Tag: cody ince

Kirk Ferentz releases statement on tragic passing of former Hawkeye OL Cody Ince

As the Iowa community mourns the loss of former Hawkeye Cody Ince, Kirk Ferentz released a statement on his tragic passing.

The Iowa community was rocked late last night as news began to spread that former Hawkeye offensive lineman Cody Ince, 23, had passed away over the weekend.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz confirmed the tragic news today and released a statement on the life and legacy of Ince.

“I am incredibly sad to hear about Cody Ince’s sudden passing. Cody was a tremendous young man, valued teammate, and contributor to our program. He loved football, fishing and hunting, and believed in the importance of family and friendships. Cody was just beginning this next chapter of his life and was about to be married. Mary and I are heartbroken for his fiancée, his family and all his friends who knew and loved him. All of us in the football program—his coaches and teammates—are mourning his loss,” Ferentz said in his statement.

Ince’s obituary reads that he “passed away unexpectedly” at his home near Grantsburg, Wis. His Celebration of Life will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, at the BrowTine Event Center in Amery, Wis.

Ince signed with the Hawkeyes out of Unity High School in Wisconsin and was a three-star signee per 247Sports. The recruiting service ranked him as the No. 81 offensive tackle and as the No. 6 player from Wisconsin. Ince chose Iowa over offers from schools such as Central Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Purdue, South Dakota State, UCF, and Virginia.

Throughout his Iowa career, Ince carved out a key role. The 6-foot-4, 282-pound offensive lineman appeared in 29 games and started 10 of them across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the league’s coaches and media in 2020. Phil Steele tabbed Ince as a fourth-team All-Big Ten selection that season.

Ongoing injury issues led to Ince medically retiring from football in March of 2022.

Of course, much larger than any impact he made on the football field itself was the impact Ince made on his teammates, his friends, and his family members’ lives.

Several former teammates paid their tributes to Ince. Purdue running back and former Iowa wide receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr. wrote to Ince on his obituary’s Tribute Wall.

“I have had the honor of knowing and playing with Cody while I was at the University of Iowa. He was not only a great teammate but an amazing person! Always smiling and cracking jokes but he took his job on the field personally and I loved that about him. He used to always bring in deer jerky or sunflower seeds and he made sure I got some every time. It’s the little things that I will remember! Thank you Cody for being such an amazing person and friend!” Tracy Jr. wrote.

Oklahoma State wide receiver and former Hawkeye receiver Arland Bruce IV took to social media to share his love for Ince.

“Rest in Peace Cody Ince, may God watch over your family as they mourn your passing and you enter into The Kingdom of Heaven! You showed me what true leadership looks like and how to be a great teammate,” Bruce wrote.

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Iowa Hawkeye Tyler Linderbaum is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded 2021 college football player

Pro Football Focus graded Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum as its top 2021 college football player.

Iowa center [autotag]Tyler Linderbaum[/autotag] is going to be an excellent addition for somebody in the 2022 NFL draft. That much is evidenced by his Pro Football Focus grade.

Linderbaum had the highest grade of any college football player in 2021. The 6-foot-3, 290 pound center earned a grade of 95.4.

That mark was well clear of the next-closest center. Missouri’s Michael Maietti finished the 2021 season with a PFF grade of 89.1, Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz earned a grade of 88.5, USC’s Brett Neilon registered a grade of 86.2 and Wyoming’s Keegan Cryder recorded a grade of 85.5 to round out the top grades for Division I centers.

According to PFF, Linderbaum had a run blocking grade of 96.6 and a pass blocking grade of 79.8. His run blocking grade was tops among all Division I players, while his pass blocking grade checked in at No. 15. Linderbaum was also recently listed among Bucky Brooks of NFL.com’s top five interior blockers.

