Tag: LeVar Woods

What Kirk Ferentz’s one-game suspension means for Iowa football

Kirk Ferentz is suspended for Iowa’s season opener. This could lead to some intriguing things with the Hawkeyes.

Overnight the news broke that Kirk Ferentz, head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes, is reportedly set to serve a one-game suspension. This suspension is reported to stem from recruiting violations committed when going after quarterback Cade McNamara.

The Hawkeyes open the season up on August 31 against the Illinois State Redbirds at home inside Kinnick Stadium. While an FCS program, the Redbirds are ranked in the FCS Coaches Poll at No. 20.

They are not going to roll over for Iowa. Although, the Hawkeyes may have a newfound fire to go play harder for Kirk Ferentz.

While the announcement of the suspension came rather close to Week 1 games, the Hawkeyes still have over a week to prepare for life without Kirk Ferentz. This could mean some intriguing things for the Iowa Hawkeyes now and the future.

The most intriguing aspect of this suspension is who assumes the managerial duties of being a head coach. Those include fourth-down decisions, clock management, timeout decisions, and how aggressive a team wants to be late in the half or at the end of games.

Phil Parker is Iowa’s defensive coordinator. He is set in stone there and has been for years. Assuming the entirety of the operation isn’t his thing. This is where the eyes turn to two potential future head coaches of Iowa and other FBS programs.

Those two are Seth Wallace, the assistant head coach who is also the assistant defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and LeVar Woods, the special teams coordinator.

These two are much more likely to assume the duties of a head coach that extend outside of just playcalling and Xs and Os.

Seth Wallace was named the assistant head coach in 2024 and could be the most logical one in line to assume these duties. With Phil Parker more than capable of handling the defense, this could free up Wallace to lead the Hawkeyes in a head coaching manner.

LeVar Woods, arguably the best special teams coordinator in the country, has been a sneaky name among those set to become head coaches. He has the intangibles and commands his special teams unit at the highest level. He has the rapport and understanding of the game to take on these duties.

In reality, the decision-making likely lies somewhere in a collective agreement over the headphone communication that only the Hawkeyes’ staff knows. There is hope that most decisions do not have the game hanging in the balance and that Iowa can handle its business as expected against an FCS opponent.

But, should Iowa have crucial decisions to make in their season opener, Seth Wallace and LeVar Woods are two names to keep an eye on as things progress. This could be a small peak into what the potential future of Iowa Hawkeyes football looks like.

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Iowa Hawkeyes land Mason Woods, son of special teams coordinator LeVar Woods

Iowa is keeping this recruit at home.

The Iowa Hawkeyes recruiting pipeline continues to stay strong. They have landed another recruit who is a bit more closely tied to the program than most.

The Hawkeyes have landed Mason Woods, the son of special teams coordinator Levar Woods. The news came from Mason Woods’ social media announcing that he is joining the Iowa Hawkeyes and staying close to home.

Woods is part of the class of 2025 and is among the most local recruits Iowa can get. He is going to be coming from West Senior High School in Iowa City, Iowa.

Per 247Sports, Woods is a three-star recruit. He is ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the state of Iowa and the No. 46 overall athlete. He had other offers from Ball State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Miami (Ohio) before committing to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Woods is a two-way player in high school getting snaps primarily at receiver on offense and has moved around on the defensive side of the football. There is some belief that Woods will make the move to tight end when he joins the Hawkeyes’ program.

Woods is the newest member of Iowa’s 2025 class which currently has eight commits in it. The class currently sits at No. 64 in the nation per 247Sports’ Composite Rank.

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LeVar Woods featured among 247Sports’ top college football recruiters

LeVar Woods is one of the nation’s finest.

Iowa fans understand the importance of special teams coordinator LeVar Woods.

A longtime member of the Hawkeyes’ coaching staff, Woods has worn several different roles. A native Iowan, Woods played at the University of Iowa from 1998-2000.

After a seven-year NFL career, Woods got into coaching at Iowa as an administrative assistant in 2008. Over his coaching tenure in Iowa City, Woods has served as the Hawkeyes’ linebackers coach, as its tight ends coach and as its special teams coordinator.

Woods earned recognition from FootballScoop as its Linebackers Coach of the Year in 2013 and he was honored as the 2023 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year.

Of course, Woods is also a force for the Hawkeyes on the recruiting trail. As a result, 247Sports’ Carl Reed included Woods among his top three recruiters in college football.

