COACH
FERENTZ: My week has been off to a big start already. Yesterday
I got to open the paper and saw a little picture of my face, nice smile
on my face, cited a like 2-and-20 record against Iowa State since I've
been here. And then the highlight of my day today, I just got
off the Big Ten -- whatever they call it, media call-in or whatever it's
called, but it's like a call-in show, and we wrapped it up with a question
about the tight end at Wisconsin. I thought that was a good question.
We're off to a good start here.
But
hopefully this will be the crescendo right here. We'll wrap this
thing right up.
Injury
front-wise right now, I think we're gaining ground. Probably the
only guy that has no chance to play this week is Jeff Tarpinian.
He had to pull out last week. He worked on Sunday a little bit,
but even if he is 100 percent cured today, I just don't see him having
enough volume of work. Outside of that, I think everybody has
got a chance to play in the game.
Captains
this week will be King and Kroul again on defense. We've got Bruggeman
again offensively, and we'll add Seth Olsen to the group, so those will
be our four guys.
Certainly
I'm pleased with Saturday's results. I think we're doing some
things well out there, and that's a good thing. Fan support has
been tremendous; very, very appreciative of that. I'll say that
one more time.
That
being said, we've got a bigger challenge this week than we've had the
last two, no question about that. Iowa State is probably like
us; I think both teams have improved from a year ago. Very impressed
with everything that we're seeing about them. They're playing
hard. They're well-coached, good scheme. More importantly,
the players I think know what they're being asked to do, and they're
doing an excellent job of it.
They're
playing opportunistic football, which is what good football teams do,
and they're creating a lot of positive situations, be it the turnover
situation. And the other thing that's really factored into their
production has been their special teams. They've played excellent
in all phases and have addressed some things that were probably concerns
for them. The guys kicking right now are doing a good job, and
clearly when you block a couple punts, that really helps out, and that's
a sign of good coaching and good execution.
So
I think if you look at the return yardage, for and against, all those
kinds of things, they're doing a great job on special teams. So
they're playing well, and it's a challenge for us to play a lot better
here than we've played the last two weeks, and we've got about four
days to do it.
Q.
What have you seen out of Ricky that gave you the confidence to put
him on that top line over Jake?
COACH
FERENTZ: So far he's played well. You know, and this is
pretty much based on what's happened since August. I'll say it
one more time. I think both guys have really done a good job in
all the situations that they've been in, and the thing that motivated
us to start Rick last week, we didn't have a chance to see him as a
starter. This is the first time we got an exposure to that.
I think he handled it well.
But
there are a lot of things we don't know about him yet. We really
haven't seen him in tight circumstances. On the game field we've
seen him in those circumstances and practice, and based on that, we
think he's going to do just fine. But there are a lot of things
he hasn't experienced yet, and I made reference a week ago or whenever
it was, he hasn't been sacked 40-something times yet.
Jake
took one on the chin in our first ballgame. He got rid of the
ball, but he took one under the face mask. Those things aren't
fun, and Jake has been through a lot of not-fun things, and it wasn't
fun for him Saturday, I know, having to come out and visit with the
media afterwards, but he's done a great job in all those circumstances.
That's why we think so highly of him. I'm sure Rick will do well
but there are a lot of unknowns.
It's
not like we're ready to crown him king or anything like that.
It's kind of like our football team. We've played hard but we
really haven't done anything yet, either. Maybe he's representative
of our football team at this given stage.
Q.
What did you take away from the film that you liked, that Stanzi did
out there?
COACH
FERENTZ: I think you guys saw the game. I think probably
pretty much what everybody saw. He operated well, made some good
throws. He did some things wrong, too, and hopefully he'll make
improvement this week.
Q.
Do you anticipate any kind of rotation at all?
COACH
FERENTZ: Don't have a set plan right now, but we'll just play
things by feel. We'll see how the game plays out. But at
this given point, no, we'll just kind of see how things go. They'll
both work this week in practice.
Q.
Is Jake getting any playing time at all then?
