Kirk Ferentz – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa took notice of new Purdue head coach during UNLV stint

Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz said he has been impressed from afar with new Purdue head football coach Barry Odom.

Though their paths haven’t yet crossed, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said he has been impressed by the Purdue Boilermakers’ new head football coach.

Purdue recently hired Barry Odom, 48, as its new head football coach. Odom orchestrated one of the more impressive coaching jobs over the past two seasons as he guided UNLV to back-to-back Mountain West championship game appearances and beat Power Four foes Houston and Kansas this season.

The Rebels lost each of those Mountain West Championship games to Boise State, but Odom compiled a 19-8 mark with UNLV over the past two seasons, including a 10-3 record this year.

Ferentz said it caught he and the Iowa staff’s eye.

“Tremendous respect for him, especially if you look at what he’s done here these last couple years. I don’t mean this in a negative way towards UNLV, but they’ve gone through several coaches there over the years and really have never had success, proven success or continued success there.

“So, I kind of look across things sometimes, things catch your eye. I’ve said it to several people this year the job that they’re doing down there is just absolutely amazing. I don’t pretend to know what they’re doing or how they were doing it other than I know they’re playing really good football. I’ve never met him personally, but have heard nothing but positive things about him as a person and as a coach. Not surprised that he’s that kind of success there,” Ferentz said of Odom.

Odom also served as the head coach at his alma mater, Missouri, from 2016-19. Odom was fired a day after the regular season ended following the Tigers’ 6-6 finish in the 2019 season.

Odom compiled a 25-25 (13-19 SEC) record during his four seasons with the Tigers.

Odom takes over a Purdue program that sank in a hurry under Ryan Walters’ direction. Walters went just 5-19 over two seasons at Purdue and was fired after a season-ending 11-game losing streak.

In addition to his head coaching stints, Odom has also worked as the defensive coordinator at Memphis, Missouri and Arkansas.

Iowa topped Purdue 20-14 in the two teams’ most recent meeting during the 2023 season. Then-sophomore running back Kaleb Johnson rushed for 134 yards, including his 67-yard rushing touchdown.

The Hawkeyes have won back-to-back games in the series. Iowa also beat Purdue, 24-3, during the 2022 season.

Purdue is not one of Iowa’s scheduled opponents during the 2025 college football season.

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Iowa provides encouraging injury update on pair of Hawkeyes

Iowa football’s Kirk Ferentz provides optimistic update on WR Reece Vander Zee, OL Gennings Dunker.

As the Iowa football team (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) prepares for their TransPerfect Music City Bowl matchup vs. Missouri (9-3, 5-3 SEC) from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., head coach Kirk Ferentz provided a few updates on Hawkeyes players with lingering injuries.

Ferentz discussed the recovery statuses of freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee and redshirt junior offensive lineman Gennings Dunker.

Vander Zee has not played since exiting Iowa’s Oct. 26 win vs. Northwestern and being spotted in a walking boot, while Dunker missed Iowa’s final two games of the regular season at Maryland and against Nebraska with an undisclosed injury.

Ferentz shared an optimistic outlook for the two Hawkeyes, indicating that they are tracking to return in Iowa’s bowl game against Missouri.

“Yeah, both those guys are on track right now,” Ferentz said. “Not sure where they’re going to be this week, but I think we are a lot closer.”

“Reece got to work—we worked a little bit on Friday—he was out there, so that looks really encouraging. Dunk’s probably a couple days away yet, but he’s doing really well, on a good path. Both those guys are eager to play.”

Ferentz had indicated before the Nebraska game that Dunker was close to a return and likely would have played if the game had been the following week.

“He’ll be fine, yeah. He’s improving well. I don’t think he’s going to make it by Friday. It’s too bad. He’s worked so hard. He’s done a great job.

“He’ll be back for the bowl. I imagine if we were playing next week, he’d probably be ready for that one,” Ferentz said of Dunker’s status ahead of the Hawkeyes’ regular season finale against the Huskers.

It also sounds like substantial progress for Vander Zee who Ferentz said was a ways off before the Nebraska game.

