Edgar Cervantes (left), Robert Gallery (70) and Maurice Brown (9) celebrate with Iowa's Dallas Clark after a touchdown against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City Saturday, Nov. 9, 2002. (Gazette file)

Kirk Ferentz has been head coach for the Hawkeyes for 14 years now. That’s a long time and that’s a lot of great stories.

Bob Sanders rings out. Robert Gallery isn’t bad, either. Certainly, Nate Kaeding, Colin Cole and Pat Angerer. I’m not going to go over them all (Abdul Hodge/Chad Greenway). There’s no way I’d mention all the ones that have moved you (Mitch King/Matt Kroul) through the years.

I go back to Dallas Clark’s story, a lot.

The 33-year-old signed what could well be his final NFL deal on Monday, linking up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here’s the story (didn’t call them “posts” back then and I’m not even sure this ever found its way to the internet) I wrote when Clark announced he was leaving Iowa early for the NFL draft (nine seasons with Indianapolis and had 427 career receptions for 4,887 yards, 46 touchdowns and a Super Bowl ring).

Headline: No what-ifs: Clark opts for the NFL

IOWA CITY – Dallas Clark arrived at Iowa with a broken collarbone, a murky promise of a spot as a walk-on and darned near no money.

He leaves as one of Iowa’s all-time best tight ends and, if he cleans up well for NFL scouts, a wealthy young man.

Clark, everyone’s all-American this season, announced Wednesday he will skip his senior season and enter April’s NFL draft.

“Before I even decided, whatever decision I made it was going to be 100 percent, never looking back,” Clark said. ”I’m not going to live in the world of ‘what ifs, what ifs.’ If I get drafted in the fifth round or if I got hurt, this is my life and I’m going to live with the rewards and consequences. I feel great about this opportunity and my decision.”

Iowa went 2-for-3 in Hawkeyes shunning the NFL Wednesday.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz, who interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars opening last week, dropped out of the running and received a raise, UI Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby said.

Offensive tackle Robert Gallery, who considered skipping his senior year next year, will remain a Hawkeye.

“I’m staying,” Gallery said. “I’m not filing papers (to the NFL offices), and I’m not looking back. This is the right decision for me. I belong at Iowa for another year.”

[Iowa has struck out on the senior O-lineman the last two times out with Bryan Bulaga and Riley Reiff, but they made the right decisions for them and that's all that matters. Ferentz will tell you that, too.]

Clark, a junior from Livermore, is the first Iowa player to skip a year of eligiblity since tight end Jonathan Hayes passed up the 1985 season for the draft.

Clark, 23, said he’ll remain on campus this semester to train but won’t enroll in classes. He said he intends to finish his degree and pursue a teaching career.

Clark kept himself composed and thanked Ferentz, strength coach Chris Doyle, tight ends coach Reese Morgan, Bowlsby and his family.

“It’s been a really hard decision, one of the toughest I think I’ll make,” Clark said. “I know that it’s probably going to upset a lot of people I’m not coming back. But I thought a lot about it. This is the right thing for me. At this point in my life, I have to look out for my best interests.”

Clark’s story is nothing short of incredible. He began his Iowa football life in 1998 as a part-time student with a broken collarbone. Former Iowa coach Hayden Fry promised Clark a chance to make the team and came through on the promise.

“We’ve got to put Hayden in there, because it was Hayden who gave him a chance,” said Doug Clark, Dallas’ dad.

Clark became a full-time student and a full-fledged team member in January ’99. But two days before the season opener against Nebraska – Ferentz’s first game as head coach – Clark had an emergency appendectomy.

The first two semesters in ’98 were particularly difficult.

His mom, Jan, died two days before he graduated from Twin Rivers High School. With two sons finishing college, Doug Clark had a tough time helping his youngest son make ends meet.

“Maybe we didn’t have the greatest stuff, but we enjoyed what we had and it worked,” Doug Clark said. “But I do know that any kid in America who says he can’t support college, I can testify he can.”

[A timely quote, IMO.]

Dallas Clark basically lived on his own that first year.

“It was really hard,” said Clark, who has some $15,000 in student loans. “I just didn’t feel like a college freshman, because I had so many responsibilities.

“I was by myself, so I had to handle that. I had to grow up. I didn’t get to enjoy the finer things at college. But to play even just one game at Kinnick Stadium, it was all worth it.”

Before being awarded a full scholarship in fall ’01, Clark played football, took classes and worked. He held a summer job with UI grounds services, which included mowing Kinnick Stadium.

[I asked this because I remember being at the complex for something and seeing Clark taking a ride in a John Deere Gator with work gloves on. Biggest whiplash juxtaposition in Iowa football history.]

“I woke up at 6 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday,” said Clark, who started as an outside linebacker and made a splash on special teams before moving to tight end in spring 2001. “I mowed Kinnick Stadium and mowed the baseball stadium, both softball fields, both soccer fields. I fixed sprinkler heads. I mowed the complex. That helped me pay the bills.”

[Oh yeah, he was an outside linebacker for a while at Iowa.]

He mowed Kinnick, then he owned Kinnick.

The deadline for underclassmen to file for draft eligibility was Wednesday at 5 p.m. Players then get 72-hour window to reconsider.

Clark is definitely going. Gallery is definitely staying.

Gallery, a 6-foot-7, 305-pounder, would have been a mid-round selection this year.

“I talked to a lot of NFL people and everyone said late first round or early second, but I had already made up my mind,” Gallery said. “I want to be the top offensive tackle in the draft next year. I want to help this team achieve next year.”

[He was to the tune of a $60 million deal. Gallery also is in the twilight of his career. He'll play with the Patriots this season.]

Clark said his age was a factor. He’ll be 24 in June. Next year would have been his sixth year at Iowa.

Clark talked to NFL scouts from the Ravens, Patriots and Colts. He sees himself as a “solid second-rounder.”

[Colts?]

ESPN’s Mel Kiper rated Clark as the No. 3 junior tight end in the nation.

Late first-round picks get contracts in the $5 million to $7 million range with signing bonuses of about $1.5 million.

Third-rounders get contracts in the $2 million range with signing bonuses of about $700,000.

“I think Dallas is going to be a guy they can split out, use as a slot receiver, a lot like the Giants use (Jeremy) Shockey,” said Marv Cook, a former all-American tight end at Iowa who had a Pro Bowl career in the NFL.

“I think he’ll be great in motion, being able to get in trips and work the three-man, West Coast-style offense with another tight end. I think he’ll be able to contend for a starting jobright now.”

[Man, Marv nailed it.]

Clark’s career as a Hawkeye

Career Receiving Statistics

Year No. Yds Avg. TD Long

Sophomore 38 539 14.2 4 40

Junior 43 742 17.3 4 95

Totals 81 1,281 15.8 8 95

Career Highlights

1998 – Red-shirted after joining the team as a walk-on.

1999 – Did not see any game action. Missed second half of season with an injury.

2000 – Earned coaches appreciation award for special teams play. Saw action on special teams and at linebacker in all 12 games.

2001 – Made switch to tight end, starting 10 games and playing in all 12. Earned honorable mention all-Big Ten by coaches and media. Had two TD catches against Miami (Ohio) and had seven receptions for 116 yards against Penn State.

2002 – Winner of John Mackey Award as nation’s top tight end. First team all-American by Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, American Football Coaches Association and Football Writers Association of America. First team all-Big Ten. Big Ten offensive player of the week after Purdue game when he caught three passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns (a 95-yarder and the game-winner in the closing seconds).

Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki celebrates as he crosses the goal line for a touchdown during the first half of their game against Illinois at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006, in Champaign, Ill. Iowa won, 24-7. (Gazette file)

The Big Ten released football schedules for the 2015-16 seasons today.

Here’s the release from Iowa with some thoughts following:

2015-16 BIG TEN FOOTBALL SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED

IOWA CITY, IA – The University of Iowa’s Big Ten Conference football schedules have been announced for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Schedules for all 12 league schools were release today by the Big Ten Conference.

The league slate has Iowa opening conference play with a home game in each of the two seasons. The Hawkeyes will not play Indiana, Ohio State or Wisconsin either year. Iowa does not play Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin this year and won’t play Illinois, Indiana or Penn State in 2013-14.

Iowa opens the 2015 league schedule Oct. 3 and 10 with successive home games against Northwestern and Michigan State. Road contests at Purdue and Minnesota follow. Illinois and Michigan are the other Big Ten home games in 2015. Other league road contests are Penn State and Nebraska. The open week is Nov. 14.

The Hawkeyes open at home against Minnesota on Oct. 1, 2016. Other home games that year include Purdue, Penn State and Nebraska. League road games include Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan. The bye week is Nov. 12.

The Nebraska games are currently set for Saturday dates, following Thanksgiving, in the 2013-16 time frame. That could change. The Iowa and Nebraska athletic directors will meet following this year’s game at Kinnick Stadium to determine if a Friday game, following Thanksgiving, is still in the best interests of both schools.

Iowa’s football schedules for the 2013-16 time frame are listed below.

2013

Aug. 31 Northern Illinois

Sept. 7 Missouri State

Sept. 14 at Iowa State

Sept. 21 Western Michigan

Sept. 28 at Minnesota

Oct. 5 Michigan State (HC)

Oct. 12 Open

Oct. 19 at Ohio State

Oct. 26 Northwestern

Nov. 2 Wisconsin

Nov. 9 at Purdue

Nov. 16 Open

Nov. 23 Michigan

Nov. 30 at Nebraska

2014

Aug. 30 Northern Iowa

Sept. 6 Ball State

Sept. 13 Iowa State

Sept. 20 at Pittsburgh

Sept. 27 Open

Oct. 4 at Wisconsin

Oct. 11 Open

Oct. 18 Ohio State

Oct. 25 Purdue

Nov. 1 at Michigan

Nov. 8 at Northwestern

Nov. 15 Minnesota

Nov. 22 at Michigan State

Nov. 29 Nebraska

2015

Sept. 5 Illinois State

Sept. 12 at Iowa State

Sept. 19 Pittsburgh

Sept. 26 North Texas

Oct. 3 Northwestern

Oct. 10 Michigan State

Oct. 17 at Purdue

Oct. 24 at Minnesota

Oct. 31 Illinois

Nov. 7 at Penn State

Nov. 14 Open

Nov. 21 Michigan

Nov. 28 at Nebraska

2016

Sept. 3 North Dakota State

Sept. 10 Iowa State

Sept. 17 Central Michigan

Sept. 24 TBA

Oct. 1 Minnesota

Oct. 8 at Michigan State

Oct. 15 Purdue

Oct. 22 at Northwestern

Oct. 29 at Illinois

Nov. 5 Penn State

Nov. 12 Open

Nov. 19 at Michigan

Nov. 26 Nebraska

__________________________________

 – The “TBA” in 2016 is a BCS date, I believe. Could Iowa jump into the Pac-12 derby a year early? Why not? Just do it, says that one Pac-12 school. My predictions for that are an Arizona school or Washington (where Iowa AD Gary Barta once worked).

– Iowa’s Black Friday game with Nebraska comes up for discussion after this season. Will it stick on Black Friday? I think so, but I also think Iowa has to beat Nebraska to keep the slot. It’s a featured position and the league is going to want a competitive rivalry to showcase. Ball’s in Iowa’s court.

– I vote to take all FCS schools except for Northern Iowa off the schedule. That’s just me crazy talking, though.

– The only other neutral site opportunity I see is Northern Illinois again at Soldier Field in ’13. I don’t see that happening.

– Let me just register my complaint on no Wisconsin-Iowa for 2015-16. Losing battle. Decision’s been made. Still sucks.

– It’s about damn time for an Iowa-Illinois game. At least there’s no talk of a traveling trophy for this border war, which will be renewed, finally, in 2015, a six-year stretch with no Iowa-Illinois. Now, no one really has made any noise about the absence. Logistics don’t seem to mean a thing in the NU-Big Ten, either. (Wisconsin is about three hours from Iowa City, and Illinois is around five-ish. Doable drives.)

We’re left to scratch our heads, and that’s really it. The league has changed and will remain changing. There will be some breakage. Everything is different and remains dynamic.

Bob Bowlsby, left, outgoing University of Iowa athletic director, congratulates his replacement and longtime friend, Gary Barta, after a news conference Friday, June 23, 2006, in Iowa City, Iowa, where Barta was named Bowlsby's replacement. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Harry Baumert)

Bob Bowlsby still isn’t quite in his new job as Big 12 commissioner, but the league made a move Friday that will shape Bowlsby’s tenure.

The Big 12 and SEC announced that it would pit the two teams in a New Year’s Day Bowl beginning in 2015. The initial deal is for five seasons. Maybe let’s think of it as Rose Bowl South, with a probably landing point being the Sugar Bowl. (Sound the sad trombone for the Fiesta Bowl.)

“I am very excited by the prospects for a game between our champion and the champion of the Southeastern Conference,” Bowlsby said.

The Big 12 still only has 10 teams, although the Florida State trial balloon has been floated within the last week. It still has a mish-mash of a TV deal. Yet the league made a power move Friday when it aligned with the SEC.

Now, the Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC have marked their New Year’s Day territory. (Sound the sad trombone for the ACC and Big East, which will, after all, welcome Boise State eventually for some reason.)

The league was near death just last summer. Now, this from current commissioner Chuck Neinas: “We may not be Facebook but the Big 12 would get a strong ‘buy’ rating on Wall Street today.” (Remember, Texas and Oklahoma reside in the Big 12. Mostly Texas, and that’s a hammer.)

There’s a possibility we could see Bowlsby back in the Kinnick Stadium press box this fall. Iowa State will carry the newly reinvigorated Big 12 flag into Kinnick this fall when the Cyclones try to snap a four-game losing streak in Iowa City. (Go ahead and try to put a spread on this game. I think even or ISU maybe -1 right now.)

Bowlsby fired up the donor base and fandom to raise $90 million for a Kinnick renovation project that was completed the season after he left for Stanford.

Bowlsby has seen a game at Kinnick. Now, it could be in an official capacity.

“At Stanford he had a home that was part of his package, so I joked with him he’s going to have to be a property tax payer again,” said Iowa athletics director Gary Barta, who worked for Bowlsby 20 years ago when they were at the University of Northern Iowa.

“He’ll be a great leader for the Big 12,” Barta said. “It seems like the right time, the right fit. He’s familiar with the commissioner’s role from his time in the Big Ten and his time with Jim Delany. It makes sense. I think it’s good for college athletics.”

During the Big Ten meetings in Chicago this week, Delany said about Bowlsby, “An old friend in a new position.”

Barta doesn’t know if Bowlsby will make the trip with the Big 12 contingent on Sept. 8, but the invitation has always been there.

“He and Candy (Bowlsby’s wife) came to a game at Kinnick a few years ago,” Barta said. “He always has an open invitation.”

Barta’s make-no-mistake stance on a playoff

Barta has said this before, just as he stated his stance on seven-win bowl teams in February, but he is not a playoff guy.

“My preference would be to not have a playoff,” Barta said. “My preference would be to have an ‘and one.’ Keep the BCS, keep the bowl system intact. I love college football and I love the bowls. I think it’s a unique part of that sport that makes it so popular and so special.

“Every week when we go out to play, I view it as a de facto playoff game. I like the system we have a lot.”

But Barta isn’t naive. It’s coming and he knows it. The Big Ten knows it and that’s what the majority of Chicago was about.

“It sure appears to me there’s a lot of momentum and sentiment and maybe a tipping point to have a four-team playoff,” he said. “If that’s the case, my preference would be to keep it within the bowl system.”

That’s the Big Ten’s preference, too. On the day the Big Ten stated this position, Texas AD DeLoss Dodds had another thought.

“This entity needs to be separate,” Dodds said of the final grouping of four. “It needs to be their own bowls, their own TV, their own sponsors. Those four selected would not play in the bowls.

“And I’d have them bid it out to cities and stadiums for the three games, and I favor neutral sites for the games because using the campuses would be too much of an advantage.”

So much for harmony. Barta sees the popularity of the game at an “all-time high,” and he wants to protect that. (For the record, the Big Ten ADs didn’t vote on which playoff scenario the league would favor. But the four-team semifinal model was the one they all talked about. Except for Penn State and Indiana. Those ADs skipped Chicago.)

“We all want to make sure that whatever we do, we don’t damage the game,” Barta said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m hesitant toward a playoff. I think potentially, you could damage the regular season. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

2015-16 Big Ten schedules

Barta was coy on this, saying he didn’t see Illinois on the schedule.

If Illinois isn’t on the Hawkeyes’ schedule those two seasons, then tear up the league. The last time Iowa played Illinois was 2008 (a great game at Champaign that saw the Illini pull out a 27-24 win). By the 2015 season, it will have been six years between meetings.

Look for Illinois and Penn State to be on Iowa’s schedule. Ohio State and Wisconsin will likely drop off.

Phase III?

Someday, maybe.

Iowa will have Phase I (the indoor practice facility) finished for use this season. Phase II has been approved by the Board of Regents and is a go. It includes new locker, equipment and meeting rooms, strength and conditioning center, medical facility, coaches’ offices and a public entryway. Phase II has a targeted completion date of 2014.

The cost of Phase I and II is $55 million. Iowa has $20 million raised for the project.

So, Phase III?

“You know, someday there may be a Phase III, but there’s not one on the books,” Barta said. “In terms of ‘what’s the next thing,’ someday we’ll have to do some new things to Kinnick Stadium, whether it’s scoreboards or sound systems, but those aren’t hard and fast right now.”

What’s the deal with the lights at Kinnick?

The ones that have been installed are permanent and will be used for practice this fall. The Hawkeyes will be pushed into Kinnick for outdoor practices on FieldTurf. That light system is designed to complement a permanent system for games “if we ever go that route,” Barta said.

Before that happens — if it happens, remember the TV pays for the lights at least for now — Musco Lighting out of Muscatine will continue to light up Kinnick for TV.

Corsicana (Texas) Mildred quarterback Nic Shimonek (No. 9) committed to the Hawkeyes on Thursday. (Corsicana Daily Sun)

Score one for Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis and his Texas connections.

When the former University of Texas OC was hired at Iowa in February, he immediately heard from around 20 Texas prep coaches interested in his new ties.

That appears to have helped the Hawkeyes land Corsicana (Texas) Mildred quarterback Nic Shimonek, who committed to the Hawkeyes on Thursday. Shimonek is Iowa’s eighth recruit for the 2013 class. According to Rivals.com, Shimonek (6-4, 205) didn’t have any FBS offers but did have interest from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and SMU. Rivals also lists Davis as Iowa’s primary recruiter for Shimonek.

The Corsicana Daily Sun reported that Shimonek did have an offer from Lamar, an FCS school, and that he’s planning to visit Iowa City this summer.

As a junior, Shimonek completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 2,939 yards, 37 TDs and just three intereceptions, one of which came in “Hail Mary” mode at the end of a game. Mildred finished with a 13-1 record last season.

Davis called Shimonek’s coach today and said Iowa was ready to offer. Shimonek, who has family ties in Iowa, didn’t mess around and pulled the trigger without a visit.

“Iowa has been showing a lot of interest as far as mail and all of that good stuff and then today, when I was on my way to school, I got the news that they had called my head coach and told him they were going to offer,” Shimonek told HawkeyeReport.com. “Obviously I was super excited, so I called coach Davis as soon as I could and verbally accepted.”

Shimonek, who started for Mildred (a Class 2A school) as a sophomore and also started several games as a freshman, is considered as a “pro-style” quarterback, which fits his 6-4, 205-pound frame. Since Iowa started showing serious interest, Shimonek started research on the Hawkeyes and likes Davis’ offense.

“Coach Davis is a real good guy and a good coach, and obviously he’s got a good track record,” Shimonek told HR.com. “Personally, I really like the pro-style offense that they run and the fact they are balanced offensively. Plus they’ve always got those 300-pound linemen. I’m definitely not going to complain about that.”

Shimonek has family in the Des Moines area and his mom, Tresa, also is from Iowa.

Shimonek is Iowa’s eighth recruit for the 2013 class, but will he be the lone QB?

Iowa has seniors in James Vandenberg and John Wienke (who’s probably more of a punter now). In 2013, Jake Ruddock will be a sophomore along with Cody Sokol, who’ll be a junior in ’13 if he redshirts this season (that’s the plan) and C.J. Beathard will be a redshirt freshman. Shimonek would be the fourth QB, unless Iowa takes another in this class.

“I’m just super excited,” Shimonek said. “I wish I could start now actually. I’ve got another year of high school left, but I can’t wait to get up there. I don’t think it’s really dawned on me yet just how big this really is, but as soon as it does, it’s going to be a great feeling.”

