I think most of you enjoy and appreciate the talents of Iowa LB James Morris. Has he met the expectations that came with him from Solon? It's not an easy question to answer. (Gazette staff)

The concept of playing to one’s potential is an interesting notion.

Even if it’s just you asking yourself that question in your mind, it can push you in several different directions. Some of those might not be comfortable. Not every moment in life is a triumph.

The question on the Big Ten football scale, with notebooks open and cameras rolling, is another story. It’s a public measure, in the paper and getting a minute at 6 and 10.

Iowa linebacker James Morris was asked that very question this spring.

“That’s a tough question to answer,” the senior said. “I feel like I’ve given this program the last three years as much as I could humanly give. Have the results been what I wanted? No, it hasn’t. That’s part of life and I’ve learned that the hard way or whatever.

“If going 4-8 is the worst experience you have in your life, you’d led a somewhat of a leisurely lifestyle. I’m not all gloom and and doom. I’m focused on what I can do to make this year the best it can be.

“This is an important year, a very important year to me.”

Morris walked into the fishiest of fish bowls.

He was a prep sensation at Solon High School, about 20 or so minutes north of Iowa City. He was the overdrive for a team that won three state titles. He committed to play football at Iowa, where his stepdad, Greg, is the long-time equipment manager, as a sophomore.

From that moment, he only sweetened the pot, three state titles, 6,646 rushing yards and 110 TDs.

Morris jumped into the starting lineup as a true freshman at Iowa, when the linebacker spot suffered a rash of injuries. He’ll begin his senior season with 29 career starts.

On the student side of things, Morris is what it’s all about. Check this post. On the playing field side, I don’t think I’ve seen a player elicit such a range of reactions. (We’ve had the discussions in the comments section.)

Black Heart Gold Pants’ guy (writer, publisher, honcho, something along those lines) Patrick Vint wrote about Morris in the site’s popular preseason run-up “Assume the Position.” It’s a bruising assessment of what Morris has done on the field.

This isn’t me marshaling readers to dump on another writer. You’ll know when I do that (it’s a hobby of mine on Twitter). I’m not poking holes here. I try never to tell you guys what to think. This piece articulates a frustration level with Morris.

(Morris and I had a good convo on this topic in spring ’12. I asked a tough question and he handled it extremely well.)

I’ve thrown out variables that, I feel, have affected Morris’ performance, including injuries and an inexperienced D-line (specifically referring to 2012′s DL). He’ll also have his third different LB coach this spring with Jim Reid. Not a huge deal there, probably, but continuity hasn’t been a strong suit for the Iowa coaching staff the last two offseasons.

Here’s Morris on health from this spring: “Last fall was up and down, but right now, I feel pretty healthy. I feel good. It was a long time after the season before I felt good again. I know coming back from that five-week break, I was still on shaky ground. Things are good. I feel like I’m practicing on a high level and I’m able to perform. That’s good. Right now, things are full steam ahead.”

And on what a vigorous D-line could mean: “That’s an old football cliche, that it starts up front. It does, but you don’t want to weak in any areas. If we can be better up front, we’ll take it. But it’s not like those guys are a bunch of slops. They’re improving and if they can set the tempo, great. We’ll take it.”

Remember when former Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn said Morris brought a “nerdy energy” to the defense? This would’ve been during his true freshman year, when he was behind four future NFL D-linemen.

Morris is an incredibly smart, perceptive dude. He knows authenticity. Remember, fishiest of fish bowls.

“I think a big thing is leading by example,” he said. “There are a few guys who are more vocal, but who don’t back it up. It’s hard to have credibility with your teammates if you’re one of those guys. I think with our team and the culture we have here, it’s more leading by example. Everything else follows that. That’s one thing I try to follow, make sure I’m doing my business correctly and if I can help someone out, I’m going to help them out and I’m going to speak to them.”

I’m not going to tell you what to think. The one thing that keeps me coming back to sports is unlimited possibilities. I try to keep an open mind. You never know what could happen.

There’s another year, a very important year. Let’s see where this goes.

Let’s send Oklahoma some money.

I sent out a link to the central and western Oklahoma Red Cross last night. Here that is: http://www.redcross.org/ok/oklahoma-city.

Here are some other places you can send money to help folks in Oklahoma who lost everything:

The Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief

The Salvation Army

United Way of Oklahoma City

Feeding America

Operation USA

Convoy of Hope

Direct Relief

Donors Choose

OK, be careful! Donate to organizations you know and trust.

The bottom of this link has some tips at the bottom of this post. I suggest reading and following. Personally, I’ve donated to the Red Cross.

Let’s do what we can do.

Need a little more than a pep talk for ol’ Morehouse?

Say hello to a beautiful lady and her wonderful dog. (My allergies are really kicking in right now. Here’s another link to a little longer version.)

Late link: The Oklahoman also has a post with several other local charities.

Headlong Hawkeye

– Freshmen will report to Iowa City the first week of June.

Will anyone jump right into the starting lineup? We were asked that on the podcast and my vote went to St. Louis WR Derrick Mitchell Jr. He’s put together and a great athlete. Iowa needs WRs. OC Greg Davis and WR coach Bobby Kennedy have said the help sign is up.

Remember, LB Reggie Spearman won’t be 17 until the middle of camp.

Here’s a link to the “Hello, my name is . . .” series for a quick refresher.

Big Ten Linking

– Former Oklahoma State QB Wes Lunt is eyeing Illinois for his transfer. It’d be a great landing spot. Lunt played for the Cowboys as a freshman. Illinois will lose senior QB Nate Scheelhaase after this season. It’s a fit, but not a done deal.

Matt Daniels of the News-Gazette wrote a post on quarterbacks who transferred into the Big Ten. Some of these names are really interesting.

The only QB I can remember transferring into Iowa who saw the field was Matt Eyde. He didn’t do a lot after transferring in from Michigan State back in the early 1990s, when in-conference transfers weren’t eligible for B1G scholarships and paid their own way.

National Thinking

It’s 100 days until college football kicks off.

So close, yet so far.

Pretty cool post from ESPN.com, “100 numbers for 100 days.”

The 100th Rose Bowl will be played this season.

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and the defensive staff coach the defense during Iowa's spring game on April 27. Iowa's staff ranks No. 5 in the Big Ten in salaries, according to a survey by the Detroit Free Press. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

There is no correlation between assistant coaches salaries and where your team sits in the Big Ten pecking order.

It just kind of works out that way. I’d lean to the fact that there are schools that have money and there are schools that don’t have as much money. Ohio State and Michigan are the Yankees. Indiana and Purdue are the Florida Marlins.

Iowa? Let’s see, at No. 5, the Hawkeyes are just above the median. In MLB, the Chicago Cubs are just about the median ranking No. 14 with total salaries of $104,150,726.

So, Iowa is the Cubs.

Go to this Detroit Free Press post for the numbers. Michigan State beat reporter Joe Rexrode, the quintessential beat reporter, put lots of work into this. (Usual B1G members, Northwestern and Penn State, are missing. NU I understand. It’s a private school. Penn State, I don’t get it. Talk about a school that should be transparent. Penn State, secrecy has not served you well.)

The fact that a Michigan State beat reporter is writing this story should tell you something. The Spartans are, of course, in a Cold War-style arms race to stay neck and neck (or at least appear to stay neck and neck) with Michigan. Mark Dantonio has made steps in this. He’s got Michigan in its best shape since Nick Saban left (not saying a lot, but still, MSU football is strong despite last year’s 6-6).

This is a story that tells itself, really. Check the corresponding post on the analysis. It’s great to be Huskers OC Tim Beck. It’s great to be Beck because there’s a vigorous market for Beck’s services. Nebraska fought to keep him. I mean paid to keep him. Either way, that’s the business model.

It’s also good to be MSU DC Pat Narduzzi. It’s good to be him because he’s built consistently great defenses and a market for himself. MSU and Dantonio fought to keep him. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

Iowa ranks fifth, just behind Wisconsin and just ahead of Michigan State (for those who listen to the On Iowa podcast, you know those are the three I measure together on a consistent basis, three polar bears fighting for the same chunk of ice).

A couple notes:

– Kirk Ferentz is ranked second in salary ($3.835 million a year) behind Ohio State’s Urban Meyer ($4.3 million).

– Iowa is second in head coach/assistant coach salaries combined.

– Iowa doesn’t get an assistant in the top 10 as far as pay goes.

– Iowa’s coordinators — Greg Davis and Phil Parker — each make $325,000 and are tied for ninth in the league for OC and DCs.

These are the latest salaries for Iowa’s coaches, including the three additions this winter.

Here are contracts for two of the three news coaches (the last I checked, Jim Reid’s contract wasn’t complete, but that is his salary):

Big Ten Linking

– The BCS subdivision of the FBS seems to have momentum. If the Big Ten illuminati are pushing it, they aren’t saying, according to CBSsports.com’s Jeremy Fowler.

IMO, this has to happen. This needs to happen. The stratification of the haves and have-nots is growing in major-college football. Let’s not be dense about this. Let’s not go MLB.

Let’s have big schools play big schools.

National Thinking

You really should check out Paul Myerberg, of USA Today, and his college football countdown.

To say they are comprehensive is an understatement.

He’s up to No. 121 today and that’s Dan McCarney’s North Texas State team.

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz talks with cornerback Micah Hyde (18) during the first half or their college football game against Purdue Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Let’s set the scene here: This was the week of Purdue last November. Iowa needed to win two of its next three to gain bowl eligibility.

The Hawkeyes were putting on the military uniforms in salute to Veteran’s Day. At this point, Iowa had lost three straight. Purdue was the one most everyone thought Iowa could get. The Boilermakers limped into Kinnick with a 3-6 record. QB Robert Marve suffered a torn ACL earlier in the season. Coach Danny Hope was all but fired at this point.

This was a Kirk Ferentz “Walk Off” interview, the few minutes he used to spend with print reporters after his usual Tuesday press conference. This was the second-to-last one. Things got messy the next week and KF and Iowa pulled the plug on these. (My reax? I’m surprised they lasted this long.)

Anyway, roll the tape (this line of questioning didn’t come from me, BTW):

Q: Between you and Hayden, you set the fan expectation bar pretty high around here. What do you tell the fans now about the future of Iowa football, looking at where the program is right now?

KF: I think we have the greatest fans in the world. I’m appreciative of that. I appreciate their support. It’s been fantastic. I appreciate good things in life.

Q: What do you tell them about the future of the program, though?

KF: Well, I’m optimistic. We’re going to continue to work hard. That’s what we’ve tried to do for 13-plus years.

That was that for this line of questioning. It just dissipated into a QB recruiting montage. It probably wasn’t going much farther than that.

Later . . .

Q: You’ve seldom responded to media criticism at press conferences and in other public forums, many other coaches, many of your colleagues choose the other direction, why do you not?

KF: It comes with the territory. It’s how I look at it. It’s part of my job. I don’t mind it when you guys say, boy, you did a great job. I try not to respond to that, either. It’s the same way when it goes the other direction. It’s part of the job description as far as I’m concerned.

Q: That’s one place you differ from coach [Hayden] Fry.

KF: I could never be coach Fry. I knew that coming in. I just have to be who I am and what I’m comfortable doing. At the end of the day, what I need to be investing my attention and energy into is our program and what’s best for our players. That’s really kind of where it is.

Authenticity has always been a guide for Ferentz. It might be one of the strongest shoulders for him in digging out of 4-8.

Big Ten Linking

– It’s time for you to sign up for Iowa’s Ladies Football Academy.

Once again this year, I’ll be receiving an embedded report from On Iowa Friend Anne Edwards. You can check her report from last year’s event here. It looks as though she had fun and I very much appreciated reading about it here.

Everyone I’ve ever talked to about the LFA has always given it extremely high marks. Go do this. It’s for a good cause and you probably finish the day knowing more than I do about football.

Here’s the release from Iowa:

IOWA TO HOST 3RD ANNUAL LADIES’ FOOTBALL ACADEMY

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa football program will host its third annual Ladies’ Football Academy on Saturday, June 8, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (CT) at Kinnick Stadium.

The Ladies’ Football Academy is a fundraiser to benefit the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.  The ladies-only event gives women a rare opportunity to team with UI head coach Kirk Ferentz and members of the Hawkeye coaching staff.

Those interested in participating, or being a sponsor for the upcoming event, can find additional information and register online at www.iowaladiesfootballacademy.com.  Participants are required to pay a $50 registration fee and must raise a minimum of $500 for the UI Children’s Hospital.

Highlights of the event include access to UI football facilities, including the new indoor training facility, the strength and conditioning workout facility, and Kinnick Stadium, including Iowa’s game-day locker room, and the visiting team pink locker room.  Participants will learn football fundamentals, participate in skills and drills, and swarm the Kinnick Stadium field with UI players to “Back in Black,” the Hawkeyes’ traditional entrance music.

The Ladies’ Football Academy has raised nearly $500,000 toward its $1 million pledge to the new UI Children’s Hospital, currently under construction across Hawkins Drive from Kinnick Stadium.

Honorary captains for the 2013 Ladies’ Football Academy are triplets Bridget, Caroline and Jamie Schmid from Dubuque, Iowa. The triplets were born in 2004 at UI Children’s Hospital, nearly three months before a normal newborn’s due date.  They weighed barely two pounds and struggled to breathe through underdeveloped lungs.  Today, they can out-sprint the ladies and prove that champions come in all sizes.

The first two Ladies’ Football Academy events each resulted in soldout participation.

National Thinking

– The silly season (known as “Horse Latitudes” here) is getting pretty silly!

Earlier this week, Michigan coach Brady Hoke told a bunch of Michigan fans at a Michigan gathering that Notre Dame was “chickening out” of its series with the Wolverines. No way, the Michigan coach really said that to Michigan fans at a Michigan event?

WAR!! WARRRR!!!! WARRRRRRR!!!!

Or, uh, no. Excellent response from ND athletics director Jack Swarbrick.

“We all recognize that stuff you say at a booster club or a pep rally generally (can be like that),” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told CBSSports.com. “I take no umbrage at what someone says at either of those two functions.”

Also during this silly season, Alabama coach Nick Saban has had a “Satan” reference thrown his way not once but twice.

Hey ESPN, can you get cameras into offseason 7-on-7s? C’mon, ESPN. It can’t hurt to ask.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz watches the 2013 spring practice. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

The general consensus is that Iowa’s 2014 football schedule is a cool breeze on an island beach. A veritable boat drink with a little reggae in the background.

It kind of is.

The Hawkeyes will be part of the welcoming crew for Maryland when it joins the Big Ten in 2014. Iowa will travel to College Park, Md., on Oct. 18 and then enjoy its second off week. Prior to the Terrapins, it’s at Purdue, off week, Indiana (Iowa’s other East Division matchup) and then at Maryland.

Just one of those teams (Purdue) made a bowl in ’12. The other two finished 4-8, just as Iowa did.

There’s that and then there are the names you don’t see on Iowa’s schedule — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State.

Consider where Iowa is today and think about this September snapshot: Iowa State, at Pittsburgh, at Purdue and then Indiana after an off week. That’s a tricky stretch, considering where Iowa is today, but it doesn’t include any of the Big Ten bluebloods. So far, so good.

When the calendar flips to November, Iowa will face five straight West Division matchups against border states, beginning with Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium and ending with Nebraska. A home game against Wisconsin is in there along with road games at Minnesota and Illinois.

This is a doable schedule, and it especially would be if Iowa were at standard, a team that wins eight games and contends for a Florida bowl. Iowa finished 4-8 last season. Next season remains to be seen, but standard might be considered an achievement (at least at this point).

Some of you have found your way to this question. Some of you see it and don’t believe it. Some of you are already there, wondering where everyone else is.

In the grand scheme, what will 2014 mean for Kirk Ferentz?

Here’s what’s in the books: The Hawkeyes finished 8-5 in 2010, 7-6 in ’11 and 4-8 last season, with no bowl eligibility for the first time since 2000.

Is 7-6 doable in 2013? If it is, that’s 8-5, 7-6, 4-8 and 7-6. One thing that has been repeated, including from Ferentz himself, this offseason is no one is cool with 7-6. That’s not what they’re shooting for. If that’s where Iowa finishes in ’13, what will be the expectation for 2014, given this “doable” schedule?

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta might have a 2014 goal in his mind. He’d never reveal what that is. Ferentz’s buyout will be around $11.6 million at the end of ’14.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves here, but at some point, a 7-6 trajectory will leave all parties feeling cold.

The November ’14 run will come with a Fahrenheit and some other gauge with Ferentz’s name on it.

This is the setting for the inaugural Big Ten football title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Don't look for a Soldier Field title game anytime soon. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

The Big Tough Big Ten doesn’t want anything to do with an outdoor venue for its football championship game.

Actually, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Who does an outdoor title game outside of the Pac-12? Where would the B1G have it’s title game? Soldier Field in Chicago? Forget that. The turf there is more surf that time of year. Oh, it’s better. Blah, blah, blah. It’s not better. It was iffy last August when Iowa played Northern Illinois there.

“I love Indianapolis, it’s no secret,” Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said Wednesday at the Big Ten’s spring meetings. “I love that facility. I love St. Elmo [steak house, not the Brat Pack movie from the '80s]. I love Ford Field, I love what Detroit has done with that Ford Field and what they’re continuing to do with the area contiguous to that facility. . . . I love the indoors. I’m one of those guys.”

This is the business of keeping every door open all the time, so Smith went on to say he also “loves” Soldier Field, but thinks it’s a better venue to host neutral-site games during the regular season.

(I would like to see this happen. I do think it’s a cool trip. You all seemed to enjoy yourselves last fall. Two things, though: 1) How do Iowa City merchants feel about losing a weekend of fan $$$? 2) Iowa needs seven home games. The B1G is moving to nine conference games in 2016. Can Iowa afford a neutral site game? The answer is yes, if there’s a payday. Right now, Iowa isn’t a team the Jerry Joneses of the world are going to pay for.)

Yes, this is the Ohio State AD saying this, but that doesn’t make it conference opinion.

The first two Big Ten football title games have been played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will be anchored there for the next three years. I went for the first one in 2011 and it was convenient. Excellent setting. Didn’t eat at St. Elmo’s.

After this contract, however, a few of the B1G ADs are open to moving the game.

Don’t be shocked if Chicago makes a push. The city just hosted the Big Ten basketball tournament. When the bids for the first football game were accepted in 2010, Indianapolis had an established sports commission, Indiana Sports Corp, that brought a Super Bowl to the city. Chicago didn’t match that. (Check out this ESPN.com post for more background on this.)

The bidding process for after the 2015 B1G title game begins in about a year. I would say dress for a dome.

Big Ten Linking

– I found this post from ESPN.com Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg very interesting.

I read this as Big Ten ADs wanting to step up their game in the “interesting” department.

You can get sushi at baseball games and every pro stadium has some sort of decent wireless. Let’s not get crazy with the sushi, but November night games, bigger louder scoreboards, more pyrotechnics, all are within range.

From the post:

“One of our biggest no-show rates in football was the Iowa game,” [MSU AD Mark] Hollis said. “And I’d go out and walk the streets and start talking to kids, ‘Why didn’t you go?’ And they said, ‘We couldn’t text because it was raining.’ They couldn’t have their phones out. 

“That kind of hit me pretty hard.” 

Michigan State put in new massive video scoreboards at Spartan Stadium last year, but Hollis knows he needs to do more. Part of a $20 million renovation to the stadium will include some new restrooms and concession stands at the north end of the stadium. The addition also will include a recruiting room. 

“We need to make sure we continue to deliver in our venues what’s being delivered, and then some, on television,” Hollis said. “What’s that going to look like? A more comfortable place. It shouldn’t be a hassle. … We’re putting in more bathrooms, we’re looking at a $2 million Wi-Fi system that allows more interaction. We’re going to have to deliver wider seats, more comfortable seats. It’s making our concession stands more presentable.”

National Thinking

– Remember Rich Rodriguez? You know he’s at Arizona, replacing the yelly Mike Stoops (whom I like, but his yelling has been noted).

I think Rich Rod is sitting on a potential West Virginia-esque run with the Wildcats. Tucson is fairly remote. UA can tap the right kind of athletes to run his offense. If he can figure out defense, he might have a shot at leading the Cats to something interesting.

Sportsonearth.com’s Matt Brown has Rich Rod and the Cats in a major bowl in the next five years.

Iowa’s first taste of the Big Ten’s newbies will come Oct. 18, 2014 when the Hawkeyes travel to Maryland.

The Big Ten released its conference schedules in the last few minutes. There were murmurs of “parity-based” scheduling at the Big Ten meetings earlier this week and, in Iowa’s case, that seemed to hit home.

Iowa’s two East division opponents in 2014 are Maryland (4-8 last season) and Indiana (4-8 last season). This matches up with the 4-8 Iowa put up last season.

That’s parity.

Then again, Ohio State and Minnesota hook up. So, maybe it’s random parity.

That is two eastern road trips for Iowa in ’14. The Hawkeyes already have a game scheduled at Pitt on Sept. 20.

2014 Iowa Football Schedule

Aug. 30                 Northern Iowa

Sept. 6                  Ball State

Sept. 13                Iowa State

Sept. 20                at Pittsburgh

Sept. 27                at Purdue *

Oct. 11                  Indiana

Oct. 18                  at Maryland

Nov. 1                   Northwestern *

Nov. 8                   at Minnesota *

Nov. 15                 at Illinois *

Nov. 22                 Wisconsin *

Nov. 28                 Nebraska *

 * – Divisional game

Here’s the composite schedule:

Here’s the release from the B1G and Iowa:

BIG TEN ANNOUNCES

2014 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Big Ten’s 2014 schedule features new division alignment along with conference debut of Maryland and Rutgers

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten office announced the conference schedule for the 2014 football season today, as approved by the Big Ten Directors of Athletics. The 2014 schedule will consist of eight games for each of the Big Ten’s 14 teams, feature a new division alignment, include the conference debut of Maryland and Rutgers and culminate with the fourth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game.

The 2014 Big Ten season begins on Sept. 13, with Rutgers making its Big Ten debut by hosting fellow East Division member Penn State. Maryland will take part in its first Big Ten game two weeks later on Sept. 27 with an East Division matchup at Indiana. Four other conference games will be held on Sept. 27, including two West Division matchups with Illinois at Nebraska and Iowa at Purdue and two cross-division contests with Minnesota at Michigan and Northwestern at Penn State. The Oct. 4 schedule will feature the Terrapins’ first home Big Ten game against fellow East Division member Ohio State along with an East Division matchup in Michigan at Rutgers and West Division contests in Nebraska at Michigan State, Purdue at Illinois and Wisconsin at Northwestern.

From Sept. 27 to Nov. 29, the 2014 Big Ten schedule will feature 10 consecutive weeks of Big Ten competition, boasting at least five conference games each week. All 14 teams will be in action during the final two weeks of Big Ten play, including six division games each week. The final weekend of the 2014 season begins with Nebraska at Iowa in a matchup of West Division rivals on Friday, Nov. 28. The Saturday, Nov. 29, schedule feature two more West Division matchups in Illinois at Northwestern and Minnesota at Wisconsin, three East Division contests in Michigan at Ohio State, Michigan State at Penn State and Rutgers at Maryland and a cross-division game with Purdue at Indiana. The winners of each division will meet in the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Beginning in 2014, the Big Ten football division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

The Big Ten will hold the 2013 Football Media Days and 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, at the Hilton Chicago, featuring all 12 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players. The 118th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, August 29, and culminates with the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7, to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

____________________________

BIG TEN ANNOUNCES 2014 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten office announced the conference schedule for the 2014 football season today, as approved by the Big Ten Directors of Athletics. The 2014 schedule consists of eight games for each of the Big Ten’s 14 teams and feature a new division alignment.

Iowa’s Big Ten schedule includes one home game in the first five conference weekends, and concludes with three November home games.

The Hawkeyes open the Big Ten slate with a divisional contest at Purdue on Sept. 27, before their first bye week Oct. 4.  The Hawkeyes open their Big Ten home schedule against Indiana on Oct. 11, and visit College Park, Md., for their first-ever meeting against Maryland on Oct. 18. Iowa finishes its October schedule with its second bye week on Oct. 25.

Iowa’s five November games are all division matchups, beginning with Northwestern on Nov. 1 in Iowa City.  The Hawkeyes then play back-to-back road games at Minnesota (Nov. and Illinois (Nov. 15).  Iowa’s visit to Champaign represents the first game against the Illini since 2008.  Iowa concludes the regular season with consecutive home trophy games against Wisconsin (Nov. 22) and Nebraska (Nov. 28).

The 2014 conference season begins on Sept. 13 with Rutgers making its Big Ten debut by hosting fellow East Division member Penn State. Maryland will take part in its first Big Ten game two weeks later on Sept. 27 with an East Division matchup at Indiana.

From Sept. 27 to Nov. 29, the 2014 Big Ten schedule will feature 10 consecutive weekends of Big Ten competition, boasting at least five conference games each week. All 14 teams will be in action during the final two weekends of Big Ten play, including six division games each weekend. The winners of each division will meet in the 2014 Big Ten Football Championship Game, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Beginning in 2014, the Big Ten football division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division, and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

The Big Ten will hold the 2013 Football Media Days and 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, at the Hilton Chicago, featuring all 12 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players. The 118th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, Aug. 29, and culminates with the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

Before Big Ten action starts on Sept. 27, Iowa will play four nonconference games, including three-straight home games to open the 2014 campaign.  The Hawkeyes host Northern Iowa (Aug. 30), Ball State (Sept. 6), and Iowa State (Sept. 13) in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, before traveling to Pittsburgh (Sept. 20) for its lone nonleague road contest.