COACH
FERENTZ: It's possible, but we haven't -- we haven't really -- we'll
see how the week goes, too. This will be his first -- there are a
lot of firsts, but this is Rick's first week of practice after starting
a ballgame, and we'll see where his head is at and see how he's practicing,
too. We've had a couple situations like this, and we're not unpleased
with anybody. It's just a matter of doing the best at any given
time.
Q.
How pleased are you with the offensive line?
COACH
FERENTZ: They're making progress. You know, it's like a
lot of things on our team, we're making progress. But when you
look at the tapes, too, you know there are a lot of things we need to
do better, can do better and will have to do better this week because
they've got an excellent coaching staff, and they're watching the same
tapes we're watching. Things that we're not doing real well they're
going to try to exploit, and I think the level of competition clearly
goes up, especially given this series. I mean, it's going to be
a tough ballgame, so we're going to have to take a couple steps this
week, not just one or two, but a couple.
Q.
I assume the offensive line will have to take care of the blitz?
COACH
FERENTZ: I would imagine we might see a couple of them.
Yeah, that's a big part of it, and our back is going to have to do a
good job in the pickup, and then in cases where we can't get a body
on the blitzers, then the quarterbacks and receivers have to be on the
same page. It's intricate and we're going to have to be sharp
because it's coming.
Q.
Do you have any concerns with Ricky, like him getting a big head, that
type of thing?
COACH
FERENTZ: I don't, but again, I've never seen him in this situation.
But again, he's a lot like our team; it's not like we've done anything
yet. I mean, we've won two games, we won two games last year and
the season didn't have a happy ending. I think all of us just
need to keep that in mind. We've done some things well, but we've
got an awful lot we can still improve on. I think that's probably
true for every individual on our team right now.
Q.
You guys haven't been challenged at all this year. Iowa State
really had to fight last week. Are you concerned at the fact that
you guys haven't been pushed that much?
COACH
FERENTZ: I'm not concerned. There's nothing you can do about
it. We've tried to challenge guys in practice and what have you,
and sometimes we look good and sometimes we don't. But that's
part of the season, and certainly in the next ten weeks starting with
this week we're going to be in plenty of those situations.
That's
part of the growth process, and it'll be interesting to watch how we
respond.
Q.
In watching the tape, are Phillip Bates and Austen Arnaud similar enough
quarterbacks where you can get by with one game plan?
COACH
FERENTZ: I think clearly if you just look at the statistics, both
of them -- neither of them are afraid to run it, but you look at the statistics,
and Bates has really been productive with his feet. Both of them
will throw it and can throw it and do throw it and do a nice job throwing
it. But they're both capable; they're both dangerous performers.
But statistically you've got to probably give a little bit of an edge
to Bates as a runner. But that doesn't mean Arnaud is a slouch.
One thing is for sure, odds of getting a sack on either guy is -- it's
going to be -- it's just probably not -- don't sit around waiting for too
many of those because you're not going to get many chances to sack those
guys. Either they're going to get the ball out or take it and
run with it, so we're going to have to be sound with our whole team
defense.
Q.
Did you have to spend extra time because they have two quarterbacks?
COACH
FERENTZ: Well, I don't know, I mean, if you have to spend extra
time. I think you have to worry about both guys in both categories,
and the way their offense is set up, you have to respect the run, including
the quarterback run. No matter what's in the ballgame you just
have to be alert for that and sound for that. If you're not, you're
going to be in trouble. We lost contain a couple times the other
day, and if we do that this Saturday we're going to pay for it.
There won't be a shutout on the board then, I can promise you that.
Q.
What do you have to say to the cynics that say maybe you don't take
this game as serious as some Iowa fans would like?
COACH
FERENTZ: Well, I'd say they're probably misinformed. But
everybody is entitled to their opinion. It's a great country.
We
think every game is pretty important. I thought the last two were
important, too.
Q.