_______________________________________

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

Nathan Bazata, DT, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***

Brant Gressel, DT, 6-2, 283 Centerville (Ohio) High School ***

John Kenny, LB, 6-2, 210 Caramel (Ind.) High School ***

Nic Shimonek, QB, 6-4, 205 Mildred (Corsicana, Texas) High School (no Rivals.com rating as of yet)

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

No YouTubes of Shimonek, but you can catch a HUDL highlight reel by following this link.

Here’s an NCSA video:

The Hawkeye flag is waved over Kinnick Stadium after an Iowa field goal in the third quarter of Iowa's 45-24 homecoming win against Indiana at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Iowa City. Iowa won 45-24. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)

CHICAGO — Don’t get too comfortable in your seat at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said Wednesday that Kinnick will once again be re-seated in 2014. The stadium was re-seated after a $90 million renovation project in 2006. Barta said Iowa told fans in ’06 that the process would happen again in five years.

So, here it comes again in 2014. It should be less jarring than in 2006, when seniority seating was replaced by a points system based on donation.

“By the time this goes into effect, it will be eight years, giving fans a two-year heads up to prepare for the process,” Barta said at the Big Ten spring meetings.

In ’06, Iowa introduced a priority seating system that ran on “points,” accumulated for everything from the yearly $7,500 donation for membership in the Kinnick Society worth 50 points to the 10 points ticketholders get for being an Iowa graduate.

Barta didn’t go into details on how the ’14 re-seating will be prioritized. He said it’s a chance to grow revenue — “find more contributors” — and, potentially, give fans a shot at a better seat.

“It becomes an opportunity to grow our fan base and donor base, but it’s also about fairness,” Barta said. “If people are sitting in a seat and they want to improve it and they’ve had ‘X’ number of years as a season-ticket purchaser and they’ve been contributing, they want to see their seats improve.”

In 2006, 15,000 fans bought their way into the “priority seating system.” The Iowa ticket office made 150 phone calls a day, starting with fans who had the highest number of point, and handed out seats. There also was a website that allowed fans to choose seats in near real-time.

Before ’06, Iowa’s seating system leaned toward seniority. Donations weren’t taken into consideration. When Iowa put together its priority seating system, school officials researched what other Big Ten schools did and took what they thought fit at Iowa.

Caption: (from left) Iowa's Lebron Daniel, Kyle Haganman, Broderick Binns and Karl Klug head toward Northwestern during a kick off return during the first half at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, September 27, 2008. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

CHICAGO — The kickoff, as we know it, is in its final days.

Since 2010, the NCAA has twice changed kickoff rules in an effort to improve player safety. The NFL has talked about some form of punting with a tighter space between teams as a replacement for the kickoff, which has been proven to be the most dangerous play in the game.

“I think we have to keep changing the kickoff,” Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said during the Big Ten spring meetings. “With today’s kids, who are faster, stronger and more explosive, we’re taking a lot of risks for concussions and neck injuries.

“It’s something we have to look at every year. It’s one of the most dangerous plays.”

One year after the NFL banned wedge blocking on kickoffs because of safety concerns, the NCAA followed the lead in ’10 with a rule that says when the team receiving a kickoff has more than two players standing within two yards of one another, shoulder to shoulder, it will be assessed a 15-yard penalty — even if there is no contact between the teams.

This season, teams will kick off at the 35-yard line instead of the 30. Also, players on the kicking team can’t line up for the play behind the 30-yard line, which is intended to limit the running start kicking teams used to have during the play. Also, touchbacks on free kicks will be moved to the 25-yard line instead of the 20 to encourage more touchbacks.

The recommended changes came from the Football Rules Committee after that group examined NCAA data showing that injuries during kickoffs occur more often than in other phases of the game.

Not all Big Ten athletics directors want the kickoff eliminated.

Nebraska’s Tom Osborne sees the danger, but also said it would change the face of the game. It is, after all, the first play of every game. It sets field position and, in some cases, tone.

“If two teams have a good run at each other, no question, you’re going to have more concussions and more violent collisions, and so there may be some who want to eliminate the kickoff,” Osborne said. “Personally, I think that would be unfortunate. If you start at the 35- or 40-yard line, your chances of scoring about double over starting at your own 20.

“I think it’s an important part of the game. . . . Personally, I would hate to see the kickoff taken out of the game.”

Smith has a different perspective. From 1977 to 1981, Smith coached special teams at Notre Dame, his alma mater. He picked the “kamikazes,” a player whose job was to break through the “wedge.”

“I looked for the guys who could bust that wedge,” Smith said. “Now I look back at it and feel guilty. I think the kickoff is one of the most dangerous plays we have. We have to constantly look at how we can protect the kids.”

The 35-yard line rule is a significant change. When the NFL moved its kickoff point to the 35 last season, returns fell from 2,033 in 2010 to 1,375. In 2010, 80.1 percent of kickoffs were returned. Last year, the percentage of kickoffs returns was 53.5 percent, the lowest in NFL history. The average yards per kickoff return was 23.8, the highest in history (the previous high was 23.7 in 1962).

Touchbacks rose to 1,120 (43.6 percent) in 2011 from 416 (16.4 percent) the year before. The residual effect health-wise was a 40 percent drop in concussions, according to the NFL.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta played quarterback for North Dakota State teams that won national titles in 1983, ’85 and ’86. Barta isn’t willing to go as far to say that kickoff is on death row, but he acknowledges the risk of the game and favors a safe approach on kickoffs.

“Football is a contact sport and there is inherent danger to that,” Barta said. “I know that, I played the game, I’ve had surgeries, I’ve had issues related to that. And yet, I smile and say it was one of the great periods of my life, it’s a great sport and I’m glad I played it.

“That being said, if there are things we can do to lessen the chance of a violent injury, then we need to do that.”

Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez won three Rose Bowls as the Badgers’ head coach. He made his football bones as a defensive coach, coaching linebackers at Iowa from 1979-86 and then moving to defensive coordinator at Notre Dame before accepting the UW job in 1990.

He pointed to the percentage of injuries on kickoffs and is open to anything. Of course, as a defensive coach, he’s good with touchbacks.

“The more touchbacks, the better, as far as I’m concerned,” Alvarez said.

So, here lie kickoffs. How much time does it have?

“That’s a very good question,” Smith said. “If it were up to me, it would be short lived.”

Caption: Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is carried off the field after Iowa beat Minnesota 45-21 clinching a share of the Big Ten title at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2002.(AP Photo/Andy King)

CHICAGO — The Big Ten’s relationship with the Rose Bowl is “critical.” It’s also “sensitive.” It has “sticking points.” It comes with “value.”

As the college football world careens toward a playoff — be it a three-plus one or a two-two, whatever form it takes — the Big Ten’s relationship with the Rose Bowl will exist, Big Ten athletics directors agreed in lockstep on Tuesday at the Big Ten spring meetings.

That relationship, however, is completely unformed. It’s stated, but there aren’t any guarantees going into the playoff age.

“I don’t know, that’s a good question,” Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said when asked if a Big Ten semifinalist would be locked into the Rose Bowl as part of a playoff. “We haven’t gotten into that. I think that having it in the [playoff] system allows the Rose Bowl to be in the rotation for a hosting situation.

“Off the cuff, if the Big Ten or Pac-12 team is in the top four, then you have to have some form on who goes where. We haven’t discussed that. We’re not that far.”

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has stated the conference’s relationship with the Rose Bowl is hugely important. Tuesday, Big Ten athletics directors discussed yielding the “campus site” possibility in playoff scenarios to protect the Rose Bowl.

“Yeah, I think so,” Michigan State AD Mark Hollis said when asked about the campus sites element. “For us, it’s critical to keep the Rose Bowl in the equation. There’s a lot of historical value and there’s a lot of future value in having the Rose Bowl connected to Michigan State, Michigan, with the Big Ten conference. The ‘home’ takes that out.”

Let’s face facts, the Big Ten has pitted itself against the Southeastern Conference, which has won the last six national championships. Maybe the Big Ten evens the field with semifinals played at campus sites. Big Ten weather isn’t SEC weather. Much of the national sentiment runs away from campus sites, and so maybe the Big Ten sees that as unwinnable.

Since 1990, the Big Ten and SEC are closer than you might think in head-to-head bowl matchup, with the SEC owning a 31-26 advantage. The numbers aren’t as even recently. The SEC swept the Big Ten in its three 2011 bowl games, winning by a combined margin of 138-45. Last season, Michigan State tripped Georgia in double OT while Ohio State (Florida) and Nebraska (South Carolina) fell.

“Recent history might taint a lot of peoples’ views and think that dominance will continue,” Smith said, “and maybe it will, because of industry and population and things of that nature, but I don’t think you can let that get into your minds.”

Smith pointed to the importance of the Big Ten championship game and every Big Ten team striving to get better.

“I’m a huge believer in conference championships,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s way we play. I think our industry has built up the national championship so much that we forget these young people win valuable conference championships that they will have for the rest of their lives.”

So, basically, is the Rose Bowl a truly big deal or is it a big deal because the Big Ten says it is?

Nebraska is headed into its second year in the conference. The Huskers don’t have the Rose Bowl history, but AD Tom Osborne said that’s what the school bought into when it agreed to join.

“I do know that the Rose Bowl is very important to the Big Ten,” Osborne said. “I think that’s why the Big Ten people would like to keep the playoff within the bowls to keep the Rose Bowl alive and viable.

“Whether the Rose Bowl would be one of the semifinal games, in some years it would and in some years it wouldn’t, but at least we’d still have a representative from the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl and the Pac-12 would always be in the Rose Bowl. I think that would be very important to this league, and we certainly accept that.”

So, let’s break it down this way: It sounds as though the Big Ten has given up the chance to play host to a Florida or Alabama or an LSU in, say, Columbus in December for the possibility of playing a national semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. If the Big Ten doesn’t have a team in the semi and the Rose Bowl isn’t in the semifinal rotation, then Big Ten/Pac-12 Rose Bowl like the good ol’ days.

If the Rose Bowl is in the semi rotation and a Big Ten team isn’t in the top four, then maybe the Big Ten gets tapped for another BCS bowl, a la Iowa’s Orange Bowl seasons in ’02 and ’09. (At one point after the 2002 regular season ended, Iowa thought it was headed to the Rose Bowl.)

Tuesday afternoon, Delany listed the Big Ten’s primary interests as 1) keeping the regular season as relevant as possible, 2) the bowl system and the Rose Bowl and 3) transparency, as in having the public understand the decisions on the mechanisms to choose a final four and what goes into those decisions.

Delany believes if the playoff is rooted in the bowl system, it won’t grow from four to eight, 16, 24 or 32.

“We understand that the games on campus could benefit us competitively,” he said, “and it’s not like I don’t like the competitive advantage imbued by a home field, but in a larger sense, we think the slope is far less slippery in a bowl system than outside of a bowl system.”

Will the Big Ten have a guaranteed BCS bid? Will there still be BCS bowls? Or would the Capital One be the Big Ten’s pinnacle during a down season with a 9-3 conference champion.

The Capital One as the Big Ten pinnacle, that can’t happen. That doesn’t make sense.

Welcome to the age of the college football playoff, where fifth in the country is worth fourth in the Olympics.

Iowa fans having fun before the Hawkeyes' 2007 opener against Northern Illinois at Solider Field in Chicago. (Gazette file)

Here are the details for tickets on the Hawkeyes’ game at Soldier Field against Northern Illinois. We might know about TV for this game by the end of the month or the first week of June. It’s a home game for Northern, so the TV rights belong to the Mid-American Conference, which hasn’t announced its TV plans for ’12.

NIU has the longest winning streak in the nation, which includes the MAC title game and the International Bowl from last season.

Here’s the release from Iowa sports info:

TICKETS ON SALE FOR OPENING FOOTBALL GAME

IOWA CITY, Iowa – - Tickets for the University of Iowa’s opening football game of the season, vs. Northern Illinois at Chicago’s Soldier Field, are now on sale to the general public. The Hawkeyes and Huskies meet for the eighth time Saturday, Sept. 1. Television information and start time have not yet been determined.

Tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster, either online (Ticketmaster.com) by telephone (1-800-745-3000) or in person at any Ticketmaster outlet. Ticket prices are $80 (club seats), $70 (lower level and midfield) and $60 (upper level). Fans will be able to designate their team affiliation to be seated on the appropriate side of the stadium.

UI football season tickets holders had the opportunity to order tickets for the opening game when ordering their Hawkeye season tickets. A limited number of 200 level end zone seats are available to UI season ticketholders and I-Club members and can be purchased at hawkeyesports.com. UI season ticket holders have ordered over 14,600 tickets to see the Hawkeyes open the 2012 campaign.

Fans in the Chicago area for the Labor Day weekend football game can also see Iowa head basketball coach Fran McCaffery throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field on Friday, Aug. 31, as the Cubs host San Francisco. Tickets to Friday’s baseball game can be purchased through Bravo Sports Marketing at bravosportsmarketing.com.

Iowa and Northern Illinois last met in 2007, with Iowa taking a 16-3 decision, also at Soldier Field on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. That event attracted a sell-out crowd of 61,500. Iowa has won all seven previous meetings with the Huskies.

Iowa returns 12 starters from a year ago, when the Hawkeyes posted a 7-6 overall record and were bowl eligible for the 11th straight season. The appearance in the 2011 Insight Bowl marked Iowa’s fourth straight postseason appearance.

The Huskies enter the 2012 season with the longest winning streak in the nation. Northern Illinois won its final nine games a year ago, including victories in the Mid-American Conference championship game and the GoDaddy.com Bowl. NIU returns 19 starters and will be playing a home game at Soldier Field for the second straight season (NIU lost to Wisconsin last season).

Following the opening game in Chicago, Iowa will host Iowa State in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game, Northern Iowa and Central Michigan before opening conference action at home against Minnesota.

Camp Courageous campers along with their friends and family tour the Iowa football team's locker room during the Annual Hawkeye Day for Camp Courageous at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, May 5, 2012. The group joined the seventeen senior football players and head coach Kirk Ferentz for lunch and an autograph signing session followed by tours of the locker rooms, press box and football field. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG)

These videos were taken pretty quickly, so I apologize in advance for the cinéma vérité “Blair Witch Project” feel. (OK, it’s not that bad, but it was kind of quick.)

Thought you might enjoy a look inside the lockerrooms, Iowa’s and the visitors’ famous pink lockerrooms, which were introduced by Hayden Fry back in the ’80s. The pink lockerroom had a distinct “lockerroom” smell to it. Seriously, eyes watering. Having seen some of the opposing lockerrooms around the Big Ten, I’d say Big Pink isn’t awful. It’s no frills, but there is plenty of space. The worst I’ve seen is the little house outside of the field at Purdue. Just no room at all.

I don’t know about you, but I always — ALWAYS — do a double take when I see an Iowa uniform with No. 24 on it. (Notice, I didn’t step on the Tiger Hawk logo. That comes from years of hockey training. Never step on the team logo in the carpet. They hate that.)

Doug Dewolf of Cedar Rapids poses for a photo with Iowa's Keenan Davis at the conclusion of the Annual Hawkeye Day for Camp Courageous at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, May 5, 2012. Camp Courageous campers along with their friends and family joined the seventeen senior football players and head coach Kirk Ferentz for lunch and an autograph signing session followed by tours of the locker rooms, press box and football field. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG)

Gazette photographer Cliff Jette put in a full day’s work covering the Camp Courageous Day event with Iowa football on Saturday.

Here’s a slide show he put together from the day along with some videos I took.

Uplifting event all the way around.

Cornberback Micah Hyde

Center James Ferentz

QB James Vandenberg

DL Steve Bigach

Six-year-old Owen Thilges of Cedar Rapids meets Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz during the Annual Hawkeye Day for Camp Courageous at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, May 5, 2012. Camp Courageous campers along with their friends and family joined the seventeen senior football players and head coach Kirk Ferentz for lunch and an autograph signing session followed by tours of the locker rooms, press box and football field. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette-KCRG)

Kirk Ferentz and Iowa football players signed autographs for members of Camp Courageous on Saturday.

IOWA CITY — Allen from Washington walked right up to Kirk Ferentz and smiled.

Allen had a Hawkeyes cap on with an Iowa T-shirt that had No. 47 on it. The conversation ranged from the Hawkeyes, of course, to lunch to cookies. The won-loss record never came up, just Allen’s smile. That stayed the whole time.

Saturday was the Camp Courageous visit to Kinnick Stadium. Camp Courageous is a year-round recreational and respite care facility for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities, brain injuries, hearing and visual impairments, autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and special needs.

It’s life and 17 Iowa seniors greeted campers with autographs and connections.

“Mark was the best,” cornerback Micah Hyde said. “We were up in the press box looking over at the hospital (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics). He said how he’s always in the hospital. He always pulls his IVs out and the nurses come in and he tells them, he’s sexy and he knows it.

“He was a really funny guy. I definitely connected with a bunch of campers.”

Iowa football has an active community outreach. Over the last three years, Iowa football players have put in 3,430 community service hours. From May 2008 (when major flooding hit Iowa City) through last year, UI football participated in 59 service projects and averaged more than 1,143. After spring practice ended in April, players have put in time in reading programs at area schools and Saturday’s visit with Camp Courageous.

Some of the little moments Saturday were incredibly precious.

“This day is always funs,” Ferentz said. “The pure enthusiasm, the pure enjoyment, it’s pretty special. It’s unfiltered. This is an unfiltered experience right here.”

Iowa football’s relationship with Camp Courageous started in 2005, when a group of Hawkeyes jumped into couple of vans and trucked out to the camp in Monticello. Charlie Becker, the camp’s executive director, asked if it’d be OK for campers to visit Kinnick. The last seven years, Iowa has played host to a lunch, autograph session, tours of the lockerrooms and press box and some time on the field.

“It’s pure,” Becker said. “There are no hidden agendas, this is as pure as it gets. In talking to the parents, they almost all tell me the kids lay their Hawkeye gear out and can’t sleep the night before. It’s almost Christmas for the kids.”

None of the players wore those giant white headphones or texted their girlfriends. There was true engagement and interaction.

Defensive lineman Steve Bigach met a young man who wanted to play linebacker.

“It just impresses you how excited they are about everything in life. It’s pretty awesome,” Bigach said. “You get put into a position by your athletic ability to reach out to people, this is a really good thing.

“If you get put on that pedastal and you’re not helping the people around you, it’s not worth it. If you see a smile on a kid’s face because you shake his hand or sign an autograph, that’s a big deal.”

Quarterback James Vandenberg met a little running back named Owen.

“He was flying through the press box halls up there,” he said. “We got to meet a lot of really good people. A lot of folks really wanted me to walk them down the tunnel, that was something we all thought was cool.”

Iowa football players have finals in front of them next week. No one looked at their watch and wondered if they shouldn’t have a book in front of them.

“I met a kid named Donald,” center James Ferentz said. “We were up in the press box and he said it was one of the best days he’s ever had. That was really rewarding. Just to hear that, it really makes it worth it.”

Iowa's Brandon Scherff (center) pushes back Indiana's Chase Hoobler (left) and Jeff Thomas (right) as Marcus Coker (obscured by Hoobler and Scherff) dives for a touchdown during the second quarter of their game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Iowa City, Iowa. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

IOWA CITY — Brandon Scherff threw for 1,200 yards as a sophomore at Denison High School. Friday, he attempted to break an Iowa weight room record.

The lift and the weight are unclear, but Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle tweeted a picture of Scherff with the caption, “Scherff getting set to break a record!” Scherff is shown with a bar at his waist and four big plates on it.

Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg has seen tape of Scherff dropping back to pass.

“He can throw,” Vandenberg said. “He looks like he might be able to pop the ball in his hand.”

Credit someone at Denison, either his coach, Dave Wiebers, or his mom and dad, Cindy and Bob. Someone saw the big picture and suggested offensive line. Then again, when Iowa came calling during recruiting, it wasn’t because they saw a future quarterback.

“I was getting recruited here for O-line and I didn’t want to come in here and not know what I was doing,” Scherff said. “Thought it was a pretty good choice to move there. I liked the whole concept, just going out there and hitting people.”

The move appears to be paying off, from the weightroom success to Scherff’s ascension to the top spot at left tackle, which came open in early January when Riley Reiff passed on his senior season and declared for the NFL draft (he went No. 23 to the Detroit Lions).

The left tackle position at Iowa is a goldmine. You know the names, Robert Gallery, Bryan Bulaga and Reiff. The contracts are in the millions.

Again, someone saw the big picture and the light is on. Maybe it was Scherff himself, who declared his candidacy for left tackle last fall.

“Yes,” Scherff said when asked if he’d want the job after Iowa’s victory over Indiana. “Absolutely.”

Why not?

The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder worked on changing his body this winter. He’s noticeably leaner, but he’s still 310.

“I cut some body fat, I’m eating better,” he said this spring. “Changing the body around. There are big shoes to fill at both tackle spots.”

A lot has been written about the new offense and how it’s affected the passing game. The O-line has changed, too. In the no-huddle, the playcalls have been stripped to numbers. The O-line is working on getting that down.

