't won a game this year. Our
first opponent is Miami of Ohio. I know they could care
less what they say about us or what's being said about
us, good, bad or indifferent. They are going to come
here trying to beat us. We need to get ready for that
but we have a lot of steps between now and then.
Q. Which position is the hardest to develop?
Looks like defensive end is a position where you
guys are in total developmental mode?
COACH FERENTZ: It's a little bit like our offensive
tackle position a year ago. We knew this was coming.
And so with Parker and Matt Nelson, they were kind of
the Boone Myers, Ike Boettger of a year ago. All the
time has been really important for them knowing that
change was -- Parker got thrown in there, fast, a lot
faster than we scripted it out. But that's what happens.
And he did a really nice job. He's going to be an
outstanding player for us, I have no doubt in my mind
about that; I'll go on record there.
And I feel the same way about Matt. The things that
we've seen, particularly the latter part of the season,
really encouraging. We have three years with both
those players and they have got all the right stuff like
Ike and Boone. It's good. We have some guys coming
up behind them, too, that I think have a chance. But
we just have to keep pushing that.
Q. Does it seem like James Daniels is going to be
out for the spring and how does that impact him?
COACH FERENTZ: My guess is he will be. I guess
we're lucky he was here last spring so we picked up a
bonus spring there. He's done a lot of good things in
practice. Naturally would love to have him out there for
those 15 days, but if he's not out there, he'll be able to
overcome it. That's how it's going to work.
Q. Is Boone at left guard a best-five situation?
COACH FERENTZ: All three of those guys, the good
news is we have three guys that can play tackle right
now and seen them do and seen them do it pretty well.
All of them have a tremendous amount of room for
improvement and they will improve because they are
guys. It's a flip of last year, for sure, total flip.

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

Q. Obviously your focus is on the beginning of next

season, but another Bowl loss, this past senior
class never won a Bowl game. Have you thought
about evaluating how you prepare for Bowl games
going forward?
COACH FERENTZ: That will be at the top of the list for
sure when we get to it in February. I just talked to a
coach, not about that today, but came up in
conversation. We finished up our conversation.
Yeah, we'll start looking at that, and not unlike what we
did after 2002. We looked at it real hard and tried to
re-assess, re-evaluate what we're doing. I don't think
we're that far off quite frankly. In this case, we faced a
really good football team and they were playing hard
and they were playing motivated. You know, they got a
good result.
Again, I don't think we're that far off but we're going to
look at everything, certainly. I will say this: This is the
first time we've played in December in the regular
season, if you will, and then had a Bowl game. I was a
little, I won't say concerned about that, but very
cognizant of that and maybe there were some things
there that we'll have to factor in. We'll have to look at
that closely.
Q. Your players said they were slipping all over the
place. Did you notice that was an issue?
COACH FERENTZ: It was an issue. I think probably
McCaffrey had more to do with that than anything else
than the field or the shoes. That's just my feeling.
Q. With LeShun and Akrum, you have two very
different backs. In the way you guys can use them,
how do you get away from tipping your hand?
COACH FERENTZ: Hopefully we can get Akrum to
185; hopefully we can get him above 185. That's goal
No. 1 for him. But you know, it's who do you want,
Shonn Greene or Fred Russell, it's one of those deals.
I'll take them both if we can get them. If we can get
both those guys playing anywhere close to those two,
that would be a good thing.
The big thing now would be to get these guys healthy
where they can play the way they are capable of
playing.
Q. LeShun banged up, too?
COACH FERENTZ: LeShun has had a lot of issues
during the course of the season, as all three guys did,
basically. Akrum, not quite as much. The issue with
him is durability with being able to take the punishment
that's out there. I mean, you saw their guy and you
saw him. And I'm not saying they are the same guys.
But McCaffrey, he's put together, strong, tough to