“Still a ways away. Hopefully we’ll get him back for the bowl game. Starting to turn the corner a little bit there,” Ferentz said of Vander Zee before the Nebraska tilt.

With star junior running back Kaleb Johnson having declared for the 2025 NFL draft and out of the equation against Missouri, Iowa will need every ounce of the remainder of its offensive personnel. Both Dunker and Vander Zee tracking for returns is great news for the Hawkeyes.

The TransPerfect Music City Bowl is set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and will also be available on the radio through the Hawkeye Radio Network.

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Iowa, Kirk Ferentz share first impressions of Missouri

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his initial impressions of the Hawkeyes’ TransPerfect Music City Bowl foe, the Missouri Tigers.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) will close their 2024 college football season with a date against the Missouri Tigers (9-3, 5-3 SEC) on Dec. 30 from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

As Iowa prepares for one final test, head coach Kirk Ferentz shared his initial impressions of the Missouri Tigers and his excitement to be taking part in another bowl game with the Hawkeyes.

“We’re really excited about the invitation to go back to Nashville and play in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. We were there as you all know a couple years ago and had a wonderful experience. Good football game. Expecting more of the same there.

“We still consider going to a bowl game a really significant accomplishment for our football team. This will be our 22nd bid since our first one back in ’01, so just really proud of the guys and happy for them, especially to end up in a good venue like this and in a good game against an outstanding opponent,” Ferentz said.

Though Missouri will be without star wide receiver Luther Burden, Ferentz knows this is a tough Tigers squad.

“Playing Missouri, had a 9-3 record this year in a really tough conference, so I know they’re a good football team. I think I heard that they’ve won four straight bowls, so they know something about bowl success on top of that.

“A lot of work to do on them, certainly got a lot of time to do that right now. First and foremost, just happy with the way things have panned out and just again really happy for our team and congratulate them on a really good year,” Ferentz said.

Ahead of this Music City Bowl date, Ferentz said his path hasn’t crossed with Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz yet. Obviously, that’s set to change in Nashville.

“I’ve never met Eli in person, so have that opportunity here for that. Tremendous respect for what he’s done and I don’t know a lot about him quite frankly, his background. I know he was at Appy State, an outstanding program and did a really nice job there.

“Missouri certainly did a good job of identifying him and the job he’s done there in a short time—I’m old, I consider five years short time—he’s really done a really nice job not only building a good program, but it’s a national program and they’ve done very well in a tough conference as you know. So, congratulations to them. I know it’s going to be a tough opponent for us to match up against,” Ferentz said.

Iowa was actually set to battle Missouri in the Music City Bowl to conclude the 2020 season, but the Tigers pulled out of the game due to a rise in COVID-19 cases within the program.

Iowa ended its 2022 season with a 21-0 shutout victory over Kentucky in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. The Hawkeyes used a 15-yard touchdown grab from tight end Luke Lachey and a pair of pick-sixes from defensive backs Xavier Nwankpa and Cooper DeJean to roll past the Wildcats that day.

Kickoff for Iowa against Missouri is set for 1:30 p.m. CT with the game to be televised on ESPN.

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Kirk Ferentz compliments running back Kaleb Johnson’s commitment to Iowa

In a vastly different landscape of college football, Kirk Ferentz applauded junior running back Kaleb Johnson’s commitment to Iowa in 2024.

Iowa football (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) received word of their invitation to the Dec. 30 TransPerfect Music City Bowl against Missouri (9-3, 5-3 SEC) from Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Sunday afternoon.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz spoke this week about the program’s excitement for the upcoming bowl game, its looming transfer portal activity and how the roster may look come late December.

During his latest meeting with the media, Ferentz made a point to compliment junior running back Kaleb Johnson for his outstanding play and commitment to playing the entire 2024 regular season despite a climate in college football that sometimes encourages the opposite.

“I want to really compliment Kaleb in the way that he’s done things,” Ferentz said. “Because, I don’t mind telling you, if somewhere in the last month he had walked in and said he’s done, I would’ve been really disappointed and I would’ve felt bad for him because it would’ve been a terrible decision. But at the same time, I would’ve understood because of the world we’re living in.”

