Tag: Tim Lester

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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Tim Lester reflects upon coaching journey, lessons learned en route to Iowa

Green Bay and Iowa have something in common for Tim Lester: His focus is back on the football itself.

On Tuesday, first-year Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester spoke on what he has learned about himself and the game of football from his previous coaching experiences.

While Lester has 22 years of coaching experience, he was asked to reflect on his journey over the past two years, starting with his 2022 dismissal as head coach from his alma mater, Western Michigan.

“It’s been wild to be honest with you,” Lester said. “People don’t understand when you get to be the head coach of your alma mater, you think you never want to leave. You have opportunities to leave and you don’t plan on it, and then you don’t have a choice. You have to leave. So, those were dark days.”

Lester, a member of the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame, threw for 11,299 passing yards with 87 touchdowns during his four-year Broncos career.

Unfortunately for Lester, he took the head coaching reins in 2017, a year removed from Western Michigan’s 13-1 season and Rose Bowl appearance under then-head coach P.J. Fleck. Lester would be fired in 2022 with a 37-32 record in six seasons as head coach.

Kimberly Moss-USA TODAY Sports

Following his dismissal from Western Michigan, Lester joined the Green Bay Packers as a senior analyst under head coach Matt LaFleur’s staff. LaFleur and Lester were teammates at Western Michigan during LaFleur’s two seasons in Kalamazoo from 1998-99.

Lester continued his reflection by stating that his lone season in Green Bay was refreshing as it reintroduced him to a familiar system of plays.

“Having a chance to go with Matt in Green Bay was refreshing. To coach in the NFL, to kind of reintroduce myself to this system, which has always been my favorite system. I ran it for years early on in my career, which is really unique to get back,” Lester said.

He added that his six seasons as a head coach in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) showed him that head coaches don’t just get to coach football.

“The one thing that I’ve learned about coaching, at least in the MAC—I don’t know how many places are like this—but you do a lot, you wear a lot of hats, so you get further and further away from football, which is what I love to do. Sitting in a room with the quarterbacks talking ball, trying to teach is why we do what we do,” Lester said.

In his time with Green Bay, Lester’s focus was able to return solely to football.

“As a head coach at least at that level—I know there’s coaches, like in the NFL, they only want head coaches that are play callers. In college they don’t. They want you to go raise money. So, it was refreshing to get back to all about the ball.

“That’s what you do in the NFL and to be in a place at Green Bay with Matt and all the coaches really, that was an enlightening year for me. Even though I was there until 1 in the morning. I was the grunt guy. I’d get somebody coffee if they needed it. They didn’t make me do it, but I would have. It was a lot of fun.”

At Iowa, it’s similar to Green Bay. Lester’s focus is on the teaching.

“And then coming here and getting to be a football coach and be around these guys and introduce something brand new that they’ve never heard of or seen and watch the way they’ve worked at it.

“I’m glad they’ve had a little bit of success and not even close to what we need to be, but it’s been a great journey. Learning a lot about what makes me happy and what makes me feel fulfilled and have better relationships and so it’s been a journey, but it’s been fun,” Lester said.

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lester and the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) are currently on their bye week but will resume play on Nov. 23 from SECU Stadium in College Park, Md., when they take on the Maryland Terrapins (4-5, 1-5 Big Ten).

Kickoff for next week’s game is slated for 11 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network and on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.

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Tim Lester discusses Iowa’s upcoming transfer portal plans

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester touched on the Hawkeyes’ upcoming transfer portal plans.

Speaking with the media on Tuesday, Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester spoke about the program’s plans on how it will utilize the ever-evolving transfer portal.

When asked if the quarterback position would be a focus for the program when the winter window opens up on Dec. 9, Lester didn’t confirm that the quarterback position specifically is one that the Hawkeyes will be looking at.

“Yeah, I think every position in this state of college football. I think every position, every year, you have to look,” Lester said. “It’s coming and we’re definitely going to look into it. We’ve got to look at each position and there’s roster limits now, so there’s a lot of moving parts.”