Woods firmly established himself as one of the nation’s top recruiters when he landed five-star defensive end AJ Epenesa over the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame in the class of 2017. Epenesa is the highest-rated recruit to commit to the Hawkeyes in the last 20 years, but Woods didn’t stop there. He led the recruitment of Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Cooper DeJean in 2021 and four-star linebacker Cam Buffington this past cycle. – Reed, 247Sports.

It’s fantastic to see Woods get the well-deserved praise he’s earned.

Woods is regarded by the Hawkeye fan base as one of the nation’s top coaches and many fans view Woods as one of the odds-on favorites to perhaps take over as the next Hawkeye head coach whenever Kirk Ferentz does finally step away.

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Iowa’s LeVar Woods interviews with Tampa Bay Buccaneers for special teams coordinator vacancy

Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods interviewed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their vacant special teams coordinator gig.

Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods interviewed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their vacant special teams coordinator spot.

Woods took part in a virtual interview with the Bucs on Tuesday. He joins a group of candidates that also includes New Orleans Saints assistant special teams coordinator Phil Galiano, former Seattle Seahawks special teams coordinator Larry Izzo, former Tennessee Titans special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman, former New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and Bucs defensive and special teams assistant Keith Tandy.

Regarded as one of the nation’s finest special teams coordinators, Woods directed a special teams unit that finished ranked No. 30 nationally in ESPN’s SP+ rankings during the 2023 season.

Tory Taylor, the recipient of the Ray Guy Award, ranked third nationally this past season, averaging 48.2 yards per punt. Taylor led the nation with his 93 punts and set a single-season punting yardage record with 4,479 punting yards in 2023.

That mark broke Michigan State‘s Johnny Pingel’s punting yardage record that stood for 85 years. The Aussie saw 32 of his punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line as the Hawkeyes led the country in net punting, averaging 44.17 net yards per punt.

Iowa blocked three kicks in 2023 to rank tied-10th in that category. The Hawkeyes ranked 41st in punt return yardage, averaging 10.13 yards per punt. Standout Iowa defensive back and punt returner Cooper DeJean returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in the Hawkeyes’ 26-16 victory over Michigan State in Week 5.

The Hawkeyes ranked eighth in the country in kickoff return defense, surrendering just 15.57 yards per kickoff return on seven returns. Iowa also ranked No. 20 in kickoff returns, averaging 23.37 yards per kickoff return on 19 returns.

Iowa kickers Drew Stevens and Marshall Meeder each had game-winning kicks versus Northwestern and at Nebraska, respectively.

Woods has coached other Iowa special teams standouts such as kickers Keith Duncan and Caleb Shudak, kickoff return specialist Ihmir Smith-Marsette and return specialist Charlie Jones. Both Smith-Marsette and Jones won the Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year in 2018 and in 2021, respectively, while Duncan was named the Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year in 2019.

Woods was a standout linebacker at Iowa, tallying 165 career tackles, 18 tackles for loss and four sacks as a two-year starter during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. After a seven-year NFL career that included stops with the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans from 2001-07, Woods entered the coaching profession with a return to Iowa City.

He began his coaching career at Iowa as one of the Hawkeyes’ administrative assistants from 2008-11. As an administrative assistant, Woods assisted the coaching staff in compiling statistical information, gathering information on opponents and recruits, and assisting in the day-to-day operation of the football office.

Then, from 2012-14, Woods coached linebackers and assisted with special teams. During the 2015-16 seasons, Woods oversaw the tight ends and assisted with special teams. Then, in 2017, Woods became Iowa’s special teams coordinator and coached tight ends. From 2018 through this past season, Woods has served as Iowa’s special teams coordinator.

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LeVar Woods named FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year

LeVar Woods is the 2023 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year.

LeVar Woods was recognized as the nation’s finest by FootballScoop. It was announced on Thursday that Woods is the 2023 FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year.

Woods beat out fellow finalists Jeff Banks of Texas, Jacob Bronowski of Miami (Ohio) and Ricky Brumfield of Georgia Tech. Finalists were chosen based on nominations by coaches, athletic directors and athletic department personnel.

It’s the first time Woods has been honored as the FootballScoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year. Woods, Iowa’s special teams coordinator since 2018, led a series of units that ranked toward the top of the national ranks.

