Check out what Iowa football players had to say during Tuesday media availability.
By Jordan Hansen
Each week the Iowa football team meets with the media to discuss anything and everything.
Many of these quotes don’t end up in our stories, even if there are a few gems. Here’s what the Hawkeyes had to say this week.
James Daniels, center
On coming back from his injury: “For my knee, I really can’t even complain about it. The day before I hurt my knee, one of my friends back home, one of my high-school teammates, he got shot in the head. I’d rather have surgery to get my knee fixed than have surgery to have a bullet out of my head. I can’t even even complain about it.”
On another of LeShun Daniels’ (his brother) runs get called back: “I saw the flag thrown and I just … I thought the flag was on me, and I was just kneeling there to see what the ref was gonna call.”
On cut/chop blocks: “Officials call different blocks, different plays, differently. You can see a clip, one time it’s going to be called for holding, and the next time the official doesn’t call it. It just depends on what kind of officiating crew and what they think, what their choices are on what’s a foul and what’s not a foul.”
Desmond King, cornerback
Northwestern’s Austin Carr, one of the best receivers in the Big Ten: “What makes him effective, I would say, is his ability to make a play on the ball. He’s one of their possessive catchers and one of their go-to guys. Stopping him, that’s going to be one of our key components.”
On the Wildcat’s read-option: “They’re very effective with that, the read-option, we saw a couple things with the running back and slot receiver as well. They got guys that can move around.”
Does not being voted captain affect him? “No. Not at all. It’s a big honor to have it, but for me, I’m the captain of the defense and it’s my job to get the defense, collectively, as a unit, ready to go for Saturday.”
Parker Hesse, defensive end
How he feels he’s grown as a player: “Confidence is the main thing. I kind of have an understanding of what’s going on, what my part is. I don’t wanna say relaxed, but being able to take a step back and relax and take it all in as opposed to just getting thrown in last year.”
On teams that use a lot of pace: “It’s something, starting in camp, we have a phrase: ‘put out the fire.’ If some freak thing happens, a sudden change — a punt block, turnover, whatever — wherever the ball is, whatever the situation is, we have to put out the fire. It doesn’t matter how many snaps we’re on the field. It’s our job to not give up yards and not give up points.”
Ron Coluzzi, punter
On life: “You know, we’re just playing a game. It’s a game. It’s football. It’s supposed to be fun. That’s the hardest thing you have got to remember at the end of the day. Just go out there and do what you can do, you know?”
On relationship with his teammates: “During the game, I don’t know if you can see me, but I’m sitting on the bench, maybe joking around with VandeBerg or C.J., and we’re just talking about life. It’s fun. It’s a game. We’re supposed to do our job when it’s game time, when you step on the field and strap up, you know. Then it’s like, OK, it’s go time. At the end of the day we’re just people, and we’re going to mess up. It’s just human nature.”