After spring, head coach Kirk Ferentz said Scherff and right tackle Brett Van Sloten had done a “pretty good job overall,” but there was still some ground to cover. Late last season, Ferentz said this about Scherff:

“We’re really high on Brandon,” Ferentz said. “I think he’s going to be a good player here. He’s done a lot of good things, but he’s moving up on that progression right now. He needs more time.”

It’s easy to crown all-Americans in May, but the Doyle tweet on the weightroom record, the commitment to diet, Scherff time seems to have arrived.

Iowa Strength and Conditioning coach Chris Doyle on the Hawkeyes sideline during the third quarter of their NCAA football game against Nebraska at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, in Lincoln, Neb. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

Huge honor for Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle announced yesterday.

Bill Maxwell, Iowa’s strength and conditioning coordinator for Olympic sports, also is a masters strength coach.

Here’s the release from Iowa sports info:

Doyle Named Master Strength & Conditioning Coach

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle will be named Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa). This honor is the highest given in the strength and conditioning coaching profession.

Master Strength and Conditioning Coach Jerry Schmidt from the University of Oklahoma will present Doyle with the blue MSCC Jacket on Thursday evening, May 10, 2012, at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Fla.

“This is an incredible honor for Chris,” says CSCCa Executive Director, Dr. Chuck Stiggins. “Being named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach signifies a commitment to the student-athlete, the University of Iowa athletic program, and the strength and conditioning profession. We are honored to have coach Doyle as a member of our association and to have him join the ranks of the Master Strength and Conditioning Coaches. He is truly a model of an outstanding strength and conditioning professional.”

In order to receive this certification and corresponding title of distinction, an individual must first meet the following criteria: hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree; be a currently practicing, full-time strength & conditioning coach on the collegiate or professional level; hold current membership in the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa); hold the CSCCa Certification – SCCC (Strength & Conditioning Coach Certified); and have a minimum of 12 years experience as a full-time strength and conditioning coach on the collegiate and/or professional level.

Doyle will be one of 15 collegiate strength and conditioning coaches to receive the prestigious certification of Master Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Kinnick Stadium, home of Iowa Hawkeyes football, as seen from the air. Aerial photo is looking southwest. Melrose Avenue (Melrose Ave.) is seen at top left. August 31, 2006.

Summary: Iowa now has five start times set in stone.

Penn State was set for 7 a few weeks ago. Today, Kinnick games against Nebraska and Minnesota were set for 11 a.m. Road games at Michigan State and Northwestern also were set for 11 a.m.

Nebraska will be on ABC. Penn State is on the Big Ten Network. No specific TV announced for the other times, but they’re headed toward either ESPN, ESPN2 or BTN. The MAC hasn’t had its TV dates decided, so the NIU opener at Soldier Field hasn’t been slated for TV. It could, just hasn’t yet. It probably won’t be at night. Iowa has said Penn State is the only night game this season.

The Big Ten will announce start times for the first three weeks of the season soon.

Here’s the release from Iowa:

START TIMES SET FOR SELECTED IOWA FOOTBALL GAMES

IOWA CITY, Iowa – - University of Iowa home football games against Minnesota (Sept. 29) and Nebraska (Nov. 23) will start at 11 a.m. CT. In addition, Iowa games at Michigan State (Oct. 13) and Northwestern (Oct. 27) will also start at 11 a.m. CT. The Big Ten Conference announced start times of selected games Thursday, with the majority of those games serving as Homecoming for the host institution.

Minnesota will serve as Iowa’s homecoming opponent as the Golden Gophers and Hawkeyes meet in Kinnick Stadium in the first Big Ten game of the season for both teams. Iowa holds an all-time homecoming record of 54-41-5, including a 6-9 mark vs. Minnesota. Iowa defeated Indiana, 45-24, in its 2011 homecoming game.

The Hawkeyes will host Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 23, as the teams meet the day after Thanksgiving for the second straight year. That game will be televised nationally by ABC for a second straight year as well. The Cornhuskers defeated Iowa 20-7 last November in the first annual “Heroes Game”.

Iowa will be the homecoming opponent when it visits both East Lansing and Evanston. Iowa games against Minnesota, Michigan State and Northwestern will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 or BTN.

It was announced earlier that Iowa’s Oct. 20 home game against Penn State will be a prime time event, beginning at 7 p.m. CT in Kinnick Stadium. That game will be televised by BTN and marks Iowa’s only night game of the season.

Start times and television information for Iowa’s remaining games has not yet been released. The Big Ten Conference is expected to announce start times for the first three weeks of the season in the near future.

The Hawkeyes open the season Sept. 1, meeting Northern Illinois at Soldier Field in Chicago. Iowa then hosts Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Central Michigan before opening conference action against Minnesota.

Iowa wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley (11) catches a ball during the team's open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — This is a good time to be an Iowa wide receiver. It looks as though your work order will be filled top to bottom, game in and game out.

Quarterback James Vanderberg’s 404 attempts last season were second most in Iowa history. Iowa goes into 2012 with a running back situation that ranges from inexperienced to incoming freshmen. Head coach Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis promise Iowa will do what Iowa’s players do best.

With a returning starter at QB and solid experience at receiver and tight end, that fits with a continued focus on the air. But, as with everything Iowa at this point of the year with two new coordinators, we’ll see.

If you’re an Iowa receiver, rest assured that you are in the playbook and the game plan. It just sets up that way.

This is terrific for sophomore Kevonte Martin-Manley.

Martin-Manley caught 30 passes for 323 yards and three TDs last season, mostly out of the slot receiver position. As a redshirt freshman last season, he was Iowa’s No. 3 receiver. It was the best performance for a freshman receiver at Iowa since 2007, when Derrell Johnson-Kouliano caught 38 passes and James Cleveland had 36.

His 2011 production earned a few mentions from coaches this spring.

“Kevonte Martin‑Manley, who last year got his feet wet as a redshirt freshman, playing the first time,” wide receivers coach Erik Campbell said when asked if any receiver raised his profile during the spring. “Now you can see that experience pay off. You can see him looking like a veteran receiver, doing things that a guy with that kind of experience has shown.”

Davis likes Martin-Manley right where he is, playing slot receiver.

“Kevonte will end up playing in the slot most of the time for us,” Davis said. “The slot receiver is an extremely important position. It’s a position with a lot of flexibility, has to do various things according to the coverage you see.

“So, I kind of see him settling in there when we’re in one back. When we’re in two backs, obviously, he would be one of the wide receivers.”

See, good deal for Martin-Manley. Oh, there’s more.

“It’ll be a lot more three-receiver looks and a little bit more spread out, so it’s a lot of fun for us as receivers,” Martin-Manley said when asked about his thoughts on what Iowa’s offense learned about Davis’ plans this spring.

Is Iowa going to lean pass-oriented next fall?

“Coach Davis told us he’d go by game plan,” Martin-Manley said. “Whoever we play, whoever is healthy, that’s how he said he’s going to play. We’ll see.”

The slot receiver notion isn’t a change for Martin-Manley, but the mental part of the game apparently is.

“I have a little bit more freedom now. I get to read the defenses more. That’s the biggest change,” Martin-Manley said. “It is a lot of freedom. It is. It allows us to open up a little bit and hopefully catch more balls this season.”

It would likely work out this way no matter what football team we’re talking about, but Iowa’s Nos. 1, 2 and 3 receivers were uniformly stratified during Ken O’Keefe’s 13 seasons as coordinator. A clear-cut No. 1 got the majority of the targets. It might not work that way next season.

Senior Keenan Davis is a potential No. 1. He had a break-out junior season with 50 catches for 713 yards and four TDs, a receptions total that would’ve led everyone not named Marvin McNutt in Iowa’s last five seasons.

Campbell’s comments this spring made it sound as though No. 1 touches are up in the air. He wants sharp receivers who value every target, every rep.

“I think there’s always competition,” Campbell said. “Also there’s competition to stay on the field, because there are young guys behind them who are going to push them and try to take that spot.

“You never can relax here because there’s always competition, even with having great tight ends. Everybody is competing to get the ball. The better you play, the more opportunities you going to have it versus giving it to another position or another player.”

That doesn’t extend exclusively to Martin-Manley. That’s everyone. Davis talked about junior Jordan Cotton this spring, a name that hasn’t been heard from much (one career reception).

“Cotton has done some things through eight days that are encouraging,” Davis said. “We’ve just got consistency is the term I keep using with him. You know, we’ll just say consistency is the term I keep using with him.

“But he flashes some things that you really like. It’s been a little bit unfair to him because we’ve moved him around and hopefully when we get back to all of this, we’ll be in position to get all the nuances of that position out.”

(Hmm, nuance. That would take more than the 15 allotted spring practices.)

So, no assumptions, not even for a receiver with Martin-Manley’s resume, which is still forming. The 6-0, 205-pounder averaged 3.4 receptions through five games last season. Then, the passing game swung strongly to senior Marvin McNutt. Martin-Manley averaged 1.6 receptions over the final eight games.

After Iowa’s spring scrimmage, Martin-Manley preached patience, with the passing game, with the changing offense.

“That’s something that comes with the territory,” he said. “That’s why you do spring ball, that’s why you do camp. You learn and you move on.”

And we’ll see.

Iowa Quarterback James Vandenberg (16) tosses a pass during the team's open practice Saturday, April 15, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — James Vandenberg has faced down something far more daunting than a new playbook.

The Iowa quarterback and pre-physical therapy major who’s harboring medical school hopes took organic chemistry II last fall. One of the stated goals of that class is to help students understand the physical and chemical properties of aromatic compounds, carbonyl compounds, carboxylic acid derivatives, amines, and selected di-and polyfunctional organic compounds.

It probably sounds harder than it is (no, it doesn’t and can’t possibly).

This spring, Vandenberg put offensive coordinator Greg Davis’ new offense through the spectroscopy (organic chemistry term) and believes he can translate it.

“He really has worked hard at it, that’s including spring break,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I know he knocked on Greg’s door during that time. I don’t know if he was here the entire week, but I know he was in and out of the building a couple of times. He’s going into his senior year. He wants to be good. He’s always been built that way.

“It’s a new challenge for him and he’s one of those guys who really relishes challenges, whether it’s academically or football. That’s part of the reason why he’s a good quarterback. You hope quarterbacks are built that way.”

Vandenberg is just one of three fifth-year seniors in this offense, which is undergoing a considerable overhaul, in the passing game, surely, and in tempo and approach, potentially. Spring had the Hawkeyes in a hurry-up, no-huddle mode at times. Running backs activated in the passing game. Tight ends lined up in the slot. There was more single running back than we’re used to with Iowa.

Who knows what the final product will look like on Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field, but Vandenberg isn’t flinching. He feels the Hawkeyes’ offense is on schedule, considering the freshly minted playbook and inexperience.

“I don’t think I’m nervous, I think I understand the personnel we have,” Vandenberg said. “We have a lot of guys who really want to do well, but they’re just young. Mistakes are going to come with those guys. It’s something where I might get on them a little bit, but I totally understand what they’re going through. Their heads are spinning a little bit.”

Two players who could make this a lot easier are junior tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz and sophomore wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley. If Iowa’s offense is going to go, they could have a big say and they’re relatively new performers.

Fiedorowicz saw mostly special teams two years ago as a true freshman and caught 16 passes last season. Now, he’s been touted as a major contributor by Ferentz and Davis, nonetheless. Martin-Manley caught 30 passes as a redshirt freshman last season.

So far, they like what they’ve seen.

“I have a little more freedom now,” Martin-Manley said. “I get to read defenses a little bit. That’s the biggest change. It allows us to open up a little bit and hopefully catch more balls this season.”

Dig a little deeper with Iowa’s skill positions and they get younger. No. 3 receiver, which will come with a higher profile apparently, will be young and inexperienced. Senior wide receiver Keenan Davis, who caught 50 passes last season, will have his first and only shot at the No. 1. He also missed some spring with an undisclosed injury. Tight end will be new after Fiedorowicz and senior Zach Derby.

You know about running back. That’ll either be a true sophomore (Damon Bullock), redshirt sophomore (De’Andre Johnson) or incoming freshmen (Greg Garmon, Barkley Hill).

Pair that relative inexperience with three new starters on the O-line, and yes, Iowa is fresh-faced on offense.

“They were young in our old offense. Now, they’re really young in our new offense,” Vandenberg said. “That’s something that comes with being a younger team and having younger skill guys, but for the most part, they’ve been extremely upbeat and positive. They’ve corrected most of their mistakes and that’s the best you can ask for.”

Vandenberg picked up on this early. That’s why his spring break was spent partying with Greg Davis in the Iowa football complex.

Someone will need to have all the answers and it better be the fifth-year senior QB.

“I feel like it was a lot easier transition for me than I could’ve imagined,” Vandenberg said. “Now, it’s getting to where I can get myself out of a bad situation and into a good play. A lot of it is having seen so many looks that you know what’s good and what’s bad.”

Your quarterback has tackled organic chemistry II. No one blitzes in a lecture hall, but grey matter is never a bad foundation.

Carmel (Ind.) linebacker John Kenny picked the Hawkeyes over the weekend. Iowa now has seven commitments. Who's next? (Rivals.com)

Iowa told Caramel (Ind.) linebacker John Kenny he was one of their top linebacker prospects. Kenny visited Arizona, but had already locked in on the Hawkeyes and that was that.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder announced his commitment Friday, choosing Iowa over the Wildcats, Boise State, Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern. He is Iowa’s seventh commitment for the 2013 class, a unprecedented early hot streak for an Iowa recruiting class that should be in the range of 17 to 20.

Recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson was the primary recruiter with an assist from linebackers coach LeVar Woods.

“I feel really comfortable with coach Woods,” Kenny told HawkeyeReport.com. “The first time that we met, l loved the way he ran the meetings and worked at practice. He is a good guy off the field and easy to talk to and he can get after it a bit in the meetings and on the field. He tells you what you need to hear and I appreciate that from a coach.”

Iowa wasn’t kidding when it said Kenny was its top linebacker prospect. Iowa coaches told Kenny he would start out at outside linebacker (Leo in Iowa’s system), but could grow into an inside linebacker. Iowa offered just two inside linebackers, Kenny and Missouri’s Nick Ramirez, who has committed to the Tigers. So, this was a strategic strike for Iowa, which goes into 2012 with three junior starters at linebacker.

Iowa has only two other linebacker offers out to players who haven’t committed, Fort Wayne, Ind., Jaylon Smith and Mike Mitchell of Plano, Texas.

Kenny is the second Indiana prep to commit to the Hawkeyes for 2013. He joins Pike (Indianapolis) defensive end David Kenney.

‘We have been texting back and forth for a while and I know he loves Iowa,” Kenny said. “He’s visited there four or five times. He has been helping me in terms of talking back and forth, but he didn’t really pressure me to come to Iowa. It will be awesome to have someone that I know and feel comfortable with going there with me.”

Next:  Could be Mike Rogers, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide receiver from Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers. He told HawkeyeReport.com that Iowa is at the top of his list and he’s planning a visit soon. His best offer after Iowa is Bowling Green. Iowa also was his first offer.

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David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

Nathan Bazata, DT, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***

Brant Gressel, DT, 6-2, 283 Centerville (Ohio) High School ***

John Kenny, LB, 6-2, 210 Caramel (Ind.) High School ***

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

Centerville (Ohio) High School defensive tackle Brant Gressel picked the Hawkeyes on Monday night. He's No. 72 here leading his team out of the tunnel.

Brant Gressel wears a Michigan-looking football helmet and uniform and is from the heart of Ohio State country, Centerville.

But he’s going to play football at the University of Iowa.

Gressel committed to the Hawkeyes on Monday night, becoming Iowa’s sixth commitment before the end of April, a record in head coach Kirk Ferentz’s era. The 6-foot-2, 283-pounder joins Howells (Neb.) High School’s Nate Bazata as defensive tackle recruits for the 2013 class. Indianapolis (Ind.) Pike’s David Kenney, Iowa’s first commit in this class, is a defensive end.

After 2012, Iowa will have lost eight defensive linemen, so the re-stocking of the front four was and remains job No. 1 for this class.

What is Iowa looking for in D-linemen?

“For us, it’s like drafting the third, fourth, fifth rounds,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Who really projects, has upside, that type of thing? Quite often, that’s how our recruiting goes at that position. It’s just a hard position to recruit, and the obvious prospects tend to disappear pretty quickly. There are things we look for.”

Ferentz was asked exactly what it is Iowa looks for.

“It’s hard to play defense if you can’t move, I know that,” he said. “. . . Depending on what you do and what our guys do, you’re going to have to be able to move a little bit. They’ve got to be tough, and they’ve got to be fairly smart. I think there are some commonalities there. If a guy’s got pride, then we’ll work hard enough.

“The work part, we can give him that, but there are certain things we can’t teach.”

Gressel seems to have the work part down.

According to a post at the Dayton Daily News, Gressel won a letter as a freshman defensive tackle at Centerville High. Then, as a sophomore, he switched to center as a sophomore and started one game. Last season, he switched back to tackle. Monday, he accepted a Big Ten football scholarship to play the position.

Gressel thanked his coach, Ron Ullery, for staying confident in him.

“I just needed to hear that,” Gressel told The News. “I calmed down and I had a great junior year because I had to. I couldn’t afford to mess up.”

Gressel, who ended up being the first recruit O-line coach Brian Ferentz has landed for the Hawkeyes, held more than a dozen scholarship offers when he committed to the Hawkeyes, including Cincinnati, Louisville, Minnesota, N.C. State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Gressel, who made 54 tackles, 11 TFL, and five sacks last season, committed not long after visiting Iowa City.

“He is an extremely physical player,” Ullery told HawkeyeReport.com. “He’s very strong and gets off the ball really well. He used to play offensive line, so he can get off the ball quickly and uses his hands really well. He has a great motor and plays hard on every snap.”

Ullery doesn’t believe Ohio State will swoop in on Gressel, who holds a 3.75 GPA and will pursue engineering. Ohio State has scouted Centerville and has secured a commitment from O-lineman Evan Lisle.

___________________________________

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

Nathan Bazata, DT, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***

Brant Gressel, DT, 6-2, 283 Centerville (Ohio) High School ***

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

Iowa Recruiting Coordinator and Tight Ends coach Eric Johnson before the Hawkeyes' NCAA football game against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2011, in West LaFayette, Ind. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

Iowa’s recruiting has picked up, so HawkeyeReport.com’s Tom Kakert has dropped us a recruiting column.

Much appreciated and great info! I especially enjoyed the point Tom makes about face-to-face interaction, Eric Johnson’s freedom to travel and the importance of relationships. Recruiting is a sales job and relationships are a big deal.

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There was a time not so long ago when one or two verbal commits in April would be a big deal for the Iowa football team.

With their weekend haul of offensive line prospect Colin Goebel and defensive tackle Nate Bazata, followed by the Monday evening commitment from Brant Gressel, the Hawkeyes sit at six commitments before the calendar turns to May.

That’s a record for Ferentz and a sign that the Hawkeyes have adjusted their recruiting focus to more early verbal commitments. It’s also worth noting that all six come from outside the state of Iowa, although you could make a case for wide receiver Derrick Willies being an in-state prospect since he spent the past few years at Burlington High School before moving to Rock Island, Ill., earlier this year.

Honestly, Iowa had no choice because college football recruiting was moving in this direction. They had to change and credit to Kirk Ferentz for making the proper adjustments in his recruiting strategy since the end of the 2011 season.

A big step was moving Eric Johnson from recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach to recruiting coordinator and assisting defensive line coach Reese Morgan at his position. The idea was very simple; Johnson is now freed up to focus more on recruiting duties and evaluation of prospects, which seems to be a growing trend in college football.

One thing that appears to be unique about Johnson’s changing role is that he retains the ability to actually go on the road and recruit on a much broader scale while also having the ability to coach players once they arrive on campus. Looking at the Big Ten coaching staffs, at least four have “recruiting coordinators” listed on their coach’s web sites, but they are all the primary assistant coach for a position. It’s much harder to be the primary position coach and evaluate prospects, let alone get on the road to see them in person. Johnson has the opportunity to do that now for the Hawkeyes and frankly, it’s pretty unique.

Many other schools also employ player personnel directors, who manage their recruiting efforts, but it generally doesn’t allow them the option to go on the road and participate in recruiting prospects.

While that isn’t as big of a deal as it was before the growth of social media, face-to-face interaction matters when it comes to building relationships with recruits, their parents, and high school coaches. This could be a nice advantage for Iowa football moving forward.

It’s also hard to say that Johnson’s official move to his new “role” is the reason the Hawkeyes are off to a hotter than usual start in recruiting.

Some impact? Sure. It’s probably helped Iowa, but it’s unlikely that the Hawkeyes have six commits this early because of the change. It’s probably fair to say that this is a nice coincidence.