Lester continued by sharing his excitement to learn more about the plan Iowa chief of staff and general manager Tyler Barnes and head coach Kirk Ferentz have formulated for the program’s transfer portal needs.

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I know Tyler and Coach have been working hard on that. I’m excited to have a meeting later this week to learn a little bit about all the work they’ve been doing for the past six weeks. Just to kind of see where they think the holes are and we’ll have great discussion and figure out, but I think you have to look at every position on both sides of the ball every year. It’s just the new way of college football.

“But, we’re definitely going to meet about (the transfer portal). This is the week to meet and talk and figure out what the plan is. Once it opens up, we’re going to have to be active in it I think,” Lester said.

The winter transfer portal window officially opens on Monday, Dec. 9 and closes on Saturday, Dec. 28, meaning the Hawkeyes will need to solidify their plans quickly as the dates approach.

The NCAA’s Division I Council voted to shorten the transfer portal windows in FBS and FCS football from 45 to 30 days. The spring transfer portal window is April 16-25.

With Iowa (6-4, 4-3) currently on its bye week, the program will return to play on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Maryland Terrapins from SECU Stadium in College Park, Md.

Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as well as the Hawkeye Radio Network.

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Tim Lester named Big Ten Coordinator of the Week by 247Sports

Big Ten Coordinator of the Week.

In a big turn of events, the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ offense was among one of the best in the Big Ten this week with their 40-16 showing against the Washington Huskies.

The Hawkeyes had just 328 total yards, which isn’t going to wow a ton of people, but the creativity and success they found those yards in tells the entire story when you peel back the curtain.

Iowa ran for 220 yards averaging 5.9 yards on the ground, had two rushing scores, and threw for two more against a Washington team that was coming off a win against the Michigan Wolverines.

This performance has Tim Lester named the Big Ten Coordinator of the Week by 247Sports.

Tim Lester’s Iowa offense, meanwhile, produced 40 points in a win over Washington against a Huskies defense that had limited their first six opponents to 24 points or fewer. – Zenitz, 247Sports.

The Hawkeyes’ success in 2024 has come on the ground this year and has been led by Kaleb Johnson’s breakout year. Iowa is averaging 222.8 rushing yards per game and 5.8 yards per rush with 14 rushing touchdowns.

The offense is averaging 29.17 points per game, nearly doubling the average seen in 2023 all while winning the turnover battle through both interceptions and fumbles lost.

With a rejuvenated offense, the Hawkeyes are confident with the ball this year and that has started at the top with Tim Lester.

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Kirk Ferentz shares first reaction to Tim Lester offense

Kirk Ferentz shared his first impressions of the Tim Lester offense in game action.

Like the two offseasons before it, the biggest story and question surrounding Iowa football following the conclusion of 2023 was how much could its offense improve?

The Hawkeyes hired former Western Michigan head coach and Green Bay Packers analyst Tim Lester as its new offensive coordinator to replace Brian Ferentz.

The first impression of Iowa’s new offense under Lester was a great one. Though it took a half to get going, Iowa racked up its best offensive output since its Sept. 28, 2019 win over Middle Tennessee. Iowa’s 492 yards of total offense in its 40-0 shutout victory over Illinois State was the Hawkeyes’ most in a season opener since compiling 593 yards against Akron in 2002.

It was also the best offensive output in an OC’s debut with the Hawkeyes dating back to 1979.

After taking in Iowa’s season opener on TV from home, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared his first thoughts on what he saw from Lester’s offense during his Tuesday press conference.

“Yeah, it felt a lot better watching, from where I was watching. Life was a lot better in the second half. Again, that’s the study in offense. Execution is a huge part of the game. It takes a lot of concentration, a lot of detail.

“I think one thing for sure, the penalty situation did impact us in the first half. Second thing, we didn’t really throw or catch. The throws weren’t always accurate. Then we made some of those throws in the second half, and we caught the ball well. It gives you a chance to get going. Then the run game was a little cleaner and crisper. Those are things you go through,” Ferentz said.

Iowa totaled 345 yards of offense in the second half. Junior running back Kaleb Johnson accumulated 119 rushing yards with a pair of scores after halftime.

