Hawkeye football hosts Big Ten Network
The Big Ten Network travels to different programs in the conference to go inside football operations for a day, and on Monday, BTN set up shop in Iowa City to see what the Hawkeyes were up to.
August 20, 2018
The Big Ten Network travelled to Iowa City on Monday – despite the rain – and came to Iowa football’s practice, giving Hawkeye fans a glimpse of day-to-day operations.
Iowa linebacker Amani Jones gave the television crew a personal tour of Iowa’s football facility.
From the weight room to the meeting rooms to the dining room to the chill rooms, @HawkeyeFootball‘s facilities are first-class.
Allow Amani Jones to show you around…? pic.twitter.com/NeROEptrZr
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 20, 2018
Former-Iowa quarterback Chuck Long had some fun with Iowa’s football throwing machine in the indoor practice facility, too.
.@HawkeyeFootball has a robot passing machine…You read that right. @ChuckLongIowa met the Monarc Monday, and the legendary Iowa QB even caught a few passes: ?? pic.twitter.com/wCm0vwp0sh
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
Defensive lineman Dalles Jacobus showed off his beatboxing skills, which proved to be better than expected.
Do something in your life as well as @HawkeyeFootball‘s @bigdjacobus60 beatboxes.#MondayMotivation #SportsLite pic.twitter.com/spAfRDQTt2
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
Then came the practice.
BTN’s lead studio host Dave Revsine wasn’t a huge fan of Iowa’s weather. For most of the Hawkeyes’ practice, especially early on, the rain came down hard.
Waiting for the right moment to remind Kirk he has an indoor facility pic.twitter.com/jXpz4tRnhE
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 20, 2018
Iowa kicked things off with a drill well-suited for the rainy weather.
Why not just use the beautiful indoor facility? #ItJustMeansMore in the elements. ?
?: @arouxBTN pic.twitter.com/nogAtc2FTQ
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 20, 2018
Despite the rain, quarterback Nate Stanley was able to sling some nice passes to his receivers.
Stanley had some nice touch on this deep ball to Nick Easley:
Absolute dime. ?
Nate Stanley ? @nick_easley for the @HawkeyeFootball connection: pic.twitter.com/iRFLntOweh
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
And then Stanley found another receiver, this time Brandon Smith, on yet another long bomb.
Nate Stanley to Brandon Smith. Smith building on a good spring – had some impressive moments today. pic.twitter.com/v3gh7bIoXo
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 20, 2018
Defensively, Brady Reiff flashed his ability to meet runners in the backfield when he disrupted a run by Mekhi Sargent.
Brady Reiff making a play pic.twitter.com/01p55ffPeI
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 20, 2018
Fellow defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa displayed his strength when he took on an offensive lineman in a pass rush situation.
Very good group of DE’s here. Looks like AJ Epenesa has made some significant strides. Going to be a great one. pic.twitter.com/5Rh7Py9eWs
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) August 20, 2018
The Big Ten Network interviewed head coach Kirk Ferentz, defensive coordinator Phil Parker, safety Amani Hooker, and defensive lineman Parker Hesse.
Ferentz spoke about what coaching at Iowa for 20 years means to him, the new redshirt freshman rule, and practicing out in the rain, among other things.
Kirk Ferentz has done one of these interviews for the past 12 years.
He would have done them the eight years previous, too, if BTN existed.
It’s time to sit down with the @HawkeyeFootball legend. pic.twitter.com/ZYQznXgG9J
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
Parker gave his thoughts on Iowa’s defense, specifically when it comes to Amani Jones and Nick Niemann and their leadership.
Can you give us your thoughts on the @HawkeyeFootball defense, Phil Parker? pic.twitter.com/jutS3V6EPo
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
The BTN crew asked Hooker and Hesse about what has made Ferentz successful, and both players pointed to his character.
Don’t know about you, but we can listen to @HawkeyeFootball players talk defense all day long. pic.twitter.com/EzxNaShU1k
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018
As BTN packed things up and hit the road, analyst Gerry DiNardo gave his final takeaway on Iowa football after his day in Iowa City.
“I think we might see an evolution of sorts on offense.”
– @gerrydinardo on @HawkeyeFootball #BeforeYouGo pic.twitter.com/BrCKcmfPh7
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) August 20, 2018