Speaking of social media, while Kirk Ferentz isn’t a coach that sends out tweets — heck, he claims he doesn’t even send text messages — the rest of his staff are embracing Twitter on a daily basis. With spring practice wrapping up this past weekend, Johnson and Brian Ferentz were quickly hitting Twitter with a note that they were anxious to hit the road to start recruiting and finding future Hawkeyes.

It might not seem like a big deal, but many prospects are on Twitter quite a bit and the message is the Iowa coaches are embracing what they enjoy. It might seem like a minor detail to many Iowa fans, but every little bit helps in recruiting. It should be noted that while Iowa is embracing Twitter, Ferentz is still not allowing his players to tweet while they are playing for the University of Iowa.

The biggest change in recruiting is pretty simple, prospects are deciding earlier in the process and you can either embrace that change or get lost in the shuffle. College basketball coaches are used to this, having to offer prospects when they are freshman and sophomores, and taking commitments earlier than any of them would probably like to.

That world is now in full bloom in college football and all you have to do is take a look at the Rivals.com Top 100 to see it. Of the 11 Rivals.com five-star recruits in the Class of 2013, six have already made a verbal commitment to a college program. Over half the Top 50 prospects have made a verbal commitment. Of the Top 100 prospects according to Rivals.com, 52 have made verbal pledges. Ten years ago that would have never happened. Heck, five years ago it wasn’t happening.

The landscape is changing and it’s not going back to the old days ever again.

Ferentz knew it was changing and he’s caught it at the right time. According to Rivals.com, Iowa has the 5th most commitments in the Big Ten. The usual suspects head the list with Michigan landing an amazing 17 verbal commitments, including 13 four star prospects. Urban Meyer and Ohio State are in 2nd with 13 verbal commitments, including one five star and 9 four stars. Penn State is showing no negative recruiting impact to their scandal of the past year with 8 verbal commitments, including six four stars. Michigan State leads Iowa by one with seven commitments. Meanwhile, 1/3 of the conference is stuck at 0-1 commitments as we head into the final week of April.

It’s also interesting to look at Iowa and how much of a departure this really is for Coach Ferentz and the Hawkeyes. The most verbal commitments Iowa ever had before the end of April was three and that was in 2010 and that included James Morris, who had already been committed for more than a year, along with Austin Gray and Jim Poggi.

Otherwise it’s been one or none in April for Iowa. In 2004, Iowa landed Matt Kroul from Mt. Vernon very early and then Mitch King jumped on board during April. That is the exception to the rule.

Imagine the panic in the streets of Iowa City if this were the 2002 recruiting class when the Hawkeyes didn’t pick up a verbal commitment until August. Calvin Davis, Chris Felder, and Warren MacDuffie said “yes” to Iowa in that month, but before then, nothing. Think Iowa fans, or any fanbase of a BCS school, would survive a summer without a commitment on the board?

It should be noted that in recent years, Iowa has generally been at five to six commitments by the summer, so really the huge jump in commitments at this early stage is more like a leap of a couple months. Iowa isn’t going to be like the old home of new offensive coordinator Greg Davis, where the Texas Longhorns didn’t wait for the ink to dry on one class before putting out the help wanted sign for the next one and see 20 prospects line up to give a verbal commitment.

All spring we have heard about a more aggressive approach on the field on offense and defense under new coordinators. It appears that the same approach is being preached on the recruiting trail as the Hawkeye coaches are trying to lock up prospects early and often. Time will tell if this strategy works on the field, but right now the Hawkeyes have some serious momentum on the recruiting trail and that’s a good thing for Iowa Football.

WHO’S NEXT

It doesn’t take long for one commitment to roll in to see fans wondering on our message boards about which prospect will be next to jump on board. With three commitments in a matter of days, Kirk Ferentz and his staff are on a bit of a hot streak right now.

Here are a few names to watch in the near future that could make a verbal commitment:

John Kenny, is a 6-foot-2 and 210 pound linebacker from Indiana that visited Iowa City this past month. He had plenty of good things to say about the Hawkeyes following his trip and seems to be closer to a commitment than anyone we could list. He visited Arizona this past weekend and says that he might make a commitment by June.

Indiana is also the home of 6-foot-1 wide receiver Mike Rogers. The Ft. Wayne native holds an offer from the Hawkeye and he plays a position that is a priority for Iowa in this class. He has Iowa at the top of his list of schools. Will he wait for more offers or jump at the opportunity in front of him? Stay tuned.

It’s also worth looking at some of the in-state prospects as far as a commitment in the Class of 2013. Currently, Iowa doesn’t have an in-state commit and give then have six on the board, it’s pretty amazing none of them are from the Hawkeye state.

With two defensive tackles on board, Sam Raridon from West Des Moines Valley might be taking a look at the situation in Iowa City and feel some pressure to commit. So far he says there’s no pressure and he’s not worried about reserving his spot, but that could certainly change.

His teammate at Valley, Jake Campos is getting plenty of attention this spring. The big offensive tackle visited Iowa on Friday and has the likes of Oklahoma coming through later this week to visit. He doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make a decision. The same can be said for Des Moines Dowling tight end Jon Wisnieski. He has offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, and Iowa State, with Oklahoma showing strong interest. He doesn’t appear close to making a decision at this time.

Caption: Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz during practice at Kinnick Stadium on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

HEADLONG HAWKEYE

If I could do one of those “Daily Show” jump-cut segments that singles out a buzzword, I’d do that today.

The word for Hawkeye-dom yesterday was “change.”

I particularly liked Black Heart Gold Pants’ take. The site’s daily link dump “It’s Not Plagiarism If You Link To It” (thank you for the linkage, BTW, PSD and @iowahawkeyes) this morning had the headline “The Brian Ferentz-ification of Iowa Football?’

Let’s swish that idea around the snifter. But first this excerpt from that post: “If Kirk [Ferentz] starts to wear his pants too high, I gotta think there’s only one person on the staff that’s going to tell him he looks ridiculous. That’s his son. Hierarchy be damned.”

I think that one was @PlannedSickDays. Do the chainsaw motion, man, admire it and then walk around the bases backward. Excellent.

It’s a thought that keeps creeping in, the Brian Ferentz-ification. He’s the O-line coach. He came from the Patriots, where he was the tight ends coach. He worked with the tight ends this spring (might’ve been a pep talk, but also might’ve been something more extensive). I believe there will be a pass-to-run element in the way Iowa’s offense works next fall (but probably not a long-term thing, rather playing to the strength that is QB James Vandenberg and waiting for a running back to emerge, total guess on my part).

Maybe it’s not so much Brian Ferentz. Remember, chain of command is observed rather closely in college football. Maybe Kirk Ferentz has turned his assistants loose.

It was a little thing in the spring game and Kirk Ferentz did play it down, but when the spring scrimmage kicked into more of a “game,” he sort of distanced himself from the rest of the coaches. KF was in sort of left field, while the rest of the crew was on the sidelines.

KF has been there and done that as far as the spring game and the sidelines go. He also has always allowed his coaches to coach on game day. Prime example was last fall during the Michigan goal-line stand. The D coaches were engaged and did all the talking. KF stayed close, but stayed quiet and calm.

Maybe KF has carried that stance a step farther. You see Iowa coaches all over the place on social media (@HawkeyecoachEJ, @coach_doyle, @coachBferentz, @LeVarWoods). Iowa football had numerous press conferences this spring, many more than in Ferentz’s previous 13 seasons (I think KF reads the blog, if so, thanks for that! It was helpful and fun).

Part of it was all the newness in the coaching staff, KF acknowledged, but it also was outreach, throwing the starving media a bone (I have become a journalistic camel).

“My ears do work. Believe it or not, they do work,” KF said, making light requests for access (it was a battle I had given up on, frankly). “You think I’m hard-headed, but every now and then, ideas do penetrate. I’m not saying I’ll ever meet in the middle, but we’ll try to hear things a little bit. I’ve actually gotten some correspondence back that people appreciated it.”

Consider this another “thank you.”

Now, let’s not get crazy. In-season, it’s going to be a fort and no one is getting into practice (covered Chicago Bears training camp for four years in Dubuque, it’s not a great loss). I would suggest a coordinator availability on Wednesday (Greg Davis is a good talker and Iowa should take advantage).

More coaches talking might help build profile for the program. One voice eventually runs out of new things to say and gets tuned out. That program also gets the mute button. Ferentz’s Big Ten teleconference sessions toward the end of last season didn’t go the full 10 minutes, something he noted a few times.

With the players, I know KF doesn’t want a circus atmosphere and I get that. Still, there’s no better ambassadors for Iowa football and the University of Iowa. You want James Vandenberg on TV as much as possible. Micah Hyde (seriously), too. Along with Nike Pro Combat, let’s face it, recruits dig media. The arena ethos of sports — at least the way American sports and media has built it — needs that release. This is what happened, this is how I felt.

KF, 56, has a contract that runs through 2020. That’s nine more seasons, theoretically.

In the last two decades of his long career, Picasso produced more work than at any other time of his life. This late period tends to be overlooked, but contains some of the finest of Picasso’s paintings. Some critics maintain Picasso was creatively lazy at this point. Others believe he had achieved a level of effortless artistic expression that still hasn’t been fully appreciated.

Maybe a bit of a hubristic reference, but apropos nonetheless.

– Marc Morehouse

WIDE WORLD OF LINKAGE

– You thought the Jarrod Uthoff-Wisconsin transfer story was messy? What about this:

Florida International refused to allow Dominique Ferguson and his career 8-point scoring average to transfer after Isiah Thomas was fired as FIU’s coach, so Ferguson is entering the NBA draft.

New FIU coach Richard Pitino — yes, Rick Pitino’s son — said staying at the school may not be “a good fit” for everyone on the roster he inherited. Apparently, Ferguson was one of those the program wants to keep.

Sounds sleazy.

– If you really want sleazy, let’s talk bowl games.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, who has written so much to expose the BCS and the bowls for the shams they are, has a damning column about how Sugar Bowl Inc. stuck it to LSU in the BCS title game held in New Orleans.

Complimentary tickets for parents of the players? Nope. LSU paid $254,800 for tickets that players requested, at $350 a throw.

The Tiger Marching Band? Every seat they needed cost LSU $350, including some for tubas. That was another $182,830.

Athletic directors have been among the biggest flunkies and stooges for bowls, but the financial stress the bowls are putting on their budgets may finally be tipping things the other way.

“Everything has changed in the last couple of years,” said an athletic director at a BCS school in Wetzel’s essay “The business practices of the bowl games are of great discussion. … When is enough, enough?

“There’s a feeling that it’s time to do it ourselves.”

– But LSU’s athletic program isn’t going broke, folks.

The Tigers are giving defensive coordinator John Chavis a raise. He’s going from $700,000 last year to an average of $1.1 million over the next three years.

“Market value,” LSU Coach Les Miles called it.

It would buy a lot of tickets to the BCS title game, that’s for sure.

– The following video is from a Division II team’s football scrimmage. But it’s big-time all the way.

– Compiled by Mike Hlas

Caption: Iowa takes the field before the start of their Big Ten Conference College Football Game Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Any reason to run this picture again, right? (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)

IOWA CITY — As long as it’s not on the west coast, night games are OK with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. He’s really, really OK with them if they’re at Kinnick Stadium.

And so, yes, he’s good with Iowa’s lone night game this season being a 7 p.m. kickoff Oct. 20 against Penn State on the Big Ten Network.

“I’m all for night games at home; I’m all against them on the road, especially in the western time zones,” he joked Tuesday. “Night games in Kinnick, that’s tough to beat that.

“I joke about the only bad thing about playing on the road is coming home. It just makes for a long night or an early morning, but night games are pretty neat. When I was in high school, we played at night, and it’s kind of a special feeling.

‘You go back to the atmosphere we were involved in at Penn State a couple of years ago. If you like college football, that’s a great thing to be involved in. But all that being said, I’d rather be in Kinnick.”

This will be Iowa’s only night game during the regular season. No other start times have been set for Iowa.

Iowa is 6-3 in night games in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa has wins over Northwestern (2011), Penn State (2010), Michigan (2009), Syracuse (2007), Arizona State (2003) and Northern Illinois (1999), and losses to Ohio State (2006), Iowa State (2002) and Miami, Fla. (1992).

DiBona career over

Linebacker Shane DiBona’s career with the Hawkeyes is over. After missing 2011 with a ruptured Achilles, DiBona tried to make a comeback this spring, but instead opted for a medical hardship.

“He was injured early in spring, and he’s not going to be able to come back,” Ferentz said. “He’s going to take a medical, and he’ll stay in school and finish his degree, but will not play football anymore. We’re certainly sorry to make that announcement.”

DiBona was one of 13 Hawkeyes hospitalized during the rhabdomyolysis outbreak in January 2011. He also had shoulder surgery during the ’11 offseason.

Talking Hill, Garmon

Ferentz has a list of things he wants to get to now that spring practice is over. Incoming freshman running backs Barkley Hill and Greg Garmon are on that list.

Running back Jordan Canzeri suffered the injury of spring practice, suffering a torn ACL on the third day. The door isn’t completely shut on a 2012 return for him, but Ferentz said Tuesday that’s a “touch and go” proposition.

In the meantime, Ferentz said he wants to contact the incoming freshmen to let them know they are in the running for starting running back. Ferentz also reiterated that he liked what he saw this spring from sophomores Damon Bullock and De’Andre Johnson, both of whom rushed for more than 100 yards in the spring scrimmage.

“I think they [Bullock and Johnson] improved pretty much each and every day and feel a lot better about what they’re doing now and where they’re at,” Ferentz said. “But we’re going to need more than two guys, certainly, so if those two guys [Hill and Garmon] can help us, that would be a great thing.”

Other areas where freshmen could break in:

“We have other positions as well,” Ferentz said. “We don’t have our punting position settled by any stretch, defense and receiver, I think anywhere on defense and receiver, too.”

Drafting

If you follow the voices that come through Iowa football, you probably don’t remember former left tackle Riley Reiff saying much. So no, Ferentz wasn’t surprised when Reiff declined an invite from the NFL to attend the draft in New York this weekend.

“He does have a grandfather who is up there in age a little bit and who is frail right now. I think that’s it, first and foremost,” Ferentz said. “That’s also not really Riley’s nature. I promise you, Riley would be a lot more comfortable in Green Bay than New York City, if he had a choice where he went.

“Wherever he goes, he line up and practice hard and learn and do whatever a good pro will do, not unlike Marshal Yanda. He’s cut from that same cloth. Riley is a guy who’d rather be out fishing or do things like that than be in Manhattan and hanging out with whoever. He’s not about attention. Riley has never done a thing to garner attention.”

Ferentz gets the old NFL O-line coach glint in his eye when he discusses former guard Adam Gettis. If Ferentz were still with the Ravens, you get the feeling Gettis would be in purple.

“Gettis might be a sleeper in the whole thing,” Ferentz said. “Everyone is worried about his size, but this guy just blocks people.”

Tackle Markus Zusevics, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle while bench pressing at the combine, should be ready for training camp, Ferentz said. “Zuse will be fine. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get drafted.”

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz watches Iowa's spring scrimmage on April 14. Ferentz met the media on Tuesday for a post-spring assessment. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

IOWA CITY — Fresh air continues to blow through the Iowa football program.

During a spring wrap-up news conference Tuesday, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talked about the buildings arm race and how Iowa needs to keep up, the speed dating that is going on now in recruiting and how Iowa intends to stay in step and, yes, the possibility of Nike Pro Combat uniforms.

You know the ones, they’re usually accompanied by a flat black helmets and everything but flames.

“I’m open to some things like that, too,” Ferentz said. “We will certainly consider it moving forward.”

“Moving forward” is the theme.

You know all about the changes on the coaching staff. Next fall, Iowa will have new coordinators, Phil Parker on defense and Greg Davis on offense, and they will call games from the press box, something Iowa rehearsed during its final spring practice last Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. Beyond coordinators, Iowa welcomed its first two Generation Y assistant coaches, O-line coach Brian Ferentz and linebackers coach LeVar Woods.

The recruiting territories have been tweaked. That and a hyper-accelerated recruiting timetable have yielded six recruits before the end of April (compared to one in 2011).

You simply can’t miss the $19.6 million indoor facility that is lined by fence and has the buzz and clip of construction noises, pushing Iowa’s football training into Kinnick Stadium. The UI Football Operations Facility, phase II of the project, goes before the Board of Regents for approval this week. The budgeted proposal is $36.6 million.

That’s Iowa’s $57.2 million ante in the arms race.

The operations building would be immediately adjacent to and south of the new indoor facility. It would include spaces for strength/conditioning, squad meetings, video editing, lockers for players and coaches, coach’s offices and reception space.

Ferentz said Iowa needs something to show recruits. The Bubble, which was deflated last Friday after 27 years of service, wasn’t something recruits had on their list of must-sees when they visited Iowa City.

“We might, we might not,” Ferentz said when asked if they did actually show recruits The Bubble. “It wasn’t a showcase, for sure.”

From The Bubble to the new indoor facility, which will have a natural grass practice field behind it, to the new operations building, Ferentz said the advantage isn’t so much an advantage as much as keeping pace with the Big Ten Joneses.

“Probably Ohio State, but I’m just guessing,” Ferentz said when asked which Big Ten school had the best facilities.

“As you know, it’s an arms race out there in recruiting. That’s one factor,” he said. “. . . For the long-term success of our [athletic] programs Carver-Hawkeye had to be addressed. Certainly, our facilities needed to be addressed. These have been adequate and they’ve worked and we’ve won games with these facilities, but with the pace of recruiting, like it or not, it’s important to recruits.

“If you can’t recruit, you can’t survive.”

That bell has certainly sounded this spring. Iowa picked up its sixth commitment on Monday night. Ohio defensive tackle Brant Gressel selected the Hawkeyes over Cincinnati, Louisville, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. That made it three commitments — non-binding until the letter of intent is signed and delivered in February — this week.

Ferentz said Iowa isn’t doing anything differently in its approach to recruiting. He believes it’s the new pace of the game, with social media playing a driving force.

“It’s not going to slow down for sure,” Ferentz said. “I think our roles at some point may end up changing and evolving a little bit. I’ve heard the NCAA said they’re going to look at the whole rule book a little bit. I think this kind of falls in that category, in some regards, just because the face of recruiting’s changed so dramatically.”

And Iowa is changing along with it. You can see the construction. You might see uniforms you never thought you would under Ferentz’s watch.

Maybe the Hawkeyes could see Pro Combat uniforms, which players have embraced even when fans (specially fans in the 40-something demographic) have turned up their noses.

Players like them. And this is all about recruiting and a little bit about survival.

Caption: Iowa's Quinton Alston wears a red, white and blue tigerhawk logo during the first half against Michigan at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, November 5, 2011 in honor of Veterans Day. (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group)

From Iowa sports info:

IOWA NAMES 2012 LEADERSHIP GROUP

IOWA CITY, IOWA – - Fourteen University of Iowa football players have been named to the team’s 2012 Leadership Group. Head coach Kirk Ferentz announced the group Tuesday following the completion of spring practice.

The group for the upcoming year includes five seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and three redshirt freshmen. A member of the 2012 incoming freshman class will be added in the fall. The purpose of the group is to help formulate policies and enter into team decision-making matters regarding the upcoming season.

“As always, I think it’s a good representation, a good group of guys,” said Ferentz. “I think it’s a good group, and they’ll do a good job. I’ll actually meet with those guys this week, and we’ll talk about a few things. The coaching staff looks forward to working with the group as we shape policies and decisions regarding the upcoming season. This is a very important group to all of us involved with Iowa football.”

The five seniors are DL Steve Bigach, DB Greg Castillo, OL James Ferentz, DB Micah Hyde and QB James Vandenberg. The juniors include LS Casey Kreiter, LB James Morris, FB Brad Rogers, and OL Brett Van Sloten. WR Kevonte Martin-Manley and OL Brandon Scherff represent the sophomore class, while the three redshirt freshmen are LB Quinton Alston, OL Austin Blythe and QB Jake Rudock.

The 2012 Hawkeye Leadership Group includes:

Quinton Alston LB Freshman Sicklerville, N.J.

Steve Bigach DL Senior Cleveland, Ohio

Austin Blythe OL Freshman Williamsburg, Iowa

Greg Castillo DB Senior Mount Laurel, N.J.

James Ferentz OL Senior Iowa City, Iowa

Micah Hyde DB Senior Fostoria, Ohio

Casey Kreiter LS Junior DeWitt, Iowa

Kevonte Martin-Manley WR Sophomore Pontiac, Mich.

James Morris LB Junior Solon, Iowa

Brad Rogers FB Junior Toledo, Ohio

Jake Rudock QB Freshman Weston, Fla.