page 5 of 9

tackle. I mean, you try to tackle him and he's tough to

tackle.
I'm trying to think of a negative on the guy other than
he was too productive. That's probably the only one I'd
give.
Q. What did you learn about Akrum this year?
COACH FERENTZ: I thought he took a huge step in
Chicago. To me, I'm hoping that's a career-changer for
him. All players go through, you know, learning stages
and what-have-you, and the biggest issue with Akrum
was just ball security, which is more than ball security.
It's responsibility of the football team and if you're -- it
could be a left tackle. If you let a guy run by that you're
supposed to block and you don't block him -- I saw one
of those Sunday where a quarterback got whacked and
the ball came out. That's a left tackle; that's not just a
quarterback.
If you do touch the ball, you've got to really treat it as
it's important. It's hard to win if you don't, so I think he
really -- and I can't quantify this but my belief is he felt
the responsibility of the football team and he really took
it to a different level and I'm hoping that will move him
forward. I hope he'll do the same thing with his
training. I'm not saying he's been loafing, but to have a
college football physique and compete at this level, like
the guy we just saw, it really takes dedication.
You've got to be -- and I'm thinking a guy like Danny
Olszta who weighed 190, whatever he was, 180, who
ate methodically; or Eric Steinbach, go right down the
list, we've had guys do it. But that's what it takes if you
want to play and you want to play high level football.
Q. Macon and Adam provided you with so much
consistency at the fullback spot. What do you see
developing there? Drake has a little experience.
COACH FERENTZ: Drake is a tremendous young guy.
I thought, I've said it before, I can go through our whole
roster from last year. One reason we won, everybody
kept improving, and some were dramatic than others
and I would say the same thing about Drake. Drake
really improved this year. I think all of us feel a lot
better about him in the December mode than we did
back in August.
And then Brady Ross, we moved over during -- we
toyed around with him a little bit. He was kind of the
Grant Steen of our scout team this year. Grant was a
total pain in the neck, '99. I didn't know what he's
going to play, but I have a feeling this guy is going to
play and he starts three years for us. Boy, what a great
job he did.

knew our offense better than we did and boom, he was

always breaking stuff up. He really took to it naturally.
He did that in high school and I think he's got a great
future, as well. Not saying we are going to replace
them, those two guys are great guys, special guys and
great leaders.
Q. Schedules expanding, you played 14 games,
some teams played 15. What are your thoughts on
playing more games at the college level and how
will you handle the next month or two?
COACH FERENTZ: To me really the most important
thing is how our players feel about it. I hate to speak
for other people, but I think if you asked our guys, they
would sign up for those 14 again and gladly, you know,
gladly go down that road.
It was a little tough after the Championship Game. It
was a very physical, competitive game. If we had to
turn around and play next week, it would have been a
challenge. But I think we had ample time to recover.
That's not why we lost the Rose Bowl. I'm not making
any excuses. It has nothing to do with that.
To me, my personal commentary is I think we are at the
right number as a program and if we had the
opportunity to play in the Championship Game next
week, I think it's not that big a deal. The biggest
challenge from my vantage point is schools -- some
schools have already opened up and started school,
I'm guessing. That's a challenge there.
But for our guys, it would mean, infringing on their
winter break. I think most guys would trade that. Most
football players would say, I'll give up a winter break to
play in a Championship Game.
I would still need somebody really smart to explain to
me how we could do an eight-team playoff. I don't see
it in college... if you thinking about the players. That's
just one person's commentary. I think we are right
where we need to be. If they wanted to cut it back one,
I think that would be fine, too, but I think we are at a
healthy number right now.
Q. Kicker will be a brand new guy. What can you
tell us about him?
COACH FERENTZ: Right now, not a lot. A lot to be
learned. That will really start in the spring. I can say
this: The guys listed have improved and they have
been working behind the scenes like the defensive
ends or the tackles last year. But no matter what, they
are going to be new. We had two seniors this year, and
Marshall, the most experienced guy. But both those
guys have done a lot of punting and kicking over the
last two years.