Iowa’s top ten offensive players during the 2021 season according to PFF looked like this: Linderbaum at No. 1 with a grade of 95.4, left guard [autotag]Kyler Schott[/autotag] with a grade of 86.1, offensive lineman [autotag]Tyler Elsbury[/autotag] with a grade of 80.4, offensive guard [autotag]Justin Britt[/autotag] with a grade of 78.5, center [autotag]Matt Fagan[/autotag] with a grade of 75.8, running back [autotag]Gavin Williams[/autotag] with a grade of 75.1, offensive guard [autotag]Cody Ince[/autotag] with a grade of 75.1, quarterback [autotag]Spencer Petras[/autotag] with a grade of 73.9, tight end [autotag]Sam LaPorta[/autotag] with a grade of 72.5 and right guard [autotag]Connor Colby[/autotag] with a grade of 71.5

The Hawkeyes’ top 10 defensive players in 2021 via PFF went as follows: defensive end [autotag]Zach VanValkenburg[/autotag] with a grade of 84.2, cornerback [autotag]Riley Moss[/autotag] with a grade of 80.1, cornerback [autotag]Matt Hankins[/autotag] with a grade of 80.0, safety [autotag]Dane Belton[/autotag] with a grade of 77.1, safety [autotag]Quinn Schulte[/autotag] with a grade of 75.3, safety [autotag]Kaevon Merriweather[/autotag] with a grade of 73.1, cornerback [autotag]Jermari Harris[/autotag] with a grade of 72.9, defensive tackle [autotag]Noah Shannon[/autotag] with a grade of 70.6, defensive tackle [autotag]Lukas Van Ness[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Jack Campbell[/autotag] with a grade of 69.8.

Iowa’s top-five graded specialists according to PFF were defensive tackle [autotag]Logan Lee[/autotag] with a grade of 89.0, cornerback [autotag]Terry Roberts[/autotag] with a grade of 84.6, cornerback [autotag]Cooper DeJean[/autotag] with a grade of 76.3, cornerback [autotag]Xavior Williams[/autotag] with a grade of 76.1 and defensive back [autotag]Henry Marchese[/autotag] with a grade of 74.2.

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Iowa announces Cody Ince, Elijah Yelverton have elected to leave the program

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz announced offensive lineman Cody Ince and tight end Elijah Yelverton have left the program.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media as the Hawkeyes begin their spring slate of practices. Ferentz announced a pair of players have elected to leave the program, offensive lineman Cody Ince and tight end Elijah Yelverton.

“A couple of roster updates. We had two players decide that they’re not going to finish their careers. Most recently Elijah Yelverton came in before spring break and just said that he’s going to put football on the shelf, finish out this semester and go back home, finish up his degree down in Texas. And then Cody Ince has been through a lot of things medically as has Eli. He’s decided he’s not going to take his next year this year. And so he’ll graduate here in May. I think he’s got about eight, nine hours to go, so he’ll get his degree and move on from there. Whether it’s these two guys or anybody that leaves our program, we certainly wish them the best moving forward. And they’re taking advantage of a new start as well, so wish them the best,” Ferentz said.

Ince started the first four games of last season for Iowa at left guard before Kyler Schott took over for the remaining 10 games. Over the course of his Hawkeyes career, Ince started a total of 10 games. The 6-foot-4, 282 pound offensive lineman dealt with injuries last year and also the death his grandfather.

Yelverton arrived in Iowa City as a three-star prospect according to 247Sports. The Dallas, Texas, native was ranked as the nation’s No. 28 tight end in the 2020 class according to the recruiting service, but he ends his Hawkeyes career without having caught a pass.

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The Big Ten’s top five guards heading into 2021

How many #Buckeyes make the top five of our best Big Ten offensive tackles for 2021?

The college football season kicks off in less than a month, and we have been rolling through the best of the Big Ten at each position. We have already completed our list of top five quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive tackles.

The Ohio State offensive line will be missing a few stars from last season, but as Buckeye fans, we all know this program reloads and doesn’t rebuild. Our tackle list featured both starting Ohio State tackles, let’s see how many of the guards make the cut, and what other offensive tackles in the Big Ten are some of the best heading into 2021.