– Big Ten athletics directors and commissioner Jim Delany were unanimous in their desire to make 7-5 the minimum record for bowl teams, but with so many bowls, they conceded that isn’t possible and accept that 6-6 teams will be bowl eligible in the Big Ten.

“We were hoping the 6-6 would go to 7-5. It didn’t and we’re not going to do that unilaterally,” Delany said. “We think the bowl system would be better off with a 7-5 situation. We thought for a while that we were headed in that direction, but it’s obvious we’re not. If we have a 6-6 bowl team, it’s up to us to find a place for them.”

– The College Football Playoff will have a selection committee element to it. During the three days here in Chicago, two candidates emerged from the Big Ten region, Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez and retired Nebraska coach and athletics director Tom Osborne.

Another consensus, it won’t be a job for the meek.

“Whoever it is, get that flak jacket ready,” Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said. “This isn’t going to be a panacea. One and two might be clear cut, but four and five and six, it’s going to be the same old debate we’ve always had. . . . Whatever the number, there has to be integrity.”

Smith participated in a mock selection committee with Sports Illustrated recently. The experience was a nightmare, so he gladly nominated Alvarez.

“You’ll occasionally here a legislator get angry about a team not getting the 68th spot in the NCAA tournament,” Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said. “When you’re talking about only four spots, the intensity level of No. 5 through about No. 15 , it’s going to be magnified 20 times greater than the 69th team that doesn’t get in.

“It’s going to take somebody who knows and loves the game of football, somebody who can receiving a lot of external pressure but who is not willing to compromise whatever system is developed and just pick the best four they think fit best.”

– It sounds as though the 2014-15 football schedules will come out yet this week. These will be the schedules that will include Maryland and Rutgers into the conference but won’t yet have the nine-game conference schedule, which kicks in for 2016.

There was much talk this week about “parity-based scheduling.” The historical powers in each division will face each other more for the first 18 years of this schedule cycle, beginning with 2014.

“We’re trying to create better schedules going forward,” Delany said. “We’re playing more conference games and trying to get stronger non-conference schedules. That’s challenging.”

Delany acknowledged that the inventory for stronger non-conference opponents might be scarce. He mentioned possibly getting help from ESPN, which has a database of available games.

“With fewer non-conference games and a higher bar for playing stronger teams,” Delany said, “we’re going to have to monitor that. The goal is to strengthen schedules. . . . That’s the direction we want to go, but it takes a real focused effort. You’re cutting into a much smaller group of available schools.”

What does this mean for Iowa? Barta said Iowa tells the Big Ten what its principles in scheduling are (Iowa State, seven home games, prefer contiguous states) and then it’s a negotiation. The Big Ten applies the “principles” and then tells Iowa what its schedule is going to be.

“Competitive balance is one of the principles [in scheduling],” Barta said. “One of the other principles is to have a student-athlete play every other Big Ten school at least once in their four years. . . .

“You figure over a 10-year period, it’s going to be fair. In one particular year, you might look at yourself and your coach and say, ‘Boy, this one doesn’t feel as good as last year’s or maybe three years from now.’ The principles have been put in place and we all like and agree on the principles.”

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany spoke to conference media after the Big Ten spring meetings Wednesday in Chicago.

CHICAGO — The buzzwords you hear on the Big Ten’s new bowl lineup are “national,” “diverse” and “recruiting.”

The conference has seemingly achieved national with bowl deals from the Holiday Bowl in San Diego to the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York. The diversity stems from the less sexy word, “fatigue.” Many times schools ended up stuck in a Florida or Arizona cycle. Fans burned out and the numbers showed attendance dropped.

The Big Ten is acutely aware that if it’s going to run the race with the SEC for national championships, it’s going to have to broaden recruiting scope. That also was part of the B1G’s bowl plan, which will be announced in the next week or two.

The new model also will move away from a pure selection process by the bowls to pools of teams divided among multiple bowls with the decision made by the conferences, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said Wednesday at the Big Ten spring meetings.

“We’ll probably be somewhere between a selection and a conference placement,” he said. “We’ll give a lot of conditions to each bowl and they’ll have to get conference approval for the selection that they choose.”

The next round of bowl deals will be for six years. Delany said that a bowl that signs with the Big Ten will have to pick five different schools in those six years.

“The goal is going to be that we keep these games fresh,” he said. “Also, that the bowls create the best possible lineup. I think there’s been some fatigue. There is a lot of competition for discretionary spending. I don’t think fans are going to be interested in going to the same region over and over and over again.”

For example, Wisconsin played six bowls games in Florida from 2005 through 2009. This included four stops in Orlando, two for the Capital One and two for the Champs Sports Bowl.

“We had a stretch of five years where we were in Orlando,” Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez said. “We’ve had the last three years in Pasadena (Rose Bowl), and I’m not going to complain about that, but if you look at the attendance, it goes down each time you return. That’s one factor that should place a team somewhere else.”

Iowa played in back-to-back Insight Bowls (2010-11) and actually saw an increase in attendance (53,453 to 54,247). That probably had more to do with Oklahoma being the opponent in ’11.

Outside of that anomaly, “We needed to recognize that there’s some bowl fatigue,” Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith said. “The attendance numbers are pretty straight forward. The attendance is down, so we needed some creativity to get from the normal process of selections and get to a process where we can assign.

“I think that creativity is going to help us a little bit when you have a team or multiple teams going to the same site back-to-back. It’s not healthy. It’s not healthy for the bowl, it’s not healthy for the kids, it’s not healthy for the fans.”

Along with that, the Big Ten concedes that there will be a drop in bowl payouts, but also there will be more flexibility in ticket allotments. Smith said the schools are aware they take a hit when fans buy bowl tickets from third-party vendors.

Delany said the conference looked back at the last 18 years and broke them down into six segments. Along with the “five different schools in six years” parameter, another Delany mentioned was a school could play in Orlando and then Tampa the next year, but then couldn’t play in Florida a third consecutive year.

“Obviously, you can go to the Rose Bowl as many times as you want,” Delany said. “We don’t have control over that, but other than that, we’re trying to get different teams into different bowls and different environments as much as we can and still give them [bowls] some control over the quality of team they’re getting.”

The Rose Bowl remains the ultimate goal. The B1G champion will go to Pasadena, Calif., unless the Rose Bowl is a national semifinal and a B1G team doesn’t qualify for the Playoff or isn’t placed in Pasadena. The Big Ten champion will appear in another major bowl (Fiesta, Cotton, Sugar or Chick-fil-A Peach) in years it’s not in the Rose.

Also remember, the Big Ten will appear in the Orange Bowl at least three times in the next 12-year cycle.

Outside of the major bowls, the Capital One and Outback are expected to remain affiliated with the B1G. ESPN.com reported earlier this week the Big Ten has agreed to a six-year share agreement with the ACC for the Music City (Nashville, Tenn.) and Gator (Jacksonville, Fla.)

The Gazette reported Tuesday that the Holiday Bowl will be in the Big Ten mix, with a six-year deal in offing for the San Diego bowl. Alvarez strongly hinted Tuesday that the B1G has a deal in the works with the Pinstripe Bowl, which is played at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Other bowls in the Big Ten mix include Heart of Dallas in Dallas, Kraft Fight Hunger in San Francisco and the Little Caesars Pizza in Detroit.

“There will be some places we won’t return to,” Delany said. “There will be some new venues and there will be some places we’re returning to. . . . To have a national slate, to have diversity, to create a fresh approach for fans, will all bode well.”

Iowa State's Jake Knott (left) tries to bring down Rutgers' Michael Burton during the first half of their game during the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, in Bronx, New York. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

CHICAGO – These Big Ten May meetings took on a life of their own in 2010 when the conference was in the midst of expansion.

The meetings are still going strong as far as news cycles go, with the B1G’s bowl lineup and future schedules being among the topics on Tuesday. Expansion wasn’t a topic. At least not a lively one.

“No,” Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez said when asked about this subject. No elaboration.

The only wave in expansion land came when Alabama coach Nick Saban was asked about the Big Ten dropping FCS schools from future schedules beginning in 2016. Saban said he would like to see five conferences that lead up to a national tournament.

Asked if a BCS-level subdivision would be a topic at this week’s meetings, Alvarez said, “No.”

– Penn State athletics director Dave Joyner said the school is working on a neutral site game in Ireland. There has been talk about this for awhile. The Nittany Lions face a postseason ban for another three years, so it would be looked at as a bowl trip of sorts. The game would be 2014 against UCF.

Penn State begins next season against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

“Neutral sites are a very, very interesting proposition,” Joyner said. “It’s good for everybody. From a monetary standpoint, it’s a very satisfactory thing to do, but it also engages people in other parts of the country to perhaps come to games.”

– Monday, Michigan coach Brady Hoke used the term “chickening out” when discussing the dissolution of the school’s rivalry with Notre Dame.

Notre Dame athletics director Dave Swarbrick told UM in September that the Irish would use the three-year notification to end the series, which will now see its last game in 2014. From the sounds of UM athletics director Dave Brandon, the series will remain cold.

“The night game we have at Michigan Stadium this September, and then our last trip down to South Bend [2014] next year are going to be really exciting because it’s going to be the end of the rivalry, at least for a considerable period of time,” Brandon said.

– Big Ten hockey begins this fall.

The league was able to do this when Penn State, through a $110 million gift was able to make the jump to Division I. The Nittany Lions inclusion gave the conference the six teams it needed to secure an NCAA tournament bid.

The Big Ten isn’t twisting other schools arms to add hockey. The conference can’t really do that.

Is six teams — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State — enough to make a viable league?

“All of us have natural rivalries,” UW athletics director Barry Alvarez said. “The BTN adds more excitement. I think us having our league with our own network will promote college hockey.”

With the inclusion of Maryland into the Big Ten, the league has discussed adding lacrosse as a sport. This would require the B1G to explore “affiliate” status. Johns Hopkins has been mentioned in this regard.

With six hockey teams, there’s no need for that, but to grow the brand, are hockey affiliates on the table?

“I don’t know, we haven’t discussed that,” Alvarez said.

Wisconsin and Minnesota are the only two B1G schools that made money in 2013. No, Iowa isn’t thinking about adding hockey or any other sport.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta is a hockey fan. He grew up in Minnesota and played the sport. That won’t help hockey’s case with Iowa, a move that also would carry Title IX implications.

“The process of adding a sport, any sport I don’t care what it is, in this environment, it’s a difficult decision to make and not one that I spend a lot of time on,” Barta said. “I get a great deal of external advice, pressure — not from the Big Ten, but from fans or parents — to add men’s soccer.

“Men’s soccer would be a geographically good decision, but that would require dropping other sports or adding more. You don’t just add one sport and call it good. We certainly have some teams that aren’t yet winning championships and until I have teams clicking on all cylinders, it doesn’t make sense for me to water down my resources for the teams I already have. It doesn’t seem fair.”

But hey, if someone has $110 million . . .

“If someone brought me a check for $110 million and wanted me to add a particular sport, my guess is I could find a way to add that sport,” Barta joked.

– The mantra on football scheduling was making schedules stronger. The sub-headline was proximity. That was perhaps summed up best in this quote from Alvarez, who was asked about losing Michigan State off the schedule on a regular basis (MSU is in the East):

“I was more concerned with losing Iowa than Michigan State,” Alvarez said, which happened with Legends and Leaders in 2010. “We’ve had great games with Michigan State, but the proximity, the three-hour drive to Iowa City, for our fans and their fans, it’s very convenient.

“That was very difficult for us to lose. Same for Northwestern, a two-hour drive, more so than Michigan State.”

– Of course you know that Iowa, coming off 4-8 in 2012, has been scheduled for zero night games this fall.

Barta said Iowa always is open to one or two night games a year. He also knows you have to earn those.

“It is what it is. I like where we sit,” Barta said. “As Kirk [Ferentz] told his players, we know one thing, they’re going to put in that time slot the teams they believe will generate the best television rating, which translates into the teams having the most success.”

_________________________

Big Ten men’s hockey revenue for 2012

Michigan –$2,866,947 (revenue); $2,984,366 (expenses)

Michigan State — $1,957,042;    $3,052,757

Minnesota — $7,067,372;   $2,194,858

Ohio State — $534,647;   $1,780,285

Penn State – none;   none

Wisconsin — $6,721,233;   $5,541,828

Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi takes a sack against Illinois in 2008. This was the last time Iowa and Illinois faced each other in football. They'll be in the same division in '14, so the five-year drought between two B1G schools 243 miles apart will be over. (The Gazette)

CHICAGO — Five things that have happened since the last time Iowa and Illinois met on a football field (Nov. 1, 2008):

1) Barack Obama was elected.

2) The Chicago Blackhawks ended a 49-year Stanley Cup drought.

3) Craft beer became a thing.

4) A TV show called “Jersey Shore” came and went.

5) Justin Bieber.

Illinois beat Iowa, 27-24, at Memorial Stadium in ’08 and then, through a series of circumstances — mainly the Legends and Leaders — the rivalry shut down. Despite the fact that the schools sit 243 miles apart, five years will have passed when the two schools next meet in 2014.

When the Big Ten welcomes Maryland and Rutgers into the conference in 2014, Iowa and Illinois will be placed in the West Division, ending the five-years of no football between the two schools.

It seems insane the schools haven’t met.

“It does,” Illinois athletics director Mike Thomas said. “Us being in the west with Iowa made a heckuva a lot of sense for me.”

Thomas is one half of the new football equation at Illinois. When he was hired in ’11, Thomas fired Ron Zook. He hired Tim Beckman away from Toledo. The reviews are mixed, with the Illini finishing 2-10 and 0-8 in the league last season.

Still, Thomas knows there’s great potential with Iowa-Illinois.

“I’ve always thought of it that way,” said Thomas, who began his career in athletics administration as an intern at Iowa 25 years ago. “We should be playing Iowa and having a steady diet of that. I’m absolutely a fan of that.”

When the Big Ten added Nebraska in 2010, B1G commissioner Jim Delany put a premium on competitive balance when deciding on divisions. That led to some geographical curiosities, namely no Iowa-Wisconsin every year and no Iowa-Illinois at all.

The 2014 divisions are based on geography. Iowa will play five schools from bordering states on its West Division schedule. This is something Iowa athletics director Gary Barta very much endorses.

“I’m excited about playing all of the schools around us on a geographical bases,” Barta said, “and I know our fans are, too.”

The ’08 game was intense. Illinois receiver Arrelious Benn dropped the “hate” bomb in the postgame.

“Iowa is a team that thinks it’s so much better than us, and we just came on and beat them,” Benn said. “Our team’s never beat Iowa, and it’s just something about Iowa that I personally don’t like. Through the week they talk a lot of trash through the media and stuff. … I just hate Iowa.”

The hate is understandable.  Iowa owned Illinois in the 2000s, beating the Illini a series-record five straight times, including a 10-6 win in 2007, which kept the Rose Bowl-bound Illini from a 10-win season.

Despite the five-year absence, no introductions will be needed in 2014.

“Even back when I was at Iowa, I was in my early 20s and didn’t have a real history with Iowa, but I think back then, it was quite a rivalry,” Thomas said. “I would anticipate that happening in the future.”

Iowa blocked back-to-back field goals to topple UNI's upset bid in 2009. This game is going away. The Big Ten wants better non-conference schedule and that means no FCS. (Cliff Jette/The Gazette)

CHICAGO — You see Wisconsin and Alabama. You see Minnesota and TCU. You see Michigan State and Oregon.

And you wonder why you see Iowa and Northern Illinois.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta discussed the parameters for future football schedules during Tuesday’s Big Ten Conference meetings. The Big Ten will release football schedules for the 2014-15 season this week. These will include the additions of Rutgers and Maryland and also will split the league into the East-West Divisions.

The league won’t go to the nine-game conference schedule, approved last month, until 2016. The whole idea with nine B1G games is to beef up strength of schedule with the College Football Playoff coming in 2014. That will extend to non-conference. Big Ten schools are being discouraged from scheduling schools from the Football Championship Series after 2016.

But it might not be that easy.

“We have to strengthen our non-conference schedule, I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez said. “I just hope there’s enough inventory that fits, so we’re able to do that.”

Every B1G school wants seven home games. But the conference wants its schools to play a tougher non-conference and cut out FCS. Is that feasible? Alvarez would rather schedule an FCS than pay an available FBS school $1.5 million or a home game.

“You might have to schedule an FCS to fill your schedule,” he said. “You have a three- or four-week window to schedule it and they’re just not that many out there and the ones that are out there know they’re pretty valuable.”

So, here’s the non-conference deal for Iowa:

– Except for 2017, the Hawkeyes have FCS schools on the schedule every season through 2018.

– Iowa plays Missouri State this season, Northern Iowa in 2014 and Illinois State in ’15. All those games will be played.

– When the nine-game B1G schedule kicks in for 2016, Iowa has North Dakota State, back-to-back FCS champion. In ’18, the Hawkeyes have a contract with Northern Iowa. Those are in limbo, Barta said.

“At this point, I haven’t told those schools I won’t be playing them,” Barta said. “We’re just having conversations about whether it makes sense or not or whether they would find a replacement game. We have those two contracts and at this point, we haven’t told them we’re not playing the games.”

– Iowa State is will be Iowa’s premier non-conference game for the foreseeable future.

“It’s a good rivalry, it’s good for college football, but the unique challenge is they’re [Iowa State] not in our conference,” Barta said Tuesday. “Our No. 1 goal is to win the Big Ten Conference and whatever beyond that. But because our in-state rival is there, it’s great for the game, it’s great for for the state, it just doesn’t apply toward that No. 1 goal of winning the Big Ten Conference, which is unique.”

So, in 2016 with nine B1G games, Iowa’s non-conference schedules of the future will be home-and-home with Iowa State and two games that won’t be home-and-home, Barta said. Iowa’s budget dictates seven home football games. No bend there.

The inventory beyond Iowa State and no FCS schools remains to be seen. Last week, CBSsports.com revealed that Iowa and Northern Illinois will meet in 2018 and 2020.

The parameters are narrow for Iowa non-conference scheduling.

“We’ll have two games to fill every year and they won’t be home-and-homes, because I have to have seven home games,” Barta said.

In 2017, the West Division will get five B1G conference home games (West gets five home games on odd-numbered years). So, Iowa’s non-conference in those years will be at Iowa State and two home games with no reciprocation on Iowa’s part. In even years, with just four conference home games, it’ll be Iowa State at Kinnick and two home games with teams that Iowa won’t have to return a home game to.

Iowa State, Big Ten nine-game schedule and Iowa’s need for seven home games every year are the parameters. That leaves no room for a game against a BCS foe with a return game in the deal.

This leaves no flexibility. That’s why no Iowa and fill-in your dream BCS matchup here. So, enjoy Pitt in 2014-15. Those games seem to be the last of their kind for Iowa.

Iowa Hawkeye Football History. No caption information available. Photo appears to show dejected Iowa players on their bench during the 1983 Gator Bowl. From left are: Scott Helverson (#87), Chuck Long (#16) and Owen Gill (#33, standing). With rain and wind chills at times being 13 below zero at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Iowa lost to the Florida Gators, 14-6. Late in the game, a fumbled snap by punter Tom Nichol was recovered by Florida in Iowa's end zone to "ice" the game for the Gators. December 30, 1983.

CHICAGO – That Big Ten bowl shuffle has so far yielded…not great stuff.

According to ESPN.com’s Brett McMurphy, the conference will share tie-ins with the Gator Bowl and Music City Bowl with the ACC during a six-year agreement, so three Big Ten teams would go to Jacksonville and three to Nashville in the span. They’ll face SEC opponents in both games.

The bowls change for the college football world in 2014. The Big Ten is looking at the Holiday and the Pinstripe bowls. Those would be bolder statements than Nashville (Music City) and Jacksonville, Fla., (Gator), at least when it comes to sexy destinations (San Diego and NYC, respectively).

Iowa has never made a Music City appearance. Its one Gator Bowl came in 1983. Iowa lost to Florida, 14-6, with wind and rain and temperatures dipping below zero.

– This is day two of the Big Ten meetings. Colleague Scott Dochterman covered divisions for B1G basketball (probably not happening) and the prospect of Devyn Marble making a world universities team.

– Some other things we’re looking out for (at least football-wise, because that’s why I’m here):

Is that 2014 Big Ten schedule ready to come out?

Why is Iowa hanging on to FCS? Does the Big Ten want FCS schools off their team’s schedules?

No night TV for Iowa in 2013? How does Iowa athletics director Gary Barta feel about that?

There will be more stuff. I’m going to be the dork who asks about expansion. Why not?

Iowa's Damon Bullock (32) crosses into the end zone in front of Northern Illinois' Dechane Durante (21) during the fourth quarter of their college football game Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Iowa won the game 18-17. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Football scheduling will rule the Latitudes today.

First, CBSsports.com broke this morning that Iowa and Northern Illinois will play at Kinnick Stadium in 2018 and 2020. CBS’ Jeremy Fowler also reports the sides have discussed playing three straight games during that span. So far, NIU has elected to keep 2019 open.

So, for now, that leaves Iowa with Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Iowa State for non-conference opponents in 2018. Is this the model for Iowa’s future schedules?

It’s easy to take shots at Iowa for not hooking up a home-and-home with TCU (Minnesota), for not entertaining a home-and-home with Alabama and discuss a neutral site game with LSU (Wisconsin) or for ignoring the possibilities of a home-and-home with college football’s ’70s David Bowie Oregon (Michigan State).

None of those schools, however, has a rivalry with an in-state, non-conference rival as the Hawkeyes do with Iowa State. Throw in the math for Iowa to get to seven home games each season, and that hamstrings big thinking in the non-conference.

It’s not impossible, but it’s tricky to find a fit.

The Big Ten’s nine-game schedule begins in 2016 and will leave West Division teams hosting five Big Ten home games on odd years. (So, that 2018 schedule — if Northern Iowa is allowed, which I don’t think it will be — would give Iowa seven home games. That’s $3 million per, so any thought that Iowa would pass on that just isn’t reasonable. AD Gary Barta will do everything to get seven in the Barn, my nickname for Kinnick that I just made up.)

I’ve written it here before and here it is again: For all intents and purposes, Iowa State is Iowa’s premier non-conference game. The contract runs through 2017 and has been hard-wired into the new Big Ten and Big 12 configurations. The path is cleared. The game will be played.

This is where someone writes or says “Iowa shouldn’t play Iowa State. Everything to lose and nothing to gain.”

This had some merit when the contract skewed financially toward ISU. It doesn’t anymore. Iowa State is in the Big 12, a BCS or College Football Playoff conference. Kirk Ferentz is 6-8 against the Cyclones. Iowa is 2-5 at Jack Trice Stadium under Ferentz.

This is gaining less than nothing. If you ask Iowa’s players, I’m sure they’d say they want to fix that. They’re competitors. You can disdain the Cy-Hawk Trophy dancing across the field, but your team has to do something about it. This is not going away. (But no, there’s no state legislation requiring the schools to play each other. That’s a myth.)

Iowa’s tentative non-conference in 2014 is UNI, Ball State, Iowa State and Pitt (at Heinz Field). That’s pretty good. In ’15, it’s tentatively Illinois State, Iowa State, Pitt and North Texas State. That’s good, too. Iowa has two of its three non-conference opponents on the schedule for 2016 — North Dakota State and ISU. But, as you know, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is putting the pressure on B1Gs to drop FCS schools.

Hayden Fry adopted the Iowa State-BCS-cupcake model. Ferentz carried that through until the last couple of years. Iowa hasn’t faced a BCS non-conference opponent since Pitt in 2011. After Pitt in ’15, I’d hate to guess when the next one will be.

It’s a different Big Ten. Iowa AD Gary Barta has said recently “having seven games is high on the list in terms of importance.” Iowa earns about $2.8 million from a home date.

“That’s a significant amount of money to each of our bottom lines, having a seventh home game,” Barta said. “It also has a big impact on the local economies.”

It’s going to sting when you see Wisconsin go to the moon to face intergalactic all-stars while Iowa plays host to a MAC school.

You should feel that sting. The goal here was to show you what shapes Iowa’s non-conference scheduling. How you interpret it is up to you.

Big Ten Linking

– Of course, Alabama coach Nick Saban has thoughts on the Big Ten dropping FCS schools. When you win three of the last four crystal footballs, people listen to what you say and broadcast it.

So, FCS schools and the Big Ten have been in the news this week. Saban gave his thoughts to AL.com.

“I’m for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences,” Saban said on a Crimson Caravan stop Thursday night. “That’s what I’m for, so it might be 70 teams, and everybody’s got to play ’em. …”

That’s a vote for super conferences. Yeah, I’d be good with that. Demanding, yes, but it would eliminate dead games and force great matchups we all want to see. Now that Saban is behind it, watch it gain traction.

National Thinking

– Let’s stay with Saban.

It’s good to be Saban.

According to this Chattanooga Times Free Press story, Saban’s $10.95 Georgia lake home will be auctioned off June 6.  A real estate firm confirmed today that the 9,600-square-foot home northeast of Atlanta on Lake Burton will be sold privately in a June 6 auction.

Concierge Auctions says the home, on the shores of the mountain lake, was originally listed at $10.95 million, but will be auctioned to the highest bidder. A brochure says it has “jaw-dropping 270-degree cascading mountain, lake and sunset views.”

It’s good to be the king.