Brady was that guy this year, he was just a pain in the
neck all the time. Everything he did was full speed. He

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

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So we are going to be new and we have to know that

going in. We have got to be willing as a team and
prepared to experience probably some inconsistencies,
not unlike you do any time new specialists or new
position players take over.
Q. One player that seemed to go from good, young
player to Big Ten calibre player was Josey Jewell
and his short distance explosiveness and power
seems to be where he's able to -- within a couple of
feet of somebody -- what kind of strides did you
see from him and where could he end up?
COACH FERENTZ: We were talking about young
leaders and he's one of those people. He's a really
strong-minded guy, very committed to his beliefs and
his beliefs are perfect alignment with our football team.
He really embodies everything you're looking for in a
linebacker, a football player and a young man. He's a
tremendous guy.
It's like C.J. He played a really high level this year, kind
of remarkably, considering how much he played a year
ago. But it starts with his attitude and his -- he's just a
really committed, hard-working young player. He'll just
keep getting better. He'll be stronger and more mature
next year and there's no question in my mind he'll
embrace the leadership role and bring other guys with
him. He's got that ability and I don't know that you
teach that. But he came here with it and we're just
going to encourage it to continue to grow.
Q. Assistant coaches' salaries seem to be
increasing, Dave Aranda went from Wisconsin to
LSU, but as far as keeping your own in this day and
age, how challenging is that for you knowing that
I'm sure the market is pretty high for your success
and you lost your linebackers coach.
COACH FERENTZ: Jim went home. I think that was
the biggest thing for him. Again, I don't want to speak
for other people, but he was really torn. I think he felt a
great sense of loyalty to our program. I know he's
enjoyed it here. But he went home; that makes perfect
sense.
The guys that have left have left for logical reasons. If
salary is going to be the most important thing, then that
might be -- you're always going to be at risk there,
because I don't think we're prepared to compete with
some of the SEC schools and I'm not sure we want to,
quite frankly.
Q. What did the NFL advisory board tell you about
Desmond? Was there a projection there? Did that
factor into his decision?
COACH FERENTZ: He may have gotten an answer.
I've never asked him. Normally we get a call like,
swear to God, it's usually Christmas Eve, get a call

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

from somebody in New York and they tell us what it is.

They never called. Maybe gave them the wrong
number, I don't know.
I'm not sure what they said. I've got information; we
surveyed more than a handful of teams in the NFL, and
it was all fairly consistent. But it's still a crap shoot.
The draft is a crap shoot and I think he understood
that.
Q. Speaking of the NFL, former players in the postseason, including your son who played in 14
games this year. Are you going to get a chance to
watch it? Are you going to go to Denver?
COACH FERENTZ: We actually snuck out there
Sunday, so it was great. It was neat to be a fan. It's
kind of weird. Yeah, got a couple good stories on that
one I'll share with you later. It was neat, really neat to
do it. I'm glad I'm not the jinx; they turned it over five
times and won the game. I don't know what the odds
of that are, but they are not very good, but they won it.
It will be fun, yeah, to that point, this weekend. I'm not
as much a fan of teams as I am people. People like
our guys are involved, it's fun to watch and fun to have
a chance to catch up.
Q. Neat watching James -COACH FERENTZ: It's hard for me to talk because I'm
his dad. He's a good story. He's a really good story.
And if I wasn't his dad, he would be one of our great
stories. Guy is working for Randy's Carpet. Basically
he was moving carpet around. I don't think they
actually let him put it down. He's not that refined. You
know, that's what he was doing, and training here. It's
a good story of sticking with your dream and chasing it.
I encourage all of our guys in your 20s, that's what your
20s are for in my mind, chase your dreams a little bit
and see where they take you. You've got your whole
life to work a real job. It's great. I'm really happy for
him.
Q. Do you have a better sense now of what C.J.
was able to do and not able to do because of
injury?
COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, that's why we're excited to
see him healthy. He still threw the ball fine but mobility
is such a big thing in football. When I was in the NFL, I
was around some guys that ran out of gas, really good
players that ran out of gas.
And when you're limited, like any sport, when your
lower body starts to go, it's not a good thing and
experience and expertise can only make up for so
much of that. He was a little bit limited that way.
I think all of us are excited to see what he can do when