Brandon Scherff OL Sophomore Denison, Iowa

James Vandenberg QB Senior Keokuk, Iowa

Brett Van Sloten OL Junior Decorah, Iowa

Caption: Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz watches his team work out during their open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Here’s the off-camera stuff:

How will the new facilities improve the program?

As you know, it’s an arms race out there in recruiting. That’s one factor. Short term, it’s going to be great for everybody who uses it, most importantly our players and obviously staff and support staff, everyone who’s going to be involved with it. But I really do think, like all the facilities that are going on around campus be it academic or athletic, for the long-term success of our programs athletically Carver-Hawkeye had to be addressed. Certainly, our facilities needed to be addressed. These have been adequate and they’ve worked and we’ve won games with these facilities, but with the pace of recruiting, like it or not, it’s important to recruits. If you can’t recruit, you can’t survive.

Had you shown recruits The Bubble in recent years?

Well, we might’ve. We might, we might not. It wasn’t a showcase, for sure. We’ve been showing plans now for . . . [Former Iowa LB Jeff] Tarpinian was teasing Brian [Ferentz] last fall, ‘They were showing me plans when I was coming out to visit.’ So, do the math on that one. [Tarpinian graduated after the '10 season.] At least now, the train is coming down the track and that’s exciting.

Who has the best facilities in the Big Ten?

You know, I couldn’t speak to that. Probably Ohio State, I’m just guessing. It’s interesting, a school like Connecticut has excellent facilities. We went there probably three years ago. Kansas, I thought had some nice features there. So, the bottomline is we face some inherent disadvantages from a recruiting standpoint, be it location, be it population. One thing I learned here in the ’80s, if we’re not out in front of things, it’s going to be tough. That’s where Bernie Wyatt had such a gift. Back in those days, we we were doing Hawkeye football calendars and posters. Nobody else was doing that. It gave us exposure and things like that help you in recruiting, getting your name out there. You go out east and see those posters and calendars up on walls, back then nobody was doing it and they’ve been outlawed since, but Bernie understood back then the value of getting out front.

You’ve had eight press conferences this spring. Is that mostly due to all the turnover on the staff or are you changing . . .

In part that and in part, you know, just trying to help things out. My ears do work. Believe it or not, they do work. You think I’m hard-headed, but every now and then, ideas do penetrate. I’m not saying I’ll ever meet in the middle, but we’ll try to hear things a little bit. I’ve actually gotten some correspondence back that people appreciated it. I’m not against it. In season, I can’t make any guarantees. My obligation and my only concern is the guys doing their jobs at that point. You have no idea, especially with the recruiting, you’ve got no idea how much is on their plates. It used to be that you did one thing at one time. Not anymore. We’ll try to continue that into the summer, too.

But no open practices someday?

I doubt that. Boy, I tell you, you’d really be let down if you were out there. Jeez, I’ve got to come here and watch this? It’s not that good.

The throwback uniforms are coming. Would you ever relent to players who want to have the Pro Combat thing? It seems to me, it really is for players.

Yeah, and like the topic of us being a little bit more accessible, I’m open to some things like that, too. We will certainly consider it moving forward.

What is it about Riley that made him not want to go to New York?

Two things, he does have a grandfather who is up there in age a little bit and who is frail right now. I think that’s it, first and foremost. That’s probably as important as anything. But that’s also not really Riley’s nature. I promise you, Riley would be a lot more comfortable in Green Bay than New York City, if he had a choice where he went. Wherever he goes, he line up and practice hard and learn and do whatever a good pro will do, not unlike Marshal Yanda. He’s cut from that same cloth. Riley is a guy who’d rather be out fishing or do things like that than be in Manhattan and hanging out with whoever. He’s not about attention. Riley has never done a thing to garner attention. He performs well and is a competitive guy. He’s been easy to coach. Appreciate what he’s done and we’ll really miss him.

Markus Zusevics?

Broderick had a similar thing last June [torn pectoral] and he made it back. Zuse will probably miss the mini-camps, but when it comes time, he should be able to go in August. I think all three of those guys, obviously Riley has a lot of value. We had some visitors in last week and we were watching some clips from last year, more than some, we were going through a lot of tape, I thought Gettis and Zusevics played well. They played really well. Gettis might be a sleeper in the whole thing. Everyone is worried about his size, but this guy just blocks people. Zuse will be fine. I’d be shocked if he didn’t get drafted.

Bernstine?

I think he’s got a shock. He’s been worked out by a lot of people and several teams. He tested very, very well. I think he’s going to get an opportunity. I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Same thing with Shaun. Shaun is going to get drafted, I think.

At the end, KF confirmed that his son Steven will be walking on with the Hawkeyes. That’ll be four in the fold next fall, two players (James and Steven) and two coaches (Kirk and Brian).

Caption: Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz talks with his team during their open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz wrapped up spring practice with Tuesday’s news conference.

Here’s pretty much everything.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz updates on spring injuries. LB Shane DiBona, who suffered a ruptured Achilles last August, has decided to end his career due to injury. Ferentz also talks about the NFL draft. The Hawkeyes will be busy once again this weekend in that regard.

Ferentz talks draft candidates Riley Reiff and Marvin McNutt. Good stuff here on the D-line, including sophomore Louis Trinca-Pasat, who made some strides after some self-doubt in December.

Iowa is off to a hot start, on Iowa standards numbers-wise, on the recruiting front. Ferentz talks about that here along with what it means to be committed to a school.

I asked Ferentz about communication with Barkley Hill and Greg Garmon. They are obviously in the plans for 2012. He also gives a really good team breakdown at about 4:30.

I asked what it was like to have Brian Ferentz coaching his O-line. Not that big of a deal, he said. He knew he was getting a pro. Ends with some humor about The Bubble.

____________________________________________

THE MODERATOR:  Just a couple things before coach gets started.  The Penn State‑Iowa game will be the only night game this fall.  A couple of weeks in the summer, probably June, players will be available at some point.  We’ll get the information on that as we move along.  That’s about it unless you have any other questions.  Turn it over to Coach.
COACH FERENTZ:  Welcome.  Just a couple things.  We’ll kind of wrap up the spring here a little bit and hit a few things.
First of all, the guys voted on the leadership group last week at the end of last week.  That will come out today.  Steve will have a release on that.  As always, I think a good representation, good group of guys.  The five seniors that we had, Steve Bigach, Greg Castillo, James Ferentz, Micah Hyde, James Vandenberg, really no big surprises there certainly.
Four juniors with Casey Kreiter, James Morris, Brad Rogers, and Brett Van Sloten.  Two guys out of the sophomore class, Kevonte Martin‑Manley and Brandon Scherff.  And then the first year class, we’ve got three guys actually, Quinton Alston, Austin Blythe, and Jake Rudock.  I think certainly a good group, and they’ll do a good job.  I’ll actually meet with those guys this week, and we’ll talk about a few things.  Happy about that part of it.
Medically right now, just to give you an update on that.  We had a couple of guys that were injured since last time I met with you.  Casey McMillan had a knee injury.  John Chelf has had a knee injury.  Both of those guys required surgery.  John had his, I believe, two weeks ago.  Casey is actually scheduled to have a repair today.  And the good news is that both those guys, they should be ready to go, I would think, in July at some point.  That’s the good news.
On the other hand, with Jordan Canzeri, he’s still working hard.  Everything is going fine, but that’s touch and go, to say the least.
The other development medically, unfortunately, is Shane DiBona.  He came off that Achilles.  He was injured early in spring, and he’s not going to be able to come back.  He’s going to take a medical, and he’ll stay in school and finish his degree, work here, but will not play football anymore.  We’re certainly sorry to make that announcement.
The other guys are all moving back in a good way.  Dom Alvis and Carl Davis, most notably, didn’t practice this spring, but they’re on good pace to be getting back.  Right now we expect them to be ready to go the first week of June when we begin the summer program.  That’s good news certainly.
Regarding the football team certainly, I think we made good progress.  We had three workouts after the open scrimmage.  The open scrimmage wasn’t much to look at, and that’s kind of typical of spring practice overall.  I think Saturday’s work was better.  I think both the two practices midweek were good practices also.
We continue to make progress, but spring ball never looks too pretty, that’s for sure.  It’s kind of where we’re at right now.  The attitude of the team is good.  It’s been good since we got going in January.  I think they’re young, and they know we have work to do.
And the other thing is we’ve seen some guys emerge a little bit and make some moves, guys that maybe we didn’t have ranked real highly internally going into spring ball that have certainly shown some progress.  You think back to every December it seems like we see a couple of guys make a move.  I think we’ve seen that in this period here too.  So that’s a good thing.
We still have a lot of room for improvement, and typical of any football team, but I think this team especially with our youth and experience, we’re going to see a lot of transition and a lot of things happening here between now and September.  That’s going to be fun to track, fun to watch.  It’s really in the players’ hands how they want to approach it and how much they want to improve.
That’s kind of where we’re at at the end of spring.  And the last thing obviously is the draft coming up this weekend.  Shifting gears here a little bit, different set of players, it’s an exciting time certainly for all the guys that finished up back in December, and anxious time certainly, and wish all of them well.  I think we had seven guys at the combine back in February.  Which puts us at 23 over the last three years, which is a pretty high number.  I think that leads the Big Ten and puts us about six ahead of everybody else in the league.
The guys that end up being seniors here and are draft eligible certainly have done a good job of developing.  A lot of the credit there goes to the support staff that we have, our coaching staff does a good job, I think, coaching our players.  Chris Doyle and the strength staff do a wonderful job, and then most importantly, I think all those players certainly have worked hard, and they’ve shown a lot of determination to get to that point.
So they’ve all invested.  They’ve worked hard, and this is an exciting time for them.  We certainly wish them luck Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as they try to launch into the next phase of their careers.
I’ll throw it out for questions.

Q.  Where does Reiff sit in the draft?  A top 10 guy, top 15 guy? 
COACH FERENTZ:  You guys probably know as much as I do.  At least everything I read sounds like he’s got the shot to be the top 15 guy.  It’s really hard to predict, but the good news is it looks like it’s not the deepest pool maybe of offensive tackles.  So maybe a team or two will get antsy.  But he’s going to be a really good football player.

Q.  What do the pros like about him? 
COACH FERENTZ:  The first thing that comes to my mind is just his aggressiveness.  He’s durable.  It’s hard to get Riley off the field.  The other thing is he’s just a very aggressive player.  And I feel a little bit like I did about Bryan Bulaga with Riley.  Clearly, his best football is ahead of him.
I could say the same thing about Marshal Yanda.  Marshal was here for two years.  Riley could have come back for another year.  I fully understand why he chose to go out.  Looks like a real smart decision at this point.  The real plus is whoever gets him is going to see better football from him with each month in the future.

Q.  See where Marvin is maybe fourth, fifth round.  Does that surprise you?  What do you think of that situation? 
COACH FERENTZ:  Marvin had a fantastic career with us.  Nobody’s been more productive and made more big plays, but a lot of the draft is just based on who’s available, what’s out there, and receivers are usual but different.  Linemen tend to be at a real premium, be it offensive and defensive linemen.
The bottom line is the one thing I tell all those guys, it really doesn’t matter how you get to where you get.  There’s a financial ramifications, obviously, but most important thing is what they do when they get there and if they take advantage of that opportunity.  They’re all going to make more in their second contract if they’re good enough to get there.  So that’s the biggest thing, just get there and work hard.
I think he’s got his best football ahead of him too.  That’s kind of the same discussion really.  He’s kind of, not an infant at that position, but he still has room for development.

Q.  You mentioned some guys who have kind of emerged.  Who are some of those guys that maybe surprised you this spring? 
COACH FERENTZ:  A couple things, I guess.  We went in concerned about the defensive line.  I think those guys made progress.  I doubt anybody made more progress than Louis Trinca‑Pasat.  He was kind of on the ropes back in December, quite frankly.  A young guy who really was starting to question where his heart was and how important it was to him, and it showed up in his performance.  He was out there, he looked okay, but nothing to write home about.
In the spring, he’s really just quietly emerged, and by the second half of spring ball, he’s playing as well as anybody on the field either side of the ball.  So he’s clearly taken some steps.
Steve Bigach played well.  Joe Gaglione, who’s barely played, he had a good spring, certainly a starting point.  Darian Cooper was up and down a bit, as was Riley McMinn, but you expect that from young guys.  I think they’ll be a little better in August.  Bud Spears was kind of a flat line guy in December, and I think he showed some signs.  I think that group as a whole kind of took steps forward.  Mike Hardy did some good things.
Another group was the tight ends.  We had the two freshmen tight ends we redshirted a year ago, and they both‑‑ Jake Duzey kind of showed up a bit at the end of bowl prep down in Arizona when Ray was out.  We had to move him up, and he was getting some work with us.  Both he and Henry Krieger‑Coble did a nice job this spring.  That’s a starting point at least with some guys.

Q.  I know that these guys have to be tough and they have to stick with it, but what is the strategy with bringing in the project defensive linemen?  You’ve got several of those.  I think you picked up a few this week even for 2013.  How do you keep them‑‑ what is the strategy?  Because they probably get pushed around‑‑ I mean, Carl told his story about getting picked up with Gary.  How do you keep them engaged?  How do you keep them into it? 
COACH FERENTZ:  You’ve got to get the right guys.  That’s really what it comes down to.  It’s a little bit like the draft.  I think my sister could watch Adrian Claiborne on the tape and say, it would be good to get one of those guys on your team, if she were a pro scout, which she’s not.  She’s a pretty good school teacher.
Anyway, what are you going to‑‑ for us, it’s like drafting the third, fourth, fifth rounds.  Who really projects, has upside, that type of thing?  Quite often, that’s how our recruiting goes at that position.  It’s just a hard position to recruit to.  And the obvious prospects tend to disappear pretty quickly.  There are things we look for, and height isn’t one of them.  We don’t worry about that.  We don’t worry so much about body weight of a high school player.  We’ve got examples of that.
Like anything, you learn from your past, and our players teach us an awful lot if we pay attention to what we’ve had success with, and maybe conversely, guys that haven’t worked out as well.  That’s kind of what we try to use as a barometer and a guide.

Q.  What do you look for?  I mean, is there explosion, tape, what‑‑
COACH FERENTZ:  Yeah, it’s hard to play defense if you can’t move, I know that.  And it’s really hard to play offense if you can’t too.  Depending on what you do and what our guys do, you’re going to have to be able to move a little bit.  They’ve got to be tough, and they’ve got to be fairly smart.  I think that’s some commonalities there.  If a guy’s got pride, then we’ll work hard enough.
The work part, we can give him that, but we can’t‑‑ there’s certain things we can’t teach.  That’s just kind of the way it goes.  Again, we’re not too worried about height.  Bob Sanders is the poster child of that one.  He started that off.  I’ll go back to when I was here in the ’80s.  I learned Mark sum linger, we had to talk his dad Mike into the fact we actually did believe he was good enough to play here.  He was 6 foot and maybe a little bit more than that.  He might contest that, but just a little over 6 foot, and had to gain weight to be a super heavyweight back in those days.  They had a super heavyweight category.
He came in and played as a true freshman behind Joe hill again Berg, and played on three really great football teams and played great football and was a leader for us.  You learn lesson ins your career, and that was certainly one of them.

Q.  Last year at this time, you only had one commitment, now you’ve got six.  I know you can’t talk about them specifically, but are you doing anything differently? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I don’t think so.  I think it’s just a sign of the times.  A couple of years back, it really became common place for prospects to be out‑‑ visiting places in June and July, to some extent.  But June‑‑ and I think all we’ve seen now, and this is kind of national‑‑ it’s translating into March and April now.  I think that’s just how the recruiting is going.  It’s driven by social media, and it’s become a real industry.
A lot of people are doing it for a business, and I think it’s really heightened awareness.  It’s not going to slow down for sure.  I think our roles at some point may end up changing and evolving a little bit.  I’ve heard the NCAA said they’re going to look at the whole rule book a little bit.  I think this kind of falls in that category in some regards just because the face of recruiting’s changed so dramatically.  It’s really changing.  I think it’s just a reflection of that.  We’re not doing anything differently other than hosting more prospects than we used to.
Spring football, we always hit a couple of balls in the air, but that’s just the wave of the future.

Q.  You would be in favor of early recruiting for football? 
COACH FERENTZ:  We have been.  I don’t know if it would affect us.  I was thinking more so early December or mid‑December.  So prospects would be‑‑ wouldn’t have to be harassed through the holidays and all that during that period although they’ve got the call limitations.  It would be nice for prospects to sign at some early date and not have to worry about people knocking on their door in December and January.

Q.  How about just signing on the day they come in? 
COACH FERENTZ:  That’s a slippery slope there.  Yeah, that’s a good one.  That’s one thing that brings up a good point.  One thing we do hope, when people commit, we just hope‑‑ we encourage them to make a commitment only if they really mean it.  It’s going to be your final decision.  It’s up to the prospect parents, guardians, that type of thing.
But there probably needs to be a uniform time.  I don’t know when that is, but we’ll see what happens.

Q.  If they want to look at schools, how do you feel? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I’m not sure that means commit.  Our definition of commit is they want to come here.  If they want to look at other schools, that’s fine, but just don’t commit.  We’re not going to accept a commitment if they still want to date.

Q.  Do you speed up‑‑ with the change in the timeline, do you speed up how early you offer a kid maybe as opposed to how you have in the past? 
COACH FERENTZ:  Not necessarily.  I think the one‑‑ everything’s changed in our way of thinking a little bit, to some extent, with one exception, and that’s we just really encourage our guys let’s not offer unless we’re sure.  But it’s hard to be sure.  You offer up a tape, you talk to people on the phone, coaches, people in the school, and you think you know, you hope you know, but it’s not the same as getting to know.
So we, like most people, have offered without really meeting a player, a prospect face to face, and that’s a little bit scary.  It’s a little bit like mail order recruiting.  That’s the phrase I use with our staff, and that’s scary.  If you guys ever bought anything from a mail order or online, the box gets there, and you open it up, and it’s like, oh, I’m not sure‑‑ you can return that stuff.  This is not quite the same.  So it’s a little scary.
There’s not a lot of logic in this whole process, quite frankly.

Q.  While we’re kind of on this train‑‑
COACH FERENTZ:  Since we’re off on a tangent.

Q.  So you get a recruit, they come for a year, they’ve seen you play for years.  They don’t like your style.  They transfer.  They get their paper.  What’s the most number of schools that you put on a banned list? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I’m not sure we’ve really had many of those.  I can think of one in the last five years where we did put some limitations on the prospect’s ability to go somewhere.  I think otherwise‑‑ my feeling, you hope it never comes to that.  Because I think, again, it goes back to the point don’t commit or don’t do it unless you’re sure.  But all that being said, things don’t always work out perfectly, and I get that.
My attitude too, if you don’t want to be here, it’s probably best you do leave and go somewhere else.  It would probably be better for everybody.  So as long as the player tries to work through whatever difficulties they’re experiencing because every player does, everybody does when they start something new.  But after that, have at it.  Again, I can only think of one place where I think maybe we limited a player, a prospect, where it just didn’t seem like it would be good.

Q.  Limited a prospect or a different school? 
COACH FERENTZ:  A different school.

Q.  Not someplace in the Big Ten? 
COACH FERENTZ:  They’re going to lose their scholarship, but they could do that, I think.  Did we change that rule?  I’ve got to tell you, I’m confused.  I read something last week that confused heck out of me?  Did you guys read that too?

Q.  Yeah.  You have to sit out a year and pay your own way for a year, and then you can go on scholarship. 
COACH FERENTZ:  Did I miss that one?  I just read it and didn’t understand it.

Q.  Is that the issue about transferring within conference? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I like our policy of not‑‑ at least what I thought was you couldn’t get a scholarship.  I think that’s good because for obviously reasons.  It could really get a little sticky there.  Yeah, that’s a little sticky.  I think that’s a good policy.  Sounds like it’s starting to get whacked away at.  In fact, I think there was an exception to that somewhere in recent history in another sport, going back a year or two.

Q.  Would you consider‑‑ and pardon me if you’ve already had one‑‑ a guy who could just come in for one year? 
COACH FERENTZ:  Yeah, I think I’d consider anything if we thought it would work.  If it fit in and not disrupted the chemistry of our football team.  In fact, if you know of any running backs right now.  I think somebody asked me that already.  I think it’s just you have to know your team and hopefully know the player that’s coming in.  Seems like it worked pretty well for Wisconsin last year.  It worked out pretty well.

Q.  Is that a good thing, though, for college football or college athletics? 
COACH FERENTZ:  To that point, I’m not in favor of that rule.  That’s just me personally.  I think it opens up a whole can of worms, but I guess if a guy can graduate, it’s to his credit.  Tyler Nielsen could have gone somewhere last year.  I’m glad he didn’t.  That would be a little disturbing.  It just would be.

Q.  He could have? 
COACH FERENTZ:  He could have.  Tyler had a business degree last May.

Q.  Was he recruited? 
COACH FERENTZ:  Not that I’m aware of.  Maybe I should have been recruiting him.  I was trying to be nice to him that month.