This undated handout photo released by Concierge Auctions on Wednesday May 8, 2013 shows a lake home owed by Alabama head football coach Nick Saban on Lake Burton in Clayton, Ga.. The house, originally listed at $10.95 million, is scheduled to be sold at auction June 6. (AP Photo/Concierge Auctions) Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta was on ESPN's College Football Live on Thursday. (Gazette file)

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta was on ESPN’s College Football Live on Thursday to discuss FCS-level schools on the Hawkeyes future schedules.

Monday, The Gazette reported that Iowa was in a wait-and-see mode in regards to future games with Northern Iowa (2014 and 2018), Illinois State (2015) and North Dakota State (2016). Iowa will play Missouri State this fall at Kinnick Stadium.

The FCS, which offers 63 scholarships compared to 85 for FBS schools, became relevant last week when the Big Ten announced it was moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has strongly suggested that B1G schools not schedule anymore games with FCS and try to get out of the ones they have.

“This change, we’re all looking at the contracts we have in place,” Barta said on the show, referring to other B1G schools, “and we’ve agreed going forward we’re not going to be scheduling any other FCS schools.

“But with those on our schedule, we’ll either move them off and reschedule, or in the case of Northern Iowa, I’ve talked about the possibility of an exception — it’s not a done deal — based on the fact that they play in our home state.”

CFB Live host John Saunders asked Barta why Delany would spin FCS schools out of the Big Ten scheduling grids.

“With positioning ourselves for the College Football Playoff [coming in 2014],” Barta said, “we just want to make sure our conference is well positioned. We talked about strengthening our schedule, and that’s why we went to nine games. And then we talked about our non-conference schedules and playing home-and-home with other traditional ‘quote, unquote’ BCS schools.

“And finally, just taking a look at our future contracts and games that we had scheduled. In our case, we have some [FCS] games scheduled and that’s what we’re taking a look at, in particular the school just north of us in our own state, the University of Northern Iowa.”

UNI has been a traditional power in FCS. Iowans are aware of the quality teams that coach Mark Farley, a former UNI linebacker, has put out every season. Just in 2009, the Hawkeyes needed to block a pair of last-second field goals to hang on against UNI, 17-16.

So, it’s a nice matchup, but there’s also the fact that UNI is 20-66-5 against FBS schools all-time. Farley is 2-12 against FBS, with wins over Iowa State and Ball State.

Against the Big Ten, UNI is 1-17 with its only victory coming against Iowa . . . 11-5 in 1898 . . . when UNI was known as “State Normal.”

Barta pointed out that UNI is a power in Sagarin Ratings, a computer measure of national rankings.

“With those future schedules, taking a look the possibility of an exception [for UNI] because they are an in-state school and because they’ve perennially been in the top 10 in the country at that level,” Barta said.

Are FCS schools just easy wins for FBS schools? What’s the benefit, Saunders asked.

“I don’t look at it as an FCS school, I look at it as what does our overall non-conference schedule look like?” Barta said. “Northern Iowa has historically — I used to work there many, many years ago — they’ve beaten many Big Ten programs and other programs, as has North Dakota State.

“We look at it as what’s the best schedule, what’s best for the fans, what’s going to be best for preparing us for the Big Ten schedule?”

Sounds as though it’s up to the Big Ten, or whatever the best deals Iowa can cut here. (The buyout for the NDSU game is $250,000, just to give you an idea.)

Historically, these are easy wins, no way around that.

Iowa is 47-5 all time against FCS schools and has outscored those opponents 1,585 to 251, or an average of 30.4 to 4.8.

Less than two weeks after the project was approved by the State Board of Regents, the new video board and sound project is underway at Kinnick Stadium.

The video board/sound upgrades will be up and going this fall. UI athletics director Gary Barta admitted that it will be a tight timeline, but the plan is to have it done for this upcoming season. The financing package the board approved for that Kinnick project totals $8 million, but they expect the total cost of everything will be $9 million because of the increase in bids on a portion of the project.

The existing video walls, control room equipment and sound system at Kinnick are eight years old, UI officials told The Gazette.

The company handling the project is Daktronics, Inc. As per usual, the Iowa athletics department will foot this bill using no tax or tuition cash.

The project includes a large screen video display system within the existing south end zone structure, video displays in the northeast and northwest end zone corners and a ribbon display to be installed above the seating along the north side of Kinnick Stadium.

That ribbon display will show game information, video, scores and advertising. In addition to those four video displays, the purchase request also includes two game clocks and four play clocks.

Here are more dimensions:

The South End Zone video board:

• Overall Dimensions
31’6.4″ Tall x 122’8.8″ Wide

• 15mm HD Video Display
624 lines of resolution x
2448 columns of resolution

• Optional 13mm HD Video Display
728 lines of resolution x
2856 columns of resolution

The Ribbon-style scoreboard info:

• Ribbon Dimensions
8’8.8″ Tall x 236’4.8″ Wide

• 13HD Video Display
196 lines of resolution x
10,062 columns of resolution

• Side Video Dimensions
21’11.2″ Tall x 38’8.8″ Wide

• 13HD Video Display @2
504 lines of resolution x
896 columns of resolution

• Vomitory Display Dimensions
3’7″ Tall x 13’2″ Wide

• 13HD Display @2
84 lines of resolution x
308 columns of resolution

• Delay of Game Clock @2
TI-2003

A couple stills from Gazette photographer Brian Ray:

This is the Kinnick Stadium scoreboard on Thursday. It's undergoing a makeover. Iowa is spending $9 million on new video and sound at the stadium. It's scheduled to be ready for the season opener against Northern Illinois on Aug. 31. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

The south end zone video board under construction on Thursday. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

And one more. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

The Iowa QBs walk down the stairs at Kinnick Stadium before the Hawkeyes' April 27 scrimmage. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

I feel a little like ESPN going right to Tebow, Jason Collins, Lebron and Tiger with this topic, but hey, this is what everyone wants to know going into the 2013 season.

So, Iowa quarterback. Where is that going? What have we seen? What do we know? What do we think we know?

I get grief for the numbers from the spring scrimmages. I’m not claiming they mean anything. If I were to gauge it, I would say the Iowa City scrimmage had the points element to it to give QBs something to shoot for. A tangible measure of their effectiveness. And not just for QBs, but for offensive coordinator Greg Davis and head coach Kirk Ferentz.

So, take the numbers for what they’re worth. Some of you have preconceived notions of these guys. Why is Cody Sokol more athletic than Jake Rudock? We’ve seen them twice in scrimmage situations, not live. Sokol showed quicker feet. Rudock saw the field much better. That said, here are the collective numbers for the QBs from the spring scrimmages:

Jake Rudock

Des Moines –  15 of 20 for 171 yards and three TDs

Iowa City –  18 of 29 for 174 yards

Totals — 33 of 49 for 345 yards, 3 TDs

Cody Sokol

Des Moines – 4 of 13 for 60 yards

Iowa City – 13 of 18 for 183 TD

Totals — 17 of 33 for 243 yards, TD

C.J. Beathard

Des Moines – 6 of 15 for 44 yards

Iowa City – 10 of 20 for 110 yards and TD

Totals — 16 of 35 for 154 yards, TD

That’s at the very least a snapshot of what we’ve seen. I re-watched the Iowa scrimmage on BTN. Sokol’s 23-yard completion to WR Blake Haluska that set up a TD was a beautiful ball. He put it where the 6-4 Haluska could make a play over 5-10 Jordan Lomax. He also threw a prayer late over the middle that was nearly picked off.

Rudock missed out on a TD pass with WR Kevonte Martin-Manley open on a drag route in the end zone. But he brought the ball down and gave safety John Lowdermilk a second to recover and make the play.

Beathard left a few throws short, but he’s not as far behind as I thought when I watched live.

Smatterings of knowledge: Sokol has a stronger connection to the team and the chemistry is there. Sokol is shaky in making calls at the line. Rudock doesn’t make mistakes.

See you next week (maybe) on “Quarterback Island.”

Big Ten Linking

– Oh my, it’s a long time off. I’ll be 53 and have two kids in their 20s when Michigan and Virginia Tech hook up for a home-and-home in 2020 and 2021.

The ante is quickly rising for serious Big Ten teams and non-conference schedules. Wisconsin is still in talks to play LSU in Houston in 2014 (“We haven’t signed contract yet. I don’t know,” UW AD Barry Alvarez said.). The Badgers have already added Alabama. It was announced earlier this week that Minnesota dropped South Dakota State and picked up TCU (there were financial considerations that made this favorable after UM paid $800,000 to get out of a home-and-home with North Carolina).

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta will be on ESPN’s College Football Live today to discuss keeping FCS schools on Iowa’s schedule.

College football is complex. There are a ton of moving parts. But it seems if you really want to get something done, you can get it done.

National thinking

– I have a son who enjoys video games. I used to, but they’ve just outrun me. The boy plays a lot of that Mine Craft, which is cool with me because it’s a building/imagination game and not crazy violence. He has those games, too, and we do play some NCAA and NHL, which usually ends up with me feeling violent (he wins).

Kids and video games, what are you going to do? Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury embraces it and speaks the language.

In this Y! Sports post, there’s a note posted in the Tech complex that has Kingsbury urging his players to stay active and not sit around and play “COD/2K13/Madden” and that beating 12-year-olds online isn’t physical “even if you claim to ‘wreck shop.’”

Wreck shop, I’m assuming that means some sort of video game domination. I don’t know. It might actually mean wreck shop.

Take it easy on me. I just figured out Vine this week.

Cedar Falls OL Ross Pierschbacher is still an Iowa commit. The offers are piling up and it's a long way to February 2014, so we'll see with the Cedar Falls High School prep.

Back in January, Iowa football recruiting was off to what was considered a blazing start.

Cedar Falls High School O-lineman Ross Pierschbacher was the first to say yes to the Hawkeyes. About a week later, Union High School quarterback Jay Scheel committed. This gave Iowa two four-start recruits before the 2013 class made it official with their signed LOIs.

In April, Dubuque Senior High School OL Lucas LeGrand committed, giving Iowa three Iowans for the 2014 class, which should be around 15 give or take two or three.

Let’s see how the rest of the Big Ten is doing (just for comparison, I have no idea and would like to know):

Legends Division

Iowa — Three commits. LeGrand (6-5, 260) is unrated by Rivals.com at this point. Pierschbacher’s offer list is the top 25 of all time — Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford and USC. The 6-4, 275-pounder told HawkeyeReport.com on May 2 that he doesn’t plan to take any visits this summer.

Michigan — Eight commits with four 4-stars, according to Rivals. Hey, it’s Michigan.

Michigan State — Six with one 4-star. Iowa offered LB Deon Drake, but Rivals lists Erik Campbell as the recruiter. Iowa also offered center Brian Allen, a bruiser from Hinsdale, Ill., I thought had Iowa written all over him. (Just my opinion.)

Minnesota — Three commits, including 4-star running back Jeff Jones, who has an Iowa offer and is kind of iffy.

Nebraska — Just one commit listed by Rivals, Lincoln Southeast ATH Luke Gifford. According to the scholarship distribution chart, the Huskers also have 15 seniors, so about 15 to 18 scholarships available for 2014.

Northwestern — Seven commits with two 4-stars, including QB Clayton Thorson, a 6-4, 200-pounder from Wheaton (Ill.) North who had an offer from Iowa. Iowa also had an offer out to Ohio WR Dareian Watkins.

Leaders Division

Illinois — Four commits, three of whom are 3-star.

Indiana — The Hoosiers have no commitments for ’14 at this time. Their scholarship distribution chart shows just 11 seniors in the ’13 class, so it’s possible coach Kevin Wilson is being highly selective. IU had a nice class in ’13, so don’t judge too harshly yet.

Ohio State — Seven commits, including three 4-stars. Iowa had an offer out to Illinois DE Dylan Thompson.

Penn State — Despite being ineligible for the postseason for the next three years, the Nittany Lions have seven commits, including 4-star WR Chris Godwin.

Purdue — The Boilers have one commit, WR Trae Hart from Dallas.

Wisconsin — Four commits, including a pair of 4-stars, DT Craig Evans and OL Jaden Gault. All four commits are from the state of Wisconsin.

So, if you’re Iowa — and yes, you’re concentrating on Iowa and all of that — you might be looking at Michigan State and Northwestern and thinking you might need to kick it into gear.

Otherwise, it’s not bad. Two 4-stars from the home state, it’s still a decent start.

Big Ten Linking

– This isn’t exactly Big Ten, but the Packers are moving former Hawkeye OT Bryan Bulaga to left tackle this year. This is a biggie for Bulaga and the Packers. If Bulaga performs well there, his next contract will set him up for life (NFL money in Green Bay, yes it goes pretty, pretty, pretty far). If he doesn’t, Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay’s $110 million QB, will again be sacked 40 or 50 times.

And this is big for me, being a lifelong Packer fan and team owner (I’ll send you guys selfies from the owner’s box).

ESPNWisconsin.com’s Jason Wilde is skeptical. He retraces coach Mike McCarthy’s thoughts on Bulaga at LT during his three seasons, which range from “he’s a Pro Bowl right tackle” to “I wouldn’t have done it [moved Bulaga to LT] if I didn’t have full confidence in Bryan.”

It’s just the $110 million, franchise QB’s blindside. That’s all.

National Thinking

– You might’ve noticed Iowa has a three-QB race going into August camp (I actually think it’s more like two, but I’m not crossing anyone off the list).

Jake Rudock is a sophomore. Cody Sokol is a junior college transfer with two years left to play. C.J. Beathard is a redshirt freshman. There’s a lot at stake here. Rudock probably believes, as a third year, it’s his time, his job. Sokol’s biological football clock is starting to tick. Beathard sees “freshman” by his name and “sophomore” by Rudock’s and does that math in his head.

So, I get the question a lot, like a lot a lot — Do you see anyone transferring if they don’t win the starting QB job?

Well, sure. Maybe. There are a lot of variables to it, like does the guy consider Iowa City home? The trump card, though, usually is how much does the guy want to play?

It’s what happens. There can only be one QB, even at Baylor or some of those acrobat offenses. Playing time is precious. If it dries up, the player looks for playing time somewhere else.

This graphic from Reddit CFB shows that just five of the top 18 QBs from the 2010 recruiting class remain at their original school. Three of those five are the clear-cut starters.

Here’s the same info with a cool swipe graphic on Deadspin.

Iowa running back Damon Bullock (5) adjusts his helmet during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

If you’re totally down with social media, you’re into Vine. If you’re a nibbler, such as myself, you might be familiar with Vine.

I’ve heard about it, but haven’t signed up. I think I’m kind of social media’d out. For the sake of explanation, Vine is a Twitter invention that allows you to shoot six-second videos and post them.

It’s micro-video and postable to Twitter and Facebook. It also might speak to our ever-shrinking attention spans, but . . . What was I saying? (I’m as guilty as anyone. Tectonic plates square dance in the time it takes for me to read a book.)

I started hearing about Iowa RB Damon Bullock’s amazing Vine account over the weekend. I think my buddy Hawkaholic5 shipped one over on the Twitter account I have where I can say F-words and talk brilliant electronic trash about the Vancouver Canucks. (On the tee . . .)

Black Heart Gold Pants covered the ground today in this post. Here is a link to the artist’s oeuvre. Bullock’s writing partner is sophomore cornerback Jordan Lomax.

Slow golf claps rising into real belly laughs. How a guy works three cuts into a six-second video is impressive. The writing, it’s sharp. The “Y’all Know How it is” is some Chappelle Show-grade material. “CornerHustlas” is a playful. “How to say she ain’t bad” has a very subtle visual punchline.

OK, I referenced Chappelle Show, so you know it’s adult material. I would go PG-13, not R and definitely not NC-17 (remember that rating, do they still have it?).

Maybe in any other college football program in the country, this is an amusement. At Iowa, it’s like “uh oh, what’s Ferentz going to say?” And, watch, some nerdbot reporter will ask Ferentz, who then will have someone explain to him what Vine is. It’ll trickle into the headlines (hey, I’m already writing about it) and Bullock’s Vines will go away.

Or maybe not. Ferentz let’s these guys Facebook to their hearts content. As long as everything is in good taste and all that.

Twitter is the beast that shall remain chained in the basement. When asked, Ferentz always says it’s because he doesn’t want something out there that will unravel a kid’s future employment prospects. I think it’s really because Twitter has an element of emotion to it. You get angry, you post. Vine takes time to shoot/edit and, in Bullock’s case, script. Facebook usually carries a visual element. Twitter is just type and post and watch your words take on a life of all their own.

Kid isn’t playing enough. Tweet. Coaches make a promise. Kid feels that is broken. Tweet. Fan doesn’t like a kid’s effort or play or whatever. Tweet. That gets to the kid. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet pic practice. Tweet “Flea flicker on the first play.”

I see the logic. I don’t agree with it. These guys know who and what they represent. There are no ingenues. They all know where the line is. Maybe Vine will remain in the safe zone. Kids are kids and not wards of the state. If you try to control everything, it’ll drive you crazy. Easy for me to say, of course. I’m in charge of two kids, and “charge” is debatable most days.

I’ve always found Bullock to be an interesting interview. He’s frank, honest and funny. I hope that doesn’t get muted or go away completely. But yeah, how much time does he spend on this stuff?

Big Ten Linking

– You’re an Iowa fan, and so you likely won’t take kindly to praise for an Ohio State website, but I’m going to go ahead and do that anyway.

I follow 11 Warriors on Twitter (@11W) and thoroughly enjoy the give-and-take that account has with SEC fans. 11W takes the fight to the SEC people even though OSU is 0-9 against the SEC in bowls. Damn the torpedoes, this is Urbanization.

Anyway, 11 Warriors has a post today that examines the fact that, yes, the Big Ten East will be the dog fight, but the survivor should have strength of schedule cornered going into the College Football Playoff. In the first few years of this latest (probably not last) B1G configuration, the heavies will play the heavies more often.

And, oh yeah, 11W writer Kyle Rowland points out, this also leads nicely into the Big Ten’s next TV negotiations in 2016. The conference also will have cable deals locked down in some of the nation’s largest markets New York City/New Jersey and Baltimore/Washington D.C.

This is why Jim Delany sits on the Iron Throne.

The National Daily

– The University of Iowa sucks at social media, huh? Well, this post from Auburn begs to differ.

Yes, Ferentz isn’t a Twitter guy, but the UI is. It’s ranked eighth in the nation with 51,145 followers. Iowa isn’t bad in Facebook, either, ranking No. 12 with more than 408,000 “likes.” (We at “On Iowa” have just less than 1,400. Quality, not quantity.)

Iowa doesn’t crack the top 25 on YouTube, which I find kind of weird. I think Iowa does video pretty well. Oregon is the No. 1 YouTube school. The Ducks must throw a lot of cheerleader shots in there. Or maybe the anticipation for their crazy uniform combos drives traffic. I have 150 YouTube subscribers. I’m wearing a yellow shirt today, but I’m not a cheerleader.

The Iowa Hawkeyes take the field for their NCAA college football game against Penn State at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek,/The Gazette-KCRG)

We had Kirk Ferentz on “On Iowa Live” last Monday night.

He told us he didn’t believe Iowa had any night games in the 2013 season. He’s a coach and they’re busy and sometimes they miss details like night games. They’re more interested in the “game” part of night game.

So, I tweeted:

And just a few minutes ago, the Big Ten Network released its night listings for the 2013 season. BTN is broadcasting 12 night games, the most in network history. Indiana is on three times at night.

No Iowa. Home or road. These is the penance, one of many, for a 4-8 season. This will be the first time since the 2008 season Iowa will have been shut out on prime-time games. Iowa’s 55-0 blitz over Minnesota started at 6 p.m. that season.

Here’s the release:

BTN Announces 2013 Primetime Football Slate

Most Primetime Games in BTN History

CHICAGO – BTN will televise 12 primetime games during the 2013 college football season, the most in network history. Five games feature a pre-season top-25 Big Ten team, while three of the 12 matchups feature games versus teams from the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 conferences. Eight Big Ten schools in all will be featured in prime.

“Primetime games are becoming more and more popular,” said BTN President Mark Silverman. “Featuring compelling matchups in primetime allows BTN to remain front and center in Big Ten and college football fans’ minds throughout the entire day,” he said.

Highlights of the schedule include a pair of Nebraska and Northwestern games and one with reigning Big Ten Champion Wisconsin, with all three teams listed in many pre-season top 25 polls. Other key games include BTN’s first ever night game at Penn State, as well as Syracuse at Northwestern, Missouri at Indiana and UNLV at Minnesota. In addition, Illinois takes on Pac-12 opponent Washington at Soldier Field.

Both Sept. 7 and Sept. 14 include three primetime games. When BTN airs more than one game at a time, fans can go to BTN.com/GameFinder to determine the channel number for the game they want to see.

In total, BTN will televise 47 football games this fall. Start times and television arrangements for other early-season games will be announced at a later date.

BTN Primetime Schedule

All times Eastern

Thursday, August 29

7 PM – UNLV at Minnesota

Friday, August 30

8 PM – Western Michigan at Michigan State

Saturday, August 31

8 PM – Wyoming at Nebraska

Saturday, September 7

6 PM – Syracuse at Northwestern

6 PM – Southern Miss at Nebraska

Saturday, September 14

6 PM – UCF at Penn State

6 PM – Washington vs. Illinois (at Soldier Field)

9 PM – Western Michigan at Northwestern

Saturday, September 21

8 PM – Missouri at Indiana

Saturday, October 19

8 PM – Wisconsin at Illinois

Regional Coverage

Thursday, Aug. 29

7 PM – Indiana State at Indiana

Saturday, September 7

6 PM – Navy at Indiana

North Dakota State celebrates their touchdown in the first half of the football game at the UNI-Dome Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)

Now this is the offseason.

Spring football is over. The next real touchpoint for Iowa football is the Big Ten media days in Chicago on July 24 and 25. The first game is Aug. 31. We’re looking at about 75 days before Big Ten football comes alive in our daily lives and on your TV screens.

We are in the “horse latitudes.”

From the About.com geography section: Between about 30° to 35° north and 30° to 35° south of the equator lies the region known as the horse latitudes or the subtropical high. This region of subsiding dry air and high pressure results in weak winds. Tradition states that sailors gave the region of the subtropical high the name “horse latitudes” because ships relying on wind power stalled; fearful of running out of food and water, sailors threw their horses and cattle overboard to save on provisions. (It’s a puzzle why sailors would not have eaten the animals instead of throwing them overboard.)

Major deserts of the world, such as the Sahara and the Great Australian Desert, lie under the high pressure of the horse latitudes.

I’ll try to make this a daily deal, except for vacation weeks.

______________________

Iowa Thinking

The Big Ten has decided to cut out FCS schools from scheduling. Several conference schools have games set up and are now in the “try to get out of it” mode.

The Big Ten announced last week that it would begin a nine-game conference schedule in 2016. The FCS part didn’t make the fine print. It was more of an “oh yeah,” and, thus, the status of these games remains murky.

Iowa is down to play Northern Iowa in 2014 and 2018. It has a game scheduled against Illinois State in 2015 and North Dakota State in 2016, the year the nine-game conference schedule kicks into gear.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta last Monday responded to the FCS question in this e-mail:

“With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the changing of Big Ten Conference divisions, and the college football playoff format, Big Ten institutions have been involved in discussions involving the strength of schedules among member schools,” Barta wrote. “Commissioner Delaney announced yesterday we will move to nine conference games in 2016, and, beginning that same year, will also focus on playing more ‘comparable’ opponents and BCS level teams.

“The 5-4 home/away Big Ten schedule rotation allows for us to continue our series with Iowa State uninterrupted. Currently, we are scheduled to play Northern Iowa in 2014 and 2018. The new parameters would not allow us to play additional games in the future, but we’ll work with the conference to see about keeping the two games already scheduled.”

And that’s where these games sit. North Dakota State is two-time defending FCS champion. NDSU head coach Craig Bohl told the Fargo-Moorhead Forum last week that the Big Ten is the only FBS conference to ban (too strong of a word?) FCS teams. A North Dakota athletics official last week confirmed that no final decision has been made.

There is no timetable for a final decision, but, as always in college football scheduling, sooner rather than later is in play. The buyout for the North Dakota State contract is $250,000 for Iowa.

If you think this is an easy deal for Barta, consider that he was an option quarterback for Bison football squads that won Division II NCAA national titles in 1983, 1985 and 1986.

Big Ten Linking

– The Big Ten Network’s Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina discuss the league’s QBs.

My “off the top of my head” top three: 1) OSU’s Braxton Miller, 2) Northwestern’s Kain Colter and 3) (tie) Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez and Michigan’s Devin Gardner.

– Iowa QBs were off limits as far as hits went during the Hawkeyes’ spring game. A few schools in the Big Ten had QBs in play.

Whatever the policy is at Minnesota, there was a noteworthy crash between DE Theiren Cockran and No. 2 QB Mitch Leidner. (From Gridiron Gold.)

“I haven’t heard about it, but I will soon,” Cockran said after the game.

The National Daily

– Don’t worry, I don’t get the hashtag ban on the field of play, either. This is the NCAA becoming its own blackhole and crushing itself into nothingness.

The USA Today’s Dan Wolken provides a nice bit of clarification. Can’t do it on the field, feel free to do it elsewhere in the stadium.

The NCAA prohibits advertising on college football fields aside from school/conference/NCAA logos or the logo of a company that has purchased naming rights to the stadium. There fear here is schools will use hashtags as a loophole to commercialize their fields, which might already have been commercialized with the purchase of naming rights to the stadium.