Do you expect Moeaki to get back on the field this weekend?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, if he gets through the week. He's making
progress. Two questions, how effective will he be, and then the
second thing is how long can he go, how many plays could he actually
play and be effective. He's missed a lot of time. That's
really the case with all the guys we're dealing with. We've got
a lot of guys that have missed time. To think they're going to
come back and be at the same form the other guys are, it's probably
not realistic. They may be for a while, but over the long haul
we have to be smart about how we bring them back.
Q.
Do you like Trey Stross also this week?
COACH
FERENTZ: He's got a chance. He gained ground last week during
the week, and if we can get him through the next three days, you'll
see him Saturday. If you don't see him Saturday, that means we
didn't get him through the next three days. Doering has got a
new cast, which is good news. So I think he's got a shot, but
we haven't seen him in practice yet really with the new cast, so hopefully
he'll have a more realistic chance now.
Q.
I believe the number is 423 rushing yards the Cyclones have given up
in two games. Is it fair to say there will be an extra dose of
Shonn Greene this week?
COACH
FERENTZ: Well, I don't know. Yeah, we're going to run our
offense the way we run it pretty much. The styles of teams that
they've played are a little different than what we are, so that kind
of adds to it. I'm not sure that we resemble either those games
real well, and it won't be as easy to get yards this week. I know
that.
Q.
Can you talk about the secondary? Have you seen any surprises
so far? And is Dalton and Sash just kind of a game-day decision?
COACH
FERENTZ: I think that competition is pretty even, and you know,
we're doing some good things back there. But it's not like we've
really been tested at this given stage.
I
think, again, with our whole football team, we're going to learn a lot
more this week where we're at. I think it's going to be interesting
just to see how we perform.
Q.
Do the guys kind of know the significance of this game, what it means
to not only the players but to the fans and the state of Iowa?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, I think probably the only people that don't would
be the first-year freshmen that haven't been involved in this game.
Even the guys that were first year last year that didn't travel I think
got a little sense of it. I assume they watched it on TV.
I think they understand, and pretty much I think if you've been around
this thing one time or even half of a game, I think you've got a feel
for how intense the rivalry is.
It's
one thing to look at statistics or hear people talk about it, but once
you've been involved in it I think you've got a better taste.
The way it is now I think it's just about everybody on both rosters,
no matter where they grew up or whether they were born, they've probably
got a feel for it.
It's
a great thing; I'm not quite sure -- I wasn't around here when they quit
the series. I'm not going to look at anybody that was. I
know there's somebody in the room that was probably. But for whatever
reason, they discontinued the series at one juncture and brought it
back in the '70s. I'd be hopeful that they would never discontinue
it. I think it's a good thing for football in general. Certainly
it's good for football in our state.
Q.
When you're walking around in public do you get asked if you're going
to beat Iowa State this year more so than any other game? Do you
feel like there's more questions about Iowa State more so than any other
game?
COACH
FERENTZ: Not really. Not to ruin your story, but no (laughter).
But it does come up. I'm not going to minimize it. But it
does come up, and a few other things come up, too, especially after
last year. They had a couple other teams on their list, also.
Q.
Some of the spots where you have multiple guys listed, like left guard,
kicker, how soon would you want a definite No. 1?
COACH
FERENTZ: We'll just let it play itself out. There's no way
to, I don't think, make a decision until it becomes evident you can
make a good decision, so we'll let it play out and see what happens.
Q.
This is the first time in a long time where you've had competition affect
the depth chart like it has. Is that what it is, just competition
has picked up now and maybe some help on the roster?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, I think probably in most cases it's a matter of
two guys that we feel are pretty capable. It's usually more of
that than anything else. Sometimes it means you don't have anybody,
and we may find that to be true down the road. But I don't think
that's the case.
I
think our depth is probably a little better this year than it's been
maybe in some years at some positions. You know, there's still
a couple where we're a little thin, and I hope that doesn't show up
anytime in the next 13 weeks. But you never know -- or 11 weeks I
guess at this point.
Q.