Q.  What is your level of communication right now with Barkley Hill and Greg Garmon.  Are they going to be important players when they walk in? 
COACH FERENTZ:  They’re on my list.  Barkley was down here, Greg was not.  Our coaches will see them.  They’ll be down at the schools in the next month.  I will talk to both those guys in the next two weeks probably.  I’m on that club circuit already.  I’ve got three in the bag right now, and I’ve made that comment.  I think we have to have the approach that both those guys, if they can help us, will, just because of our numbers right now.
I am pleased with the progress that Bullock and Johnson made during spring.  I think they improved pretty much each and every day and feel a lot better about what they’re doing now and where they’re at.  But we’re going to need more than two guys certainly.  So if those two guys can help us, that would be a great thing.  We have other positions as well.  We don’t have our punting position settled by any stretch, defense and receiver, I think anywhere on defense and receiver too.  Possibilities.

Q.  How do you feel about the fact that your one night game is going to be a home game this year?  Is that a big plus? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I’m all for night games at home.  I’m all against them on the road, especially in the western time zones.  Nice games in Kinnick, that’s tough to beat that.  I joke about the only bad thing about playing on the road is coming home.  It just makes for a long night or an early morning, but night games are pretty neat.
When I was in high school, we played at night, and it’s kind of a special feeling.  You go back to the atmosphere we were involved in at Penn State a couple of years ago.  If you like college football, that’s a great thing to be involved in.  But all that being said, I’d rather be in Kinnick.

Q.  Did you accomplish everything you hoped to offensively with the changes in spring? 
COACH FERENTZ:  We’re off and running.  We’re not there yet by any stretch.  One of the positives, we’re not a great team by any stretch, but I think one of the positives‑‑ this is true in all phases, but especially the offense.  The guys really learned better than I would have thought.  I think there are some thing the last couple weeks where we stalled out, or some guys stalled out on some stuff.
I think for the most part they really did a good job.  He was really impressed.  We kind of went through that a little bit when we moved to Baltimore.  Our offense was much different there, terminology‑wise.  The players grabbed it a lot quicker than the coaches, quite frankly.  It was interesting, but I think that’s what we witnessed here.

Q.  Greg and Phil are both going to be upstairs, they said that.  Do you rehearse that at some point? 
COACH FERENTZ:  We did Saturday, this past Saturday.  We did a little work, and it went pretty smoothly, seamlessly.  And we’ll come back in August and do the same thing and just make sure we got everything the way we want it.  Probably do it a couple times, I think, in August.  But right now it seems to be good.

Q.  Between recruiting and the other stuff, do you guys offensively go back and readjust what you want to do or maybe tried to install in spring, or do you have an idea now of what the players can handle and go back to that statement of doing what the players can do.  Has that adjusted?  Do you adjust that? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I think for sure.  I think right now the first and most important thing you do every spring is assess your team, where they’re at currently.  So 15 days gave us a good chance to do that.  And also you try to project a little bit in terms of what might be able to help us in terms of players coming in and then also what other developments potentially could take place.
All that being said, sometimes players surprise new a good way.  Sometimes they surprise you in a way that’s not as good.  I think we felt like there was potential at the tight end position going into it, and I think right now we feel good about that position for sure.
I alluded to the two guys we redshirted.  I think they’re both ready to actually be out on the field and play.  I think both of them were well ahead of where Reisen was, who was a true freshman, and we threw him out there out of necessity.  I think we have a chance there.  The running back thing, I like the quality of the two guys that got all the work, but we’ve got a lot of room for more help there.  So that’s going to be a big thing.
And the receiver position, I think Don Shumpert made some strides.  Kevonte, when he was fully healthy, looked really good.  Keenan, he was up and down.  He was injured a little bit and up and down all spring.  We have some room there for guys to step up.  Steve Staggs was hurt a little bit.  I don’t know that we have a handle on that one right now.  It’s going to be a big area for us to concentrate on recruiting as well.

Q.  Coach, you have an opportunity to have someone drafted in the first round for the third year in a row.  What does that mean to the program? 
COACH FERENTZ:  It’s, again, a real credit to the two individuals that have been picked, and certainly in Riley’s case, for sure he’ll be a first rounder.  It speaks well to what they’ve done, and all three of those guys are just hard working guys really.  From the day they walked in here, they had a lot of pride in what they did.  So it’s easy to coach players like that, and that makes it a lot of fun.
I think also, again, it’s like the combine thing.  I think it speaks well to the support staff that we have here.  Our coaches, I think, do a really good job of developing the guys on the field, and the role that Chris and his staff, Chris Doyle and his staff play is huge.  That was one of our building blocks when we started out here 13 years ago.  That was something we really felt we had to try to maximize.  It goes back to Mark’s question about the guys we recruit.  If a guy is willing to work hard at that phase, we feel like maybe we can move him ahead a little bit there.
I think for the most part that’s been a commonality for guys that have been drafted.  They’ve done a good job in the strength and conditioning phase of things.  Which means they’ve got to love it.  You’ve got to love it because that’s a lot of hard work.  Got to be aware of your diet and all that stuff too.  Hard for college guys sometimes.

Q.  I know you knew what you were getting with Brian, you went through and you hired him and all that.  What was it like, though, the first seeing him be his coach.  He’s following some pretty personal footsteps for you.  It must have been maybe a little nerve‑racking at first.  I don’t know. 
COACH FERENTZ:  Not really.  I kind of felt like I knew what to expect from him and LeVar, the same way because I’ve been around those guys as players.  Not that they were coaching when they were playing, but they had a maturity about them that you could envision them no different than the Stoopses.  I remember Bobby when he was here as a player.  There was just something about him that I could see him coaching real easily.  Those aren’t the only guys.
I’m not putting those two in that class, but some guys just kind of have that knack when they play.  You can see them doing it real easily.  I think really pleased with the whole staff and the way it worked this spring.  Going into it, that was a question for me.  I was a little‑‑ not concerned about it, but you never know.  You get through the one phase where everybody is working pretty hard, pretty close quarters in the office, and then when you actually start the coaching phase and going off tape and the whole thing.  Really pleased with the way the meetings went, the communication with our players, the teaching that was going on with everybody.
We had a lot of changes this spring.  Other than Lester Erb and Erik Campbell, it was pretty much new at every spot.  I think the players responded well.  The staff chemistry, the way everybody worked together for the most part was good.
The defense always tries to snipe.  That happens on every campus.  It’s as old as time.  It was good.  I was really happy with the way things went that way.
Coming out from spring ball well, and we’re a little deeper in some spots.  Feel really good.

Q.  Did you watch the building go down at all? 
COACH FERENTZ:  I missed it.  It happened pretty quick.  We were in a meeting, watching tape, what have you.  It was almost nondramatic, anti‑climactic, and it was gone.  I never saw those trees in the dental building.  That was kind of neat.  It’s going to be a beautiful parking lot, no question about it.  Hope we get a view of it from our office, maybe put a little sky Cam in there, something like that.  It’s a lot of change, so it’s neat to see.

Q.  What does it mean to football that you’ll have the new facility ready to go? 
COACH FERENTZ:  It’s exciting.  We’ve been lucky so far.  We’re all parking out there in front of Kinnick right now, which is great.  We’ve had beautiful mornings to walk in.  Beautiful afternoons to walk out.  I didn’t have to walk in that rain on Thursday, last Thursday.  That might not be that much fun.
But just all the construction, I think, as soon as the structure actually started going up, I think that got all of us kind of juiced up a little bit.  We’re excited about that.  It’s going to be great to have that facility available and even more exciting to know it’s going to push right out to the transportation center out there.  It’s painful while it’s going on, but it’s going to be great once it’s completed.  We’re excited about that.
Thank you.

The 1921-22 throwbacks from Hawkeyesports.com.

Nearly forgot about the throwback deal. Yes, for the third time that I can remember, Iowa will have throwback uniforms.

It’ll be the 1921-22 vintage honoring Howard Jones’ 7-0 teams from 1921 and 1922, which included winning all five Big Ten Conference games each season. Iowa more than 40 points three times in 1921, including 41 points in consecutive wins over Minnesota and Indiana in November. The Iowa defense allowed just 36 points on the season, posting three defensive shutouts (Illinois scored two points).

It only took Iowa 80 years to repeat the undefeated Big Ten feat, rolling an 8-0 record in 2002 and tearing down the goalposts in the Metrodome, the greatest act of fandom I have ever witnessed.

Here are some of the stars from that team: Quarterback Aubrey Devine, defensive back Gordon Locke and end Lester Belding earned consensus All-America honors during their playing careers. Devine, Locke and lineman Fred “Duke” Slater were named to Iowa’s All-Time team in 1989, while Belding was named Special Mention on defense.

Those earning All-Big Ten first team honors in the two seasons included Slater, Devine, Locke, Belding, linemen John Heldt, Chester Meade, Paul Minick and George Thompson, and end Max Kadesky. There were no second team honors at the time.

Howard Jones went on to coach in five Rose Bowls for . . . USC, where he won four national titles. According to Wikipedia (and who the heck knows), Jones’ wife didn’t dig Iowa City and he wanted a contract that allowed him to leave town during the offseason. Conflict ensued and Jones booked.

Hawkeye people, was this the moment? Is Jones’ departure what kept Iowa from being a Michigan or Ohio State? Probably not. Iowa the state still would’ve been a lightly populated mostly farm economy facing the powers from the Rust Belt. Still, makes you wonder.

Here are the pertinents for the 1921-22 throwback:

Helmet

Old gold, matching gold on jersey and pants. Gray facemasks

Front bumper will say IOWA. Back neckline will say ’21-22 Big Ten Champs

Jersey

Black body, old gold semicircle under arms, white numbers front and back, no player name

Pants

Old gold, matching old gold on jersey

Shoes

Black shoe, black laces, silver Nike swoosh

Socks

High game sock, all black

I’ll defer judgment until I see the whole set of gear.

As you know, Iowa has done this twice before.

I really liked these (2004 vs. Kent State):

Caption: Iowa's linebacker Chad Greenway celebrates after scoring a touchdown on an interception in the fourth quarter of the Hawkeye season opener against Kent State at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, September 4, 2004. The Hawkeyes won the game 39-7. (Gazette file)

These were OK, but thought they ended up too Steelerish (2010 Ball State):

Caption: Ball State's Reic Williams is tackled by Adrian Clayborn during the first half at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, September 25, 2010. (Cliff Jette/Source Media Group News)

You know this is going to spark the uniform debate.

Everyone seems to want one of those Nike Pro Combat deals. Everybody used to want an Ed Hardy T-shirt.

Iowa’s uniforms are classic. You know what Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska will wear game in and game out. Michigan State? Don’t know. Northwestern? I think the “N” is there to stay. Purdue? Illinois? Minnesota is likely to change uniforms at halftime.

But I am a 45-year-old. These uniforms are for the athletes. It gives them a voice in how they look. It doesn’t help them win games, but having their voice heard probably matters more than we think.

If you think it doesn’t matter, check this video from Ohio University last season. These guys were genuinely jacked for their black jerseys. (Complete with a Johnny Cash soundtrack.)

Cool unis? Sense of empowerment? Either way, you can’t can that kind of reaction.

Interesting stuff. If I were in Kirk Ferentz’s shoes, yeah, why not? Maybe make them play for it. Yes, it erodes tradition, but everyone knows what the traditional unis look like. Maybe they’d sell a few extra jerseys in the process.

– Marc Morehouse

LINKED IN

– From Columbus Dispatch longtime Ohio State beat writer Tim May, a look at Ohio State’s spring game.

– Here’s ESPN.com Big Ten blogger Brian Bennett’s look at Penn State’s spring game.

– Denard Robinson is a senior, so the Wolverines took a look at two for the future in their spring game, writes Kyle Mienke of AnnArbor.com.

– Compiled by Marc Morehouse

WIDE WORLD OF LINKAGE

– In 2012, season tickets to Iowa football games will cost $2 less than season tickets to Michigan games. Of course, the Hawkeyes have seven home games and the Wolverines but six.

Iowa’s price is $388, by the way.

This Detroit News story has the ticket prices for every Big Ten school. An 8-game ticket at Ohio State goes for $560. But you can get low-end season tickets at Illinois and Purdue for under $100.

– Even though Michigan plays Massachusetts, Tom Dienhart of BTN.com ranks the Wolverines’ 2012 nonconference schedule the hardest of all Big Ten teams.

He has good reasons. Namely, Alabama in Texas, and Notre Dame in South Bend.

Iowa? Well, that’s Dienhart’s 10th-toughest (or 3rd-easiest) non-con slate. With Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Central Michigan, the Hawkeyes certainly lead the conference in directional foes.

– Iowa’s football team plays two Mid-American Conference teams this year. The MAC, Michael Weinreb writes in this Grantland.com story, “exists both within the power structure of big-time college football and yet stands entirely outside of it.”

The story is built around Akron, which has won two games over the last two seasons, and its new coach. That’s Terry Bowden, formerly of big-time college football.

– You won’t see Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff listed as low as the 26th pick of the first round in anyone’s NFL mock draft. Or is that mock NFL draft?

Anyway, Greg Cosell of NFL Films has Reiff No. 26, to the Houston Texans. That isn’t where he thinks Reiff will go, it’s just how he rates players “based on my film study and my sense of team needs.”

Cosell has Robert Griffin III has his No. 1 pick, by the way. And he says the best player in the draft isn’t Griffin or Andrew Luck, but running back Trent Richardson.

– For those who think this flap with the Jarrod Uthoff transfer will do Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin basketball program irreparable harm, Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says guess again.

“… the PR black eye is akin to one of those fake tattoos you purchase at a summer festival,” Potrykus writes. “Unlike the real deal, they fade quickly and without pain.”

– Courtney Love has committed to the Nebraska football program.

Seriously.

 – Compiled by Mike Hlas

Howell (Neb.) D-lineman Nathan Bazata committed to the Hawkeyes this weekend. Here, he's a sophomore defensive end who earned first-team all-state in Class D-2. (Journal-Star)

Nathan Bazata doesn’t come with a mile-high stack of offers. In fact, it was Iowa and South Dakota State.

Bazata is the exact player Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talked about this spring when he talked about a renewed effort to unearth recruits who aren’t on everyone’s list. Just after spring football started, Ferentz moved Eric Johnson from tight ends to recruiting coordinator and defensive line assistant with the emphasis being “recruiting coordinator,” a title Johnson has held since 2003.

Ferentz talked about getting Johnson on the road a little more during the season.

“If you look at the guys we look at, I think that could be a real value for us,” Ferentz said. “The obvious players, the Tony Moeaki, it doesn’t take a long time to figure those guys out. If this will help get us another Karl Klug-type guy or two per class, that would really be a benefit.”

Bazata might be exactly that Karl Klug-type guy. A small-town football warrior who plugs in, buys in and comes out an NFL-caliber D-lineman five years later.

D-line coach Reese Morgan found Bazata in Howells, Neb., where Bazata has been a dominant force on the eight-man level. Last season, he had 115 tackles and nine sacks again earning first-team all-state honors. Bazata’s Howells High School team beat Giltner in the state semifinals. Giltner was led by Drew Ott, who’ll be a freshman D-end at Iowa this fall.

Bazata also has finished second at heavyweight in the state tournament the last two years, finishing his junior season with a 39-1 record. Last weekend, Bazata attended an all-Nebraska football combine in Lincoln and led all participants with 26 reps of 185 pounds on the bench press.

He bench presses 375 pounds and squats 480, and he has a 31 ½-inch vertical. Bazata also runs the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds. Put that on a 6-2, 270-pound frame and you have the makings of a beastly D-lineman.

Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State also were interested. Iowa saw what it liked and jumped.

“What really sold me was when I got to sit down with three players, two d-linemen and one o-lineman, and just talk to them about things,” Bazata told HawekeyeReport.com. “They gave their honest opinion about the coaches and what happens at Iowa. That made me want to do it [commit] right away.”

Bazata, the Hawkeyes’ fifth commitment of the 2013 class, Bazata said Iowa coaches are leaning toward defensive tackle, but he also could play center for the Hawkeyes.

“I’m just going to bust my butt in the weight room and expect for anything to happen,” Bazata said.

__________________________________

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

Nathan Bazata, DL, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

Naperville (Ill.) North O-lineman Colin Goebel committed to the Hawkeyes over the weekend. The 6-4, 275-pounder probably projects as a guard. (Rivals.com)

This is how Iowa’s new recruiting set-up could work.

During his March visit to Iowa City, Naperville (Ill.) North offensive lineman Colin Goebel met with new O-line coach Brian Ferentz. They talked about Iowa’s tradition on the offensive line, something Ferentz knows well as a three-year starter.

“He definitely knows his stuff and he’s definitely going to keep the Iowa offensive linemen tradition going strong by what he teaches,” Goebel told HawkeyeReport.com. “He went to Iowa and played offensive line, so he knows what he’s talking about and teaching to his players.”

That was Ferentz’s answer to the recruiting question, nearly verbatim, when he was hired at Iowa from the New England Patriots.

Goebel, 6-4, 275 pounds, nearly committed in March. He visited last weekend and pulled the trigger, becoming Iowa’s fourth commitment for the 2013 recruiting class.

Goebel, the DuPage Valley Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Year as a junior, picked the Hawkeyes over 12 other scholarship offers including Illinois, Miami (Fla.) and West Virginia. He also received interest from Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue.

“Iowa has a great reputation of developing offensive linemen and it seems like every year they send one or two offensive linemen into the NFL,” Goebel said. “I know that Iowa will help me reach my goals. I also know that I will also get a great education at Iowa. I’m also excited for my family because Iowa is just three hours from home and they can come out and see me play in college. Iowa is pretty close to home and that was another big factor for me.”

Goebel has clearly done some homework. His recruitment was a team effort. Running backs coach Lester Erb recruits the Chicago/Illinois area. Of course, an offensive lineman is going to want to meet his position coach.

Iowa has 14 offensive linemen on scholarship with six going into their junior or senior seasons.

__________________________________

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

Naperville (Il..) Colin Goebel picked the Hawkeyes on Saturday. He's a 6-4, 275-pound OL prospect who had offers from 13 schools.

HAWKEYE STUFF

So, spring recruiting-palooza happened while I was in a Jetta headed toward Kansas City.

On Saturday, Naperville (Ill.) offensive lineman Colin Goebel picked the Hawkeyes. Then Sunday, Howells (Neb.) defensive tackle Nathan Bazata (6-2, 270 pounds) committed to Iowa, giving the Hawkeyes five commits before the end of April.

This is high-water territory. In the last three years, Iowa has had six, five and five commitments by the end of June. This year’s five commits come before Iowa’s prep camps, which are usually good for two or three. So, yes, ahead of schedule.

That, of course, comes with the burden of keeping recruits in the fold, which would be tremendously helped by an early signing period, but let’s not even get into that because it’s not happening. (I believe this gives the big dogs an advantage. They can jump in at the end and put stars in a kid’s eyes and pull a Jenga on another school’s recruiting class. All is fair in a game of cutthroat with many, many rules and shadowy ethics.)

Iowa continues to fortify the lines of scrimmage. According to Hawkeyereport.com, the Hawkeyes also had Ohio defensive tackle Brant Gressel in for a visit last weekend. Also from HR.com, Ohio wide receiver Kevin Gladney also visited. Recuriting coordinator/D-line assistant Eric Johnson tweeted that he was on his way to Indianapolis in search of more Hawkeyes.

For an idea how the rest of the Big Ten is doing, check this post from last week. I think Northwestern has gotten on the board since last week.

Quick refresher on recruiting territories for assistant coaches: OL coach Brian Ferentz has Ohio, LB coach LeVar Woods has KC/Dallas with concentration on Dallas, WR coach Erik Campbell has Michigan, RB coach Lester Erb has Chicago/Illinois, DL coach Reese Morgan has Iowa/Nebraska. Johnson will handle . . . well, Ferentz made it sound as though anywhere, anytime, although Johnson has had major success in St. Louis (Adrian Clayborn and Marvin McNutt) and will likely keep those ties working.

Coordinators Phil Parker and Greg Davis won’t be primary recruiters, but will jump in when needed and use their contacts (Parker has Michigan and Ohio ties; Davis said 20 prep coaches in Texas called him when he was hired at Iowa) when needed.

Remember, Johnson’s job is mostly rooted in recruiting.

“And the No.1 driving force there is just the way recruiting continues to change and evolve, I just think the demands of that segment of our organization are so, so strong, my goal was to get Eric in a position where he could dedicate more time to that area,” Kirk Ferentz said. “So, he’s doing a lot of work for us in regards to our personnel. I think it’s a critical job certainly and always has been.

“I just think with the ever‑changing face of recruiting, it was something that could really benefit our staff and Eric has done a great job in that role and has done it for many years. As I said his responsibilities will increase.”