Blackhole . . . crushing itself into nothingness.

– Recruiting deregulation is on hold. Here’s a great explainer from ESPN.com’s Mitch Sherman.

The bottom line here, in my opinion, is the NCAA is trying to take enforcement out of what it sees as some of the more impossible communication outlets. It also happens to put football on the same recruiting speed as basketball.

Football isn’t basketball. Iowa has a sophomore recruiting board, for the first time ever. A lot of schools have offered high school freshmen. Does that sound healthy in way?

University of Iowa linebacker James Morris was recently recognized with the Third House Scholar Award for 2013-14 by the UI Department of Political Science. The Third House group is an association of statehouse lobbyists in Des Moines. (Gazette file)

Academic honor for Iowa linebacker James Morris.

From UI sports info:

JAMES MORRIS EARNS ACADEMIC RECOGNITION

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa linebacker James Morris was recently recognized with the Third House Scholar Award for 2013-14 by the UI Department of Political Science.  The Third House group is an association of statehouse lobbyists in Des Moines.

Morris was one of more than 20 students recognized by the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences during an awards ceremony on April 26.  The Third House Scholar Award criteria include excellence in scholarship, active participation, and leadership in political and civic organizations, along with being a graduate of an Iowa high school.  The award is given to the person considered by the Political Science faculty as an outstanding senior major.

Morris, a native of Solon, Iowa, will be a senior on the Iowa football team this fall.  He has earned academic all-Big Ten recognition the past two years and was named to the CoSIDA/Capital One District VI Academic All-America team last fall.

Morris has been a starting linebacker for the Hawkeyes since his true freshman season in 2010.  Last season he ranked third in the Big Ten and 31st in the nation in tackles per game (9.4).  He ranks 16th in career tackles (293).  He was named a Permanent Team Captain in 2012 while earning the Hayden Fry “Extra Heartbeat” Award and the Players Choice Award on defense.  Morris earned honorable mention all-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and junior after being named Freshman All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com as a freshman.

Morris and the Hawkeyes recently concluded spring practice and will begin the 2013 season August 31, facing Northern Illinois in Kinnick Stadium.

This is some info from the BTN last night.

Pretty much everything has been covered here. I took the day off yesterday and mowed. I also watched Iowa’s scrimmage again. Good days for WRs Blake Haluska and Cameron Wilson, learning day for Jordan Lomax. Hello, jet sweep. Hello, Michael Malloy.

Here’s the Big Ten’s release on divisions and scheduling:

New division alignments begin in 2014 and nine-game schedules start in 2016

Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference office announced football division alignments set to begin in 2014 and nine-game conference schedules set to start in 2016.  The changes were unanimously recommended by conference directors of athletics and supported by the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors.

“Big Ten directors of athletics concluded four months of study and deliberation with unanimous approval of a future football structure that preserved rivalries and created divisions based on their primary principle of East/West geography,” said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany.  “The directors of athletics also relied on the results of a fan survey commissioned by BTN last December to arrive at their recommendation, which is consistent with the public sentiment expressed in the poll.”

The new division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. All schools in the East Division are in the eastern time zone and all schools in the West Division are in the central time zone with the exception of Purdue. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

With the start of the nine-game conference schedule in 2016, teams from the East Division will host five conference home games during even-numbered years, while teams from the West Division will host five conference home games during odd-numbered years. As a result of the nine-game conference schedule and the Big Ten’s schedule rotation, every student-athlete will have the opportunity to play against every other team in the conference at least once during a four-year period. The Big Ten is returning to a nine-game conference schedule for all teams for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

“Big Ten directors of athletics met in person or by conference call six times from December to March to discuss a new Big Ten football model,” Delany said.  “The level of cooperation and collaboration was reflective of what we’ve come to expect from this group of administrators who have worked extremely well together on a number of complex matters over the past several years.  We are all looking forward to ushering in this new era of Big Ten football.”

The Big Ten will hold the 2013 Football Media Days and 42nd annual Kickoff Luncheon on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, at the Hilton Chicago, featuring all 12 head coaches and some of the nation’s top returning players. The 118th season of Big Ten football kicks off Thursday, August 29, and culminates with the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7, to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and televised by FOX. The winner of the title game will earn the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

_______________________________

Here’s what Delany said on the BTN:

]]> http://thegazette.com/2013/04/29/the-on-iowa-official-big-ten-is-changing-post/feed/ 0 http://thegazette.com/2013/04/27/qb-decision-coming-check-back-in-august/ http://thegazette.com/2013/04/27/qb-decision-coming-check-back-in-august/#comments Sun, 28 Apr 2013 01:44:56 +0000 Marc Morehouse http://thegazette.com/?p=554170

IOWA CITY — It’s a long way until Aug. 31 and the home opener against Northern Illinois, but sophomore Jake Rudock might’ve given coaches something to really think about in his final drive Saturday.

With two minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Rudock completed six consecutive passes to set up fullback  Macon Plewa’s 1-yard TD run. The final score was offense 61, defense 37, but that didn’t matter as much as the impression the three quarterbacks left during the Hawkeyes’ spring scrimmage before 16,500 fans at Kinnick Stadium.

Offensive coordinator Greg Davis said last week there wasn’t much separation between Rudock, junior Cody Sokol and freshman C.J. Beathard. Saturday was Iowa’s second open scrimmage this spring and Rudock has had the best numbers in both, including a pretty two-minute drill to end things Saturday.

Iowa game planned the drive as if it were the end of the first half and not the end of the game. So, the idea was to get into field goal position. Rudock stayed hot and turned it an easy TD. The caveat here is that it was the second-team offense against the second-team defense.

“We always want to go down and get points,” said Rudock, who completed 18 of 29 for 174 yards. “You want to get into field goal range and conserve the points, but you also want to keep attacking and be smart with the football.”

Davis said he wanted a QB who can extend plays and avoid mistakes. All three pretty much did that. Sokol, who completed 13 of 18 for 183 yards and a TD, tested cornerback B.J. Lowery and nearly threw a pick. He also fumbled a center exchange, but the QBs were spotless beyond that.

Rudock led three scoring drives, two for TDs and one field goal. Sokol led three scoring drives, also two TDs and one FG. Beathard completed 10 of 20 for 110 yards and a TD, a 46-yarder that was a 10-or-so yard pass into the flat that running back Jordan Canzeri, along with a brilliant block from wide receiver Jacob Hillyer, turned into six.

Sokol was happy with his performance overall, but there was one series where he had a first down at the 6 and only milked it for a field goal.

“There was an audible down here in the red zone, it was a chance to score,” Sokol said. “I had an audible to go pass or run and I went with the run. They brought a blitz. That’s something I wish I would’ve had back. I could’ve hit a receiver.”

Ferentz was asked if he thinks the decision on QB could go to Aug. 30, the Friday before Northern Illinois.

“I don’t foresee that,” he said. “You never want to say something is absolute, but I have to think somewhere in August . . . at some point we have to make a decision. We’ll have to make a call and if it’s dead even, you do what you have to do. I don’t know if things are dead even ever.

“At some point you have to get the team ready and there has got to be a little bit of flow and continuity. We’ll make a call when it’s appropriate and just go from there. The good news is right now, there’s no pressure to do that.”

Some other reveals on Saturday:

– Running back Damon Bullock carried the ball nine times for 5 yards. He said after the scrimmage that he’s been practicing at wide receiver. Canzeri, who redshirted after suffering a torn ACL last spring, and redshirt freshman Michael Malloy look to be in the running back mix with junior Mark Weisman.

“We really haven’t worked Damon much in the passing game this spring,” Ferentz said. “. . . But I think that’s something we might realistically use more of because I think he’s proven he’s a guy who can help us move the football and make some plays. We’ve never had too many of those guys.”

– Defensive tackle Carl Davis has had his knee cap pop out of place twice in his career at Iowa. It’s been a slow climb to 100 percent, but Saturday the 6-5, 310-pounder was all over the field. He collected three sacks and batted down two passes.

Davis was a constant source of good vibes on the defensive sideline. The whole group seems to more on the same page than at any point last season. Defensive coordinator Phil Parker only once yelled “Know your leverage,” during the scrimmage. (Defensive coaches also rode the officials when they didn’t call sacks they thought were earned.)

“Our whole defense, we always hang out together,” Davis said. “We’re always doing something, having fun. Like [linebacker Christian] Kirksey here. He’s behind you guys, having fun.”

– The breakout redshirt freshman performer clearly was wide receiver Cameron Wilson, who caught 10 passes for 131 yards. He showed excellent hands and body control.

“We’ve been seeing him,” Rudock said. “First-year guy, he has some work to do, but he definitely picked up his game.”

Throw junior wide receiver Blake Haluska in the intriguing category, too. He caught four passes for 58 yards, including a juggling 23-yarder that set up a TD.

– The first-team offense didn’t run the ball particularly well. But, Weisman, the 238-pound workhorse, carried just five times, so the pedal wasn’t exactly to the metal.

Malloy, 6-0, 215, looked sort of Ladell Betts-ish rushing 12 times for a team-high 56 yards. He played Saturday despite not being fully cleared from an ankle injury that kept him out of the beginning of spring practice, Ferentz said.

“I thought he did some really nice things today, too,” Ferentz said. “He’s a guy we’re kind of intrigued with.”

– The QBs alternated drives except for one sequence when Rudock was allowed to stay in when it was Sokol’s turn to run the show.

Maybe that’s a tell. Maybe not. Aug. 31 and Northern Illinois are coming.

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Greg Davis arrives for the team's spring game with Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cody Sokol (19), quarterback C.J. Beathard (16), quarterback Kyle Anderson (10), and quarterback Jake Rudock (15) Saturday, April 27, 2013 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

TE C.J. Fiedorowicz

QB Cody Sokol

QB Jake Rudock

CB Jordan Lomax

DE Dominic Alvis

DT Carl Davis

– I think this is a two-QB race and I think Jake Rudock has an edge on Cody Sokol. Rudock makes sound decisions and sees the field just a little better than Sokol. I think Sokol is a little better athlete, probably a bit behind in seeing things. Both seem to be calm. Sokol might have an edge in extending the play. Rudock moves well in the pocket. Both are OK on the zone read. Not Kain Colter, but Iowa isn’t going for that with the ZR.

– I think RB is Mark Weisman, Jordan Canzeri and Michael Malloy. I think Iowa needs Damon Bullock more as a WR. That doesn’t mean that Bullock ends up at WR full-time, but I believe that’s being considered.

– I think Iowa is trying to find a right guard. Sophomore Jordan Walsh started with the No. 1s on Saturday and lost a lot of battles to DT Carl Davis, who had three sacks. Is it Andrew Donnal? He played LT with the second unit. Not sure what’s going on there, but I really like Ryan Ward. Like a lot a lot. I think he could be one of the best five.

– With three sacks and two batted down passes, DT Carl Davis was the MVP. Second star was true freshman wideout Cameron Wilson who had 10 catches for 131 yards.

– I think the DE opposite Dominic Alvis is going to be a “hot hand,” revolving door type of deal. Drew Ott did some nice things. Faith Ekakitie is just starting out there, so it was hard to get a read. Riley McMinn was tough to block on a few plays. Kirk Ferentz mentioned Mike Hardy, who seems to fit anywhere on the DL. Encouraged? I wouldn’t go that far, but, at different times, each of the guys mentioned above made plays. I’d put it at “hopeful” right now.

– I thought it was interesting that Ferentz said Iowa’s offense threw away from B.J. Lowery this spring. That sent a lot of work Jordan Lomax’s way on Saturday. He had two PIs and a defensive hold. He also had a few pass breakups. I like Lomax and think he sticks, but Sean Draper needs to turn up the competition to make the position sharp.

– I really liked freshman WR Cameron Wilson. Caught the ball with his hands and away from his body. Excellent body control and made the transition from catching to running seamlessly. Ferentz said it was his best day, so that says he probably hasn’t played his way into the rotation, at least yet.

– I like TE Jake Duzey. I like TE Ray Hamilton. Who gets the touches?

– The strong safety thing is interesting. I think Nico Law is hurt. He didn’t play at Des Moines and he didn’t play a whole lot on Saturday. John Lowdermilk had a few noticeable breakdowns, but held up pretty well. Safety play has been better this spring. Phil Parker will tell them to “Know where their leverage is” and he will tell them that loudly.

PASSING

Jake Rudock (started the game)

Drive 1 — 4 of 7 for 40 yards (missed FG)

Drive 2 — 1-2-11 (TD Michael Malloy 1 run)

Drive 3 — 2-2-12 (punt)

Drive 4 — 0-0 (fumble; DE Riley McMinn stripped Rudock from the blindside)

Drive 5 — 1-4-8 (punt)

Drive 6 — 1-2-13 (three-and-out)

Drive 7 — 3-6-23 (33 FG)

Drive 8 — 6-6-67 (TD Macon Plewa 1 run)

Totals — 18 of 29 for 174 yards (no TD passes, led three scoring drives for 17 points; Rudock did take two drives in a row, taking a turn from Sokol)

Cody Sokol (started second half)

Drive 1 — 3-3-32 (punt; center-QB exchange fumble on a third-and-2)

Drive 2 — 0-0 (Damon Bullock fumble, non-contact)

Drive 3 — 1-1-8 (punt)

Drive 4 — 0-1-0 (25 FG; drive started at the 6)

Drive 5 — 1-2-15 (Missed FG)

Drive 6 — 3-4-48 (TD Sokol 2 run)

Drive 7 — 5-7-80 (TD Sokol 15 to TE Jake Duzey)

Totals — 13 of 18 for 183 TD (led there scoring drives for 17 points and rushed for a TD)

C.J. Beathard

Drive 1 — 0-1-0 (three-and-out)

Drive 2 — 3-4-29 (39 FG)

Drive 3 — 3-6-19 (punt)

Drive 4 — 1-3-3 (punt)

Drive 5 — 1-3-46 (TD; 46 pass to RB Jordan Canzeri)

Drive 6 — 2-3-13 (missed FG)

Totals — 10 of 20 for 110 yards and TD (led two scoring drives for 10 points; the TD pass was all Canzeri and a great block from WR Jacob Hillyer)

RUSHING

RB Damon Bullock — nine carries for 5 yards (fumbled; two negative carries)

RB Jordan Canzeri — 13 for 47 (22-yard run to set up a TD; went right, broke a tackle and reversed field)

RB Mark Weisman — 5 for 11 (didn’t see any sweeps; they know what he can do and weren’t going to let him get physical here)

RB Michael Malloy — 12 for 56 (back-to-back 16-yard runs; 1-yard TD)

FB Adam Cox — 5 for 4 yards (lost a fumble)

FB Macon Plewa — 2 for 1 yard (1-yard TD run to finish scrimmage)

QB Jake Rudock — 2 for 5 yards (stripped from behind for a fumble)

QB Cody Sokol -- 4 for 16 (2-yard TD run; fumbled a snap)

QB C.J. Beathard — 2 for 17 (20-yard scramble)

WR Kevonte Martin-Manley – 1 for 18 (reverse)

WR Jordan Cotton — 1 for 33 (reverse that kinda looked like a jet sweep)

RECEIVING

WR Jacob Hillyer — 4 for 38 yards (caught the first three passes thrown with the first unit)

TE Ray Hamilton — 3 for 24

RB Jordan Canzeri — 3 for 56 (46 TD)

WR Cameron Wilson — 10 for 131 (Whoa! Very natural catching the ball. Best body control on the team, or at least on Saturday)

FB Adam Cox — 2 for 17 (drop)

WR Jordan Cotton — 1 for 14 (drop)

RB Mark Weisman — 1 for 6

WR Kevonte Martin-Manley — 5 for 42

RB Michael Malloy — 1 for 8

TE C.J. Fiedorowicz — 1 for 6

TE Jake Duzey — 2 for 29 (15-yard TD)

WR Blake Haluska — 4 for 58 (had a juggling 23-yarder to set up a TD; seems to really understand the site reads)

TE George Kittle — 4 for 36

TE Henry Krieger Coble — 1 for 7

FIELD GOALS

Mike Meyer — 1 of 2 (missed 50, hit 39)

Marshall Koehn — 1 of 2 (hit 25, missed 39*)

Alden Haffer — 1 of 2 (hit 33, missed 38)

* — There was a fourth kicker, Brett Wilker. This might’ve been his attempt. I missed that one. There were three missed FGs total.

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Jake Rudock

LT – Brandon Scherff

LG – Conor Boffeli

C – Austin Blythe

RG – Jordan Walsh

RT – Brent Van Sloten

TE – C.J. Fiedorowicz

WR – Tevaun Smith

WR – Kevonte Martin Manley

WR – Jacob Hillyer

RB – Mark Weisman

Other first-team personnel: TE – Ray Hamilton, Jake Duzey; WR – Jordan Cotton; RB – Damon Bullock, Jordan Canzeri, Mike Malloy; QB – Cody Sokol, C.J. Beathard; FB – Adam Cox

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

LDE – Mike Hardy

LDT – Carl Davis

RDT – Darian Cooper

RDE – Dominic Alvis

MLB – James Morris

WLB – Anthony Hitchens

OLB – Christian Kirksey

CB – B.J. Lowery

CB – Jordan Lomax

SS – John Lowdermilk

FS – Tanner Miller

Other first-team personnel: DE – Drew Ott; LB – Quinton Alston

Nickel back – CB Sean Draper

Dime back – Anthony Gair

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

QB – Cody Sokol

LT – Andrew Donnal

LG – Eric Simmons

C – Tommy Gaul

RG – Mitch Keppy

RT – Ryan Ward

TE – Henry Krieger Coble

TE – Ray Hamilton

WR – Cameron Wilson

WR – Don Shumpert

RB – Jordan Canzeri

Other personnel: WR – Blake Haluska, WR – Jordan Cotton; TE – George Kittle RB – Mike Malloy

Late personnel: LT – Cole Croston; LG Drew Clark; C – Steve Ferentz; RG Reid Sealby; FB – Adam Cox; FB – Mason Plewa; QB – Kyle Anderson, Rudock, Beathard

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

LDE – Faith Ekakitie

LDT – Dean Tsopanides

RDT – Jaleel Johnson

RDE – Riley McMinn

MLB – Quinton Alston

WLB – Cole Fisher

OLB – Travis Perry

CB – Sean Draper

CB – Maurice Fleming

SS – Nico Law

FS – Anthony Gair

Other personnel: LB – Marcus Collins, S – Ruben Lile, DE/DT – Nate Meier, LB –  John Kenny, LB – Laron Taylor, DE – Melvin Spears, DE – Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara, DL – Will Rathjen, LB – Palmer Foster, DL – Will Kincart, CB – Dayo Ogundepo, S – David Tann, S – Sean Skradis, CB – Greg Mabin

RB Jordan Canzeri cut-ups

RB Michael Malloy cut-ups

Defensive highlights

QB Jake Rudock cut-ups

Offensive highlights

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive linesman Austin Blythe (63) battles Iowa Hawkeyes defensive lineman Carl Davis (71) during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — A lot of the same personnel is back for Iowa’s 2013 defense.

Coordinator Phil Parker will be in his second year calling defenses. He’ll have three seniors at linebacker, a bunch of bodies returning on the defensive line and a secondary that returns three of four starters.

A “returning player” doesn’t automatically mean a better player. Iowa’s defense needs to improve. The numbers say it (opposing offenses completed 63.5 percent of passes against Iowa last season, the highest completion percent ever allowed by an Iowa defense). The coaches say it. The players say it.

The assignment from practice one this spring has been to sharpen the returning players. A lot of work — a lot, a lot — goes into the bigger, faster, stronger part, but work also needs to be done on what Iowa is doing on the field. There’s a player who gains 10 pounds of muscle, and there’s a player who understands the core concept.

“Really after a while, when you study guys, understand the game, it’s going to help what they’re trying to do,” Parker said this week. “I think we need to do a better job of that, so they understand what plays they’re going to see instead of saying it’s a personnel issue or you’re not blitzing enough.

“To me it’s just about understanding the game.”

In that regard, the 2012 season provided a lot of teachable moments, the “what not to do” that’s been digested this winter and spring in defensive meeting rooms.

“I don’t mind guys getting beat if they’re contested, [if] the plays are contested,” Parker said this week. “You look at how many big plays we gave up, compared to the year before, years in the past, very similar numbers, it’s just probably some of them are a little bit uncontested for running free.”

The Michigan game comes to mind. Iowa lost 42-17 and allowed 513 yards, with Michigan scoring touchdowns on its first six possessions. QB Devin Gardner threw for 314 yards and three TDs. Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, in his press conference announcing his decision to stay in Ann Arbor, talked about a play in the game in which the Wolverines gave Gardner 11 seconds of pass protection.

After mentioning “uncontested,” Parker talked about returning players in the secondary.

“I think a year of experience has done them some good, understanding the system, getting familiar with it,” Parker said. “[Free safety] Tanner [Miller] has done a better job of staying focused, trying to be a leader back in the secondary, along with [cornerback] B.J. [Lowery.]  Obviously, B.J., in my opinion, is playing at his highest level he has right now. Hopefully, he continues that.”

Another game from the “what doesn’t kill you, should make you stronger” department was at Northwestern. Wildcats QB Kain Colter pushed the right buttons and directed a 349-yard performance on the ground, the most against the Hawkeyes since Indiana went for 433 in 2000. Running back Venric Mark averaged 10.1 yards on 16 carries.

“That [game] was an opportunity for us to put a flag in the ground and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to fight,’” linebacker James Morris said, “I think we did that, but we didn’t do it well enough, not detailed enough.”

Iowa’s defense relies on leverage and players knowing their angle and where they have help. Too often against the Wildcats — who led 28-3 early in the third quarter — Iowa saw a defender or two lose leverage.

“Some of the big plays that came out are leverage problems, base football, understanding how to run to the ball, how to seek the [ball carrier],” Parker said. “Sometimes, just because you’re running fast doesn’t mean you’re going in the right proper position to go ahead and track a guy.

“I think a couple of those were broken up just because of bad angles. The game is about angles. I think we didn’t do a good enough job in that area.”

This is where a returning player can become a better player. This is what “attention to detail” is. This is the refinement you might see when a redshirt freshman becomes a sophomore.

“When you’re on the field as a player, you need to have a broader scope, a thought process that needs to be bigger as far as ‘Do I take this angle?’ ‘Where are other people on the field in relationship to me?’” Morris said. “Knowing where my help is is a big part of that.”

This is what makes a bunch of athletes into a cohesive defense. This is what Iowa’s best defenses have done, maximizing the athletes Iowa is able to land in recruiting and turning them into a group that plays together.

“Athleticism makes overcoming fundamental mistakes easier,” Morris said. “And so the idea is if we are less of an athlete, then we have to be more fundamentally sound. I’m not going to get into who’s more athletic, Iowa or Northwestern, but we can help ourselves and that’s all we’re worried about.”

The future of the south end zone video scoreboard at Kinnick Stadium. (UI)

[EDIT: I stand corrected. The video board/sound upgrades will be up and going this fall. Check this post from The Gazette's Diane Heldt. UI athletics director Gary Barta admits that it will be a tight timeline, but the plan is to have it done for this upcoming season.]

[EDIT II: According to Diane -- she's at the Regents meeting in Cedar Falls, BTW -- the financing package the board approved for that Kinnick project totals $8 million, but they expect the total cost of everything will be $9 million because of the increase in bids on a portion of the project. Just FYI.]

Kinnick Stadium was renovated to the tune of nearly $90 million in 2006. Remember, when they blew up the old press box?

Relive that moment below:

You can’t go from 2005 (when the video boards were actually installed) to the now with your video and sound equipment turning into digital ash. The existing video walls, control room equipment and sound system at Kinnick are eight years old, UI officials told Gazette reporter Diane Heldt last week.

And that’s why the UI is working through the state Board of Regents on a new video display and sound system for Kinnick Stadium. The company Iowa has centered on is Daktronics, Inc., at a total cost of $8 million.

The regents have approved the project. As per usual, the Iowa athletics department will foot this bill using no tax or tuition cash.

The project includes a large screen video display system within the existing south end zone structure, video displays in the northeast and northwest end zone corners and a ribbon display to be installed above the seating along the north side of Kinnick Stadium.

That ribbon display will show game information, video, scores and advertising. In addition to those four video displays, the purchase request also includes two game clocks and four play clocks.

These as renderings or drawings of the project. These didn’t go to the regents for approval.

Here’s what the fine print in that lower white box said in each picture.

The South End Zone video board:

• Overall Dimensions
31’6.4″ Tall x 122’8.8″ Wide

• 15mm HD Video Display
624 lines of resolution x
2448 columns of resolution

• Optional 13mm HD Video Display
728 lines of resolution x
2856 columns of resolution

The Ribbon-style scoreboard info:

• Ribbon Dimensions
8’8.8″ Tall x 236’4.8″ Wide

• 13HD Video Display
196 lines of resolution x
10,062 columns of resolution

• Side Video Dimensions
21’11.2″ Tall x 38’8.8″ Wide

• 13HD Video Display @2
504 lines of resolution x
896 columns of resolution

• Vomitory Display Dimensions
3’7″ Tall x 13’2″ Wide

• 13HD Display @2
84 lines of resolution x
308 columns of resolution

• Delay of Game Clock @2
TI-2003

Here's the ribbon display in the north end zone. Please, don't stand in front of the ribbon. No one will be able to tell what down it is. (UI)

Iowa Hawkeyes running back Jordan Canzeri (33) is wrapped up during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

The cross section of players who talked Wednesday was incredibly interesting.