I know you don't want to get too excited about only two games, but what
does it say about the depth and the quality of the defense, and a guy
who I believe is a backup is Big Ten Player of the Week?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, we've got a tough jury in the building. He
didn't get Player of the Week in our room. He got a runner-up or
honorable mention, and I was teasing him about that. I said, geez,
the Big Ten is a little kinder to you than the coaching staff.
But it was good to see and it was good that Carl got a chance to play.
Carl is a guy that we had a lot of good feelings about from day one,
and he's endured some injury problems and some challenges there, and
he's getting his feet back up underneath him. I think he's found
a niche, found a home, and he's a high-effort player, so that's good
to see.
Talking
about depth, that's a position we're not concerned about but aware of
certainly with two guys that have played every snap for three-plus years,
so to have some good young players coming along at that position is
good, and I think Carl is certainly going to be in that mix.
Q.
You mentioned Moeaki this year, what do you think about him in terms
of being one of few guys to go to the NFL? Looking pretty good
so far?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, it's way too early to tell. We're happy,
don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to put water on the parade
here, but it's way too early. Anytime you keep people out of the
end zone that's a good thing and that's the number one objective.
All
that being said, we know it's going to get a lot more difficult and
challenging here in the next ten ballgames. Each step will be
a test for us, and hopefully if we stumble, we get back up on our feet,
but hopefully we're not going to stumble too badly.
Q.
Where is Shonn in terms of game shape compared to a few weeks ago?
COACH
FERENTZ: I think a lot better. The thing we can't -- I guess
you could, but we don't want to simulate in practice, is him running
the ball and getting tackled and getting banged around. And he
got tackled in preseason, don't get me wrong there. But for instance,
like with Fred Russell, I can promise you he didn't get tackled the
last two years he was on campus by our guys. He might have got
knocked over by one of our linemen doing something wrong. But
that's something that Shonn needed and needs more of. He's not
there yet, but at least these have been good -- it's a good start for him
at least to go out there and compete in game competition, to get whacked.
He got whacked pretty good the other day, and to have to play through
that, that's a good thing.
Q.
The last two years you've played somewhere around 18 true freshmen.
What's your philosophy on playing true freshmen, and has it changed
over time?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, I'm not sure -- like there's nothing in black and
white right now, but it has changed. I've rethought a few things,
I guess, and probably the poster children for this whole thing would
be Edds and Reisner. Reisner ended up playing last year and he
was hardly ready but we had no choice unfortunately, so we threw him
out there and gave him a life preserver, and he competed and did a nice
job, but he was struggling early. But I thought in the spring
he really had a good spring. It looked like he belonged on a Big
Ten field. So that kind of opened my eyes.
I
think him playing last year speeded the process, and I think Edds, the
same way. Edds didn't play as much probably as Allen did.
He played that one game, but I just think the jump that those guys had
in year two or the advantage they had as opposed to maybe red-shirting
probably helped them, and I guess where I'm thinking right now is probably
for most cases, guys that are more on the perimeter, backs, tight ends,
receivers, have a better chance, although with Bulaga it's an exception
to the rule, and I guess there's been some others.
If
a guy can help our football team right now, that's kind of the approach
that we're taking. We're going to get him involved, knowing that
it may be on a limited basis, but for the next three years I think it
will benefit him.
Q.
Was that your philosophy say nine years ago, to try to save those 18-,
19-year-olds?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, for sure years one and two we were thinking red-shirt
everybody possible. I didn't think we were going to the Rose Bowl,
especially that first season. So that was kind of our thought
was to try to build a little bit and get some guys, get their feet on
the ground and let them develop and then go from there. So yeah,
things have changed a little bit in that regard, and I think times have
changed.
The
other part of it is a guy has got to be doing okay off the field educationally
and also with his social transition. The good news is I don't
think it deters them academically. But if it does, then you've
got to reassess it.
Q.
What are your thoughts right now on the production you've gotten out
of the tight end position, both Brandon and Allen, given the stats of
Tony at the moment?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, Brandon has done a good job, and he did a good
job last year. And I've considered him to be a starter. I think
he and Tony are both starters in my opinion. We like to play a
lot of two tight ends. And Allen has made good progress.
