Here's a portion of what Iowa's longtime football coach told the media during his spring practice press conference.
Spring football is here, and Kirk Ferentz is back on the sidelines for his 28th season as Iowa football's head coach.
Ferentz met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the opening of Iowa's spring practice. Here's a portion of what he said:
Q. Whenever we've asked you about Jeremy Hecklinski, you've thrown out the Drew Tate comparison a few times. A lot of guys that we talked to today said gunslinger, he's a guy who likes to push the ball downfield. How much of it for him is it going to be just sort of to know when to take those shots downfield and when to risk it, and then when to just say take what's given to you; you're going to have shots later on in the game or practice? Is that something that you have to continue to work through? And what have you kind of seen from him in the early going?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, there's no position more challenging, probably, than playing quarterback, mainly because they have their hands on the ball every play. So a lot of responsibility with that.
I'm always reluctant or hesitant sometimes to throw out the terms of comparing a guy to a former player. But there are some parallels, personality-wise there, and just the way he plays the game. And then also the gunslinger term can connote recklessness or whatever. And I'm not trying to suggest that.
But he's not afraid to throw it and throw it in there. And part of that, though, is knowing when and how. And as things change, game circumstances, all that kind of stuff, transition to another guy.
C.J. Beathard had a good feel for that. He'd try to throw it in some tight windows, but he knew when to do it. And when he did it, he usually was confident he could do it.
Q. You obviously lose a lot with your offensive line, three guys moving on probably to the NFL. What have you seen from some of those new guys stepping in there in that unit as a whole in their first few practices? And is there anybody that kind of stands out to you so far?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, not yet. We've only had pads on twice. I'll say this, it's really hard to practice against each other, period. And it's almost impossible when we don't have pads on. Nobody wants to give an inch. It's just the nature. I mean the defensive guys are competitive, the offensive guys are competitive.
It really is hard. But it's a little bit easier now. So that helps.
But so far so good. It's early. We are not totally together yet, so wouldn't/shouldn't be totally in sync. But see some guys that certainly look better than they did back in December. That's one of the things about spring practice and spring ball will have a little better grip and feel for it.
Q. You guys went real heavy with FCS guys in the transfer portal. What was kind of your approach in that regard? Because obviously you've had -- it's been hit or miss sort of with that level coming up here and success stories, et cetera. What gives you confidence that these guys are the right guys?
KIRK FERENTZ: I don't know how intentional it was, but it just worked that way. It's kind of like recruiting high school players. You're looking for guys that maybe are going to -- you see some things, characteristics, attributes that they may have that you think you can develop and bring along.
And I know you know this. I think there's only one senior in the group. That was kind of intentional, if at all possible, because we'd rather have guys who are going to be here for at least two, three years to kind of become part of the fabric. We've had one-year guys do a great job of that. But to get them in the program and bring them along, develop them here, that was kind of our goal.
If we got starters, great. But it was more about improving our top 44 players and improving the competition. That is one thing about the transfer portal; you get a guy that's been out of high school for at least a year.
Q. Quarterback battles are fascinating to me. Looks like you're not going to break any news today. That's okay. Do you think April or March and April as kind of a starting line for a competition and every day being equally important? Is there perhaps more weight given to days closer to game day like when the heat is on and the pads are on in August? How do you assess that?
KIRK FERENTZ: You never really know. You never know when the picture is going to unfold or if it will unfold. Right now it's about doing the work in the out of season that comes with preseason work or spring ball work, learning the offense, going through film. Just sitting and watching with a coach that type of thing and learn as much as you can.
Q. This is Hank's second spring ball with you guys. What type of growth have you seen from him and the impressions early on so far this spring?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's really early in the game, because you've got a lot of variables, a lot of things going on -- who is playing receiver, what the protection is, the quality of the protection. There's a million things going on.
But both guys are certainly more comfortable than a year ago. That's the good news. They're both operating, I think, with a lot more confidence, familiarity. And I think that hurt Mark to some degree. Even though he was here last spring, not being able to actually take snaps and operate and practice hurts you.
So that part's all good. And we're just going to let it ride. Yeah, they are splitting reps pretty much down the middle, and we'll probably do that -- I mean there's no rush here, there's no benefit in making a call unless it just becomes obvious. Then we'll do that.