You had veterans in seniors James Morris, Christian Kirksey and C.J. Fiedorowicz. Each one of them is in a different place in their career and their lives. Still, they all had a distracted undertone, like they have something they have to take care of before their finished. And, yes, we are now talking about the 4-8 record from 2012.

It’s not a hostility towards questions that look back at 4-8, it’s more of a reflection. Like perhaps trying to remember what to do when your car is underwater. But yes, the shelf life on 4-8 questions is closing in.

Then you had sophomore Austin Blythe, who’s starting a new job at center. Running back Jordan Canzeri is back from a torn ACL. Running back Mark Weisman will be a page in Big Ten scouting reports this season after rising out of anonymity as a sophomore.

You get the feeling that WR Kevonte Martin-Manley would like a re-write of the questions he receives nearly weekly on the passing offense.

Interesting characters coming from different perspectives. Will it work next fall, I don’t know, but you sense a rising tide of optimism.

The quest for the Iowa offense is more explosive plays, that’s where this video starts. Last year is last year, and at least for KMM, the finger-pointing is over.

KMM on the QB race: “They all have teen numbers, so I don’t know who’s throwing me the ball half of the time. Seriously.”

He was kidding, but for the record Jake Rudock is 15, C.J. Beathard 16 and Cody Sokol 19.

Under new running backs coach Chris White, Weisman is being asked to expand his game as a running back.

But don’t get that wrong. He’s 238 pounds and can run, so he’ll still run people over.

– Percentage of plays where Weisman might end up at fullback: “Probably not very high percentage right now.” But, he quickly reminded, it’s spring and RB depth is always going to be a thing at Iowa.

Weisman also talks about learning the art of the juke.

The move to center was something the sophomore saw coming. Sounds as though he was being groomed since his redshirt freshman year.

“It hasn’t been a big adjustment at all,” Blythe said.

– What is the center saying and pointing at out there? Well, he’s IDing defenders the O-line needs to block, the front four and the middle linebacker.

– “I think we’re all playing faster.”

– Blythe is asked about the three QBs. Not a big deal, he said.

– The default for the Iowa offense always will be a strong running game, which is what you’d expect a center to say.

Iowa has always had a “flush it” mentality for when things go wrong and the team needs to forge ahead.

But they do watch film and re-visit the things that need fixing. I asked Morris what he studied during the winter from the 2012 season.

The answers were the Penn State and Northwestern games.

Canzeri suffered a torn ACL last spring, and, as you can imagine, last season sucked for him. He sort of lived in limbo. He recovered enough to practice and was ready to play. Iowa kept losing running backs. He was told that he was going in against Indiana. But it never happened.

So now, he’s a fully healthy sophomore and one of the hungriest players on the team.

Kirksey is a senior. Time really does fly sometimes.

The St. Louis native has become his own man in Iowa City. In the first month after he moved to college, his dad died unexpectedly. He’s had to grow up and be strong, something he credits his teammates with.

The senior TE likes the verticality Iowa’s offense has showed this spring. He believes that will open up so much more for the Hawkeyes, who were extremely hard on the eyes offensively in 2012.

– Fiedorowicz also wouldn’t mind seeing a QB win the job ASAP.

“Each guy has his own little thing that he does well,” he said. “No one has stepped way ahead of the other. Hopefully in these next few practices we’re going to get to know who’s going to be our top quarterback.”

Here’s the DC Phil Parker video that I couldn’t fit on the coaches post.

The 349 rushing yards Northwestern put up on the Hawkeyes last season left a mark.

Parker said it’s all in the angles.

“If you go back and look at the plays that actually came out of that, obviously some guys that are maybe not in the right gap, some guys not taking the right angles. Some of the big plays that came out are leverage problems, base football, understanding how to run to the ball, how to seek the guys. Sometimes just because you’re running fast doesn’t mean you’re going in the right proper position to go ahead and track a guy. I think a couple of those were broken up just because of bad angles.”
The game is about angles. I think we didn’t do a good enough job in that area.”

Iowa Hawkeyes tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz (86) runs with the ball after pulling down a pass from quarterback Jake Rudock (15) during and open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — It’s not a leap to believe that at some point in immediate offseason last December Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis thought he might need to freshen up the resume.

The numbers for Iowa’s offense were atrocious. Iowa finished in the national 100s in passing offense (187.4 yards a game), TD passes (seven), yards per attempt (5.8), pass efficiency (107.72) and in completion percentage on third downs between 4 and 6 yards (45.7 percent).

Head coach Kirk Ferentz has referenced an offseason meeting with Davis. It didn’t sound like a beer summit.

“I think the one thing that was really clear, Greg has a much better feel for where we’re at and who we are right now,” Ferentz said.

Davis met with the media Wednesday for the first time since the Hawkeyes clanged to a 4-8 record in his first season as offensive coordinator.

“You’re asking the wrong guy that,” Davis said when asked if there was a chance he would’ve gone one-and-done at Iowa. He said the meeting focused on what worked, what didn’t and where do they go from here.

So, Wednesday you heard the words “explosive” and “vertical.” Those are two things Iowa’s offense wasn’t last season, a season in which two of the top six long plays the Hawkeyes produced were interception returns by linebackers. The how-to produce included the terms play-action, long a staple in Iowa’s offense, and tight ends.

“We’ve got tight ends that will allow us to put multiple tight ends on the field, maybe have two attached, but one of them could be deployed out wide,” Davis said. “Again, you’re creating some opportunities for the defense and the way they match personnel to try to create some advantages.

“So, the tight ends need to be a big part of what we’re doing.”

Davis talked QB right off the bat. He said junior Cody Sokol, sophomore Jake Rudock and redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard remain locked in a dead heat with no one pulling away from the pack. The QBs still are rotating in and out after two snaps. During Saturday’s spring game, which will be four 15-minute quarters with a scoring system installed for the offense and defense, each QB will be allowed to “own” drives they start.

If you go three-and-out, sit down. If you drive the team 80 yards on 12 plays, hey, that might be considered separation.

“They’ve all done some really good things, but they haven’t separated themselves yet,” Davis said. “I see encouraging things by all three of them, so that part makes you happy. I wish one of them would go on and separate.”

The offense wouldn’t mind seeing that, either.

“Each guy has his own little thing that he does well,” tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz said. “No one has stepped way ahead of the other. Hopefully in these next few practices we’re going to get to know who’s going to be our top quarterback.”

Quick feet, decision making, making plays when the play breaks down, taking care of the football, those are on Davis’ checklist. It doesn’t sound as though a two-QB system is, although Davis said the necessity to see them against real competition might push this into the regular season.

“I think everybody would rather have ‘This is the guy,’ I think we all would,” Davis said. “At the same time, if that guy hasn’t emerged, then you need to evaluate them in live work. We don’t have exhibition games. If that’s the way it turns out, that’s the way we’ll do it.”

The vertical game that Iowa so lacked last season has been on the agenda all spring. Maybe what you saw at the Des Moines practice on April 14 was a preview. The tight ends found a lot of space on the seams and up the sideline. Davis was asked three times about vertical plays. His answer usually included the term “explosive play,” which he defined as a 12-yard run and a 16-yard pass.

You’re in “see it before you believe it” mode, and rightfully so after last season’s 3-yard outs to nowhere. They said they’re working on it.

“We’ve been working on our vertical game, reading coverages and doing certain things to certain coverages,” wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley said. “We’ve actually been connecting on a lot of them, too. It’s been a big emphasis every day in practice and we’re getting better at it.”

Davis was asked about the running game near the end of his news conference. With three healthy backs (Mark Weisman, Damon Bullock and Jordan Canzeri) combined with five full- and part-time starters returning on the O-line, that’s less of a worry.

During the Des Moines practice, Iowa QBs showed some zone reads and actually kept the ball and ran with it. That’s a wrinkle, albeit a minor one.

“We’ve implemented a little bit of zone read, but it won’t be a huge part [of the offense], Davis said. “It’s something that’s aggravating to the defense. . . . Just the fact that you have some of that forces the defense to play more assignment football.”

Iowa’s spring football scrimmage happens to be sponsored by Coke Zero. Iowa’s offense can’t be associated with anything that has “zero” in it.

You probably don’t get a second constructive meeting with the head coach with an Iowa Zero.

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Greg Davis stands on the field during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

First off, here’s some info on the Iowa spring game. This should answer all of your questions.

The latest depth chart except for the “OR” at strong safety. It’s been moved up. Junior Nico Law has been injured, so junior John Lowdermilk is listed as co-starter.

Here’s how Iowa’s scoring system will break down for Saturday’s spring scrimmage scoring system game:

Davis on Iowa’s three-man race at QB: “They’ve all done some really good things, but they have not separated themselves yet. I see things as encouraging by all three of them.  So that part makes you happy. I wish one of them would go on and separate, so that’s where we’re at right now at that position.”

The theme from Davis this spring has been more explosive plays (12-yard runs, 16-yard pass plays) and going more vertical in the passing game.

“We’ve done a lot of things this spring where, you know, hard play‑action and the receiver has a vertical decision to make at 16, whether or not he goes deep, sits down, turns in or out. All of that takes time to do. We’ve also tried to be very cognizant of giving our guys some opportunity to push the ball down the field.”

QB James Vandenberg began the 2012 season as a probable NFL draft pick. He’ll probably go undrafted this weekend after throwing just seven TD passes last season.

Davis on that: “I’m sure I could have done a better job. I’m sure I could have done a better job with James. He is a better player than he played last year.”

Jake Rudock, C.J. Beathard and Cody Sokol are in the running at QB.

Does Davis see a two-QB system? Probably not. Probably expect this to go into the season.

“Some of those things you can’t determine until you’re playing live football, so hopefully we will. Hopefully by the mid-part of camp in August we’ll be able to make a decision. But if not, we’ll see where it goes.”

THE MODERATOR:  We’ll go ahead and Greg.
COACH DAVIS:  The scoring system for the spring game will be offense basically scores the way they normally do, so a touchdown is six points, extra point, field goals.  The other way the offense will get points in this system is three first downs in a row creates one point or an explosive play run of 12 plus or a pass of 16 plus.  So that’s where the offense will pick up points.
Defense scores by obviously any kind of return for a touchdown is seven points.  If they get a turnover that does not result in a touchdown, it’s worth three points.  If they get three‑and‑out, it’s worth one.  A sack is worth two points.  A sudden change in the red zone, if the team turns the ball over in the red zone, the offense does not score a touchdown, they get four points.
If you got that down, you’re in the wrong business.  You should be in the accounting line of work.
But that’s the way we’ll do it.  It’s a pretty good way to have an offense play the defense and everybody gets some points.  That’s where we’re at.
Quarterback, we have no idea right now who the quarterback will be.  We started spring training with the idea that every time we practice we would rotate every two snaps.  Whether or not that was a drill or whether or not that was a scrimmage or a situation, you know, third‑and‑six, red zone, whatever, the situation was totally we’re rotating every two snaps.
In Saturday’s work, we did that during our individual time.  Then when we went and scrimmaged, we let the quarterback own his drive.  If he started the drive, it was three‑and‑out, the next quarterback played the next series.  If the quarterback went eight, nine, ten plays, he got to own his drive.  That is probably the way we’ll do it this Saturday.
Kirk and I have talked about it.  He’ll make a decision.  But probably what we’ll do is the quarterback will get to own his drive this Saturday.  They’ll both play with all the groups.
They’ve all done some really good things, but they have not separated themselves yet.  I see things as encouraging by all three of them.  So that part makes you happy.  I wish one of them would go on and separate.  So that’s where we’re at right now at that position.

Q.  Anything stand out of the three of them?
COACH DAVIS:  Well, you know, I’ve been asked a lot of times over the years, What do you look for when you get in a situation like this?  It’s not unusual.  But, you know, we want guys that can make plays off schedule, when things break down, who can extend the play, who can make a play that’s not exactly the way you draw it up.  We want guys that will take care of the football.  That will be part of the evaluation.
We want guys that make big plays.  Well, those are things that we’re talking to them on a daily basis.  Here is what happened in yesterday’s practice.  Here are your mental mistakes.  Here is your explosive plays.  Here is this and that.  There’s a whole litany of things that they are aware of that we’re trying to evaluate.

Q.  You mentioned working with quarterbacks, having them own drives.  How much does that account for the decision you make as a coaching staff as far as that separation is concerned?
COACH DAVIS:  Well, a lot.  Quarterback is busy taking his team from here to there.  That will be a big part of it.  But also taking care of the ball, getting us in the right plays, and creating explosive plays.  That’s been a big emphasis in evaluating those guys, if they’ve had an opportunity, did they create that play.

Q.  Is that based on the fact that most of your plays were called from the perimeter, not necessarily down the field?  Is it limitation of the personnel or the play calling?
COACH DAVIS:  I’m sure part of it was limitation of play calling, especially from the cards and letters I got.
There’s aspects of vertical in all plays.  Sometimes it’s just having a better focus on giving that guy an opportunity.  The other thing is most explosive plays in the passing game come off play‑action because that’s when you have a chance to freeze the secondary.  Usually play‑action creates better protection.  You can hold the ball longer.  Guys can move down the field.
We’ve done a lot of things this spring where, you know, hard play‑action and the receiver has a vertical decision to make at 16, whether or not he goes deep, sits down, turns in or out.  All of that takes time to do.  We’ve also tried to be very cognizant of giving our guys some opportunity to push the ball down the field.

Q.  Coming off last year, do you feel more pressure? 
COACH DAVIS:  I feel pressure every day of what I’ve done for 40 years.  But we did sit down and evaluate obviously things that we felt we could do better, things we should do more of, less of, whatever.  And I think we’ve got a pretty good mix going right now.

Q.  Any chance you wouldn’t have been back? 
COACH DAVIS:  You’re asking the wrong guy that.

Q.  How do you feel the team has understood the offense compared to last year?  Have they grasped it better?
COACH DAVIS:  I think we’re much further along at this point.  Obviously they’ve had a spring, a season, a spring.  Some of the conceptual things that you’re trying to do, they have a better grasp of, so they’re getting to it quicker, playing faster.  I feel like we’re much closer to being on the same page snap after snap than we were last year.

Q.  Do you have the personnel for the offense even after struggles last year? 
COACH DAVIS:  I think what you have to do is you have to take what talent is there and try to maximize that.  So make sure that we’re trying to get the ball to guys that can make plays.

Q.  How would you say the additions of Coach Kennedy and Coach White to the staff has changed the dynamics here?
COACH DAVIS:  Coach Kennedy is obvious.  We spent seven years ago.  He stepped in from just a philosophical standpoint, from a language standpoint.  So he was able to hit the ground running.  He brings great energy to his job and does a super job.
Coach White, he’s got background both in what we were doing, background from the NFL.  He’s brought some great thoughts to us, is a very detail‑oriented coach.  I think both guys have really joined in and been a big plus.

Q.  The zone read last Sunday or two Sundays ago, how is that going to work with three drop‑back quarterbacks? 
COACH DAVIS:  Unless they run it.  Unless they run it.  You know, we have implemented a little bit of zone read.  But it won’t be a huge part.  It’s a part that is aggravating to the defense.  Anything that’s aggravating to Coach Parker has to be a good thing because that’s not what they want.
Colt McCoy, he was a drop‑back guy, yet he could run three or four, five a game and create some explosive plays.  Not only that, but create some assignment football by the defense.
Just the fact that you have some of that forces the defense to play more assignment football.

Q.  In some ways is it easier, because you had James, he had been established, now you’re starting from scratch, is that easier on your part?
COACH DAVIS:  Well, it’s different.  I mean, obviously it’s different because none of these guys have played.  All these guys can make some plays with their feet, they can extend some plays and do some things.

Q.  You mentioned explosive plays a couple times.  That was missing a little bit last year, but had injuries.  Where do you get that next year? 
COACH DAVIS:  Well, I think, again, I think play‑action is a great way to start explosive plays.  For the things we mentioned a while ago, usually your protection is good.  You have the ability to hold the ball.  When you have the ability to hold the ball, receivers can force down the field and see what is happening.
So we’re doing some things down the field where receivers are making decisions at 14 and 15 yards down the field, and you can’t do that unless you can hold the ball.  Typically that comes from play‑action pass.  It gives you a chance to take advantage of what the defense did, how they rotated to stop the run.

Q.  How do you feel you want to use that? 
COACH DAVIS:  Going to keep doing that.  You know, I think we have a good group of tight ends.  We’ve got tight ends that will allow us to put multiple tight ends on the field, maybe have two attached, but one of them could be deployed out wide.  Again, you’re creating some opportunities for the defense and the way they match personnel to try to create some advantages.
So the tight ends need to be a big part of what we’re doing.

Q.  How tough was last season for you personally?
COACH DAVIS:  I mean, you know, it’s part of it.  We set out as soon as it was over and created a litany of things we wanted to look at and things that we did good, things that we did bad, and how to correct those things.
So hopefully we’ve addressed some of those things and we’ll have a chance to get better.

Q.  You mentioned second‑year experience.  How much of an issue was that especially for the receivers last year?
COACH DAVIS:  Anytime you do things post snap, you got to get reps and reps and reps, and you’re depending on quarterbacks and receivers to be seeing the same things.
There’s always going to be mistakes, receiver saw one thing.  But the more you can eliminate those the more opportunities you have to be consistent and stay on the field.  I think we’re closer in that area, we’re not who we want to be, but I think we’re closer now than we were at any point last year.

Q.  Quick feet and decision making, can those be?
COACH DAVIS:  Decision making is always a part of the quarterback position.  Then guys that can extend plays.  Coach Walsh told me 15 years ago, I asked him about drafting quarterbacks, and he said 50% of the snaps in the NFL are not the way you draw them up.  Somebody is sliding in the pocket, you’re not on the rhythm that the play is designed.  So the ability for a quarterback to extend the play, to make things happen off schedule is a huge part.

Q.  (Question regarding James Vandenberg.) 
COACH DAVIS:  It’s a combination.  We’ve moved past that.  James is an outstanding young man, brilliant.  I think he’ll get an opportunity to play at the next level.
But, you know, it’s as much my fault as any player’s.

Q.  With that, he probably would have been a drafted player this weekend.  Do you feel the change may have prevented him from reaching his full potential or did you help him maybe reach what he could have done?
COACH DAVIS:  I’m sure I could have done a better job.  I’m sure I could have done a better job with James.  He is a better player than he played last year.

Q.  With these three quarterbacks, do you see a two‑quarterback system?
COACH DAVIS:  Probably not.  Probably not.  I mean, we may not know when the first game starts.  We had a situation where we opened the season in ’06, I think it was, we played two quarterbacks every three series for two weeks in a row, then we made a decision and went with Colt.
Some things you can’t evaluate in practice, ’cause they’re not going to get hit.  So I just said extending plays is a part of it.  The first time the pocket breaks down, we blow them dead, which you have to do.  But maybe they would have got out of that situation.  Maybe that would have became a first down and you stay on the field.
Some of those things you can’t determine until you’re playing live football.  So hopefully we will.  Hopefully by the mid part of camp in August we’ll be able to make a decision.  But if not, we’ll see where it goes.

Q.  Are you comfortable with that kind of rotation, the two quarterback thing, in a game?
COACH DAVIS:  You know, I think everybody would rather have, This is the guy.  I think we all would.  But at the same time if that guy has not emerged, then you need to evaluate both of them in live work.  We don’t have exhibition games.
If that’s the way it turns out that we have to do it, that’s the way we’ll do it.

Q.  How close is this race?
COACH DAVIS:  It’s close enough that they’re taking every two snaps for 13 practices.  They haven’t separated.
But I feel like they will.  I feel like they will.

Q.  Getting cards and letters from angry fans.  What is your reaction?  Can you share any of them?
COACH DAVIS:  Yeah, I can.

Q.  What have you thought of the running game so far?
COACH DAVIS:  Some of them are from my parents.  Sorry?

Q.  The run game.  How does it look this spring?
COACH DAVIS:  We’re committed to running the football.  It’s been nice to have two backs the whole spring.  Mark and Damon have both made every practice.  That gives you an opportunity to wear down the defense.  It also gives you an opportunity, because of their abilities, to put the two of them in the game and maybe you’re in two backs or maybe you’re in one back.
Again, some defenses, everything they do is personnel driven to match properly.  So if you put that personnel on the field, then you’re in one back, they don’t like that.  It’s not that they don’t know how to match it, they do.  But they may be asking a linebacker to play in space that they don’t want him to play in.
Those are things that, you know, you can create some advantages hopefully offensively.  But both of those guys have done a good job.  Very pleased with where they’re at right now.

Q.  (No microphone.)
COACH DAVIS:  Kevonte for sure is a guy that has played a bunch of ball.  It was good to have him back Saturday.  He’s an experienced guy.  He communicates well on the field.
If we played Saturday or if we played last Saturday, the three guys we would have started in that personnel group would have been Tevaun Smith, Kevonte Martin and Donald Shumpert.

Q.  You guys are still waiting on five receivers.  It seems like you saw some struggles a couple weeks ago.  Do you feel you still haven’t seen the whole picture of what you have at receiver yet?
COACH DAVIS:  We’ve told the freshmen receivers that some of them are going to get an opportunity to come in and show what they can do.  At the same time I would caution that they’re freshmen, and freshmen are freshmen.
Maybe Tevaun last year was a guy that was mature for his age.  He did get to play some.  He’s a much better player now because of it.  So maybe one or two of those guys, hopefully, will be able to come in and offer some help.
THE MODERATOR:  Thanks, coach.

___________________________________

When Phil Parker was secondary coach, he was on the sidelines. In his first season as DC, he was up in the press box. Now that he’s both, he’s not sure yet.

“It was good for me last year to be up in the box and away from some things. I think when you’re coaching the secondary, sometimes you need to be eyeball‑to‑eyeball on the field and be more in touch with the atmosphere on the field, so that hasn’t been decided yet and I’m not really worried about it right now.”

It’s no secret this team needs to develop some pass rush. Will Iowa again rely on the defensive line to be the sole provider?

It sounds like that will be  an ongoing story.

“It all depends on how many passes they throw.  Sometimes you got to add a little bit to it, to the pass‑rush, maybe try to get some other guys that can rush the passer, try to work on that a little bit through the off‑season, the summertime, maybe have some guys practice doing that, obviously doing two‑a‑days. For right now that’s who it’s going to be and we’ll try to add some guys in the near future.”

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The 349 rushing yards Northwestern put up on the Hawkeyes last season left a mark.

Parker said it’s all in the angles.

“If you go back and look at the plays that actually came out of that, obviously some guys that are maybe not in the right gap, some guys not taking the right angles. Some of the big plays that came out are leverage problems, base football, understanding how to run to the ball, how to seek the guys. Sometimes just because you’re running fast doesn’t mean you’re going in the right proper position to go ahead and track a guy. I think a couple of those were broken up just because of bad angles.”
The game is about angles. I think we didn’t do a good enough job in that area.”

We’ll get Coach Parker up here.  We’ll let him give an opening comment and then go for questions.
COACH PARKER:  Thank you, guys, for coming.  Sunny and warm out there?  A little bit, I don’t know.
Just to tell a little bit about where we’re at going into the 13th practice, I’m very comfortable with the last couple days of practice.  Our units have played with a lot of energy and played with unity, a little bit of excitement the last two practices.  It took a while to get there, but I’m happy with that progress.
Are we there and close yet?  We still have a long ways to go to play a game yet.  But I just like the way the group is going.
I think the front is progressing up front.  The linebackers obviously are experienced.  They’ve gotten much better with Coach Reid handling the inside linebackers, I think that’s been working really well.  Basically in my role right now is also taking over the secondary which has been good for me to get back in the room with the kids and teach ‘em football.  So that’s been good.  It’s kept me pretty busy and more involved with the secondary.  I’m very happy at this stage where we’re at.
We have three days here, we can get a lot of work done, see some jumps with some guys.
I’ll leave it up to you guys for some questions.

Q.  When that opportunity presented itself for you to go back and coach the secondary, is that something you were immediately wanting to jump at?  Did you have to give it a lot of thought?
COACH PARKER:  I didn’t really give it a lot of thought.  I was doing it for such a long time.  The year before when we went through and I wasn’t actually in the meetings, you kind of miss it.  I was looking for the opportunity to come back.  So I was pleased to get back there.
There was no hesitation for me to go back.

Q.  Are you going to stay upstairs during games?
COACH PARKER:  I haven’t even thought about that yet.  I talked to a couple guys on our staff, where they like to be.  It was good for me last year to be up in the box and away from some things.  I think when you’re coaching the secondary, sometimes you need to be eyeball‑to‑eyeball on the field and be more in touch with the atmosphere on the field.
So that hasn’t been decided yet and I’m not really worried about it right now.

Q.  Coach Ferentz mentioned Carl Davis is a guy who made a lot of progress this spring.  Can you talk about his progress and who in the defensive line you’re liking right now?
COACH PARKER:  I think Carl obviously has a lot of athletic ability, played a little bit last year.  Sometimes he can really be a hard guy to block.  He’s a 315‑pound very good athlete that can move.  We have to be a little more consistent.  I think he enjoys football a little bit, he enjoys coming out to practice.  That’s helping with his progress that he’s doing.  We’re very happy with him.
Some other guys, Drew Ott was a guy on the outside we played last year.  Halfway through the season we pulled his redshirt off.  I thought he was doing some good things before he had to sit out a couple practices.
Alvis to me, Dom has done a great job in playing well this whole spring.  I’m happy with his progress.
Louis is out, sitting out in spring.  Gives Cooper a chance to come out and do his thing.  Cooper was a little bit hurt, but he’s progressing.
I’m looking forward to it.
Faith is another kid, if we’re going to play him inside or outside, we have a chance to move him around, he’s very athletic and he can run.
So it’s still a work in progress.  I still like to play eight to ten guys in that position, especially where offenses are leading to play hurry up, catch guys off guard.  Everybody wants to play a game and a half on offense and say, Look how many yards we have.  But it’s a game and a half.  If you’re going to do that, you better have eight to ten fresh guys to go out there and execute, as long as it doesn’t throw you off of them actually being efficient out there.