– Marc Morehouse

LINKED IN

– Lots of love for former Iowa OL Riley Reiff coming out of his homestate of South Dakota. Here’s a post from The Daily Republic in Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace, of course. Nothing from Deadwood, yet.

– Want a Northwestern football spring primer? Of course you do. Here’s one from Chicago Sports Guru.

– Boring has been good for Michigan State this spring, writes the Detroit News’ Matt Charboneau.

– Marc Morehouse

WIDE WORLD OF LINKAGE

– With spring football out of the way for all Big Ten teams saved for Michigan State and Wisconsin, Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald looks at the Legends Division. Lee’s questions about Iowa are the same ones we all have.

– The Sporting News ranks its top 25 college football players for the 2012 season. Four are from the Big Ten. One is a quarterback. One is a Boilermaker.

– Some schools give their athletic directors the room and the trust to fill football head coaching openings. Others get bogged down in two words that are toxic to many fans: Search committees. Bud Withers of the Seattle Times has an interesting feature on how coaches are hired.

– No Big Ten team ranked in the top 44 in college baseball attendance last year. But one will this year, because the league now has Nebraska. And visiting Big Ten players like it, as Jon Nyatama of the Omaha World-Herald elaborates.

– Mike Hlas

Caption: The University of Iowa Athletics Department's indoor practice facility knowns as "The Bubble" after it was deflated Friday, April 20, 2012 on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The bubble has served as IowaÕs indoor practice facility since it was completed in 1985. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — The Bubble played out like a Hollywood diva Friday morning. She really milked her death scene.

“The Bubble,” also known as Iowa’s 27-year-old indoor football practice facility, had the air let out of it. A gusty north wind kept the heavy plastic tarp  heaving for 33 minutes after the doors were opened and the generators were turned off.

In the distance, Iowa’s new Indoor Athletics Practice and Recreation Facility, still under construction, dwarfed the football offices and the gasping bubble.

Aesthetically, it’s a net gain for the UI.

“Are you saying you didn’t like the Bubble?” Jane Meyer, UI senior associate athletics director, said with a laugh.

The Bubble certainly filled a need back in 1985, when it was built for $2.7 million. It collapsed twice, once because of a heavy snowstorm in 1990 and again after fierce winds in 1998.

“The only other thing I remember, it’s kind of related to the Bubble, is getting ready for the Peach Bowl in ’82,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We had a temporary shelter down on the Kinnick field that was thick plastic, 2×4 structure with an industrial heater in there.

“Half the guys would be on the field practicing, the other guys went in there to warm up. It was the lesser of two evils: breathe in the fumes or be on the field and freeze.”

The Hawkeyes’ new facility, which has a $19.5 million price tag, is scheduled to be operational in August. Meyer said the UI is planning on the parking spots lost to the project to be available for home games, but there is a contingency plan if they’re not.

Another part of the project is a sidewalk that will lead to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, making the walk from parking south of the arena easier.

Phase II, the UI Football Operations Facility, goes before the Board of Regents for approval next Wednesday and Thursday. The budgeted proposal is $36.6 million for phase II.

The building would be immediately adjacent to and south of the new Indoor Athletics Practice and Recreation Facility. The Football Operations Facility would include spaces for strength/conditioning, squad meetings, video editing, lockers for players and coaches, coach’s offices and reception space.

No general university dollars or increased student fees would be used as a revenue source. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2013, with completion in summer 2014.

Caption: Workers force open a door to facilitate the process of deflating the University of Iowa Athletics Department's indoor practice facility knowns as "The Bubble" Friday, April 20, 2012 on the campus of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The bubble has served as IowaÕs indoor practice facility since it was completed in 1985. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Caption: Snow falls outside of the Indoor Practice Facility known as the "Bubble" Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 at the Hayden Fry Football Complex on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

HAWKEYE STUFF

This is a day we’ve all seen coming for awhile. Iowa’s beloved (poetic license) “Bubble” goes pop at 9:30 a.m. today.

We’ll have coverage of it. I’ll stand there and take notes and try to add some historical perspective (did you know it deflated twice in its 27 years of service?). What you’ll want to see is Gazette photographer Brian Ray’s time lapse footage. Now, it might not be as dramatic as the time Iowa blew up the old press box at Kinnick, but it should be somewhat entertaining. How often do you get to see a dome-like structure deflate? Outside of the Metrodome, of course. (Kidding, kidding, Vikings fans.)

The Bubble was built in 1985 for about $2.7 million. It lies a block north of Kinnick Stadium and about a block south of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s baseball, softball, field hockey and soccer teams also use the facility.

The Bubble is physically obsolete. It had a 30-year life expectancy, kind of like the character’s in the 1976 sci-fi film “Logan’s Run,” where residents of this futuristic city (with white walls, of course, the quintessential vision of the future for schlocky ’70s film) where axed when they turned 30.

“It’s probably more than outlived its life expectancy,” coach Kirk Ferentz said at the Linn County I-Club gathering this week.

When I was in grad school at Iowa, the Bubble deflated. It was right before the Hawkeyes played in the ’91 Rose Bowl. I worked at the Daily Iowan and wrote a column about it, basically saying that if I were Hayden Fry, I would let the Bubble crumble and build a permanent structure. I wrote that in 1990.

The Hawkeyes will have an indoor facility for next season. Phase II of Iowa’s facilities plan fires off soon. It’s a total facelift in an age of “bling.”

This is an off-the-cuff notion and it might already be in the pipeline, but if I were Iowa, I would sell swatches of the Bubble for maybe $20 a throw, maybe mount it in some fashion, and give all the money to the children’s hospital that will fill the space.

Anyway, vaya con dios, Bubble. More coverage coming this morning.

– Marc Morehouse

LINKED IN

– The Jarrod Uthoff affair came to an end yesterday. IMO, helluva of way to get an 18- or 19-year-old kid’s attention. The “we just wanted to meet face-to-face” with him is thin at best, obsfucation at worst. If that’s your story, stick to that. Don’t go on a painfully melodramatic rant on national radio. The Gazette’s Scott Dochterman reports that Uthoff will visit Creighton and Iowa State and will consider others.

– The Gazette’s Mike Hlas writes that coaches are powerful, but sometimes not all-powerful.

– The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus writes that Bo Ryan wanted to force the appeals process to learn why Uthoff wanted to leave Wisconsin. That’s one way to do it. A cell phone is another way.

Compiled by Marc Morehouse

WIDE WORLD OF LINKAGE

– For one-stop shopping for any links involving the Bo Ryan-Jarrod Uthoff saga, check out the glut Dave Heller of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has assembled.

– Another day, another college basketball player denied permission to transfer to any five of the eight programs he listed following being granted his release. Guard Jordan Clarkson has a hearing a week from today in which he will appeal the process. Maybe Uthoff can give him some pointers.

– The headline on this USA Today story about Bobby Petrino isn’t the kind you normally would connect with a sports item. Oh heck, we’ll tell you.

“Bobby Petrino tells AD affair began with a kiss”

– The Alabama football parent who accidentally shattered the Crimson Tide’s BCS championship trophy last Saturday can laugh about it now. A little, anyhow.

“I told them, ‘If you want to put me on the payroll, I can come down and work weekends. We’ll work something out,’ ” Carleton Tinker said.

Compiled by Mike Hlas

Caption: Iowa lineman Dominic Alvis (79, left) closes in on Tennessee Tech quarterback Tre Lamb (9) in the second quarter of their game on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)

IOWA CITY — Dominic Alvis began his Iowa football career as a bit of an outsider.

In 2009, the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder agreed to a “grayshirt” scholarship. He would’ve had to pay his own way and not contribute to the football team for the fall, per NCAA grayshirt rules. Then, someone got hurt in the spring of ’09 and Alvis was awarded a full scholarship.

Alvis is another “project” defensive lineman for the Hawkeyes. He started around 225 pounds his freshman season. He finally dented the lineup last fall as a redshirt sophomore. After initially starting as a tackle, he moved to end and made an immediate impact.

On the first series against Pittsburgh, Alvis had a sack and caused a fumble. He went on to record 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks before he suffered a torn ACL on punt coverage against Michigan on Nov. 5.

Now, he’s working his way back to the inside of the game. He didn’t participate in Iowa’s spring scrimmage. The Hawkeyes end spring practice this week.

“I’m coming along with my recovery and I expect to be full speed by June,” Alvis said.

Yes, of course, it’s been frustrating. Iowa’s defensive line is under the gun going into 2012. It’s a young group that could end up counting on as many as five redshirt and true freshmen. Alvis is a fully grown junior, so sitting on the sidelines grinds him.

“It’s one of the things I wish I could be doing right now, being out there and being a leader by example, working on things I need to work on,” Alvis said. “It’s killing me right now, but it’s one of those things I need to do. I need to heal, so I can do all these things next fall.”

Alvis hasn’t been locked in the training room working on the knee. He’s participated in weightroom workouts and said his body has changed — again. He’s put on at least 10 pounds of muscle.

“I’ve been handling this offseason well and taking advantage of it,” he said. “I’m actually becoming a better athlete. I’ve been able to do more things in the weightroom with this time off. I’m becoming a better-rounded athlete.”

Does this bring the possibility of playing tackle again?

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t be opposed to working at tackle or end,” he said. “I’m bigger now and I feel as though I could do either.

“I had been practicing at end pretty much my whole career here except for that short, little stint where I was at tackle, so it was a comfort issue, more instinct.”

Iowa more likely needs Alvis at defensive end. During last week’s spring scrimmage, seniors Steve Bigach and Joe Gaglione started at end. Bigach was listed as a tackle at the beginning of spring. That’s probably where first-year D-line coach Reese Morgan would like to see him, but he’s probably in no hurry to pigeonhole anyone.

Gaglione has made strides and looks ready to start. In the scrimmage, he showed some bull rush potential on pass rush and held contain. Alvis’ return would give Iowa three upperclassmen to work with. That would help Iowa gap the body maturity that some of the freshmen would face going against 22- and 23-year-olds in the Big Ten.

“Just with coach Morgan and the experience he has, which isn’t a lot, but he knows how to beat an offensive lineman from coaching the offensive line and knowing their weaknesses and strengths,” Alvis said. “A lot of the stuff we’re learning is new stuff to us. We’re able to approach being on the defensive line a new way. We’re more efficient. As an overall unit, we might be better in the technical aspect.”

This will be Reese Morgan’s first season as Iowa’s defensive line coach after nine as the offensive line coach. It’s an unorthodox move, to be sure, but Alvis sees the logic.

“Just sitting down with coach Morgan, a man who’s been with the offense for nine years,” he said, “we’ve been able to sit together and pick apart what the offense does and the tendencies. You really learn more, conceptually, the game of football. It’s a game of chess. It’s great to have coach Morgan as a resource to be able to do that.”

Alvis has spent the spring alongside fellow defensive lineman Carl Davis, a 6-5, 310-pound tackle who had knee surgery in January. Davis spent last season on the perimeter of real playing time. At some point, he injured a knee and that held him back. If the sophomore excels at one of the tackle spots, that could shift the expectations for Iowa’s D-line.

“He has a great attitude and wants to show what he’s got next fall,” Alvis said. Is he ready to take the next step? “He is. He’s matured, I’ve matured. We both realize next fall we leadership roles we need to fill.”

Alvis’ view this spring has been from the perimeter. The one constant that he’s drawn to is the energy along the D-line.

“We’re going to have a lot more enthusiasm. We’re bring it,” Alvis said. “Just because we’re inexperienced doesn’t mean we can’t be a dominating force.

“I’ve seen that energy. It’s exciting. As a defense we’ve lost a lot of veteran guys, there’s kind of a question, who’s going to step into those shoes. That energy and that enthusiasm, when you see that, you think these guys are ready. Maybe they’re not veterans, but they can scrap. It’s one of those things.”

Caption: Iowa assistant coach Andrew Francis (from left), Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, Notre Dame assistant coach Martin Ingelsby, Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School head coach Stuart Ordman, Iowa State assistant coach Jeff Rutter, Creighton assistant coach Darian Devries, and Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves watch Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School junior forward Jarrod Uthoff during an open gym scrimmage practice at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids on Monday, April 19, 2010. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

HAWKEYE STUFF

This is only tangentially Hawkeye, but the Wisconsin-Jarrod Uthoff will quake through the Big Ten for quite some time.

The Gazette’s Scott Dochterman has gone hound dog on this story. He reported last night that Florida was banned as a destination for the 6-foot-8 forward.

This morning, Ryan went on the ESPN radio program “Mike and Mike” (click the link to listen to the interview) and basically meandered. He went on the defensive and played the “you’ve never played the game” card — the last act of the desperate — on host Mike Greenberg. He came off as a man who was barricading himself in his apartment and yelling at everyone to stay off his lawn.

Here’s another post from Scott Dochterman that runs through the byzantine options for a transfer. I think I would rather take on Estonian tax code.

“If Uthoff was granted a full release, he could attend any Big Ten school on scholarship, according to league rule change that went into effect this year. But he has to sit out one year if he wants a Division I scholarship. He also could attend any college denied by Wisconsin, but he would be ineligible for a scholarship for one year and would lose a year of eligibility.”

You could make a wonderful case for a Uthoff transfer to Iowa State. I know, I know, insert Iowa State transfer snark-asm here. This is a serious notion.

Roughly 35 years ago, Uthoff’s cousing, Dean Uthoff, set Iowa State’s career rebounding record and had a successful pro career in Australia.

Jarrod Uthoff is from Marengo. He open enrolled to Cedar Rapids Jefferson and, as a sophomore, he moved up to varsity after fulfilling the IHSAA’s 90 school-day sit-out policy for transfers and has made an immediate impact.

Marengo is maybe two hours east of Ames. So, Iowa State, which recruited Uthoff, would be a logical landing.

But No Ryan says no. It seems punitive. It is cowardly. Just let the kid go and compete against him if the opportunity arises. That’s what a self-actualized, healthy ego would do. This is craven, this is petty.

You say you’re protecting your team and your fans and the interest of coaches, but that’s a flat tire. You’re selling them short. Wisconsin basketball will live and thrive without Jarrod Uthoff and you know it.

LINKED IN

– No Ryan’s first public comments only made it worse for No Ryan and Wisconsin, writes Yahoo!’s Jeff Eisenberg.

– The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus, one of my favorite Big Ten beat writers (he’s really good), explains Uthoff’s transfer appeal and the time warp that is Justin Doherty’s mailbox.

– Gazette sports columnist Mike Hlas points out the scrutiny Uthoff will likely face wherever he ends up.

Here’s another picture from that open gym that happened about two years ago. This is about the time the Big Ten changed its transfer rules to accommodate Wisconsin guard Ben Brust, who signed with Iowa but wanted out after coach Todd Lickliter was fired.

Such a tangled web.

Caption: Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School junior forward Jarrod Uthoff stands after being introduced to Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery after an open gym scrimmage practice at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids on Monday, April 19, 2010. Others who came to watch Uthoff play included Iowa State assistant coach Jeff Rutter, Creighton assistant coach Darian Devries, Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves and Notre Dame assistant coach Martin Ingelsby. (Julie Koehn/The Gazette)

Caption: Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock (15) runs with the ball during the team's open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Let’s give this a try.

HAWKEYE STUFF

Night games will be seeping out soon. Maybe yet this week, but more likely next. This is when the Disney company picks what it believes will be key Big Ten games that aren’t played in November. Last year, Wisconsin was tabbed for five night games and all ABC/ESPN got out of that was the Hail Mary that toppled the Badgers at Michigan State and a last-minute drive that allowed Ohio State to knock out the Badgers from national title contention. These people know what they’re doing.

You’re probably looking at a lot of Michigan night games. It’s QB Denard Robinson’s last run and Brady Hoke has the Wolverines winning. TV people tend to pick up on the bluebloods. Ohio State is interesting. It’s Urban Meyer’s first season, but the Buckeyes are banned from the postseason this year. Will that temper night games? Probably not.

Let’s give this a try for ESPN and Big Ten Network (which, I see, eventually pushing for a night game a week):

Sept. 1

Big stage — Michigan vs. Alabama at Arlington, Texas (Cowboys Stadium). No brainer.

BTN possibilities — I like Southern Miss at Nebraska, but I think Indiana State at Indiana sneaks in.

Sept. 8

Big stage — Probably Nebraska at UCLA. Some interesting games this week, but most are on the road (Wisconsin at Oregon State, Illinois at Arizona State, Penn State at Virginia).

BTN possibilities — Central Florida at Ohio State? That’s the only one I see.

Sept. 15

Big stage — Notre Dame at Michigan State would be my pick here. Both programs have a foot in the national picture. Cal at Ohio State could see an ESPN undercard.

BTN possibilities — If I’m BTN, I hope that Boston College at Northwestern falls to me. I think they’ve had Ball State at Indiana on at night in the past. You don’t want that.

Sept. 22

Big stage — Michigan at Notre Dame will be on NBC. After that, it gets mighty thin in Big Ten land.

BTN possibilities – I could see Syracuse at Minnesota making prime time.

Sept. 29

Big Stage — Ohio State at Michigan State would be Darth Vader against Sauron (nerd alert). Wisconsin at Nebraska would be excellent, too.

BTN possibilities — Minnesota at Iowa fits here. Maybe Indiana at Northwestern.

Oct. 6

Big stage — Nebraska at Ohio State. This gets kind of easy, doesn’t it?

BTN possibilities — Illinois at Wisconsin or Northwestern at Penn State.

Oct. 13

Big stage — I’m not feeling it for Big Ten prime time this week. Iowa at Michigan State might be the best game, but would ESPN/ABC pull the trigger on that in April?

BTN possibilities — Illinois at Michigan or Northwestern at Minnesota.

Oct. 20

Big Stage — Michigan State at Michigan is the big sexy game, but that’s usually been a 2:30 slot. This could bump Penn State at Iowa with the angle being Penn State not having won in Iowa City since 1999.

BTN possibilities — BTN could make a play for Purdue at Ohio State. Minnesota at Wisconsin also is on the block. It’s a rivarly, but it hasn’t and probably won’t be a great game. Neither will Purdue at OSU, but Urban Meyer. He’s a star.

Oct. 27

Big stage — Kaboom this week. Michigan State at Wisconsin is juicy. Michigan at Nebraska will shape the Legends Division. Ohio State goes to Penn State, where the “white out” is on hiatus, but football is trying to get off it.

BTN possibilities — I know most people who guess these things (which I now am) have zeroed in on Penn State and Minnesota as Iowa’s nighties. Northwestern is a possibility, too. It’s travel-friendly for BTN.

Just guesses. Should know in a week.

LINKED IN

– The Gazette’s Scott Dochterman talked TV football with Iowa AD Gary Barta at last night’s Linn County I-Club event. Barta didn’t give it up. These announcements are guarded very closely for TV unveiling.

– Scott also talked to Kirk Ferentz. He would consider doing some draft analysis.

– Gazette columnist Mike Hlas kisses “The Bubble” goodbye. That sucker comes down Friday 9:30 a.m.

– You’ve probably seen this by now, but Gazette photographer Brian Ray “GIFFED” the Nico Law/Damon Bullock helmet hit from Saturday’s scrimmage. Loved Bullock’s toughness here. He lost his helmet, but he kept his feet moving at the point of contact, a big improvement from last season.

– Rivals has a well-sourced piece on Iowa O-linemen, essentially calling the Hawkeyes a national power in producing interior linemen.

LEGENDARY

(Three links to what’s going on in the Legends Division. We’re trying this out. Let’s see how it evolves.)

– Oh Mark Dantonio, shine on you crazy diamond.

– The Lincoln Journal Star’s Brian Christopherson reviews the spring state of the Huskers’ offense.

– Northwestern receiver Kyle Prater, formerly of USC, has drawn rave reviews this spring.

AROUND THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL WORLD

(The world is bigger than . . . well, it’s just bigger.)

– Florida Atlantic is the Orlando Sentinel’s No. 117th-ranked team in FBS. That’s pretty low. Carl Pelini, Bo’s bro, is the new head coach.

– Phil Fulmer is talking to Arkansas? This man is most decidedly not a biker.

– “It’s like we are one tiny atom under a giant’s fingernail.” That’s a line from the Donald Sutherland character in “Animal House.” Why are we talking about pot? Oh, because ESPN The Magazine is. Here’s a linky about what Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

Caption: Iowa defensive linemen Dean Tsopanides (75) and Darian Cooper (97) work out during the team's open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

The position group everyone is talking about for the Iowa Hawkeyes is the defensive line. It’s young, inexperienced and, well, that’s more than enough.

The results in Saturday’s spring scrimmage were about what you expected. The tackles had some moments but were pushed back, for the most part, by a somewhat more experienced offensive line. The ends contained, but didn’t provide a lot of pressure against an Iowa offense that passed the ball 52 times.

Clearly, there’s work to do with the defensive line.