Those that watched Iowa closely understand that the Hawkeyes simply don’t accomplish what they did in winning the Big Ten West and 10 regular season games without the contributions from Woods’ special teams units.

Led by the Ray Guy Award winner in punter Tory Taylor, Iowa ranked third in the FBS with 47.7 yards per punt with 6.7 punts per game.

For a third consecutive season, Taylor set the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ single-season punting yardage record. Taylor leads the NCAA with 86 punts for 4,119 yards. His 47.9 yards per punt average leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally.

In 2023, 36 of Taylor’s punts have traversed 50 or more yards and six went for 60 or more yards. Thirty of Taylor’s punts have been downed inside opponents’ 20-yard line, 11 inside the 10-yard line and six inside the 5-yard line. Opponents average just 8.8 yards per punt return. Only 26 of Taylor’s 87 punts were returned.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes were terrific returning punts, averaging 10.52 yards per punt return. That was headlined by star defensive back Cooper DeJean’s game-winning, 70-yard punt return touchdown against Michigan State in the Hawkeyes’ 26-16 Week 5 win over the Spartans.

Iowa also excelled in the kick return game, ranking 21st nationally with 23.39 yards per kickoff return. Conversely, the Hawkeyes surrendered just 15.57 yards per kickoff return to rank No. 8 in the country in kickoff coverage.

Iowa was one of just 29 teams to block at least three kicks or punts over the course of the season. Kicker Drew Stevens connected on 18-of-26 field goal attempts and 19-of-20 PAT tries. The sophomore drilled a 52-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to effectively walk-off Northwestern from Wrigley Field in Iowa’s 10-7 win on Nov. 4.

Then, backup kicker Marshall Meeder walked off the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a 38-yard field goal in Iowa’s 13-10 win over the Huskers.

Iowa enters the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl versus Tennessee at 10-3 (7-2 Big Ten). Kickoff is set for noon CT on New Year’s Day.

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Phil Parker, LeVar Woods still an absolute bargain for Iowa

Even at $2.1 million combined salary, Iowa defensive and special teams coordinators Phil Parker and LeVar Woods are an absolute bargain.

The 2023 salaries for Iowa’s football assistant coaches were revealed in an article by Chad Leistikow and Steve Berkowitz for Hawk Central. It reveals two absolute bargains for the program.

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker headlines the group with the highest salary of $1.4 million. That figure is up from the $1.3 million Parker earned last year. It’s a 7.9% salary increase, which is about average amongst the coaching staff. He is the only Iowa coach making over a $1 million besides head football coach Kirk Ferentz of course.

It sounds weird to say that the highest-paid assistant coach, one that’s now making $1.4 million is at a bargain price, but it’s true for Parker. Phil Parker has to be one of the front runners for the best defensive coordinator in college football, and certainly won’t receive many arguments against him as the best defensive backs coach in the nation.

Under Parker’s direction, the Hawkeyes led the country in yards surrendered per play and ranked second nationally in both total defense and scoring defense in 2022.

Parker is one of the best in the nation in developing recruits into NFL players, while routinely fielding a stellar defense at Iowa. Last year his incredible defense helped carry a fledgling offense to an 8-5 record, but they certainly weren’t alone in that fight.

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

While so much attention and praise is given to Iowa’s defense, LeVar Woods deserves all the credit in the world for what he’s done with Iowa’s special teams. The Hawkeyes ranked among the top three in the Big Ten in punt and kickoff returns as well as punt and kickoff return defense. Iowa was third in the Big Ten and 15th nationally in net punting, while ranking second in the conference and 19th in the nation with three blocked kicks.

Punter Tory Taylor was named first-team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America, Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele. Taylor also garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors. The Aussie averaged 45.4 yards per punt and saw 38 downed inside opponents’ 20-yard lines.

Meanwhile, freshman kicker Drew Stevens earned freshman All-America recognition from College Football News. The North Augusta, S.C., product connected on 16-of-18 field goal tries and all 24 of his PATs.

In addition to his work with Iowa’s specialists, Woods is also one of the Hawkeyes’ best recruiters. Players on the team, and those who were specifically brought in by Woods, have nothing but rave reviews about the special teams coordinator.

Woods is a guy many are envisioning as a future head coach, maybe even at Iowa after Kirk Ferentz eventually retires.  At $700,000, he is one of the biggest bargains in the nation. His impact on the program is truly irreplaceable.

