Today, we continue our look at the Iowa Hawkeye Football team at the beginning of spring practice.
In Power Five NCAA Football, one constant is rapid turnover in on-field personnel. This is due largely to graduation, but leaving early for the NFL Draft, transfers, and injuries all affect a team’s depth chart.
Iowa is no exception, and Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes will be looking to replace over 20 seniors on the field this coming fall.
“We lost 21 seniors,” said Ferentz. “Not all were starters, but what they did collectively, that’s a big void to fill right there. So that’s our first challenge. Forget about possessions, but you move 21 guys that did things on a daily basis really well, really modelled great behavior for our entire football team.”
Iowa will bring back plenty of difference makers from their 12-2 team a year ago, but there will be voids to fill.
“So can we fill that void?” asked Ferentz. “And then if other guys rising up to fill that void, what about the void that’s left in the wake of that? So a lot of moving parts on the football team. That’s why I said it’s a new year, new team for sure.”
To help fill a bigger void on the offense, there will be one player switching sides of the ball.
“One position move, Brady Ross is going to move over to the fullback position,” Ferentz said. “Brady was a walk-on linebacker in the fall, freshman linebacker from Humboldt High School and really did a nice job. In fact, in December we toyed with him a little bit on offense and he’ll lineup at the fullback position.”
Of course, with or without new personnel, spring football is huge for a program, and Iowa is no different.
“First and foremost it’s a chance to install our system offensively, defensively, and special teams-wise,” according to Ferentz. “See how the guys do learning skill and technique development is a critical part and something that’s ongoing. So it’s a good opportunity for us to work there. You’re always working on your teamwork, and then the fourth thing is trying to raise the overall performance of our football team.”
We will continue our coverage of Iowa Hawkeye Spring Football practice tomorrow as we look at the leadership of the squad. You can check out more information on our website at radiokmzn.com and like us on Facebook at “Mahaska Zone Network.”