“We’re going to go through a series of things over the course of the season. As much as you try in camp and you try to put the guys in pressure situations and create things and all that, it’s not the same as playing the game. Until you get in the game, you don’t know how individuals are going to perform or how they’re going to play, and then the other component is just the same thing to be said about your team, you just don’t know how they’re going to respond to those situations. We’ll have a bunch of them here in the next 11 games out there. You just don’t know what they are.

“But the biggest takeaway for me was the guy our guys stuck together. They kept a good attitude. I’m not so sure how many adjustments got made at halftime, but we just made a little cleaner in that second half. Then when you do that, you give yourself a chance for some success,” Ferentz said.

One of the most encouraging signs for the Hawkeyes was what Iowa found in the passing game. After throwing just three touchdown passes to wide receivers in all of 2023, Iowa matched that feat in its opener.

True freshman wide receiver Reece Vander Zee caught a pair of touchdowns and junior transfer receiver Jacob Gill from Northwestern also added a touchdown grab.

“Yeah, it’s encouraging. It’s a combination of a lot of things. I think the line, we’re a little bit more veteran up there. I thought the guys overall protected pretty well. It didn’t seem like that was an issue at all for us, so that was helpful.

“Cade working through his leave of absence for a while, going through that, and now he’s on a little bit of a sabbatical, medical sabbatical, so working through. And then the receivers did a good job for the most part going and getting the ball, running good routes, things like that.

“So good combination, and some of those plays that Cade made were under duress, not necessarily because of a breakdown, but those guys blitzed a lot, had free rushers come. I thought he handled that situation well, too. We got plenty of blitz practice on Saturday, no question,” Ferentz said.

The early returns on the new-look Iowa offense under Lester are positive. The Hawkeyes will look to keep the offensive momentum rolling in Week 2 as the Iowa State Cyclones arrive to Kinnick Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on CBS.

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ESPN has one clear ‘X Factor’ in 2024 for Iowa football

Could one person make or break 2024?

With the 2024 college football season approaching faster and faster each day, the Iowa Hawkeyes are eagerly awaiting their chance to unveil a new, and hopefully much-improved offense.

Everyone knows that the defense is going to be stout. The question for this team falls on the shoulders of the offense. Led by new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, Iowa has the potential to go from a team that should easily earn a solid bowl bid to a team that could make some noise nationally.

Lester’s arrival and the weight on his shoulders has him picked as ESPN’s biggest “X factor” for the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2024.

23. Iowa Hawkeyes

OC Tim Lester. The Hawkeyes have a new offensive coordinator in Lester, who spent last year as an analyst for the Green Bay Packers. Before that, he was Western Michigan’s head coach. Lester is charged with reviving an Iowa offense that ranked last in the Big Ten in 2023 in yards (235.4 per game), passing yards (118.6) and points (15.4). Finding a way to generate more chunk plays will be critical for Lester and the Hawkeyes. Iowa produced only 33 plays of 20 yards or more in 2023, last among Power 5 offenses. — Trotter

This comes on the heels of ESPN picking Kaden Wetjen as Iowa’s biggest sleeper for 2024 which could make a massive difference if given the chance.

The trend here is clear. ESPN and most of America know that Iowa is going to keep opposing offenses in check for the most part. The other end of that bargain is the offense which is largely unknown to most of America as to how they will perform.

If Lester can manufacture big plays with Wetjen and other receivers, an area Iowa has massively struggled in lately, it opens the run game up and clears out the middle for tight end Luke Lachey.

Kickoff is still a month away, but the anticipation to see Iowa’s new offensive scheme under Tim Lester has the anticipation of the first game already here.

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Iowa looking to replicate Green Bay Packers’ offensive system

Iowa football wants its offense to replicate the Green Bay Packers.

With the change over the offseason from offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, many fans hoped that a change in offensive ideology was also coming to Iowa City.

For years, Iowa has been known as a team that loves to play smashmouth football. They dictate how the game is going to be played and make it so that you hate when Iowa is scheduled for your weekend. Unfortunately, in recent years, that label of being a smashmouth, run-first squad has given way to Iowa just simply being a bad team on offense that can’t move the ball.