Johnson finished 2024 with Hawkeye single-season records in points (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing touchdowns (21).

Johnson’s 1,537 rushing yards on 240 carries ranks third all-time in single-season rushing yards. The Hamilton, Ohio, product announced on Dec. 1 that he would be forgoing his senior year at Iowa and declare for the 2025 NFL draft.

Ferentz added that he appreciated how Johnson had grown during the season, handled his declaration for the NFL draft respectfully, and wished the junior running back good fortune at the professional level.

“I think he’s handling it really well. He’s done a good job with his teammates. And to me, if you’re not going to finish it out, which in this case he’s not, he did it in a way that really I think is really admirable, and did it really in a good way,” Ferentz added.

“I’m not going to pass judgment on him playing or not playing. I appreciate what he’s done, and I wish him nothing but the best moving forward. He’ll do a good job. He’s really grown up a lot.”

Iowa will turn to redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton and sophomore Jaziun Patterson to lead the backfield against the Tigers in the upcoming bowl game, scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ESPN.

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If Big Ten coaches have a group chat, who’s the most annoying in it? We have theories.

Before The Snap was joined by The Solid Verbal’s Dan Rubenstein and Ty Hildenbrandt to assign stereotypical texting behaviors to Big Ten coaches.

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Earlier in the 2024-25 college football season, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule revealed that he and the other Big Ten football coaches talk perhaps a little more than people previously thought.

“We have a Big Ten coaches group chat to discuss issues, and [Illinois head coach Bret Bielema] heads up a lot of that,” Rhule said in September ahead of the Cornhuskers’ game against Illinois.

College Football Playoff: 5 things that would make the 12-team CFP a success in its first season

Well, that prompted us here at For The Win’s Before The Snap to wonder what that group chat is like and which Big Ten football coaches fit various stereotypes when texting. But we couldn’t do it alone, so we asked The Solid Verbal podcast’s Dan Rubenstein and Ty Hildenbrandt to weigh in as well.

Which Big Ten football coach is complaining about the refs each week?
Ohio State’s Ryan Day, definitely.

Which Big Ten football coach hypes up their past success a little too much?
USC’s Lincoln Riley or Indiana’s Curt Cignetti.

Which Big Ten football coach sends the group chat motivational messages?
Oregon’s Dan Lanning.

Which Big Ten football coach never responds or only “likes” messages?
Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.

Which Big Ten football coach is sending only TikTok videos?
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck.

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Trio of Hawkeyes expected to be unavailable vs. Nebraska

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced a trio of players that are expected to be out and unavailable on Friday versus Nebraska.

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz announced a trio of Hawkeyes aren’t expected to be available on Friday for Iowa’s regular-season finale against Nebraska.

Iowa freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee, redshirt junior offensive tackle Gennings Dunker and graduate cornerback Jermari Harris are sidelined.

“Definitely out will be Reece Vander Zee. Still a ways away. Hopefully we’ll get him back for the bowl game. Starting to turn the corner a little bit there. Jermari Harris won’t be able to go. Dunker, pretty sure that he won’t be able to go either. He’s improving, but I don’t think he’s going to make it.

“Everybody else is moving forward. I think we have a chance to have everybody else ready for game time. We’ll see how that goes,” Ferentz said on Tuesday.

Vander Zee has 14 catches for 176 yards with three touchdowns on the season, but he hasn’t played since exiting Iowa’s 40-14 win over Northwestern on Oct. 26. The 6-foot-4, 207 pound receiver has played in and started eight games this season.

Dunker has been a key cog in Iowa’s rushing attack as it morphed into one of the nation’s finest. The Hawkeyes rank 13th nationally in rushing offense, averaging 213.5 yards per game on the ground.

As a result of that unit’s hard work, junior running back Kaleb Johnson set a single-season school record with 21 rushing touchdowns and was named a Doak Walker Award finalist.

Dunker was listed as out ahead of Iowa’s 29-13 win over Maryland last week, though. Prior to the Hawkeyes’ win over the Terps, Dunker had started all 10 games at right tackle.