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Pair of Iowa football assistants among nation’s top 10 coaches per Coach Rating Index

A pair of Iowa coaches find themselves inside the nation’s top 10 per the Coach Rating Index developed by Matrix Analytical Solutions.

Iowa fans are well versed in the football wizardry of both Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and Hawkeye special teams coordinator LeVar Woods.

Now, a special set of numbers are backing up what Iowa Hawkeyes fans already knew: This duo is elite.

247Sports got a sneak peek into some incredible numbers. Matrix Analytical Solutions developed its Coach Rating Index in 2009 to measure the careers of all on-field coaches regardless of position.

Both Phil Parker and LeVar Woods find themselves inside the Coach Rating Index’s top 10 coaches nationally. First, a bit more about what exactly the Coach Rating Index is.

The Coach Rating Index  is “a massive grading system with over 30,000 individual unit profiles and over 250,000 annual coaching result reports. If a coach was designated in an on-field role in that time span in either the FBS or FCS levels, he is in the database with a career number rating & accompanying career star rating.”

Position coaches are “graded on the cumulative play-by-play effectiveness of their unit.” Coordinators are graded on per-play efficiency. Head coaches are “graded on their win and loss records broken down and weighted by difficulty/importance in nine distinct categories ranging from expected close margin games to how they perform in games with equivalent talent profiles.” – Brandon Marcello, 247Sports.

Its data is not available publicly, but 247Sports was granted exclusive access to select data. 247Sport’s Brandon Marcello broke down college football’s 10 best coaches using the Coach Rating Index.

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker checked in as the country’s No. 9 coach.

Phil Parker is the most overlooked defensive coordinator in the sport. He has coordinated Iowa’s defense since 2012, turning the Hawkeyes into one of the more consistent defenses of the last decade. He has coached consensus All-Americans, a Butkus Award winner and five defensive backs of the year in the Big Ten.

Despite an anemic offense, he has carried an Iowa program to bowl games with an impenetrable defense.

The Hawkeyes allowed only 3.99 yards per play in 2022, tying for the best mark in the sport in the last 10 years. – Marcello, 247Sports.

As Marcello pointed out, Phil Parker commanded arguably the greatest unit in Hawkeye history last season. Spearheaded by the Butkus Award winner in linebacker Jack Campbell, the Hawkeyes ranked second nationally in both total defense (270.8 yards per game) and scoring defense (13.3 points per game).

The Hawkeyes also ranked inside the top 12 nationally in pass efficiency defense (fourth), passing yards per game (sixth), first down defense (10th), third down defense (11th) and rushing defense (12th).

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Meanwhile, Iowa’s special teams were once again exemplary under the direction of Woods. The Hawkeyes ranked among the top three in the Big Ten in punt and kickoff returns, and punt and kickoff return defense. Iowa was third in the Big Ten and 15th nationally in net punting, while ranking second in the conference and 19th in the nation with three blocked kicks.

Punter Tory Taylor was named first-team All-America by the FWAA, Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele, while also earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. Taylor was second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally with a 45.3 average. Freshman kicker Drew Stevens led the team in scoring and earned freshman All-America recognition from College Football News.

Woods ranked No. 6 nationally in the Coach Rating Index.

Levar Woods transitioned from tight ends to special teams in 2017, leading the unit to consistent production and opportunistic turnovers. The Hawkeyes blocked three kicks in 2022, and their punt and kick returns ranked in the top three of the conference. Meanwhile, punter Tory Taylor was a first-team All-American on three lists and kicker Drew Stevens was a freshman All-American. In fact, Iowa has had at least one All-Big Ten first-teamer from special teams in each of the last three seasons. – Marcello, 247Sports.

Iowa fans don’t take it for granted, but it really puts things into perspective when you see a list like this. Hawkeye fans have two of the absolute best manning their defense and special teams.

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Iowa Stock Index: Hawkeyes’ stock report after win over Wisconsin

Iowa got the job done in a 24-10 win over Wisconsin. Whose stock is rising, whose stock is falling after the win over the Badgers?

The Iowa Hawkeyes essentially have the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West. A sentence more or less unfathomable just a month ago is a very real situation and a reality that is fully upon us.

At 6-4, following a rivalry victory over the Wisconsin Badgers for the Heartland Trophy, the Hawkeyes are tied for first place in the Big Ten West. If they win out against Minnesota and Nebraska, paired with Michigan taking care of Illinois next weekend, the Hawkeyes are returning to Indianapolis.