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he's fully healthy. Hopefully he'll get there and stay

there. I know we'll get there but the key is staying
there. The biggest thing about him is the neck-up part.
The guy, he thinks right. He's calm under fire. He's got
all those attributes. And that game was a learning
experience for him, too. It was a learning experience
for all of us. None of us liked it, I can promise you that.
It wasn't much fun. It still I think stings all of us.
But that's how you get better, too. That's how you
grow. If you learn from it -- I can't tell you how many
times I've heard about Dan Gable talk about learning
more from one loss, which is all he ever had, than all
his victories. As long as you learn from it and grow
from it, then it's okay. It's not okay, but you get
something out of it. There's some benefit to it.
Q. You don't anticipate surgery for C.J.?
COACH FERENTZ: Hoping not. Medicine is not black
and white but we're hoping that that's not the case.
Q. I'm sure at wide receiver, you've got one guy
who played a lot, a couple guys who played a little.
Is it a mix right now of really being interested with
what you got and being nervous -COACH FERENTZ: Anywhere we're losing seniors, we
lose two good seniors at the receiver position. So the
development of -- and that's -- I'll dovetail back to the
preseason rankings.
Guys that make those rankings have no clue. They
look at how many guys we have back, they don't take
into consideration what we lose, not only in terms of
production but leadership, all those kinds of things. For
us, we don't have, throw out the developmental term. If
we have got 40 guys that are ready to get into a game,
we are doing really well; where some teams might have
60 or 70 that can walk out there and be pretty good.
We don't operate that way. It's just not our -- so we
have really got to be hitting things right. The guys that
the -- beyond your first 15 players, how they develop,
how they grow, what they do, that's really paramount to
be successful.
And then going back to the question of what can C.J.
do. If our first 15 players, whether it's C.J., Desmond,
Josey Jewell, if those guys are not improving, what
kind of example are they setting, first of all. And then
we are not going to win with them playing at the same
rate they played at last year. Doesn't work that way.
Our best guys have to play their best.
Again I go to those guys on the wall over there. All of
them played best as seniors. That's what they do and
that's what you've got to have.

Rev #2 by #177 at 2016-01-07 22:57:00 GMT

Q. Last year you made a quarterback change and

stood up here and said you were not happy with
where the program was out. A new Kirk was kind
of born. How much more enjoyable is coming up
here today than it was 360 days ago?
COACH FERENTZ: I'm not going to say I'm "Happy
Kirk," but last year was enjoyable, the experience was
enjoyable, because of the people. That's what makes
coaching special, and if you're a teacher, it's the same
thing. When you see growth and see things -- try to
think of how to put it.
When you see people do things that they were not sure
they could do and attain, that's the joy in coaching or
teaching. So if you're in a classroom or coaching,
that's the most gratifying thing that you get to enjoy.
Needless to say, there are a lot of experiences last
year that I think were really gratifying I think for
everybody here and to see players really understand
what it takes and what it means to be a good teammate
and really be on a good team, you don't have to go 120 to do that, but that's the fun of this whole thing.
Yeah, it was really special, it was really special, the
reality is, it's January and now we've got, you know,
we'll enjoy it here for a couple more days and it's tough
to enjoy it because we lost a Bowl game. That always
kind of taints things a little bit.
But big picture-wise it was a fun, enjoyable, gratifying
year. Now the challenge is not so much can we
surpass it, but what can we do with this opportunity.
This is a different team. What's the best this team can
do and how successful can we be at getting there.
That's a race we'll be running here in a couple weeks,
and it's going to be a lot of fun.
Q. Talking about having 60 guys ready to play -what's it going to take for Iowa get there and can
Iowa get there?
COACH FERENTZ: If we move to Columbus that would
probably be a good start geographically. I say it in jest.
Recruiting has always been a challenge here in most
sports, not all. Wrestling is probably a little different
climate. But even there, you look at the way wrestling
programs operate through the years, they don't always
take the obvious guy I guess.
That's always been our challenge. Our goal every year
is to recruit better and hit a higher percentage. Not
only guys that end up being productive and playing but
get them there faster and all that type of thing. But all
that being said, it isn't an exact science and we
probably have to project a little more than a couple
schools do. That's kind of where we're at.