It's good to see all those guys get involved. Hopefully we'll
get to the point where we have all three of them involved.
Mike
Sabers was one of our more improved guys during the past spring, and
unfortunately he's been out with that ankle. He's got a chance
to play this weekend, so we'll have to see how the week goes for him.
We
talked about depth earlier. That's one position where we had some
depth, and thank goodness, because we've got two upper classmen out
right now. The other guys have done a good job carrying us through.
Q.
Is there one thing that jumps out on tape when you look at Iowa State
as opposed to a year ago and the improvement they've made, faster, more
athletic? Is there something you see right off the top?
COACH
FERENTZ: I think it's everything, which you'd expect. I
mean, I know they've worked hard up there. It's very evident when
you look at the tape. Everybody looks better physically.
They look -- everybody is in sync. They're on the same page as I
think what the plan is intended to be, and they're playing with great
effort and execution. And they've had -- we've seen that before.
I mean, Dan and his staff did a great job up there, too, as we all know.
But
I think everybody realizes in any sport, I think most sports at least,
team sports, the first year is always a little bit of a -- it's a transition.
It didn't seem to hurt them too bad in our game last year, but clearly
they were 0 and 2 coming into that game, and they nailed us pretty good.
This year the difference is they're 2 and 0 and looking good.
Last year it was a grab bag those first two games for them. It
didn't affect them in the third, but this year it's not the case.
I mean, they look like they're ready to roll.
Q.
You mentioned earlier that you guys were 2 and 0 last year and didn't
have a happy ending. Have you mentioned that to the team or have
they mentioned that without you needing to bring it up?
COACH
FERENTZ: Not to sound too cliché, but we talk about games one
by one, and we finished up Saturday, talked about it Sunday, and complimented
them on the effort, and I think the guys have played hard and they've
come ready to play. We're doing a lot of good things, but again,
we're just -- there are a lot of loose ends, a lot of open doors that we've
got to get taken care of, not only for this week but for the next nine
afterwards. Or ten if you include the bye week.
So
we're just starting to -- we're at that point right now where we've got
to make strides, and we made some strides last week. We did some
things better. I'm not saying it was totally the same, but we've
got to pick up the pace here now. That's where we're at.
When the season is over we'll count the wins and see where we're at,
or somebody else will count them for us. I think other people
do that, too. We've got to keep our focus on where we're at and
where we're trying to go this week.
Q.
What is your opinion on the defensive secondary?
COACH
FERENTZ: Ours?
Q.
Yeah.
COACH
FERENTZ: Again, I like what we see, but it's not like we've really
been tested yet. The other day, however many sacks we got, that's
not going to happen this week. We're going to have to be sharper
back there, and we're going to get tested. We're going to get
tested a lot more than we have the first two weeks. But so far,
so good. The guys are playing well. They're hustling around
and doing some good things. Other than the first play -- the first
play of the season, we kind of cut one loose. But other than that,
I think we've done fairly well.
Q.
You said you were happy with the way Jake has handled this situation.
Have you had to spend any extra time, I guess, explaining it to him?
COACH
FERENTZ: Well, we talked last week, he and I talked last week,
and offered to him on Sunday to talk this week, and he hasn't taken
me up on it, so that's fine. I want to make sure he's doing okay
because it's not like just any other position. I mean, you say
it is. I've said that before. But it isn't just like any
other position because it's everybody's business what a quarterback
does or who the quarterback is. It's been that way around here.
This is my 19th year, and I think it's been that way every one of the
19 years that I've been here. It's just we're in a situation where
we are -- without the pro teams in our state, it's a prominent position,
and technology is a little bit different than it used to be in the '80s,
so a lot of people get to voice their opinions in ways they didn't used
to do.
