The Daily Iowan: What have you enjoyed about Iowa City so far?

Rusty Feth: Outside of football? Oh, everyone is super nice. I know everyone says that, but it’s really true. Like everyone is so nice and, you know, being somewhere that supports you, supports every sport.  Like every sport gets so much support, and it’s so cool to see and, you know, people treat you kind and look up to you.  I’m really grateful to be in the position I am just for that reason. 

Anything that sets Iowa fans apart?

The way that they treat people, like, even opposing fans. When I played against Iowa my true freshman year when I was at Miami Ohio, my parents talked about how nice every Iowa fan was, even though they were covered in red Miami gear. They just welcome you and are nice to you. And I think that’s the coolest thing for sure. 

Any other sports you played when you were growing up?

Yeah, I didn’t wrestle. I wish I did. I wish I did wrestle, but I played basketball and baseball growing up. I played baseball until my freshman year of high school and then basketball, also until my freshman year.

Any favorite teams?

The [MLB’s Cincinnati] Reds. I don’t really watch basketball.

What do you think about [Reds’ shortstop] Elly De La Cruz?

He was so fun to watch.  I haven’t watched a ton of games. But every game that I have watched, he’s crazy. Good to watch. 

Any sort of hidden talents?

I’m pretty good at Call of Duty. I think I could take anyone on the team at Call of Duty. I’d like to test it out. But that’s what comes to mind right off the bat.

What’s your music taste like?

It’s all over the board. I’ve been listening to a lot of Tracy Chapman recently. And, you know, older songs but probably country, rock, and Greta Van Fleet. I love Greta Van Fleet. And yeah, that’s probably it right now.

Any specific song that you’ve been playing a lot right now?

Probably “Crossroads” by Tracy Chapman. I’ve been listening to Tracy Chapman every day. But “Crossroads” right now, and, obviously, “Fast Car” is like the best song ever.

What are some of your hobbies that help you decompress?

I’ll say I do really enjoy golfing. I’m not very good at it, but it’s fun to go out there and just mess around. Golfing and going to the movies. I watched a couple movies recently with some of the guys here. And, fishing, I enjoy fishing.

What sort of movies do you like?

Action movies and horror movies. I went to the theater last week and watched a movie called “The Creator.”  It’s like an AI movie and that was pretty crazy because of all the AI stuff. 

What’s your favorite scary movie?

I think the “Halloween” movies probably. Or, I mean, [Friday the 13th] movies are always good too.

Who were some of your football idols growing up?

As a kid, probably my cousin was the biggest one. He was a long snapper, played at Ohio State for a couple of seasons. And then professional athletes, I’d say [former Los Angeles Rams’ left tackle] Andrew Whitworth, [former Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive tackle] Geno Atkins and guys like that. I mean, shoot. Now that I’m here, I feel like a little kid again. I’m meeting NFL players every week. And, you know, some of the guys that I’ve met here [former Iowa offensive linemen] Robert Gallery, Eirc Steinbach,  and Brian Bulaga. I’ve met more people that I look up to just in the past three weeks than I have my entire life, and it’s been pretty awesome.

What about non-football idols?

Start with my family, my mom, my dad. They’ve always been there for me. They’ve been amazing parents to me and my brother. Them, and my uncles and my aunts.  I’m just a family man.

What is one thing you would bring to a deserted island?

That’s funny, we were just talking about this in the locker room a couple of weeks ago. Do I have it forever, the one thing if I bring it?

Yeah.

Sunscreen. That’s my one because I mean, you can bring a gun or a knife to survive, but I’m not surviving if I don’t have sunscreen on my head, my neck, and my face.

What’s a guilty pleasure of yours?

My girlfriend will love this. I haven’t finished it, but I watched about six seasons of “Vampire Diaries” with her, and I put it off for probably three years with her. I’m like, ‘I’m not watching it.’ And then I watched it, and it was kind of good. I will say it’s pretty good. I need to finish it.