“We’re not ready to go at all, but overall, I’m really kind of pleased with the way they’re coming along,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “. . . We have the makings. We won’t be ready in August, we’re going to need every day of practice. I think when it’s all said and done, we’ll be OK.”

Saturday, fifth-year seniors Steve Bigach and Joe Gaglione started. They’re fully matured bodies, but not very experienced. Freshman Darian Cooper and sophomore Louis Trinca-Pasat started at tackles. They’re new, brand new.

Senior cornerback Micah Hyde has had an excellent seat to view the progress of the D-line. Here’s what he’s seen:

“They’re tough guys,” he said. “The other day, we were at practice and they’re low on numbers, really low, and I think they had five guys who were rotating in and out. There was only one guy out on each play and they were still going full speed.

“They were hurting, they were tired. Some of them said they had jammed fingers and their ankles hurt, but they were still going. That’s the mentality our defense brings. No matter who’s in or what’s going on, if you’re hurt or if we’re low, we’re going to try to push it.”

Trinca-Pasat is somewhat emblematic of this group.

The 6-3, 270-pounder played defensive end and tight end at Lane Tech in Chicago when Iowa recruited him. He also played some wide receiver, and so, with an eye toward defensive tackle, his football journey was going to be the long way around.

“You have to eat healthy, eat protien. You have to lift,” said Trinca-Pasat, who put rang up a few pressures on quarterback James Vandenberg during the spring scrimmage. “All of it eventually adds up. It’s been about two years now. It takes some time getting used to the weight, but it’s coming along.”

That statement, “It takes some time to get used to the weight,” don’t just blow by that.

When Trinca-Pasat first stepped on a scale at Iowa in January 2010, he weighed 240 pounds. When he weighed in this spring, he was up to 283. That’s nearly 45 pounds in a little more than two years.

“I never really understood that myself,” Trinca-Pasat said. “I know a lot of the older guys, like Karl [Klug] and Mike Daniels, they told me to take some time to get used to your weight.”

This isn’t as easy as you might think.

“At first, you put on the weight and you’re a little off-balance,” he said. “You might be a little slower than normal. The conditioning also takes some time, but once you  reach that weight and consistently working with it, it starts to come naturally.

“It feels like I’m playing at 243 again.”

Nearly every candidate for playing time on the D-line next fall comes with some scaffolding. From those coming back from injury to underclassmen building their bodies to the point where they can contribute to true freshmen, Iowa’s D-line is a work in progress.

“Everybody’s a little bit different story,” Ferentz said. “. . . We have a lot of guys climbing the ladder.”

Bigach — He’s a senior who started six games last season, bouncing between end and tackle. He’s being counted on for leadership and will start somewhere. He played end in the spring scrimmage.

“We expected him to do well,” Ferentz said. “He’s doing a good job.”

Gaglione — His resume is a little lighter than Bigach’s, but he saw playing time last season. Also, he’s a journeyman, bouncing between tackle and end. He looks to be a starting end this season.

“He’s had a good spring, he’s been out here every day working, that’s good to see,” Ferentz said.

End Riley McMinn — As a true freshman last season, his measurements were 6-foot-7, 219 pounds. He’s up to 245 this spring. He also missed some time.

“He got off to a good start,” Ferentz said. “He had a minor injury and missed a couple of days. He’s trying to get caught up mentally. He’s not playing as fast as he’s capable of, but I think every one of those guys has made improvement.”

Cooper — “When he’s on, he’s on pretty good,” Ferentz said. “But when he has bad plays, it looks bad. That’s part of being young.”

Trinca-Pasat — “He might be the most improved guy we have up front,” Ferentz said. “He was really struggling back in December and he’s had a really good spring.”

Junior end Dominic Alvis said he will be full speed in June after an ACL tear last November. Tackle Carl Davis hasn’t played this spring after knee surgery in January. Freshmen tackles Jaleel Johnson and Faith Ekakitie are possibilities, but they’ll still only be 19 years old next fall.

By the time August comes around, this D-line will be used to the weight. Everyone is interested in how this will work.

Cass Tech safety Delano Hill committed to the Hawkeyes during a visit last Saturday. He is Iowa's third commitment for the 2013 recruiting class.

Iowa back on pace for 2013 recruiting.

You have to remember, Iowa, and a lot of other Big Ten schools that don’t shop off the rack, go at a different pace than Ohio State and Michigan. It’s a fact of life in the Big Ten and beyond.

Michigan is scorching the recruiting world right now with 17 commitments for the 2013 class. Even with a one-year postseason ban, Ohio State has nine recruits on the board. Penn State, with a first-year head coach and a sex scandal hanging over the program, has eight.

Iowa is now up to three and found it’s latest recruit from a familiar place. Safety Delano Hill became the third commitment Iowa has received from Detroit’s Cass Tech High School, joining 2012 signees linebacker Laron Taylor and safety Ruben Lile.

Hill, 6-1, 190, had offers from Illinois and Syracuse, with interest from Michigan State and Wisconsin, Iowa’s prime recruiting rivals.

“I really like the coaching staff and the players and just feel comfortable there,” Hill told HawkeyeReport.com. “It just feels like the right situation for me for school and for football.

“It’s the place I want to spend the next four years,” he continued. “Plus it will be easier having a couple guys there that I already know.”

Hill joins defensive end David Kenney and wide receiver Derrick Willies, all of whom have committed since April 4. Iowa might receive one or two more this spring and then, during its football camps in June, might see another spike. Iowa has generally gone into the football season with 10 or so recruits.

Right now, Michigan State has seven commitments. Wisconsin also has three.

Hill told ESPN.com that Iowa is bringing him in as a free safety, but defensive backs coach Darrell Wilson also wants him to learn strong safety.

“Coach Wilson said he likes how I find the ball in the air and get interceptions and all,” Hill said.

For comparison, Purdue has no commitments (according to its Rivals.com site), Minnesota has one, Nebraska has four (three of whom are rated four stars by Rivals), Northwestern also has one, Illinois has four and Indiana is waiting for its first.

EDIT: Numbers! From Hawkeyereport.com’s Tom Kakert:

Here is a basic numbers breakdown since 2002:

Numbers are total commits by the end of June:

02- 0

03 – 2

04 and 05: 5

06: 1

07: 4

08: 4

09: 1

10: 6

11: 5

12: 5

Here’s a link to last season’s commitments with the date they committed. This should give you an idea of when Iowa does most of its business.

Thanks, Tom!

___________________________________

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

* = Rivals.com’s star rating

Caption: Iowa tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz (86) catches a pass in front of teammate Tom Donatell (13) during the team's open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — If anyone walks away grinning from all the changes to Iowa’s offense since last December, it’s got to be tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz.

He went to bed after the Insight Bowl and woke up with 1) Brian Ferentz in town and 2) offensive coordinator Greg Davis, who places a high value and will seek to creatively use the tight end position, passing out the playbooks.

Brian Ferentz is Iowa’s offensive line coach, but he came to Iowa fresh off his gig as New England Patriots tight ends coach. Last season, Rob Gronkowski caught 17 TD passes. Brian Ferentz has helped some with the tight ends.

Suddenly, coaches and players are mentioning the 6-7, 265-pound Fiedorowicz as a potential centerpiece in the passing game.

“I still need a lot of work,” Fiedorowicz said after catching two passes for 12 yards in Saturday’s spring scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium. “I need to work on blocking, I dropped a couple of balls today. I’m always looking to improve.”

That started to show up in the second half of last season. Over Iowa’s last six games, Fiedorowicz caught 14 of his 16 receptions and all three of his touchdowns.

He’s proven himself enough to be on the field in Iowa’s five-wideout set. When Iowa emptied the backfield Saturday, Fiedorowicz was on the field and he was split out. Last season, Fiedorowicz didn’t see time in that formation until late in the season.

“During his true freshman year, this was really new to him,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We were asking him to do a lot of things he hadn’t done in high school. Last year, he made progress but there was still an inconsistency there.

“This spring, he’s clearly at a different level, which is good. That’s what you hope to see in players. I think he’s really ready to play football for us. He’s got a lot of good gifts and skills.”

Fiedorowicz said the wrinkle in Davis’ passing game for him is some deeper corner and post routes, but he knows the offense will try to make a living off shorter routes.

“Deep balls are great, but the short ones count, too,” Fiedorowicz said.

Last week Davis said he was high on the tight ends group. Saturday, they combined to catch nine passes.

“It’s a personnel group of ours we know we need to get the ball to,” quarterback James Vandenberg said. “They do a good job of catching the ball, they’re all big bodies who can get space. As long as they keep catching it, we’ll keep throwing it to them.”

No one could walk away from Saturday’s scrimmage and say they know exactly what Iowa’s offense will look like on Sept. 8 against Northern Illinois at Solider Field in Chicago.

During the actual scrimmage, with downs and everything, Iowa did throw the ball 52 times to 29 rushes. Still, that might just be ironing out kinks in what seems to be fairly intricate, and new, system.

“It’s going to be a fun offense, absolutely,” Fiedorowicz said. “It’s learning a whole new offense, it takes time.”

After two seasons building, Fiedorowicz understands the concept of patience.

Caption: Iowa's Damon Bullock (32) looses his helmet as he is hit by teammate Nico Law (21) during the scrimmage portion of the team's open practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY – First impressions can’t be trusted, but they last the longest. When the topic is spring football, they have to last you until August.

And really, with the 2012 Iowa Hawkeyes, August will be a better, more fair glimpse into the possibilities. There were no conclusions to be had after the Hawkeyes rumbled around during their spring scrimmage before 15,000 or so fans Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

The offense is clunky, as you might expect with first-year offensive coordinator Greg Davis roughly two months into the job. The last segment of the playbook was installed just this week.

“There are growing pains with a new offense and with young offensive guys out there,” said quarterback James Vandenberg, who completed 12 of 30 in the situational and scrimmage portions. “There are going to be bumps or bruises along the way.

“I think I understand the personnel we have. There are a lot of guys who really want to do well, but they’re just young and mistakes are going to come with those guys.’

Sophomore running back Damon Bullock’s 84-yard TD run was the “oh and ah” moment of the day for the first-team offense. De’Andre Johnson broke one that would’ve gone for a 58-yard TD for the second team.

Including Bullock’s TD run, the first team offense generated 10 points in the one full-scrimmage quarter that was played. Vandenberg hit junior wide receiver Don Shumpert for a 38-yard gain. The drive stalled and junior Mike Meyer made a 33-yard field goal.

“There’s a little bit of mental gymnastics going on with guys on calls and formations and you saw us not line up correctly a couple of times,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said, “but that’s part of the process and that’s part of the process when you have younger players.

“My sense is the guys knew there was a lot to learn coming in and I think they’ve been tuned in as a result of that.”

Iowa’s defensive strength is clearly the secondary and specifically it’s corner. Micah Hyde and B.J. Lowery locked down Iowa receivers for the most part Saturday, but it also should be noted that No. 1 receiver Keenan Davis sat out of the scrimmage as an injury precaution.

Lowery intercepted Vandenberg, but it was called back because of a pass interference on safety Nico Law. Greg Castillo and Brian Kroll also had interceptions.

Iowa was active in blitzes and sent the linebackers more than a few times. The defense held the offense to three-and-outs on the first two possessions of the scrimmage. Cornerback Gavin Smith and defensive end Melvin Spears forced a fumble out of Johnson. Lowery also knocked the ball out of Shumpert’s hands when the offense was given a first down at the defense’s 29.

On a fourth-and-1 from the 37, the first-team defense stopped Bullock and the first-team offense. This got a few yells of approval from first-year defensive coordinator Phil Parker.

“I think we have a grasp of our defense right now,” Hyde said. “We’ve been communicating, we know what to do. I think we performed pretty well today.”

The theme was youth from Ferentz. The Hawkeyes had six new starters on defense Saturday and five on offense, including both guards and two new tackles. With end Dominic Alvis and tackle Carl Davis out with knee injuries, three of the four D-linemen were new on Saturday.

That’s a lot of newness, which, coupled with a new playbook on offense, has the Hawkeyes miles from ready for primetime.

‘We’re making progress, but we’re not ready to play yet,” Ferentz said. “There’s reason to be optimistic, but we still have ground to cover.”

Running back will change drastically in August. Incoming freshmen Greg Garmon and Barkley Hill will push for playing time when they arrive. Hill was at Kinnick on Saturday. With sophomore Jordan Canzeri out of the season with a torn ACL, Bullock and Johnson took every carry.

“When Jordan got injured that increased the odds [that Garmon and Hill play next fall],” Ferentz said. “It’s pretty much true at every position right now, especially positions of need. We’ll give everybody a chance to come in here and help our football team. You’ll see at happen at some positions more than others, and certainly running back is a spot where we’ll have that opportunity.

“We’ll encourage Barkley and Greg to try to get ready and do the best they can during the course of the summer and we’ll evaluate them in August.”

Yes, let’s get to August and then we’ll talk.

Caption: Iowa running back Damon Bullock (32) sprints past defensive back Micah Hyde (18) on his way to a long touchdown during the team's spring practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Here are some numbers to go with your spring scrimmage.

The stats are approximate, so basically useless except for maybe a baseline measure of what may or may not have happened.

Rushing

Damon Bullock — 14 carries for 121 yards, including an 84-yard TD

De’Andre Johnson — 15 carries for 116 yards, including a 58-yard TD (he broke an arm tackle and ran in free space and kept running, we’ll give him a scrimmage TD)

James Vandenberg 3 for 6

Jake Rudock 2 for 9

Cody Sokol 1 for 4

Notes — As you can see, Bullock and Johnson were the only running backs to touch the ball. No sign of walk-on Andre Dawson. The only other running back in Kinnick Saturday was Cedar Falls senior Barkley Hill. He’ll be here in August. Johnson fumbled after a hit by DB Gavin Smith and DE Melvin Spears. Bullock was stopped when the first team faced a fourth-and-1. FB Brad Rogers didn’t participate because of injury. He was in uniform but had a red jersey.

Passing

James Vandenberg — 12 of 30 for 106 with one interception that was called back because of a pass interference and an intentional grounding

Jake Rudock — 6 of 11 for 40 yards with an INT

Cody Sokol — 6 of 11 for 39 yards and an INT

Notes — You can tell Rudock has been highly coached. Form is good. Holds the ball high. Sokol double clutches a little, but decent arm. Vandenberg is doing a lot of thinking because he’s really the one filter between new offensive coordinator Greg Davis and the team. Missed WR Don Shumpert long for what would’ve been a TD. Also overthrew TE C.J. Fiedorowicz in red zone drills. Vandenberg threw one of the day’s best passes to Shumpert in drill work. CB B.J. Lowery had perfect coverage on Shumpert, but Vandenberg threw to Shumpert’s back shoulder, just beyond Lowery’s hand.

Receiving

WR Don Shumpert 4 receptions for 59 yards

TE Jake Duzey 3 for 13

TE Henry Krieger-Coble 3 for 13

WR Blake Haluska 2 for 18

WR Kevonte Martin-Manley 2 for 15

TE C.J. Fiedorowicz 2 for 12

RB Damon Bullock 2 for 7

WR Steve Staggs 1 for 17

RB De’Andre Johnson 1 for 13

TE Zach Derby 1 for 7

WR Jacob Hillyer 1 for 6

FB Jonathan Gimm 1 for 6

WR Jordan Cotton 1 for -1

Notes — Shumpert fumbled on a short catch. CB B.J. Lowery caused a fumble and SS Tommy Donatell recovered. After the scrimmage, wide receiver coach Erik Campbell had Shumpert, a junior, take a ball and do five push-ups every 5 yards all the way down the field. WRs made several fingertip catches near the sideline with KMM probably scooping up the catch of the day. There were a handful of drops, more in the 7-on-7. Senior WR Keenan Davis suited up and went through some 7-on-7 after being ruled out earlier in the week with a minor injury. He didn’t play in the situational portion or the scrimmage.

INTs

Cornerback Greg Castillo picked off QB Cody Sokol. Castillo saw time in nickel situations as the outside cornerback and was with the second team.

Walk-on corner Brian Kroll picked off QB Jake Rudock in red zone.

Lowery picked off Vandenberg, but the play was called back when safety Nico Law was hit with a pass interference.

Field goals

27 yards, left hash

Mike Meyer — good

Trent Mossbrucker — wide right

Marshall Koehn — good

32 yards, left hash

Mike Meyer — good

Trent Mossbrucker — good

Marshall Koehn — good

28 yards, right hash

Mike Meyer — good

Trent Mossbrucker — good

Marshall Koehn — good

37 yards, left hash

Mike Meyer — good

Trent Mossbrucker — good

Marshall Koehn — good

33 yards, left hash (scrimmage)

Mike Meyer — good

Notes — Meyer and Koehn have strong legs. Not much separates them. There were no kickoffs Saturday, so we don’t know how the 35-yard line kick rule will factor. Any of these three could be effective. This was just 1/12th of their spring, so it’s difficult to draw any solid conclusions.

Punts

John Wienke — 39

Jonny Mullings — 46, 41

Notes — Wienke is the first-team punter. Mullings’ form remains fairly slow.

Sacks

CB Micah Hyde had two, both off blitzes

LB Christian Kirksey had a sack off a blitz (Iowa sent both linebackers once)

CB Jordan Lomax also had a sack (he’s a sneaky good player, Iowa is set at corner)

Forced fumbles

CB Gavin Smith and DE Melvin Spears forced RB De’Andre Johnson’s fumble. SS Nico Law recovered.

CB B.J. Lowery forced WR Don Shumpert’s fumble. SS Tommy Donatell recovered.

Penalties

Illegal procedure — Left side of the first-team O-line.

Pass interference — On SS Nico Law, wiping out a B.J. Lowery interception.

Intentional grounding — QB James Vandenberg didn’t get out of the pocket when dumping a pass out of bounds in the face of a blitz.

Offensive line units

First unit (majority of snaps) — C James Ferentz; LG Matt Tobin and Conor Boffeli; RG Austin Blythe and Boffeli; LT Brandon Scherff; RT Brent Van Sloten

Second unit (majority of snaps) — C Blythe/Tommy Gaul; LG Drew Clark/Eric Simmons; RG Jordan Walsh/Clark; LT Andrew Donnal; RT Nolan MacMillan

Linebacker units

First unit — WLB Anthony Hitchens; MLB James Morris; OLB Christian Kirksey

Second unit — WLB Marcus Collins; MLB Quinton Alston; OLB Travis Perry

Third unit — WLB Cole Fisher; MLB Macon Plewa; OLB Palmer Foster

Secondary units

First unit — CB B.J. Lowery; CB Micah Hyde; SS Nico Law; FS Tanner Miller (Greg Castillo enters game in nickel)

Second unit — CB Jordan Lomax; CB Greg Castillo; SS Tom Donatell; FS John Lowermilk

Defensive line

First unit (majority of snaps) — DE Joe Gaglione; DT Darian Cooper; DT Louis Trinca-Pasat; DE Steve Bigach

Second unit (majority of snaps) — DE Riley McMinn; DE Melvin Spears; DT Dean Tsopanides; DT Mike Hardy

Punt unit

Snapper: Casey Kreiter; RG Zach Derby; RT James Morris; LG C.J. Fiedorowicz; LT Christian Kirksey; RWB John Lowdermilk; LWB Tanner Miller; RWR Jordan Lomax/Collin Sleeper; LWR Gavin Smith/Nico Law; FB Brad Rogers; Punter John Wienke

Punt returners

1. Micah Hyde; 2. Kevonte Martin-Manley; 3. B.J. Lowery

Red jerseys

Quarterbacks James Vandenberg, Jake Ruddock, Cody Sokol, John Wienke, Kyle Anderson; Fullback Brad Rogers; Wide receiver Steven Staggs

Injured/did not participate

DT Carl Davis (knee surgey); DE Dominic Alvis (ACL recovery); DT Casey McMillan (knee); LB Dakota Getz (dislocated kneecap); RB Jordan Canzieri (ACL surgery); WR John Chelf (knee surgery); LB Shane DiBona (undisclosed); LB Jim Poggi (undisclosed)

Limited participation

WR Keenan Davis; WR Steven Staggs; FB Brad Rogers

Come for the stats and stuff, stay for Gazette photographer Brian Ray’s slide show.

Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri gets a ride off the field following the team's final spring practice Saturday, April 14, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Canzeri tore his ACL during a practice earlier in the spring and will mist most if not all of the upcoming season. Walk-on WR Jon Chelf also is in the cart. He also had some knee surgery this spring. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Here’s Kirk Ferentz’s post-practice interview (not all of it, but a lot of it).

The Iowa coach talks about the rough edges his team showed on Saturday. He also touches on running back among other topics.

More run down of Iowa’s 12 spring practices.

This is the third part. I’m holding a digital recorder along with the camera. I can’t take notes. This is about Iowa football, that I know.