Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz has high hopes for the team this upcoming season, but some parts are still in the works.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke at the Big Ten Media days in Chicago, IL, earlier this morning about the Hawkeye football team this fall. Ferentz had great things to say about our returning and new talent, as well as some concerns when it comes to positions that will require fresh, new players that haven’t had experience.
Ferentz’ first concern with this team is the defensive side of the ball. While he wasn’t that worried offensively with returning quarterback Nate Stanley, entering his junior year, and the talent on both the tight end and wide receiver position, he definitely is wondering how the defense will play. The departure of Josey Jewell, Josh Jackson, etc are giant shoes to fill and the expectations of those shoes to be filled to perfection is quite tough. Therefore, Ferentz said that they need to develop the depth on that side of the ball as well as our punting game, which was another part of concern, and we all know punting is winning. With the work they’ve been putting in all summer, he said, he expects this team to flourish come kickoff time. They’ve been putting in major work since spring and he said since the spring game, they’ve gotten much better with more improved work that they’ve been going hard at, which is great news.
Kirk Ferentz talked highly about returning junior quarterback Nate Stanley at the conference. He said that he has gained the respect of his teammates quite well and is a very hard-working player. Ferentz believes that Stanley will not only be as good as he was last year, but only improve and you can expect great things from him this year.
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I definitely believe this will be a solid year for Hawkeye football despite all the major shoes that need to be filled. With that being said, and what Ferentz has been saying about this team at the Big Ten Media days, I think we can all expect a good year from this team and get excited about our extremely talented young core. If you want to read the entire Kirk Ferentz press conference, click here.