Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz took his turn on Tuesday’s Big Ten coaches teleconference to provide a few updates on his Hawkeyes team and also look ahead to Saturday’s matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Here are the highlights.
+ Happy to get the victory Saturday night against Minnesota in front of a great crowd. Night games at Kinnick are a special thing, but didn’t have much time to celebrate with Ohio State coming to town this week.
+ “We have our hands more than full this week.”
+ Running back Akrum Wadley has had a nice career. Was under-recruited out of New Jersey. “He does a good job running the football and is certainly a threat as a receiver as well.”
+ Sam Hubbard is impressive. The toughest thing for OSU is to figure out who to put in there. They can rotate and keep their guys fresh. They’re all different, but they have similarities. They’re all athletic. He doesn’t like to use the word “instinctive”, but Hubbard knows how to play football.
+ Why are their problems running the ball? This is a first-year starting quarterback, young receivers, young offensive line. These aren’t excuses, but “facts are facts.” They don’t have guys stacked up on the shelf, “that’s just not the nature of our program.”
+ Coaching stability at Iowa has been a key. After Ferentz’s first season they were 1-10 and he’s sure people didn’t envision him getting a second year. He had a good feel for the culture of the program and the university. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Iowa has a similar feel to the Steelers in terms of stability. There have been low points, but you try not to panic. This is a very reactionary society, especially in sports, and the money has changed greatly. “It’s kind of the world we live in now. They want it yesterday. I feel very fortunate to be in a place where we enjoy rare stability.”