Q.  You had a lot of talent, but a lot of inconsistent play last year.  Do you feel you’ve been able to smooth out some of that? 
COACH PARKER:  One thing about it is, I don’t mind guys getting beat if they’re contested, the plays are contested.  You look at how many big plays we gave up, compared to the year before, years in the past.  Very similar numbers.  Just probably some of them are a little bit uncontested for running free.
I think a year of experience has done them some good, understanding the system, getting familiar with it.  Tanner has done a better job of staying focused, trying to be a leader back in the secondary, along with BJ.  Obviously BJ, in my opinion, is playing at his highest level he has right now.  Hopefully he continues that.  But I think he was banged up last year.  I think Carl Davis landed on him and hurt him a little bit.  315‑pound guy.  He really wasn’t the same after Carl landed on him.
I think he’s been doing pretty good progress.  I think they all have been kind of working together and are starting to form a good unit.

Q.  Haven’t seen much much Jordan Lomax.  What does he show you?
COACH PARKER:  One thing about a kid missing a whole year, the one thing, a smart, intelligent kid, he paid attention all last year learning the system, what we’re asking our guys to do.  He’s showing up in practice.  He’s done a very, very good job.  Very smart kid, fundamentally sound.  So I really like him.  He’s a quiet leader.  He’s done a good job.
I’m not stamping him in there as my starter yet, but somebody has to line up in the first group right now.  But I think he’s done a very good job.

Q.  Do you see the defensive line being relied on as usual for most of the pass‑rush?
COACH PARKER:  Usually you take 85 snaps, if you’re playing base defense, they’re going to get the majority of the pass‑rush.  It all depends on how many passes they throw.  Sometimes you got to add a little bit to it, to the pass‑rush, maybe try to get some other guys that can rush the passer, try to work on that a little bit through the off‑season, the summertime, maybe have some guys practice doing that, obviously doing two‑a‑days.
For right now that’s who it’s going to be and we’ll try to add some guys in the near future.

Q.  (Question regarding pressure on the quarterback.) 
COACH PARKER:  I think there’s some guys that have some knack to get there.  Carl Davis, Cooper as an inside guy can help you.  I think Dominic outside can hit you on the edge.
We might have to create some situations a little bit more to help them out, maybe add some guys to the rush a little bit to help them out.  It’s hard to get there when you have five guys blocking four.
We all understand that.  My biggest thing is try not to give up big plays.  I think the game is still about scoring, not giving up points.  That’s the most important thing.  I think for the last two years, we were 24, last year we were 23.  That’s my main concern, is points, I think.

Q.  Back to your assuming both roles.  As you get into the season, game planning, and doing position coaching, I’m interested in your time allotment.  Ultimately was that yours or Kirk’s decision?
COACH PARKER:  In what?

Q.  Going back to the position coach. 
COACH PARKER:  I think the one thing about it, there’s only 24 hours in a day.  You got to be real efficient in what you’re doing.  The way we do it, a lot of our guys have input of what we’re doing, trying to keep focus on what we’re doing.
I think I’ve been in the secondary for a long time, so it’s kind of easy for me to walk in a room and get guys to understand what I need from them.  That really hasn’t changed for me.  As a matter of fact, it gets me in touch with the guys a little bit.
My role changed.  I don’t know if we can put any more hours in the day.  I’m going to have to speed something up.  I think it was more of a mutual agreement for me to go back in the secondary.  Darrell Wilson had an opportunity to leave and go to Rutgers.  He’d done a very good job here.  It was an opportunity for me to meet with Kirk a little bit.  He was more than open to it.

Q.  Team struggled getting off the field on third down.  How much of that was experience, depth, and how better suited are you now?
COACH PARKER:  Well, obviously everybody wants to get off on third downs.  When you go through it, the guys have to understand.  I think the guys have done a great job, at least in the last two months of being around the guys, getting back at it, they’re understanding the game of football.  Really after a while, when you study guys, understand the game, it’s going to help you what they’re trying to do on third downs.
I think we need to do a better job of that so they understand what plays they’re going to see instead of saying it’s a personnel issue or you’re not blitzing enough.
To me it’s just about understanding the game.

Q.  You have three redshirt freshmen in your two‑deep on the defensive line.  Do you see them contributing heavily? 
COACH PARKER:  I think Faith, he’s probably the most intriguing guy.  I think he can play inside and I think he can play outside as an end.  Very impressed with the way he can run and move.  We moved him out here late a little bit at the end.  He probably had four or five days of practice.  So we’re intrigued by putting him out on the edge.
Jaleel has done a great job inside.  A strong, big kid, hard to move him.
They’re still a ways away.  They’re still young pups yet.  But I think they’re definitely going to have to help us out next year.

Q.  What has Jim Reid brought in terms of practice?  Can you lean on him?
COACH PARKER:  He’s an excellent coach, has a lot of great experience.  Sometimes he gives me different ideas, different ways to look at things.  I think it’s been a great addition to that aspect of it.  I think he’s done a good job of getting the linebackers to play downhill and being aggressive.
Yeah, it does help a little bit with having an experienced guy, has a little bit of knowledge, he’s been a head coach, defensive coordinator, been in the pros.  Definitely a positive thing for me.

Q.  (Question regarding the linebackers and having two coaches.) 
COACH PARKER:  I think it’s obviously helpful, but I think it’s also the growth of kids.  Obviously Kirksey and Hitch were not redshirted, neither was I don’t believe James either.  That’s a very hard thing to do.  Coming up and being seniors, really they should only be in their junior year.
The experience, the history of our program is obviously the longer you’re in the program, you’re in there for your fifth year, you’re going to be a better player than you were as a junior.  You’re really a junior.  I think that’s probably helped them understand what’s going on.

Q.  A couple players left the secondary.  How does that affect your depth?
COACH PARKER:  I think the two guys that left, obviously Kevin Buford had a chance, he played a little bit in some games and special teams games, dime or nickel package last year.  Then Torrey Campbell chose to go on and pursue track.
I don’t know how much it’s going to affect us.  Obviously in recruiting next we’re year, we’re going to have to take some more guys in the secondary.  It wasn’t like they were projected as a starter at the time.  I think the other guys have to move on.  I think Maurice Fleming and Draper are going to have to push a little bit to help us out.

Q.  Do you feel you have enough depth in the secondary where you may be able to play?
COACH PARKER:  In the secondary we might be able to avoid that.  You look at a kid, somebody wants to play early, they want to play on special teams, let’s get them involved in the game, especially in Kinnick Stadium.  You look and say you’re going to take 90 snaps on special teams for the year, or you’re going to play full‑time and take 900 or 1,000 snaps.  They don’t understand that.  There’s a lot of peer pressure at home.  Heavily recruited, why aren’t you starting, why are you not on the field.
I think we have to educate the kids.  I like to redshirt them, get them some growth, get them with Coach Doyle, get their bodies built for a Big Ten season.

Q.  Looking at the Northwestern game from last year, the rushing performance they put on, how do you come back from that? 
COACH PARKER:  If you go back and look at the plays that actually came out of that, obviously some guys that are maybe not in the right gap, some guys not taking the right angles.  Some of the big plays that came out are leverage problems, base football, understanding how to run to the ball, how to seek the guys.  Sometimes just because you’re running fast doesn’t mean you’re going in the right proper position to go ahead and track a guy.  I think a couple of those were broken up just because of bad angles.
The game is about angles.  I think we didn’t do a good enough job in that area.

Q.  (No microphone.)
COACH PARKER:  Obviously the strength and knowledge of being on the field already, he’s been there.  That’s not going to be a factor for him.  I think he keeps on making great improvements.  Out there every day.  Running with the ones a lot.  Getting some good work.  It does help you in some ways to be ready for the next year.  You look three more years down the road and say, you could have him as a full‑time starter.  Lost a lot of reps.

Q.  (No microphone.)
COACH PARKER:  You can always find a skilled guy back there and put him back in there for that week.  I don’t think that’s really an option.  There’s always somebody out there not working with the first or second team, you can get a guy skilled enough, defensive back, wide receiver type of guy, runningback.  Put them back there, they’re reading cards anyway.  But their athletic ability to get out there and run, that’s what we look for when we try to run against those dual threat guys.

Q.  (Question regarding Faith and Christian Ballard.  )
COACH PARKER:  Athletically we mentioned that the other day, it’s probably about the same.  Christian Ballard was a little bit taller, but bigger, height‑wise, but very similar.  We thought the same thing about four or five days ago.

Q.  Will this defense go as far as the line can take it or the things you can do to boost them to help them?  They’re still young. 
COACH PARKER:  Yeah, I think our linebacker group, with them guys in control, I think that’s going to help us.  I think the maturity of our defensive line, I think Dominic Alvis, Carl Davis, even Drew Ott, even though he is young, I think he is starting to mature a little bit.  Then you have Louis who hasn’t practiced, he helped us out last year, did a great job.  Then you have Cooper.  I think we have a little more depth up front.  Quinton Alston for a linebacker, he’s coming on.  Marcus Collins and Cole Fisher at linebacker, everybody is growing.  How can we build the team to come together as a unit.  I thought I seen that the last couple practices that I was impressed with.  Not to say we did everything perfect.
Thank you.

“College Football Playoff” Will Be Name of New Event 

 Fans Invited to Select New Logo at www.collegefootballplayoff.com 

 “It’s Your Playoff. It’s Your Choice.”

 The group in charge of the new college football playoff announced today that the name of the new event will be “College Football Playoff,” and also invited fans, student-athletes, coaches, reporters and everyone else to choose their favorite logo for the event by voting on the playoff’s new website, www.collegefootballplayoff.com. “We decided to call the playoff what it is – the College Football Playoff.  We think the new playoff will be the most dynamic improvement to college football in a generation.  Certainly it’s what the fans want.  We also invite everyone to vote online to select the logo and help us kick off the new College Football Playoff,” said Bill Hancock, the Executive Director of the College Football Playoff. [Style Note: The name “College Football Playoff” will not be abbreviated and “playoff” is singular – not plural.] The College Football Playoff will begin with the 2014-2015 season and feature the top four teams as chosen by a yet-to-be-named selection committee. The Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl have already been chosen to host the first national semifinals, which will pair No. 1 versus No. 4 and No. 2 versus No. 3 on January 1, 2015. The winners of those two games will face off in the first championship game of the playoff era Monday, January 12, 2015.  The site for the first championship game will be announced Thursday. The Orange Bowl and a yet-to-be-named bowl will host the semifinals in the second year of the playoff. The two bowls that will host semifinals in the third year have yet to be named.  The rotational and mobile features of the new playoff and championship game create more opportunities for fans in more cities to attend. Logo Selection The new logo for the College Football Playoff will be selected by the public from four finalists, which are displayed on the event’s new website: www.collegefootballplayoff.com.  Fans can vote once a day for the next six days.  The logo receiving the most votes will become the official mark for the event, which will continue at least through the 2025-26 season. “We are delighted to be able to provide fans the opportunity to participate in this way,” Hancock said. “We know they will enjoy it.” The winning logo will be announced Monday, April 29, 2013 on the College Football Playoff’s new Facebook and Twitter pages at www.facebook.com/cfbplayoff and www.twitter.com/cfbplayoff. Here are the choices:

Ball

Compass

Flag

Gold

We’re not finished logoing. The Rose Bowl will hit the 100 milestone this year. Here’s the release:

TOURNAMENT OF ROSES^® UNVEILS NEW LOGO, TROPHY TO COMMEMORATE

100^TH ROSE BOWL GAME

 The Rose Bowl Game^® celebrates unprecedented milestone with various celebrations to highlight event.

 PASADENA, Calif. – The Tournament of Roses along with its partners, the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conferences, and the Bowl Championship Series unveiled a series of new programs including a new logo and modifications to the champion’s trophy to commemorate the 100^th Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO. “As the first postseason bowl to reach 100 games, we are excited to mark this momentous occasion with enhancements to some of our iconic marks,” Tournament of Roses Executive Director William B. Flinn said. “We look forward to the events leading up to January 1 to celebrate our illustrious history and for the future of The Granddaddy of Them All^®.” The Tournament revealed a commemorative 100^th Rose Bowl Game logo to be used in conjunction with celebrations leading up to the historic event. The logo incorporates important aspects of traditions associated with the game including a Pasadena architecture-inspired design concept, homage to the San Gabriel Mountains and complimentary primary colors that highlight the Tournament of Roses and title sponsor, VIZIO. In addition, the Rose Bowl Game trophy, specially commissioned by Tiffany & Co. for the 100^thRose Bowl Game, underwent modifications including adding 24k yellow gold vermeil accents to the approximately twenty-one inches tall trophy.  The design features a ¾ size football rendered entirely in sterling silver. Taking approximately three months to complete, master artisans employed age-old techniques – spinning, silversmithing, chasing, etching, and polishing – to create the trophy. Other celebration highlights to be unveiled in this fall:

• The release of the 100^th Rose Bowl Game Commemorative Book in partnership with Whitman Publishing House and the Vault Series. Authored by Malcolm Moran, this is the first book commissioned by the Tournament of Roses on the history of the game.
• A Rose Bowl Game social media campaign 100 days out leading up to New Year’s Day which will include opportunities for fans to interact with the game on various social media platforms.
• In conjunction with the Football Writers Association of America, the Rose Bowl Game will announce an All-Century Class on December 8, with representatives from each decade.
• Lastly, in the upcoming months, Rose Bowl Game fans will learn about an opportunity to make a permanent mark at the Rose Bowl Stadium that will go toward the Legacy Campaign to ensure the stability and success of America’s Stadium.

The present exclusive agreement among the Tournament of Roses Association, the Big Ten Conference and the Pac-12 Conference was born in 1946. The pact is the oldest intercollegiate postseason bowl agreement between two major conferences in the United States, hence the Rose Bowl Game earning the nickname, The Granddaddy of Them All. Five days after this postseason milestone, the Tournament of Roses will also host the 16^th and final BCS National Championship on Monday, January 6, at the Rose Bowl Stadium. This will mark the second time the Tournament of Roses has hosted two postseason bowl games in one week. The last time a national champion was crowned at the Rose Bowl Stadium was on January 7, 2010. For more information please visit www.tournamentofroses.com. And here’s your logo (no voting, this is it):

You are now caught up on your logos.

Iowa defensive back Kevin Buford (right) covers receiver Steven Staggs during a Kid's Day scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

Neither Torrey Campbell nor Kevin Buford were on the spring two deeps. So, maybe that was the writing on the wall for the departure of the two defensive backs, which was announced Tuesday by the University of Iowa.

Campbell was a redshirt sophomore who played in one game last season. Buford was a sophomore. He played in nine games mostly on special teams.

Campbell and Buford were corners, so depth at that position takes a hit, probably moreso with Buford’s departure than Campbell’s. Buford jumped ahead of Campbell for playing time last fall.

The starters at CB this spring are senior B.J. Lowery and sophomore Jordan Lomax. Lowery is an established starter. He missed two games last season with an ankle injury. He is a fearless tackler and he is 5-11, 188. Lomax (5-10, 190) sat out last season after surgery for a torn labrum. Defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Phil Parker might want to have his No. 3 corner prepped.

Who’s the No. 3?

Right now, probably sophomore Sean Draper (6-0, 180). He played as a true freshman last season and saw a lot of time in nickel and dime packages. He’s listed No. 2 behind Lomax. Redshirt freshman Maurice Fleming (6-0, 188) is the No. 2 behind Lowery. Fleming is in his second full season as a defensive back. He made the switch from wide receiver after the season started last fall.

Walk-on Gavin Smith might be the next corner on the list along with fellow walk-on Dayo Ogundepo. Incoming freshman Desmond King was signed as a corner. Fellow incoming frosh Malik Rucker also could be a corner.

Campbell and Buford leaving also puts Iowa at 85 scholarships going into the 2013 season.

Here’s the release from Iowa:

CAMPBELL, BUFORD DEPART IOWA FOOTBALL

IOWA CITY, IOWA – - University of Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz announced Tuesday that sophomore defensive backs Torrey Campbell and Kevin Buford have left the football program.

Campbell has left the Hawkeye football squad to pursue fulltime participation with the Hawkeye track and field team.  Buford has informed the Iowa coaching staff that he will transfer to another institution.

Buford (5-10, 180), was one of seven true freshmen to see action in 2012.  He played in nine games, primarily on special teams, recording one solo tackle and four assists.  Buford is a native of Canton, Mich.

Campbell (5-11, 183) is a native of Naples, Fla.  After a redshirt season in 2011, he played in one game a year ago, but had no statistics.  Campbell competes in sprint and hurdle events for the UI track team.

Iowa defensive back Torrey Campbell during practice at Kinnick Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011, in Iowa City, Iowa. (SourceMedia Group News/Jim Slosiarek)

While America watched a dazzling display of detective work and tactics from the Boston Police Department on Friday night — I was awed and amazed how quickly the FBI and Boston police closed in, truly incredible — the Big Ten let the news slip out.

Let’s digest.

According to ESPN.com (Adam Rittenberg and Brett McMurphy), the Big Ten will split into geographical divisions (East and West).

– Purdue will be slid into the West, with Indiana staying in East. (That didn’t surprise me because of Indiana basketball. Why? It’s competitive and the Big Ten is growing this east coast thing with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers.)

– East and West will be the names of the divisions. Your “Legends and Leaders” T-shirts will be relics starting in 2014.

– The six teams in the central time zone — Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin — along with Purdue will be the West division. The East will be  Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

– This is all pending approval from the league’s presidents and chancellors. That vote will happen this week, according to Rittenberg.

– Rittenberg and the ESPN Big Ten blog reported last month that the only protected crossover from the divisions will be Indiana-Purdue. No more forced phony baloney (“OMHR” from the BHGP).

– Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told CBSsports.com that they are expected to approve a move to a nine-game conference schedule beginning in the 2016 season. (We’ve been Alvarez’d, yet again.)

“Legends and Leaders” valid for 2013. The eight-game league schedule remain for three more seasons.

You remember Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany preaching competitive balance when the Big Ten did this for the 2011 season. Where was that this time around?

In my opinion, the effort for competitive balance fell away for a couple of reasons:

1) Ohio State and Michigan are the big dogs and they demanded to be fed, meaning give us more Michigan State, Penn State and each other over middle-tier Big Ten. So, an Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue will play at an Ohio State, based on average and at the most, three times in 12 years. And that’s at most. Compare that to the six times in 12 years that Penn State and Michigan State will travel into Columbus.

Does Iowa belong in that foursome? Not the Orange Bowl and the 2002 to 2010 Iowa, but the Iowa from the last two seasons?

BTW, the math breakdown is two East-West teams will face each other six times in 12 years. Four teams will face each other five times in 12. The West teams will face Indiana four times in 12. That’s “at most” and “on average.”

2) Rivalry routed competitive balance in this round.

The short view could not have been summed up better than in this tweet from @AnthonySLong:

Every year from now until the Big Ten gets bored with this, the Hawkeyes will face five schools (Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern) that border the state.

Competitive balance? There certainly is danger here. The Big Ten has four historic blue bloods in Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State. Three of those will call the east home beginning in 2014.

I still think this can work and be competitive. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern will keep each other honest. They’ll also keep each other relatively close. Nebraska might have a slight edge in the majesty of its following and facilities, but the others are quickly catching up. In the east, you’ll have Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State. PSU is currently a ceremonial program. There is a lot of pressure on Michigan State to hold up its end of the deal.

In the west, the onus is on Iowa and Northwestern.

Nebraska is Nebraska. It won’t allow another Steve Pederson-Bill Callahan debacle. They’ve had that disaster at Nebraska and now they know what to do or not do. Wisconsin has played in five Rose Bowls in the last 20 years. Iowa and Northwestern have combined to play in one Rose Bowl in the last 20 years.

Iowa and Northwestern have done and still do great things on the field. The Wildcats snapped a 63-year bowl victory drought last season. They also have one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the conference in QB Kain Colter. There’s also buzz surrounding the indoor facility that is scheduled to be built on Lake Michigan.

Iowa won the Orange Bowl in 2009. Iowa played for the Rose Bowl at Ohio State in ’09. In ’10, Iowa was a great team that last its way after a 1-point loss to Wisconsin at Kinnick Stadium. J.J. Watt blocked a PAT in that game. That was the margin for error.

Iowa is 14-17 since that loss, including last season’s 4-8. Iowa is going to have to pick it up. It’s going to have to hold up its end of the bargain. The Big Ten is a much more interesting place with “Bullies of the Big Ten” Iowa rather than the 4-8 high-wire act that showed up last fall.

Cedar Falls offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher committed to Iowa in January. Since then, the 6-4, 275-pounder has received offers from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Stanford and, yesterday, Alabama.

When you’re Rivals.com’s No. 79 player in the country, and No. 11 offensive tackle, and you commit to your home-state school 13 months before signing day 2014, you know it’s not over.

Since committing to the Hawkeyes, Cedar Falls’ O-lineman Ross Pierschbacher has received offers from Wisconsin, Nebraska, Stanford and, just yesterday, Alabama. Yes, the Alabama that has won three of the last four national titles and that has Nick Saban.

Pierschbacher told Rivals.com on Wednesday, that it’s still Iowa for him. There are, however, qualifications. Pierschabacher wants to have a back-up plan.

“I think I want to take official visits,” Pierschbacher said. “I don’t want to make anyone mad, but it is almost a year away and anything can happen. I just don’t want to be left out in the cold if something does happen or something changes. If something were to happen I don’t want to be scrambling at the end, so I think I will take official visits.”

Pierschbacher said Alabama, Stanford, Notre Dame, USC and Iowa could be in line for visits.

“I am still committed to Iowa and [the interest] hasn’t gotten any weaker as things have gone on,” Pierschbacher said. “I like the new coaching changes they have gotten and think they are a better coaching staff as a whole.

“Now I am looking forward to seeing what they can do this season. I think they have a good team from what I have been seeing, so I’m excited to see what they can do with it.”

– Chicago running back Mikale Wilbon tweeted last night that he’s narrowed his list of colleges to five. Iowa made the cut for the 5-9, 190-pounder. Rivals ranks Wilbon as the No. 151 player in the country and the No. 14 running back. He played in just four games as a junior, but rushed for 863 yards and 13 touchdowns.

On Iowa, the De La Salle prep told Rivals: “Iowa was the second team that offered me, so I’ve known the coaching staff since the beginning and we have a good relationship. I even talk with the head coach. It is a good coaching staff and a good running game with a good offensive line. It was a good fan base when I visited too.”

Iowa was No. 3 on the list behind Vanderbilt and Arizona State. Cincinnati and Missouri also made the cut.

– IowaPreps.com has named Cedar Rapids Prairie OL Bryce Meeker the No. 1 prospect in the state of Iowa for the 2015 recruiting class. Meeker, 6-5, 270, will be a three-year starter for the Hawks as a junior next fall.

– According to HawkeyeReport.com, Cedar Rapids Xavier TE/DE Matt Nelson picked up an offer Wednesday during his visit to Notre Dame. Nelson, 6-8, 245, has 11 offers, including Nebraska, Stanford, Yale and Iowa State. Iowa has offered and he visits Iowa City today.

“It’s exciting to have so many options, but it’s also stressful,” Nelson said in an interview two weeks ago with IowaPrepSports.com. “All in all, it’s been fun so far, though. I’m having a blast.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier's Matt Nelson (right) takes down Cedar Rapids Washington quarterback Mitch Blades during the fourth quarter of their game at Kingston Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Saints won, 35-13. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

Iowa offensive line coach Brian Ferentz shakes hands with his father and head coach Kirk Ferentz following their college football game against Northern Illinois Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Iowa won the game 18-17. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY — If you think Brian Ferentz is running around the Iowa football complex helping the Hawkeyes’ elder coaches with their iWhatevers, working the DirecTV remotes and championing the latest fashion craze in uniforms, don’t.

Ferentz, who turned 30 last month, doesn’t particularly enjoy the perception that his dad, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, and the Iowa program are behind the times.

“I do bristle at the notion that we’re archaic or that our head coach is — I want to make sure I pronounce this right — is it luddite?” the Iowa offensive line coach said Wednesday. “Is that the correct pronunciation? Because he’s not. He’s got an iPhone and he’s got an iPad.”

“Luddite” refers to 19th century English workmen who destroyed labor-saving machinery as a protest. There is not a coach on the planet who would tamper with any labor- or time-saving technology.

Social media is a reality in college football recruiting. No, Kirk Ferentz is not a devotee, and shows a special disdain for Twitter. Iowa does, however, have several coaches on Twitter, including Brian Ferentz.

“I think that’s unique to every person,” Brian Ferentz said. “I really think if you saw our head coach on Twitter or doing those kinds of things, those aren’t in his personality. That’s not natural to him.”

Defensive line coach Reese Morgan, 62, isn’t on Twitter, either. That hasn’t slowed the effectiveness of his recruiting.

“People know if you care about them,” Morgan said. “I think we take great pride in developing relationships with our coaches and our parents through the recruiting process. And then there’s a certain comfort level or a trust that comes in there.”