So
yeah, I'm concerned about that a little bit, but I also know I think
he can handle it. But he's human, too. You've heard me say
it before, and it's a cliché, quarterbacks get more credit and more
criticism than they deserve typically. That's just the nature
of the beast, and anybody who plays quarterback knows that. It's
kind of like being a head coach. That's just the way it goes.
But
all that being said, the guy is a human and he's got feelings, and I'll
revert back to the voice of displeasure by several fans last week.
I don't think that's typical of our fans. I read somewhere where
it's happened three times. I missed it in 2003, and if it did
happen in 2003, I'd lump that in with 2003, 2001. Nathan Chandler
and Kyle McCann, just like Jake Christensen, are good guys that work
hard, try hard, they care about the team. They've gone through
tough times without being negative, without being complainers, and I've
got great respect for them. I certainly hope our fans would.
Both those guys had happy endings to their careers, too. They
both finished up on high notes.
That's
one of the neat things about sports; you never know how it's going to
turn out. But I'm just talking to a handful of people, I think,
and I can't hear anything Saturday because I've got headphones on.
I miss a lot of things.
I
know that's not representative of Iowa fans. Iowa fans have been
awfully good, awfully good. I'd just hate to see any individuals
get singled out unless it's an adult and they boo the coaches.
That's fine. We're getting paid. But this isn't pro football;
I hate to see individual performers get singled out. Did I answer
that question? I kind of went off there; I didn't mean to give
anybody a lecture, but I don't think that's what anybody wants in sports.
Q.
Do you have any kind of relationship with Gene Chizik?
COACH
FERENTZ: It's very casual. We attended a dinner together
a year ago April, and I saw him last September. I think that's
about it. But professionally I'm well aware of what he's done,
and I think we're probably both in tune to what we do program-wise, at
least, and I've got great respect for the job that he's done all throughout
his career. Certainly he's doing a great job there.
I
like his background in that he was the -- he's not one of those guys that
was born on third base and thought he hit a triple. He's earned
every opportunity he's gotten from an outsider's perspective.
He's earned every opportunity that's come his way, and he's done a great
job with every one of them. I don't think it's surprising that
he got hired there.
Q.
Were there signs maybe in retrospect that you guys were headed for a
lesser year after being 2 and 0 and maybe some of those
-- are you not seeing those this year?
COACH
FERENTZ: I mean, one of them was week three (laughter).
I could name a lot of plays. I'll start with the blocked field
goal. It's just funny how things come back and get you and blocked
field goals are like blocked punts. It's not a good deal.
That's a high school play, and I don't mean disrespect to anybody, but
it's not like a big thought process play. It's a play you should
be able to execute.
But
yeah, just -- and it continued. We had things that we didn't -- challenges
we didn't meet very well, and unfortunately we didn't meet the one at
the end of the season. That's where we ended up, and now we're
moving forward. And we'll know more here in about 10, 11 weeks
where we're at this year.
Q.
Do you remind your guys throughout this week of the emotions they felt
after last year's game?
COACH
FERENTZ: Yeah, you know, more prominent to me is just the ride
home. That's a long ride home. I remember that ride home.
I remember riding home from Northwestern in 2005. I remember the
week or so after the last ballgame last year. I remember the last
week or so after our last ballgame the year before that, the Minnesota
game. There are certain things that just -- snapshot memories you
have, and they're not pleasant thoughts. If those motivate you,
great, they should, motivate you to work harder. But at the end
of the day you've got to perform.
Q.
To your knowledge since you've been a part of this series as a head
coach here, is this the first time that both teams have come in with
kind of, at least as the thought process, two quarterbacks?
COACH
FERENTZ: You know, I haven't thought about that. I thought
you were going to ask me if it was the first time both teams were 2
and 0. I haven't thought much about that, either. Yeah,
I don't know. I don't know how many quarterbacks we had our first
couple years. I know we were in a rotating system at some point.
I know this, when they had Wallace, Rosenfels, who am I leaving out,
they weren't rotating those guys, Meyer. I mean, those guys were
in there. But it seems to be working for them and seems to be
working for us so far.