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The good news is, you can still be there and I

mentioned, Michigan State, there have been times
when they have not been as good, the five years, they
have done a great job the last five years. Stanford has
had their times when they are down.
That's the great thing about college football, everybody
has an opportunity but you have to understand who
you are, what you are and then try to maximize it and it
takes special people. You're not going to get there
without special people, that's the goal there.
Q. Given the circumstances changed off the field,
does your message to recruits change?
COACH FERENTZ: The crazy thing, most of our stuff
is already done in our recruiting. So it's kind of like the
next round here. Although, we are not taking anything
for granted with this class. Guys can move any time
they choose to. Yeah, we still have our recruiting -- but
the message is, this is a great place, there's great
people here and it's a great opportunity I think for
young people to come in here and grow and develop.
We certainly have a nicer place for them to come every
day and work and do the things, eat and be together.
Those are important things.
But to me the most important thing about anything you
do in sports are the people involved and I think we
have got great people here working would you are
players. Not just as a coaching staff but the entire -everybody they inter face here and there's a support
and a commitment to giving them a first-class
experience educationally, citizenship-wise and footballwise. That doesn't change. But just like a new building
is more attractive to prospects, so is winning. There's
no debating that. Sometimes opportunity, if you have a
bad team, hey, maybe I can come in and play. But
most guys think they can play regardless.
Q. Jay Scheel was a highly-touted local guy, who
has been injured off and on. Got him second on
the depth chart. Is he a guy you think can make
that step?
COACH FERENTZ: Kind of like talking about Nelson or
Parker. Jay's biggest thing, two things, he was a
quarterback in high school, and then that injury is really
sticky. He has had a long, windy road. Late this fall
and then during December, we think we really saw him
playing kind of the way he can play, you know, moving
faster and doing the things he did in high school.

really quality young guy who has good potential and

good -- I can't guarantee he's going really going to be a
good player, but we have a strong feeling that he's
really going to continue to develop and be a good
player for us. He has all of the characteristics and
attributes that you look for.
Q. Heading into season 18, 60 years old, how are
you feeling?
COACH FERENTZ: Good. Today, good. I'm a little
behind in my workouts right now. I'm a little concerned
about that. Went to Denver for two days. But I feel
great. I feel great and hope it stays that way but it's,
you know, it's one of those deals. Life is good. We
have a little downtime right now from recruiting, quote,
unquote, downtime, but we'll be back. What do we call
those things hamsters get on, those little wheels. We'll
be back on that thing next Thursday. Get it going
again.
Q. You did win a couple national awards for Coach
of the Year. What goes through your mind when
you win something like that?
COACH FERENTZ: It's really a great honor. Just a
quick aside on both of them. The Eddie Robinson
thing, I remember as a kid watching highlights on
Sunday morning. I had the pleasure of meeting Coach
Robinson back in the mid-80s, Bill Brashier, doing a
clinic in St. Louis and got to meet him. Asked him
about the wing-T. Curious why Grambling would be
running the wing-T. That's when I found out he studied
here and got a master's at Iowa. He told me the story
and I found out about his visits with Coach Evashevski.
Then we drafted one of his players and I got to have a
long phone conversation with him prior to the draft in
1993. Just a special man. I had two personal
interactions with him so that's pretty neat.
And then I learned after the Bobby Dodd folks came up
here and visited, I didn't realize Coach Dodd had not
graduated college. So it was a really strong initiative
for him was making sure his players graduated and that
award stands for more than just, you know, winning
however many games.
Those two things are kind of special on that level but
again it's a team award. It's like any of our guys,
getting awards, the Thorpe award, any of our guys will
tell you it's a team effort. You don't do anything on your
own and especially if you're a head football coach.
There's a million people in this organization. I'm the
guy that says what time we practice, basically.

It's been a long journey for him and he's a tremendous

young man. Again, a little bit of adjustment playing
outside and doing some things that he didn't block
much in high school, but most guys have to learn that
anyway. We are really, like Parker, like Matt, he's a

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