If you can put a picture on Twitter, then Instagram . . .

“So why do you need Instagram?” Brian Ferentz joked. “Maybe I’m my father’s son sometimes. It’s changing so fast that we’re trying to stay out there with it, but shoot, it’s hard. We can barely keep up with our players sometimes.”

Every college football coach in the country knows social media is the language of the day. Kirk Ferentz isn’t on Twitter, but Iowa football is.

“That’s where these guys communicate with each other,” Brian Ferentz said. “So, yeah, it does make a difference. You have to do it or else you won’t be able to talk to them, because they certainly don’t like talking on the phone. That’s changed a lot, a ton.”

Alternate uniforms? Never say never, but you probably know the answer. Think of Nike Pro Combat uniforms as Twitter on a helmet at Iowa.

“Alternate uniforms, that’s not really in his [Kirk Ferentz's] personality, either,” Brian Ferentz said. “I’ve seen his closet. And I can say that because I’m his son. I think what we learn is those things have no bearing on winning and losing — what you wear, what you don’t
wear.”

Iowa football on Twitter

Running backs coach/special teams coordinator Chris White — @IowaCoachWhite

Tight ends coach/grad assistant DJ Hernandez — @DjHernandez14

Linebackers coach LeVar Woods — @LeVarWoods

Recruiting coordinator/D-line assistant Eric Johnson — @HawkeyeCoachEJ

Strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle — @coach_Doyle

Iowa football — @HawkeyeFootball

O-line coach Brian Ferentz — @CoachBFerentz

Director of player development Chic Ejiasi — @ChicEjiasi

Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan finds his group with a question mark at the end of it again this spring. This spring, Iowa's D-line has healthy competition inside, but is looking for DEs who can rush the passer and contain the edge. (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group)

IOWA CITY — The are realities to face with Iowa’s defensive line.

It again will be a young, inexperienced group this fall. Many of the players will either be in development or will have short resumes. This group also will be in charge of contain and pressure against quarterbacks who’ve gutted defenses for a couple of seasons, including Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, Northwestern’s Kain Colter, Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez, Michigan’s Devin Gardner and, in the opener, Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch.

Iowa D-line coach Reese Morgan put the onus on himself to put his players in position for success during an interview Wednesday.

“I think we have who we have, OK,” said Morgan, who’s in his second year with the D-line after nine coaching Iowa’s offensive line. “We have to create a situation where those guys can be successful, not ask them to do something physically that they can’t do but have them understand that with great technique, awareness and then using angles, you can put yourself in a much better situation.”

Iowa’s second-year offensive line coach Brian Ferentz has a pretty good idea who four of the starting five will be. He also has seven players return who started games in 2012.

Instead of kicking into cruise control, Ferentz points out that there’s a difference between returning starter and quality starts.

“I think those numbers are a little misleading,” he said. “Really what we are dealing with is we have one guy coming back who has played significant time for us at a high level and that’s [right tackle] Brett Van Sloten, and he’s a guy I think can do a lot better for us in the future and I think he can agree with that statement. That’s what we expect out of him.

“The other six guys that have started ballgames for us, but they’ve been sporadic at best. So, there is some experience there but it’s not a total wealth of experience.”

Let’s stay with the defensive line. That’s the unknown in the equation.

Spring depth charts are fluid, but senior Dominic Alvis is a given at right defensive end. After him, there are strong candidates — junior defensive tackles Carl Davis and Louis Trinca-Pasat (out this spring rehabbing a shoulder surgery) and sophomore DT Darian Cooper — and some players you’re still getting to know.

The defensive end opposite Alvis, who has 5.5 career sacks, is a mystery. In February, head coach Kirk Ferentz called the DE position a miss in recruiting.

Sophomore Drew Ott is first in line there. The 6-4, 265-pounder played as a true freshman last season because injuries left the DE spot a

Caption: Iowa Hawkeyes offensive line coach Brian Ferentz runs a drill during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

nub. After Ott, sophomore Riley McMinn, junior Mike Hardy, sophomore Melvin Spears and redshirt freshman Faith Ekakitie, who saw action at DE for the first time last Sunday, are all on the ballot.

“I think that’s an area that we feel we need to really get some guys,” Morgan said. “That’s why we put Faith out there. You’ll see Mike Hardy playing out there, Dean Tsopanides. You have Riley McMinn. So we have got a number of guys.”

When Iowa competes for Big Ten championships, its defensive line puts pressure on the quarterback. In 2009, Iowa’s D-line combined to collect 28 sacks and the Hawkeyes won 11 games. In ’08, that number was 13 and Iowa won nine games. Last season, that number was 8.5 and Iowa won four games.

The 8.5 sacks from last season is the fewest by an Iowa D-line in the last six seasons.

“When you’re playing the defense that we play, there are certain liabilities in a pass rush because we’re playing heavy techniques [two gap] and so forth,” Morgan said. “When we get the green light to go ahead with pass rush, we have to get there and that’s an area statistically we have to improve upon, technique -wise, fundamentals, emphasis-wise.”

Morgan is intrigued by Davis, a 6-5, 310-pounder, but needs to see completeness and that’s the push this spring.

“All of the things we are asking him to do are a little bit out of his comfort zone,” Morgan said. “He’s worried about fatiguing . . . We said, play yourself into shape and we’ll do some extra stuff to do that.”

At the end of last season, Iowa rotated eight D-linemen, two different groups, into games. Morgan would like to do that again.

“We think with the up-tempo offense, we need to do it,” Morgan said. “A tired guy who’s out there with that first group is probably not as effective as a fresh guy who’s coming in. That’s our feeling and experience and so we’re committed to doing that.”

The biggest questions for Iowa’s O-line are identifying the top five and deciding where they best fit. Junior Andrew Donnal might be the answer to both questions. The 6-7, 305-pounder started three games at guard last season before suffering a torn ACL. So far this spring, he’s played both guard positions and No. 2 left tackle. The idea is to build depth through versatility, so if two offensive linemen go down one play apart in a game (Donnal and left tackle Brandon Scherff vs. Penn State last season), the roster can handle it.

“Who are our five best players? And what are their five best positions?” Ferentz said. “Sometimes, those two things don’t always marry.”

So far, so good, Ferentz said, for sophomore Austin Blythe at center. The 6-3, 300-pounder moved inside after starting nine games at guard last fall.

Ferentz was asked about the identity Iowa built during its two biggest wins last fall, Minnesota and at Michigan State. In those games, running back Mark Weisman (6-0, 236) rushed 47 times for 293 yards and two TDs. Iowa morphed into an offense driven by a fullback.

Ferentz cautioned against offenses becoming too tied to any one position group or scheme. His point was physical is good, very good. When all else fails, physical is a pretty great button to be able to push.

“I think, to your question, what we need to do to be successful is we know we have to run the football, however we’re going to do that,” Ferentz said. “So, I think that part of the identity, if that’s what you’re asking, yes, as an offense, to be successful, we have to be able to run the football and run it when we want to run it and run it when they know we’re going to run it, which is the real trick.”

Caption: Iowa Hawkeyes offensive linesman Austin Blythe (63) talks with offensive line coach Brian Ferentz during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

First transcripts.

And now videos. Lots of interesting material here. (Sounds as though the DL wasn’t very healthy toward the end of ’12.)

The notion of Iowa’s program and head coach being behind the times, OL coach Brian Ferentz would argue that point.

The topics covered here include OT Brandon Scherff’s recovery, strength coach Chris Doyle’s work with the O-line, working at his alma mater with his father (“As far as going to work with your father every day, I don’t know if it was exactly what I thought it would be or not. It’s been good.”)

– Some comments on Reese Morgan and the task at hand for the defensive line. (“Young group there last year with almost no experience . . . I see massive amounts of improvement out of those guys every day.”)

– The goal is consistency for the O-line. Depth is the key.

I asked about junior OL Andrew Donnal, who started a couple of games at guard last season before suffering a torn ACL. Last Sunday in Des Moines, Donnal was the backup left tackle and said he played guard the previous eight spring practices. So . . . this is part of building depth and making sure if a piece falls out of place, that there’s another interchangeable piece ready to fit in.

“That’s always the thought. Who are our five best players? What are their five best positions? Sometimes those things don’t always marry, so how do we put the five best on the field?”

– There’s a good question on the offensive identity Iowa showed in its two best wins last season, Minnesota and Michigan State.

“I don’t know that’s always going to be our identity offensively. . . . If you marry yourself to a certainly identity or scheme, you can run into a problem. I think what you saw in those two games, from an X’s and O’s standpoint, we were an offense that was functioning with a fullback [Mark Weisman].”

” the beauty of having a fullback in the football game is the defense will not tell you where you’re going to run the football.
If you look at some of the runs we had success with in those two games, we are actually running into a pressure, whether boundary pressure or field pressure but we are running into what you would call the teeth of a defense. We were able to do that a couple times, which then in turn opened some other things.”

Starts with a question about what sophomore Austin Blythe will face in his transition from guard to center.

“I remember watching Steven [younger brother] learn how to swim. My dad picked him up and threw him in the water and he learned how to swim. Now, not to say there was negligence or anything like that he had the floaties on and all that. But basically, you put the guys in there, you throw them in, they splash around the water a little bit and they figure out it’s not that bad, they are floating, they will live. So that’s what the transition is like.”

– OT Ryan Ward and OG Jordan Walsh and their development.

– What OT Brett Van Sloten is becoming as a senior.

“For a guy who had never started a football game here and really only played excessively in the second half of one, he plays like a guy that has a lot of experience. He plays more experience than he is. He’s extremely reliable.”

Good stuff here.

The question was on the perception that Brian Ferentz is responsible for bringing Iowa’s program into the 21st century.

“I bristle a little bit at the notion ‑‑ and I don’t ‑‑ it’s not personal.
But I do bristle at the notion that we are archaic or that our head coach is‑‑ I want to make sure I pronounce this right‑‑ is it Luddite (ph)? Is that the correct pronunciation? Because he’s not. He’s got an iPhone and he’s got an iPad. Twitter, that’s a personal decision everybody makes.”

Fair answer.

– On social media and its impact on recruiting: “But Twitter and Instagram and these‑‑ that’s where these guys communicate with each other.
So, yeah, it does make a difference. You have to do it or else you won’t be able to talk to them because they certainly do not like talking on the phone. That’s changed a lot, a ton. That’s something you guys can attest to.”

The first question is on the importance of the D-line being able to put pressure on the QB.

“I think that’s really important and I think that’s going to be a big focus for us. When you’re playing the defense that we play, there’s certain liabilities in a pass rush because we are playing heavy techniques and so forth. When we get the green light to go ahead with pass rush, we have to get there and there’s an area statistically we have to improve upon, technique‑‑ wise fundamentals, emphasis‑wise.”

– Question on drills Iowa showed Sunday in Des Moines: “And I think could conceptually with some of the guys, I think they are starting to understand how their job affects the linebackers. So we want all four of those guys to know what the other guys are doing and how the linebacker reads plays and so forth.”

– On the kind of body Iowa looks for on the D-line: “We don’t have any parameters on height, weight, anything like that. You look at a guy like Darian Cooper, I don’t know what he’s listed at, but we are eye level to eye level here.”

Question on DT Carl Davis, a 6-5, 305-pound junior.

“He’s worried about fatiguing, he’s worried about that. We said, play yourself into shape and we’ll do some extra stuff to do that. I think he’s really going to be an excellent player for us, I really do.”

– I asked what Iowa’s DL could do to keep up with the Kain Colters of the Big Ten. (Remember, the Northwestern QB led a rush assault on Iowa last fall to the tune of 349 yards.)

“I think we have who we have, okay. We have to create a situation where those guys can be successful, not ask them to do something physically that they can’t do but have them understand that with great technique, awareness, and then using angles, you can put yourself in a much better situation.”

You might remember how late last season Iowa rotated four for four on the D-line.

Sounds as though that will continue.

“Yeah, you have to make plays, but if we get guys to use correct technique, know what’s going on, work their tail off and be relentless, those things you need. And you saw us last year using two groups later in the season. We got wore out and that’s something we are going to plan on continuing to do. We think with the up‑tempo offense, we need to do it; a tired guy that’s out there with that first group is probably not as effective as a fresh guy that’s coming in. That’s our feeling and experience and so we are committed to doing that.”

– On DE Dominic Alvis, who might be the only given on the DL: “A year ago he was coming off that knee and early in the season was not confident. As the season went on, became more confident, more productive. But he is doing well.”

– On the other DE: “That’s why we put Faith out there.”

Redshirt freshman Faith Ekakitie lined up at DE for the first time during Sunday’s open practice in Des Moines.

Starts with a question on redshirt freshman DT Jaleel Johnson. Morgan says some good things here.

“He’s raw and he’s tough. That’s what you love about him. He’s got a lot of pride and he’s competitive. But he’s still a work‑in‑progress, as all of our guys are. And it’s just been kind of fun to work with him and to see that and understand things.
He likes the physical part of the game and if anyone here likes that part of football, you would love a guy like that. You love it.”

– On recruiting: ” I think we take great pride in developing relationships with our coaches and our parents through the recruiting process.
And then there’s a certain comfort level or a trust that comes in there, and you know, gosh, I don’t feel like a grandfather or an old man or a tired guy, but like James Vandenberg said, gosh, he reminds me of my grandfather when we were recruiting and kind of made me look in the mirror and say, yeah, I guess I probably do.”

– On sophomore DE Nate Meier: “I think he brings the quickness, some toughness and competitive spirit to our group.”

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Brian Ferentz

Q.  Just talk a little about the offensive line.
BRIAN FERENTZ:  We have 16 players with us right now in that group.  Out of those 16, seven of them red‑shirted last season.  Nine of them did not.  Out of those nine, every one of those guys has played a snap, at least, for us, in a competitive situation.  Seven of them have started ballgames, but I think those numbers are a little misleading.
Really what we are dealing with is we have one guy coming back who has played significant time for us at a high level and that’s Brett Van Sloten, and he’s a guy I think can do a lot better for us in the future and I think he can agree with that statement.  That’s what we expect out of him.
The other six guys that have started ballgames for us, they have been sporadic at best.  So there is some experience there but it’s not a total wealth of experience, and once you get past that, you’re dealing, out of the next nine guys, seven of them were not even eligible to play in a football game for us last season.
So it’s kind of a tale of two cities plus a suburb with Brett.  With that, I would hope it up to questions.

Q.  Last year, offensive line, you had some key injuries, especially one game you lost two of them.  With everyone healthy do you see that your offense could be different with everyone healthy, after dealing with a lot of injuries last year?
BRIAN FERENTZ:  Any time you have injuries, there’s certainly going to be a drop‑off in play, although that’s not what any of us want, that’s not what we are looking for.  Right now we are fortunate.  Everybody is healthy and practicing, but I think what happened last year is not unique, it’s not unusual.  Injuries are part of football.
I think the goal for us is to build the kind of depth to be able to play with that kind of consistency and not see a performance decline when you suffer injuries.
So we are fortunate right now to have everybody in the group healthy with the exception of Nolan.  Everybody is working, and that’s a good thing, but I think what we need to understand is what we’re dealing with right now when we have five healthy guys, that’s not going to be the case, probably November, unfortunately.  That’s just the business we’re in.

Q.  What are your expectations for him playing at that position? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  We have high expectations for all our linemen, especially our centers.  They kind of run point for us with the unit.
He’s played a lot of center here in the past.  You know, this is not a new transition.  He’s provided depth for us at that position last year.  Then as a redshirt certainly he got plenty of work there in practice.  It’s not a totally new transition for him, other than he has not got as much work at guard.
But I think he’s done a nice job so far.  We are a long, long way from playing a game and we are a long, long being ready to being ready to play a football game.  I’m pleased with how Austin has responded to what we have asked him to do.
As with all our linemen, we really need to continue to build moving forward here.  But so far, so good with him playing center.  At least we are getting the ball to the quarterback.  That’s a good start.  Our last guy was not as consistent doing that as he probably should have been.

Q.  What have you seen out of Brandon in the wake of his recovery? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  I thought Brandon was really starting to understand what he could be as a football player last year towards the end of‑‑ taking snaps, competing for us.  Unfortunately he suffered a little setback, happens to a lot of guys.  Unfortunately it was not that serious.  It looked worse than it probably was from a medical standpoint so we were able to get him back.
He’s a guy that would have been working with us if we had done what we should have done, he would have been working with us in December and probably would have had a chance to play in a post‑season game.  So basically, he’s been back with us in full participation going back to the off‑season program and really end of December, moving forward through January.
So he’s responding just as you would expect him to respond of the done a very nice job coming back from that but very, very long way to go as a football player from a consistency standpoint and doing the things we need him to do on every play that the football team needs out of him.  So far, making progress.

Q.  Talk about the depth you see developing at center. 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  I think obviously Austin has done a really nice job there, and we started with him.  Eric Simmons has done a nice job for us.  He’s really emerged and he’s had a good spring.  He’s had a good spring.  And he was a guy we weren’t sure if he couldn’t help us last year and coming out of camp we had developed a little bit of depth and we were fortunate in that regard that we were able to save a year with him.  He’s been a pleasant surprise and been pleased with that.
Obviously Conor Boffeli has provided depth there before.   So we feel like we have really good options right now and hopefully we can build some more down the road.  Tommy Gaul is a guy that continues to do a good job for us and maybe doesn’t get as much recognition as the other guys but works plenty and does a nice job.

Q.  Brandon working on the body strength with Coach Doyle, how does that help him in his progress?
BRIAN FERENTZ:  I think any time, if you’re talking about any of our linemen, the longer we can keep them in the program the better they are going to become because of what Coach Doyle does in the weight room.
So for a guy like Brandon in his particular case, some of the injuries he was dealing with as a younger player were up in his neck and his upper body.  I think naturally he felt a little bit behind in those areas where you try to keep a guy on the field.  For him to suffer a lower extremity injury, and now it’s the total opposite where he can’t really do anything like that in the weight room and focus on the upper body, a good thing, definitely a really good thing.
But I have to be much honest with you, I would have much preferred he could focus on his entire body for the off‑season.  I think it’s really a statement of what Chris does and how they approach things up there.
The longer that we can keep guys that play for us up front in that program, I think the better they become.  And the real trick is when we get them as football coaches, just don’t screw up the work that they have done in the weight room, because I feel very fortunate to work here and be able to get guys that come down from that weight room on to the football field.  There’s plenty of places where they would be awfully jealous of those guys.

Q.  To come back to your alma mater and work for your father, I wonder if you can talk about what that transition has been like the last year? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  It’s been good.  There’s a lot of things on a personal level that I really enjoy about being back in Iowa.  I love this program.  That’s not a line for me; that’s genuine.  I feel a deep, deep love for this football program and the people that support it.  So I love all those aspects of it.
Obviously we did not perform to the level that we had hoped to perform to or that we expect to perform to.  So from that standpoint, very disappointing, very disappointing.  But as far as going to work with your father every day, you know, I don’t know.  I don’t know if it was exactly what I thought it would be or not.  It’s been fun.  It’s been good.  No problems there.
Any of the other stuff, that’s all things I knew coming in.  And I knew those things coming in in 2001 when I was a high school football player that came here to play football here and just understood that there’s a certain level of scrutiny, there’s a certain level of‑‑ I don’t know what you want to call it, being under the microscope or just, you know, you’re going to attract a little bit more attention perhaps at times.  Unfortunately for some other guys in my family, they are learning that the hard way.
But that’s just the way it works.  And I don’t mind those things.  I don’t let those things bother me and I don’t really get too concerned about them.

Q.  On the other hand, your counterpart on the defensive line switched‑‑ does that rejuvenate guys‑‑ the different kind of challenge. 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  Coach Morgan is the Coach Morgan I always remember.  I don’t know that he needed to be rejuvenated or anything like that.  I think you would be hard‑pressed to find a guy that has as much energy or as solid and fundamental a teacher as Coach Morgan.  I had the good fortune to play for him for three years and being around him after that.
I said it before and I’ll say it again:  I count him as a person who shaped what I became as a professional, what I wanted to be, a football coach.  And so to be around him, I take every day as it comes.  It’s always an experience being around Coach Morgan.  He certainly still has some good teaching points just like I remember.
But I think the work speaks for itself.  We had a really young group there last year with almost no experience and we are kind of working‑‑ obviously we are missing Louis right now and that’s the guy for that group.  But I see massive amount of improvement out of those guys every day just as you would expect.

Q.  What did you learn in practice?  What were some things that you were wanting to look at for the offensive line?  What were you impressed with?  What do you need to work on? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  For us as a program, obviously we are excited to go to west did he I imagine and be closer to our fans in central and western Iowa and do all those things.  Specifically for the offensive line, it wasn’t really a special practice but what people saw us do in Des Moines is pretty similar to what we do on a normal basis.  What we do moving forward may or may not be different, from live situations, things like that, that certainly comes from up top.
But what I was looking for is what we are looking for every day:  We want to see consistency, we want to see physical play, we want to be assignment sound, we want to be fundamentally sound, we want to be all those things.  So if you look at our performance last year, at times, we did a really good job, up front, just talking about the group up front.  At times, we did not.
But the bottom line is if you don’t perform with consistency, you really can’t expect to have good results, because just as in life, in football, if you’re doing too much of the yo‑yo effect, it’s probably very much unlike being a heart patient:  You do want to flatline a little bit as an offensive line.  You want it to kind of be the same every play.  That’s what we are always looking to build.
And then the trick to that is, can you move pieces in and out and can you move guys in and out, and maintain a certain level of play.  That’s always the trick.  I don’t feel like we did that very well last year.  I don’t feel like we are doing it really that well right now.  That’s something we need to improve, because as we talked about earlier, I think, you know, if you sit around and you expect that not to happen, you’re preparing for failure.

Q.  Is that part of the thinking with Andrew this spring?  I think he played left tackle Sunday and usually he’s inside. 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  Well, Andrew started two games for us last year at guard‑‑ I think I’m right.  Maybe he started just one game but he finished for sure the other game.  He’s played two games at right guard.  He’ll be in the mix at the guard position and the tackle position.
But we need to have depth there.  We need to have depth inside.  We need to have depth outside.  I think an Drew is a really versatile player and has done a nice job.  It’s really hard for bigger guys to go inside and have success, so I’ve been pleased with that.  But that’s always the thought is, what are our five best player, who are our five best players, what are their five best positions, but sometimes those two things don’t always merry.
So how do we put the five best on the field.  And that’s why guys like Andrew, he played left tackle on Sunday, he played left guard in practice, he’s played right guard in practice, he’s played right tackle in practice and he’ll continue to do all four of those things.  Just like everybody that was playing the spots they were playing on Sunday, they move around a little bit and play some other spots, too.
So that is always the thought.  That’s why you do things like that.

Q.  Looks like you guys are starting to get an identity of those back‑to‑back victories‑‑ is that the way the offense and offensive line, seems like it was starting to come together and then the injuries came about. 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  I think in those two football games, I don’t know that that’s only going to be our identity offensively.  I think one important thing about offensive football, defensive football is true to some extent but offensive football, I think if you get too worried about tying your identity into certain personnel groups or being absolutely married to certain schemes, I think you can run into a problem.
I think what you saw in those two games is from an X’s and O’s standpoint, we were an offense that was functioning with a fullback, and we were able to create some success.  But one thing about having a fullback in the football game, it’s become not a lot of art but it’s dying a little bit; the beauty of having a fullback in the football game is the defense will not tell you where you’re going to run the football.
If you look at some of the runs we had success with in those two games, we are actually running into a pressure, whether boundary pressure or field pressure but we are running into what you would call the teeth of a defense.  We were able to do that a couple times, which then in turn opened some other things.  Up because now you can get into one‑back sets, if you can take some of that pressure off your team by scaring them out of doing things, now you open up some of those other one‑back runs where you saw Mark have a lot of success doing that.
I think to your question what we need to do to be successful is we know we have to run the football, however we are going to do that.  So I think that part of the identity, if that’s what you’re asking, yes, as an offense, to be successful, we have to be able to run the football and run it when we want to run it and run it when they know we are going to run it, which that’s the real trick.
So yes, is it always going to look like that?  Probably not.  And it probably wouldn’t have at all times last year if we were still having success around the football.  Probably is always going to look a little bit different and it may look similar or it may be a total departure but whatever you have to do to do that, yes, absolutely.

Q.  You mention consistency, coaching a position where your father’s first‑‑ inaudible ‑‑ he had great success‑‑ that has not really changed in the program.  What is the onus for you coaching that position and trying to maintain that reputation for the offensive line?
BRIAN FERENTZ:  That’s a good question.  I understand the question.  I respect it.  My answer would be simple:  For us, it’s just like for our players, or for any of us here, worry too much about the past, certainly you’d better have reverence for the past and you’d better understand it and understand how it impacts what we are doing today in the future.
But what we worry about every day is the process and what do we do today that’s going to determine our success in the future.  And if that means putting guys in the National Football League, then that’s a great by‑product but what we are more worried about here is graduating guys, winning football games.  When all those things happen, then I think you have what you had here for a long time with my dad, with Coach O’Hara (ph), with Coach Morgan, those guys, they were guys being taught to do things the right way, focus on the process, they all got their degrees.
They were part of winning football teams and they went ahead and had success in the National Football League.  That’s a great by‑product of it.  But for me what I worry about every day, the only pressure I feel is to give my best to the players we have to get them prepared for whatever we are doing that day, because those things will all stack up in the end.
But that’s where I feel the pressure is today.  What I’m worried about is what we are going to go do today in practice.  Knowing that, having been around this place enough and being around guys like Coach Morgan and my dad that have had trust in the process, those things will all come.