Lastly, Harris is once again expected to be out. Initial reports on Friday of last week indicated Harris was opting out of the remainder of the season to focus on the 2025 NFL draft, but Iowa clarified his status later that day.

“(Jermari Harris) will not play in Saturday’s game due to a medical issue. We hope all our student-athletes can play next week in our regular-season finale at Kinnick Stadium, however, a player’s health and well-being are always our top priority,” University of Iowa associate athletics director for strategic communications Matt Weitzel said in a statement.

The health of Iowa’s quarterbacks has been another key topic of discussion. Ferentz said on Tuesday that junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan and graduate quarterback Cade McNamara were both back practicing, but redshirt sophomore Jackson Stratton remains the Hawkeyes’ starting quarterback versus the Huskers.

Kickoff on Friday, Nov. 29, against Nebraska is 6:30 p.m. CT with the game televised on NBC from Kinnick Stadium.

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Kirk Ferentz credits Tim Lester for revamping Iowa’s offensive line, ground game

Kirk Ferentz credits Tim Lester on Iowa’s offensive renaissance.

The strength of the Iowa Hawkeyes this season has been their ground game. In their six victories, Iowa has leaned on its rushing attack and gotten behind their offensive line on the way to the end zone.

The success that the group and the run game have seen this year has been a large jump from previous seasons. A lot of that credit goes to first-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz wasn’t shy about giving Lester his deserved credit in his Tuesday press conference.

“Yeah, a couple things. Give Tim credit, and he spoke to that last week. I read his comments. He has a really good system. That’s obviously why we hired him, to try to do some research here, and felt good about that.

“But I think the biggest picture, and Tim made this very clear last Wednesday, and I’d reaffirm this, and I said this back last August, I think a couple things. First of all, I think the offensive line is in a better place than it’s been the last couple years. Nobody’s issues, it’s just attrition, injuries. It’s been tough. So we’re finally able to maybe play at a level where the proficiency is a little bit more like what we hope,” Ferentz said.

That Iowa offensive line has helped pave the way for a Doak Walker Award semifinalist in junior running back Kaleb Johnson. Ferentz made sure to give Johnson his credit in Iowa’s successes as well, though.

“Then, you’ve got a back who’s in his third year instead of being a first-year guy who’s kind of hit or miss. He’s always been a great kid. He’s an outstanding young man.

“But the lack of consistency, inexperience, immaturity, et cetera, and that’s the benefit of being older. So, our line has benefitted from that, and Kaleb is benefiting from that, and the rest of the room is doing a good job, too, but he’s the one carrying the heaviest load,” Ferentz said.

Iowa’s offensive line and ground game has already rumbled to 2,081 rushing yards, 27 rushing touchdowns and a 5.5 yards per carry average.

The group is averaging 208.1 rushing yards per game and has been the catalyst to Johnson putting up a historic season that will be etched into Iowa Hawkeyes’ history.

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Kirk Ferentz discusses emotions of facing son, Brian, as opponent for first time

Kirk Ferentz discussed what the emotions will be like in facing his son, Brian, for the first time in their coaching careers.

Even decades into a coaching career, there are still firsts. One of those happens for Iowa this week when it travels east to take on the Maryland Terrapins (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten).

For longtime Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, this will be the first time he squares off against his son, Brian, on an opposing sideline.

On Tuesday during his weekly press conference, Ferentz discussed what those emotions will feel like.

“Exactly. It’s the first time for a lot of things. That’s life. I haven’t given it a lot of thought quite, frankly. Obviously I knew it was coming.

“But the bottom line is this, to your point, it’s the best I can come up with. It’s weird coming back here, whether it be Barry Alvarez the first year or Bill Snyder Year 2, Dan McCarney, Bob Stoops. Four guys that I worked with, and Bob played for us on top of it. Tremendous respect for all those guys.

“It’s a weird dynamic, but the bottom line is this: The reality is when you get to game day, that’s what’s silly about coaches exchanges, greetings and all that. I fully know what the other coach wants to do, just like he knows what I want to do, and how we hope the day goes.

“It’s probably not a great time for a family reunion or just even seeing old friends. Everybody is cordial, but the bottom line is we’ve all got business to take care of on Saturday. We’ll see where it all goes.

