By Jordan Hansen | [email protected]
Each week, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz holds a press conference. These are the highlights.
- Expresses his condolences to Ron Stewart, who served the football program as a security guard. He was a Marine and a sheriff in Polk County for a number of years.
- “I appreciated his friendship.”
- Kirk thinks Iowa was better on offense against Minnesota, says there were a “lot of positives.”
- Says Iowa still needs to “grow and improve” as a football team.
- Same captains: Josey, CJ, Desmond, and LeShun.
- No real big injury updates.
- Brings up the fact Purdue won a tough road game against Illinois. Thinks they’ve improved a lot as a program.
- “These guys, to me, are on the right path.”
- Said the biggest change on the offensive line was Ike Boettger to guard. Said he played well. ‘Think we made strides yesterday.”
- On defensive tackles: “It’s good to strong up the middle.”
- Says that throwing the ball is a “collective effort.”
- On Noah Fant: “He’s making progress.”
- “Really good defensive players, there’s certain things you can try to do, and certain things you can try to avoid.”
- Interesting comparison between Desmond King and Micah Hyde. Said he thinks that Hyde could have been Iowa’s all-time leading wide receiver.
- On strange formations other teams use: “Hopefully your defensive system is solid in its foundation and you can rule things out.”
- Says Iowa spends a little time on it, one of those things where you have to spend a certain amount of time.
- “I find it laughable I have any kind of security.” He understands it, of course, but still finds it funny.
- Talked a bit more about Stewart, says he has a lot of good memories.
- On playing on the road: Last year, moving practice to the morning helped a lot. However, it worked because the players were mature. “What I’m saying is that you have to have a lot of maturity to get wins on the road.”
- Says this all has to be a team effort on defense. Says they’ve been making good improvement.
- “I like Ike” — Kirk made a political joke and then was asked about Boettger. It was funny.
- Says he’s not really focused on the college football playoff, but “If you screw up and win 12 games and end up in the playoff, that isn’t bad, right?”
- On the North endzone project: “It’s pretty neat. This is the next step.”