The three-game win streak they are riding right now has seen efforts from all three units at different times and has Iowa not only tied for first in the Big Ten West, but officially bowl eligible as well.

Quite a few Hawkeyes have had their hands in the mix helping create this winning streak, but there are a few that are seeing their stock rising as we continue down the final stretch of the season.

One honorable mention is whoever played “Jump Around” in Kinnick following the game to really let Wisconsin know who won the rivalry.

Several Iowa Hawkeyes freshmen already starting to make an impact

Running back Kaleb Johnson and kicker Drew Stevens are the two prominent names, but there’s several other freshmen making impacts for Iowa.

If there are any bright spots on this middling 3-3 Iowa football team (we certainly need some good with Ohio State coming up this week), it is the youth carving out roles already.

We already know the impact sophomore Cooper DeJean has made in the secondary this year, looking like the next star Hawkeye defensive back. Multiple freshmen, though, have started to gain significant playing time early in the season.

According to Sean Bock of 247Sports’ Hawkeye Insider, his midseason Iowa redshirt tracker shows that six true freshmen have received game time this season.

Running back Kaleb Johnson, kicker Drew Stevens, and defensive backs Xavier Nwankpa and TJ Hall have all played in Iowa’s six contests thus far. Defensive tackle Aaron Graves has appeared in five games, tight end Addison Ostrenga in four and running back Jaziun Patterson has one lone appearance this season.

Johnson already has 50 carries for 232 yards with three rushing touchdowns. He finished with seven carries for 103 yards and a pair of scores from 40 and 55 yards out against Nevada. Then, versus Michigan, Johnson scored Iowa’s first points on a 2-yard touchdown run.

Kaleb Johnson has shown flashes of success as perhaps the Hawkeyes’ starting running back of the future, however, the struggles of the offensive line this season have really hampered any consistent impact he’s been able to have. Aaron Graves currently has seven tackles and Patterson has six carries for 20 yards.

Kicker Drew Stevens has probably seen the most success of the Iowa youngsters, staking his claim as the starting kicker. Stevens is 6-of-7 on field goal attempts this season, his first miss a 45-yarder coming in Iowa’s most recent 9-6 loss against Illinois. Despite the miss, special teams coordinator Levar Woods had a lot of positive things to say about the freshman kicker.

“As far as that goes, field goal units, I think Drew is coming along as a player,” Woods said. “He is definitely young. He has had — every game is really like a new experience for him in some way because he was a high school kid a year ago. Really less than a year ago. I think he has made a huge transition since spring. We’ve all kind of seen that. He missed a kick, his last kick, against Illinois, which I know is just eating at him, but to me that shows the guy is a competitor. He may be young. He may be inexperienced, but he is a competitor, and he has that drive inside.”

Both Nwankpa and Hall have received significant playing time on special teams so far this season. While many are anxious to see the five-star Nwankpa get on the field for Phil Parker’s defense, I’d like to remind them of Cooper DeJean’s career arc at Iowa thus far. A lot of his contributions his freshman year came on special teams, and we see how well he’s done in his second year.

It may not be the most glamorous on the stat sheet, but special teams is a great way for both Nwankpa and Hall to get their feet wet, to adjust to the speed of Division 1 ball. Their time will come.

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Week 3 rewind: 3 Iowa Hawkeyes seeing stock rising, falling

The Iowa Hawkeyes moved to 2-1 after a marathon against Nevada due to lightning delays. Let’s check on some of the Hawkeyes’ stock trends.

Saturday night, and eventually into the wee hours of Sunday morning, saw the Iowa Hawkeyes move to 2-1 with a 27-0 shutout of Nevada. In a game that took nearly seven hours from kickoff to the clock hitting zero, the circumstances were some that many players, coaches, or fans have never dealt with before.

That said, there were positives to take away from this game. The Hawkeyes got some things going offensively and were able to string together some drives. Even more promising, the Iowa offense showed some big-play ability, a very welcome sight from an offense that was looking anemic.

The Hawkeyes defense did their thing. Whether it is 7 p.m., 10 p.m , or 1 a.m., the defense is going to be lights out week in and week out. Nevada could not get anything going on a wet field and the Iowa defense didn’t let them sniff an ounce of success.

Let’s get into a handful of Iowa Hawkeyes and some that are seeing their stock take a rise.