“But I think his experience has been good, what I know about it, and as a parent I’m glad he’s with good people, and Mike is a guy I’ve got a lot of respect for,” Ferentz said stoically of the situation.

Kirk Ferentz did not let on too much emotion impacting him or getting in the way of this matchup as he knows Iowa has a job to do and that job is to win the game.

Brian Ferentz joined Maryland this offseason after departing the Iowa staff last winter following a seven-year stint as the Hawkeyes’ offensive coordinator

Brian Ferentz is a senior offensive assistant for Maryland.

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Kirk Ferentz shares injury update following Iowa loss at UCLA

Iowa updated its injury outlook following UCLA.

The Iowa Hawkeyes had six players sidelined ahead of their Friday night battle at UCLA.

Those unavailable Hawkeyes proved to be pivotal missing pieces during Iowa’s 20-17 loss at UCLA.

Without graduate quarterback Cade McNamara and redshirt freshman signal-caller Marco Lainez, Iowa had to turn to redshirt sophomore quarterback Jackson Stratton after junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan exited with an ankle injury.

After the loss, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz updated Sullivan’s injury status.

“Regarding Brendan, he’s got an ankle sprain, so hopefully we’ll know more next week, but hopefully not too bad,” Ferentz said.

Stratton converted a pair of key third downs with big throws to junior wide receiver Jacob Gill on his first series under center. The Colorado State transfer guided a 13-play, 61-yard touchdown drive on that first series.

But, he and the Hawkeyes went three-and-out on their next offensive possession.

Meanwhile, outside of Gill, the Hawkeyes’ offense could have used freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee and junior tight end Addison Ostrenga to add two more reliable pass catchers into the mix.

Ferentz was asked for and shared an injury update on McNamara, Vander Zee and Ostrenga following the loss to the Bruins.

“We think Addison’s got a chance, a realistic chance… it wouldn’t be next week, but the week after. Cade was able to do some exertion at the end of the week which is encouraging, so hopefully we’ll see what that looks like this week. Reece is a little bit more gray area, but, I mean, hopefully it’s improving, but we’ll see.

“If we were playing next Saturday, Addison couldn’t go, but I think it’s realistic maybe the week after,” Ferentz said.

Defensively, Iowa also played a large portion of the game without one of its defensive rocks. Fifth-year linebacker Jay Higgins was sidelined midway through.

“Yeah, he’s got a tissue issue, so we’ll know more next week. Same way. He tried to go, he went back in and then just watching him come off the field after that possession, I couldn’t imagine him covering on a pass. Hopefully it’s not too bad and hopefully we’ll get him back next ball game,” Ferentz said.

According to Pro Football Focus, Higgins saw just 35 snaps against UCLA.

Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) has a bye week upcoming and then will return to action on Nov. 23 at Maryland.

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Kirk Ferentz gives thought on making trip to Rose Bowl

Kirk Ferentz has thoughts on the trip.

With the new-look Big Ten Conference, it provides other teams a chance to make a regular trip to Los Angeles and the Rose Bowl. In Week 11, the Iowa Hawkeyes face the UCLA Bruins in a Friday night showdown in Los Angeles.

Ahead of the game, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke about what it means to play at a historic venue such as the Rose Bowl, per Riley Donald of Hawkeyes Wire.

“Not really. I mean, the venue will be cool. It’s kind of like Wrigley; I’ll explain it to you this way. My wife would be the first one to tell you because she still laughs, I got drenched at the Super Bowl when the Bears and Indy played. We got home at 3:00 because we didn’t have a ride lined up coming out and her response was, ‘Oh, you mean nobody drove you to the game? Nobody gave you a coat when it rained?’ All that kind of stuff. But that’s really kind of our life, and it’s one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done in my life is take my daughters on college visits because I get to see the college, not just the stadium.”

Still, Ferentz admits they are going just to play a game and he doesn’t sound worried about much else.

“We’re going to play a game, a tough game against a tough opponent, and we all know we’ve got our work cut out, and this is going to be a tough challenge for us…Hopefully, somebody can take some pictures and we’ll look at those during the bye week.”