Q.  You made the move from guard in 2004, you were always a center, and Austin is going through this now.  What is that like? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  Whether you were out there or you’ve actually experienced it firsthand‑‑ each one of the five positions is a bit unique.  They all fall under one umbrella and you play on the offensive line and that’s what you do and we try to get our guys to understand that.
Basically at the end of the day, any of those positions, the fundamental is to execute what we are asking you to do‑‑ are exactly the same.  We don’t train centers any differently than we train guards or tackles.  We teach them all the same fundamentals, but it’s unrealistic to say that positions don’t have their own nuances.
I would explain it this way:  The further you are away from the football, the slower things happen, which sounds silly, because nothing really happens that slow out there.  But the difference is really that knew neutral zone, you are dealing with about a guy who is at least a yard away from you, or should be, and then potentially widens a little bit, too.
So you are dealing with whatever‑‑ I’m not good at arithmetic or geometry or any of that, but you start measuring all that, it’s a longer distance from Point A to Point B.  You move the guards, Point A to Point B becomes shorter.  You’re still dealing with the neutral zone, but that guy is going to be a lot heavier.  Usually you are dealing with guys that are shaded, head up or inside shapes, they don’t get too far away.  When you are a center, when it’s third down, it’s great because people are paying some kind of even spacing and nobody is near you.
For the most part, when we go out to practice every day, our defense is going to have a nose tackle and there is no neutral zone and there is no space.  Point A to Point B, sometimes your helmets are touching.
So I think that whole transition just becomes‑‑ our more experienced players do better with it, because they have been asked to do those things for three or four years.  Our younger guys, there’s always a little bit of an adjustment period and it’s kind of like I remember watching Steven learn how to swim.  My dad picked him up and threw him in the water and he learned how to swim.  Now, not to say there was negligence or anything like that he had the floaties on and all that.  But basically, you put the guys in there, you throw them in, they splash around the water a little bit and they figure out it’s not that bad, they are floating, they will live.  So that’s what the transition is like.

Q.  Can you talk about Ward and Jordan and how they have developed? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  They have done a really nice job.  Ryan Ward really benefitted being able to spend time with us lasted year; by us, I mean, the travel squad.  We took them to every game.  He practiced with us.  We didn’t have a lot of depth at tackle, so he got a lot of reps.  And Cole Cross (ph), he kind of benefitted from a similar circumstance.
And when you’re practicing every day with those groups who are getting ready to play football games, you’re learning a little more football and you’re being exposed I think a little faster than some of the guys that are down there giving our defense a look.  Not that that’s not important and not that they are not getting better but I think it happens for guys at a faster rate when they get to spend time with us.
He was the benefit of, he got a redshirt year and he got prepared to play a football game.  Jordan, really similar thing, started two games for us as a red‑shirt freshman.  Austin started eight or nine, whatever he started.  For guys that young in this program, that says a lot about what they were doing before I ever even showed up here and what they have continued to do since I got here.
But very pleased with the way they work.  And Ryan has come right in and fallen into line with all those things.

Q.  How have you found recruiting to be?
BRIAN FERENTZ:  It’s different.  Every recruit is different and how you deal with every recruit is a little different and what you’re telling every recruit is a little different because people are different, and it’s a people business, so you deal with all those things.
But the one thing I have learned after a year that I didn’t know, as well, but I had a pretty good idea, it’s just about relationships and it’s about just kind of building, maintaining and cultivating relationships with people, prospects, parents, go down the list, coaches.  It’s been really beneficial to go on the road and be able to go into high schools and be around high school coaches.
Then it’s a great learning experience for you, too, when you’re on the road.  You get to go around and talk football to guys, four or five schools a day, it’s hard to beat.  It’s pretty good.  I can’t complain about that.  There’s plenty of things to complain about but that’s not one of them.

Q.  Can you talk about Brett Van Sloten’s development‑‑
BRIAN FERENTZ:  I know what you’re asking.  Brett is a guy who is‑‑ I describe Brett this way.  For a guy who had never started a football game here and really only played excessively in the second half of one, he plays like a guy that has a lot of experience.  He plays more experience than he is.  He’s extremely reliable.
We talk about consistency.  He’s a guy that plays at a level of consistency.  He’s got a long way to go, he can still improve a great deal but he’s a guy who is doing everything we ask at all times and doing it to the level we expect.  There’s nothing I can say about Brett that’s not positive, at least not behind closed doors with him.

Q.  There’s a perception‑‑ to the 21st century, how responsible are you for Twitter and things like that? 
BRIAN FERENTZ:  Well, I would say we have been in the 21st century since Y2K.  I bristle a little bit at the notion ‑‑ and I don’t ‑‑ it’s not personal.
But I do bristle at the notion that we are archaic or that our head coach is‑‑ I want to make sure I pronounce this right‑‑ is it Luddite (ph)?  Is that the correct pronunciation?  Because he’s not.  He’s got an iPhone and he’s got an iPad.   Twitter, that’s a personal decision everybody makes.  Coach Morgan is not on Twitter; I am.
I think that’s unique to every person.  I really think if you saw our head coach on Twitter or doing those kinds of things, those aren’t in his personality.  That’s not natural to him.
Alternate uniforms, that’s not really in his personality, either; I’ve seen his closet.  And I can say that because I’m his son.  But in some‑‑ I think what we learn is those things have no bearing on winning and losing, what you wear, what you don’t wear.  The notion that I have been responsible:  The alternate uniforms have been worn here before, those were in the works.  You can’t get that done overnight.  Those were in the works way before I got here.
The Twitter, Coach Johnson was on Twitter well before I got here.  I think what we worry about here, what all of us worry about every day is just get a little bit better each day.  Sometimes that takes on a social media‑‑ I think we are learning, like the rest of the country, I do think we are not unique in this; the world is changing faster than we can even keep up with it.  I know how to use Twitter and I just recently learned about Vine and I didn’t even know about that was in two weeks ago.  You won’t see me on there anytime soon.
Instagram, if somebody can give me a crash course‑‑ I’m still trying to figure out.  You can Tweet a picture, correct, can we all agree with that?  So why do you need Instagram?  Maybe I’m my father’s son sometimes.  It’s changing so fast that we are trying to stay out there with it, but shoot, it’s hard, we can barely keep up with our players sometimes.

Q.  Does that make a difference with kids in recruiting?
BRIAN FERENTZ:  That’s how kids communicate.  So yes, yes.  Facebook I think is still pretty prevalent with high school‑age guys.  But Twitter and Instagram and these‑‑ that’s where these guys communicate with each other.
So, yeah, it does make a difference.  You have to do it or else you won’t be able to talk to them because they certainly do not like talking on the phone.  That’s changed a lot, a ton.  That’s something you guys can attest to.
Thanks.

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REESE MORGAN:  We have done nine, today will be our tenth practice.  Like the attitude of the guys, like the young men that we have in the room.  They are hard workers.  This is really a great time of year if you’re a coach because you can teach, you can spend time working on fundamentals.
You can work individually with guys when they come up and ask for some assistance.  And a day like yesterday where we have an extended period of time to watch tape and do some things, this is fun.
They are coming along.  We have a long way to go.  And you’re coaching every player throughout spring football.  You’re not just focusing in and you’re not getting ready for an opponent, other than playing our team and so forth.  But it’s been great.
I value and appreciate Eric Johnson who helps out and does a great job.  We work well as a team and we are excited to get going with the guys we have.  We do have a lot of work to go as many of you see when you come and watch us perform but I’m really excited about the rest of the spring and certainly about the fall.

Q.  As far as defensive linemen, where does pressuring the quarterback rank as far as importance? 
REESE MORGAN:  I think‑‑ my wife would say that’s pretty darned important I think.
I think that’s really important and I think that’s going to be a big focus for us.  When you’re playing the defense that we play, there’s certain liabilities in a pass rush because we are playing heavy techniques and so forth.  When we get the green light to go ahead with pass rush, we have to get there and there’s an area statistically we have to improve upon, technique‑‑ wise fundamentals, emphasis‑wise.

Q.  Can you talk about what we were watching Sunday, different drills, different things, how did this come about? 
REESE MORGAN:  I don’t know what they were saying, different drills.
What you want to do, we are just trying to teach the game and every drill that we do is game‑like.  It’s something that shows up on tape.  I should be able to stop that particular tape and say:  There’s our drill right there.  There’s the block separation drill, you see that?  Now, tell me what you’re supposed to do?  Now tell me how you’re supposed to lock out.  How does this relate to the drills we are doing.
So you make them game‑like, and I don’t think you do drills for drills’ sake.  We do very simple drills.  We are going to do it from the first day they come throughout their program.  It’s no different than on the other side of the ball.  It’s about leverage and it’s about footwork, pad level, being inside, playing hard, understanding your job and responsibility.
And I think could conceptually with some of the guys, I think they are starting to understand how their job affects the linebackers.  So we want all four of those guys to know what the other guys are doing and how the linebacker reads plays and so forth.
So if you saw some different drills, it’s nothing that we have not been doing.

Q.  What kind of bodies do you want to put on the defensive line?
REESE MORGAN:  Big, big, the big, fast athletic bodies.  Being more specific though, we would like to have‑‑ Carl Davis has got a really, you know, good‑sized body.  You would probably like to see him down a couple pounds.  He does display quickness.  He’s having a very good spring.  You’d like to have some guys inside, two tackles inside, with some girth that can take on the double teams that can bull‑rush and that can stop that inside run.
Then you’d like to have guys on the outside that can pressure the quarterback, to take on, to set an edge.  And the run game, on typically the best offensive linemen that a team has, usually the most athletic lineman is usually at that tackle position.
So he’s got to be able to set an edge on him and then have some levers to work with.  So we don’t have any parameters on height, weight, anything like that.  You look at a die like dare John Cooper, I don’t know what he’s listed at, but we are eye level to eye level here.
Coop has got some good skills.  He’s still coming back from a little downtime but we would like to have some guys inside that have some girth that can stand up against the run.  Louis played all last year, Trinca‑Pasat, he’s unable to play this spring.  I doubt if Louis was too much over 260‑something last year.

Q.  Consistency for Carl Davis, how important could that be for your entire defense?
REESE MORGAN:  I just put together Carl’s mid term grade here and we’ll hand that out to him and that’s the first point, consistency.  Carl has really some special abilities, and I tell you what’s really nice is, he’s really buying into things.  He’s working harder.  He’s improving more but it doesn’t come consistently.
When you have a bigger guy that’s working and we are going up against up‑tempo offenses and we tell them, when the ball takes off, you run; all of the things we are asking him to do are a little bit out of his comfort zone.  He’s worried about fatiguing, he’s worried about that.  We said, play yourself into shape and we’ll do some extra stuff to do that.
I think he’s really going to be an excellent player for us, I really do.

Q.  Emerging pass rushers? 
REESE MORGAN:  I think we have to continue to work to give them the tools that they need.  Right now in our two‑deep we have four true freshmen that a year ago at this time were picking out tux for prom and now they are going to be on the field for us in the fall.
So bringing those guys along and taking some of the medium guys, the guys that have just been here a year or two; Coop has played a little bit but he has a long way to go.  You have Riley, Bud, some of the guys that have been around, but they just need to step it up.
But I think we have to really continue to work on drills.  We have to continue to give those guys tools to work on, be able to work on our games which we didn’t do a lot of those the other day.  And give them every advantage they can to be successful in the rush game.
Part of it, too, is a lot of times, in offenses, very few times are you going to get more than two and a half seconds.  So you have to be able to get off the block, get some pressure on somebody and contain the quarterback which we need to do a better job of.
Then we are asking a guy that’s a defensive end, line up on the tight end, make sure you hit him, he doesn’t release, release him.  Then you have to take on the right tackle or left tackle and pressure the quarterback and you have to do that all in two and a half, three seconds.  We are asking a lot of the guys but they are responding and we know that’s an area that we have to improve upon.

Q.  Inaudible. 
REESE MORGAN:  He’s everywhere.  That’s his first day at defensive end.  We are trying some guys out.  I think we would like to have the philosophy that we want guys that can play everywhere.  Mike Hardy has been playing inside and we threw him outside without any practice.  Faith we think is a guy for the future because he is very athletic, he can run, he’s smart.  He’s just young, really young.  He’s played inside probably the first seven and a half practices.  So we kind of threw him out there a little bit.  We have been working with him.  But he’s got some unique abilities.

Q.  The comparison to the situation in 2007 and the way the team responded, had a pretty good year in 2008.  Do you see similarities there in attitude and mind‑set?
REESE MORGAN:  I really think our attitude and our mind‑set has really been great.  You know, that’s one thing you can sense or feel.  There’s no barometer to measure that, but you just like the guys.  I think they are more comfortable with what we are doing, and you know, just walking around the weight room, being around the guys, I think there’s a very, very positive, very much everybody is together kind of a feeling and I think it’s really kind of exciting, I really do.

Q.  What can this defensive line do to catch up there?
REESE MORGAN:  I think I have to do a better job of teaching fundamentals and responsible ties and so forth.  And we have to have a plan where we can contain a great quarterback like Martinez, felt like we learned from that and made some improvement there.
I think we have who we have, okay.  We have to create a situation where those guys can be successful, not ask them to do something physically that they can’t do but have them understand that with great technique, awareness, and then using angles, you can put yourself in a much better situation.

Q.  Sometimes does it come down to making plays on the field, there’s only so much you can do? 
REESE MORGAN:  Yeah, you can, but I think that’s the great thing about working with young people is the mental part of it allows, and if they have confidence, they can play at a higher level.
And you know, Coach has referenced Louis before.  He was just a guy a year ago in December, he was just a guy.  He showed up with a renewed attitude and he had really just an excellent spring.  Was he a great player?  No.  But he made that transition and he had the confidence in his abilities.  There came a point in time where he had to make a decision and he really did it.
Yeah, you have to make plays, but if we get guys to use correct technique, know what’s going on, work their tail off and be relentless, those things you need.  And you saw us last year using two groups later in the season.  We got wore out and that’s something we are going to plan on continuing to do.  We think with the up‑tempo offense, we need to do it; a tired guy that’s out there with that first group is probably not as effective as a fresh guy that’s coming in.  That’s our feeling and experience and so we are committed to doing that.

Q.  How much have you noticed‑‑
REESE MORGAN:  It’s hard, because traditionally, in the defense, there have been right tackle, left tackle, so we are moving guys around and we are taking guys inside and out.
So there’s a learning process and there’s a comfort zone that you get because you’re stepping a certain way.  You’re strong with this arm or that arm, and now over on the other side, you have to do it.  Things happen faster inside as Brian referenced, too.  If you’re an inside guy, things are going fast.  If you’re an outside guy, you have a little bit of time and you can catch up and you can work the edge more than you can inside.  You’re a little bit down the middle‑‑ we have to get guys to work more inside.  Does that answer your question?

Q.  How have the players been responding to the challenge? 
REESE MORGAN:  They have been great.  They want to be coached.  Our guys have been awesome.  We have the best job in the world.  I mean, next to being a sportswriter, you know.  (Laughter).
We never go to work.  Honest to God, can you imagine that?  We are doing something we love to do, we are getting paid, and it’s a passion.  How lucky can you be?  How can all of us are so grateful to be doing, having this opportunity that Coach has presented to us.
We value that, and we have great guys because we get to recruit the guys we have, and if we get the right kind of guys, the intangibles, recruit those kind of guys, it really makes it a productive process but they are college students just like we all were.  I think I spent six or eight years in college learning how to do things.

Q.  You had Dominic Alvis, might be close to a given‑‑ how does it go down after that? 
REESE MORGAN:  I tell you what, I’m glad you brought Dom up.  He’s having a very good spring now, he and Brandon are going head‑to‑head, two very good players.
I think he’s embraced that challenge and that battle.  He’s doing a really good job.  A year ago he was coming off that knee and early in the season was not confident.  As the season went on, became more confident, more productive.  But he is doing well.
It would be hard to envision him‑‑ we have Drew out on the other side, a true freshman currently who we had to pull the redshirt off of last year when we had a series of injuries.  We did not want to put him out there.  He agreed to do it.  We played them in the last five games, just keep our rotation going.
He’s been solid.  Got dinged a little bit the other day.  And then just we are kind of looking.  I think there’s a lot of good candidates.  I think that’s an area that we feel we need to really get some guys, that’s why we put faith out there.  You’ll see Mike Hardy playing out there, Tsopanides (ph), you have Riley McMinn.  So we have got a number of guys.
A year ago, we couldn’t even‑‑ we didn’t even have two deep.  We were struggling.  We were taking guys in practice just putting a body there to do that, and there will be some of that time to time due to injuries and class conflicts with spring ball but I think we are trying to develop some depth there.

Q.  Body type, Riley at 6‑7, Bud at 6‑1, could body type dictate what you ask out of these guys? 
REESE MORGAN:  I don’t know if it dictates it, because you look at Terrence (ph) in the NFL, he’s as good as there and he’s 5‑11.  I think it’s athletic ability as much as wanting to do it as much as I think leverage is important.
But you don’t have to be a certain height, a certain weight, to play any position in football.  Thank God, because we would be in trouble.  Alabama and LSU would be the only ones being successful, and they get guys that maybe don’t meet the NFL parameters.

Q.  How is Jaleel coming along?
REESE MORGAN:  I really like Jaleel.  He is such a great, great young man.  You know, earning his trust, getting him to understand and take coaching has been the challenge and he’s been great at that, he really has.
He’s raw and he’s tough.  That’s what you love about him.  He’s got a lot of pride and he’s competitive.  But he’s still a work‑in‑progress, as all of our guys are.  And it’s just been kind of fun to work with him and to see that and understand things.
He likes the physical part of the game and if anyone here likes that part of football, you would love a guy like that.  You love it.

Q.  Since you’re using so many young guys, how do high school guys compare now to 12 years ago? 
REESE MORGAN:  I don’t know, I think it’s an individual situation.  And the reason I say that is, okay, why is it that we have four scholarship freshmen this year that came in?  And two of them were national recruits, okay.  One of them was a regional recruit.  The other one was an 8‑man football player from Gretna, Nebraska (ph) and how does that guy come in and play, you know?
So I think it’s an individual thing where intangibles are involved, grasp and knowledge of the game is involved, where development is involved.  And then that competitive spirit and that understanding, and everybody is at different levels.  Being on the other side of the ball, you take a guy like Adam, he’s teasing you, and all of a sudden he has a breakout spring, breakout senior year.  He played a little bit, but that confidence level, being able to play fast, and not just playing fast, but knowing what to do and knowing how to do it and then just going hard.
So I’m kind of going around the bush, high school‑wise, coaching‑wise, I think the high school coaches do a tremendous job.  I think they do a tremendous job at all levels and I really compliment the high school coaches in this state.  Because certainly I couldn’t coach junior high football at Northwest Junior High right now.  The game has evolved a little bit and I think I really admire and respect the job that high school coaches do on the field, and especially the commitment they make to parents and kids.

Q.  Recruiting‑wise, what Brian was talking about, you’re kind of old school, you’re not on Twitter.  What is the challenge for you?  You’re a guy that gets in the car and goes and drives to high schools. 
REESE MORGAN:  Well, you do a little more than that.  You might want to ‑‑ we send pictures (ph) out ahead of time to make sure the school knows we are‑‑ what’s that the telegram thing coming out, Western Union gram.  It’s really interesting because my wife is very techno‑savvy, and I have tasked our players to tell them there’s a meeting.
I don’t have an iPhone.  I have an fPhone, flip phone, so I communicate that way.  I really think‑‑ you really come down to relationships again, and I know Brian said that, I don’t want to sound redundant.  But just people know if you care about them.  You don’t have to write ‑‑ and we‑‑ I think we take great pride in developing relationships with our coaches and our parents through the recruiting process.
And then there’s a certain comfort level or a trust that comes in there, and you know, gosh, I don’t feel like a grandfather or an old man or a tired guy, but like James Vandenberg said, gosh, he reminds me of my grandfather when we were recruiting and kind of made me look in the mirror and say, yeah, I guess I probably do.
The kids are young and this is a magnificent profession and we have such great people here and we have a great program and university itself; and I do have a Facebook account.

Q.  Inaudible‑‑ what do you look to get out of him? 
REESE MORGAN:  I think he’s kind of found a home with us, because he’s played a couple different spots.  If we can teach him how to rush a passer, how to defend blocks; you know, he’s a very competitive young man, very talented young man.  But also extremely raw, and he’ll go behind blocks‑‑ he’ll a la matt Roth and Mitch at times ‑‑ I hope to heck we have a guy that’s even close to‑‑ and you don’t mention him in that breath, because he’s not there.  But I think he brings the quickness, some toughness and competitive spirit to our group.

Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery mingles with Linn County I-Club members before a club lunch on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010, at Cedar Rapids Country Club. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)

The I-Club spring mixers have kicked into gear.

I like to try to be helpful, so here’s a release from the UI and a schedule for the I-Clubs.

[OL coach Brian Ferentz and DL coach Reese Morgan talk today, beginning 12:30.]

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA FOUNDATION

SPRING I-CLUB BANQUET SCHEDULE SET

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Spring is here and it is time for the annual I-Club banquets across the state of Iowa and the Midwest. The 21-date schedule, which starts today and goes through the end of May, gives Hawkeye fans a chance to connect with members of the UI coaching staff and administration.

“The I-Club spring banquets are a great chance for our coaches and staff to say thank you to all of the Hawkeye fans who support us,” said Matt Henderson, UI Foundation Executive Director of Development for Intercollegiate Athletics. “Whether it is being an I-Club member, purchasing season tickets or wearing the black and gold, we truly appreciate the generous support from our loyal fan base.”

Each event will feature a program delivered by a team of UI coaches and athletics staff. The Black team will be led by Hawkeye Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz and UI Women’s Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder. The Gold team will feature appearances from Hawkeye Men’s Basketball coach Fran McCaffery and UI Wrestling Coach Tom Brands. Various Hawkeye head coaches, assistant coaches and administrative staff will also participate at the events.

The I-Club banquet schedule and a complete list of local contacts for each event are available online at http://www.jointheiclub.com/springbanquets.

Caption: Iowa running back Damon Bullock (5) runs with the ball during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Let’s just say TE C.J. Fiedorowicz’s tattoo is Pat Angerer-esque. It celebrates everything that is America. The American flag, eagles and freedom.

He also said stuff and so did some other players after Sunday’s open scrimmage at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines.

OL Andrew Donnal is coming off ACL surgery. Sunday was his first day as backup left tackle. He’d been playing guard before and, if he wins a starting spot, it will be as a guard.

You’re going to have to crank this one up. The wind pretty much sucked the wind (sad trombone) out of his interview. From what I can tell, Sokol has liked his spring so far. Apologize for this. Sunday wasn’t optimal weather. I asked about zone read. It didn’t really go anywhere.

Bullock talks about the zone read. Said it was introduced this spring. He also talks about the QBs and believes they’ve been pretty even. Bullock is doing some slot and some outside receiver. Inside runs weren’t called for him. The scrimmage was scripted.

He looked quicker and he hopes he’s quicker than he was pre-ACL surgery. He sounded like he was an emergency RB last season. Zone read is something all the RBs and QBs seem to like. Canzeri also is sliding into the WR area.

Who’s taller, you or Riley McCarron (walk-on WR)? Humorous answer forthcoming.

Cooper is getting better along with the rest of the DL. He knows it’s the position group that is in the crosshairs. They understand it all starts up front and they all need to get better.

CJF talks about the “B back,” sort of the motion guy, sort of the fullback, sort of the H back. Iowa didn’t show it much Sunday. CJF is set at the “Y,” which makes Iowa’s initial depth chart that called the “move” TE a “Y back” a typo. CJF and Ray Hamilton are the Ys; Jake Duzey and Henry Krieger Coble are the “Bs.”

CJF doesn’t have a favorite QB yet.

And hey, check the tattoo.

Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Riley McCarron (83) spins out of a tackle by Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Jordan Lomax (27) during a special teams drill at an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Iowa Hawkeyes offensive linesman Andrew Donnal (78) and offensive linesman Brandon Scherff (68) work out during an open practice Sunday, April 14, 2013 at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

Here are some videos of the OL vs. DL in 3-on-2 and pass rush one-on-ones.

Also, there are a few plays from the inside running drills.

Some fairly physical demonstrations. OL is ahead of the DL, as you’d expect.

We start right off with DT Carl Davis vs. C Austin Blythe. Some good battles going on right here. Jordan Walsh is getting his shot to impress. At :48 seconds, RT Brett Van Sloten pancakes soph DE Drew Ott. And then does it again on the next play.

Three 1s vs. 1s inside drill plays. I’d score it two for the offense and one for the D.

I’d score this one 3-0 offense. You’ll note RB Jordan Canzeri’s quick feet and a lot of stalemate at the LOS.

I missed Drew Ott’s first chance, but got everyone after that. Pretty interesting battles. I’d like to get your takes.

This is more of the backups. Starts with DE Faith Ekakitie vs. OT Ryan Ward.

This drill works the DL’s burst and swim or rip. No. 34 is Nate Meier, the sophomore who made the move from LB this spring.

This is a younger group. Redshirt freshman Mitch Keppy looks the part.

The group works out with new coach DJ Hernandez, a grad assistant who’s in his first year with Iowa. C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ray Hamilton had great days, combining for seven catches and 143 yards. Henry Krieger Coble and George Kittle caught TD passes.