In a very familiar time slot on Tuesday afternoon, Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz held his first official press conference before the 2025-2026 season begins on Saturday against Albany.
Ferentz is heading into his 27th year as head coach and believes this group of guys is ready to excel this season.
Excluding Reece Vander Zee (foot injury), the Hawkeyes are heading into game one healthy and are ready to start the season strong.
Ferentz discussed multiple topics with the media on Tuesday, but three topics stuck out from the rest.
What to look for from Mark Gronowski in game one
Much has been discussed about new starting quarterback Mark Gronowski since he transferred to the Iowa program from South Dakota State.
After spending all of spring and some of the summer practices on the sidelines rehabbing his shoulder injury, Gronowski is 100 percent healthy and ready to go for week one.
This week, Gronowski was officially named the starter, giving Iowa fans what they have been hoping for since he first walked onto campus.
When Ferentz was asked about what he expects from Gronowski during game one, he said it was simple: don't do too much.
Ferentz noted that Gronowski improved every week of camp and when he did make mistakes, it was a result of trying to do too much.
Ferentz also went on to say he knows Mark will be excited, but he just needs to relax and he will be fine.
The battle for the starting offensive left tackle position
The Hawkeyes are projected to have a stout offensive line again this season, following an underrated performance from the group last season.
If there was a question mark going into the season, it was at the left tackle position. On the first official depth chart of the season, Jack Dotzler was listed as the starter, but it also stated that Dotzler OR Trevor Lauck could start on Saturday.
Ferentz stated that Dotzler had a great start to the offseason, but then tapered off near the end. He finished strong, but got away from some of the good things he was doing at the beginning.
Lauck also had a good fall camp, making it so there was no clear winner of the position.
Ferentz stated that they continually flip-flop where they have both players on the depth chart, so we will have to wait and see what they do on Saturday.
Which, of the young running backs will get touches
Ferentz is not a coach who throws freshmen on the field, regardless of how talented they are coming out of high school. He likes to bring them and develop them before giving them any meaningful snaps.
That can change if they have an amazing offseason, but Ferentz has always been hesitant to play younger players unless an injury or other situation forces his hand.
The squad has four freshman running backs on the squad, including Brevin Doll, Xavier Williams, Nathan McNeil, and Braeden Jackson.
Ferentz stated that of the four freshmen running backs on the squad, they are going to green-light McNeil for this weekend and see how it goes.
Ferentz also mentioned that they have a talented freshman running back class and have four games to sort it out. The four-game window refers to the use of a redshirt for a player if they do not play in more than four games.
Ferentz and the Hawkeyes are ready for week one, now they must go out and execute everything they worked on during the offseason.