Now that they got rid of Ferentz, they could finally go in a different direction. Right?

Some fans were not extremely happy with the hiring of former Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester over the offseason to be the next offensive coordinator. A lot of the criticisms do make a ton of sense.

Despite being a team that was just in the Big Ten Championship, Iowa spent a really long time on a coaching search to hire a guy who really doesn’t have any success as a play-caller at the Power Four level. No offense, but Western Michigan is not a program on Iowa’s level.

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Lester’s offensive style on the surface is also not entirely far-removed from what Kirk Ferentz wants to do either. Lester certainly isn’t going to be mistaken for Lincoln Riley as a play-caller, however, we are already seeing ways this offseason that Iowa’s preferred style of play can be improved on.

In a column by Chad Leistikow for the Des Moines Register, current running backs coach Ladell Betts discussed the influence of Lester’s time recently in Green Bay.

“We’re running the Packers’ system. We’re running the Shanahan system,” Betts said as the Hawkeyes coaching staff visited the Packers practice a few weeks ago.

While Lester was only with the Packers for a year as an analyst, it’s obvious that he learned a lot in Green Bay. It seems Lester has learned a few tricks from Matt LaFleur to improve Iowa’s rushing attack.

“The bread and butter of it is the run game. It all centers around the run game… But, I think the biggest takeaway is how much consternation can we give the defense? How off-balance can we keep the defense? There’s going to be a lot of motions. A lot of shifts. A lot of pre-snap changes with the alignments.

“Because if you’re thinking about it from a defensive perspective, (they’re) trying to eliminate what you’re doing from a specific formation. … And the more they can eliminate, the better they’ll be. But when you’re changing that picture constantly, it’s hard for them to eliminate certain plays. You’re trying to… create doubt for the defense,” Betts said.

The implementation of motion is potentially huge for the Hawkeyes, as Tom Fornelli explains in his piece for CBS Sports.

Hearing that the Hawkeyes plan to use more pre-snap motion was a jolt to the system. Motion before the snap is not some newfangled discovery. It’s a basic concept teams have used for a long time to force a defense to declare itself and make life easier for the quarterback. How infrequently did Iowa use motion last season? According to TruMedia, only 22.9% of the time; it ranked No. 12 in the Big Ten and No. 112 nationally. – Fornelli, CBS Sports.

As Fornelli states in his article, motion is not the easy fix for offenses that some in the football world think it is. However, it is extremely useful for what the Hawkeyes want to do.

Under Brian Ferentz, Iowa made things far too easy for their opponents. They lined up in heavy formations and telegraphed exactly what they were going to do, opting to try and muscle through the opposition. Iowa’s offense was all about putting themselves at a disadvantage.

Smart teams use motion to help enhance the key points of their offense. We’ve seen this recently with the Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and his various colleagues under the Shanahan coaching tree.

This is something I legitimately have talked about before, referencing how the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay have used motion to perfection. Most recently, we’ve seen Michigan, another smashmouth team, carefully implement motion to enhance their powerful offense.

Smart teams do what they can to put themselves at an advantage, even when employing a run-first style offense where you look to play complementary football.

For a team like Iowa who doesn’t have an entire roster full of five-star recruits, the coaching staff doing what they can to put their players in the best positions possible to make plays is crucial.

We see Phil Parker do this time and time again on defense. Now, can we see Tim Lester be the change on offense?

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Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz and staff members make visit to Wisconsin

Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz and staff members make visit to Wisconsin

The list of notable attendees at Green Bay Packers OTAs grows by the day.

First, it was longtime Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst making his first football-related return to the state since being fired as Badgers head coach in October 2022.

Now, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and some of his staffers were spotted at Packers OTA practice in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest 2024 schedule?

The Hawkeyes made a substantial move this offseason by firing offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and hiring Tim Lester as his replacement. There is a Packers connection there, as Lester was on the team’s staff as a senior analyst in 2023 after recent coaching stops at Syracuse, Purdue and Western Michigan.

The longtime college coach is tasked with fixing a broken Hawkeyes offense that finished the 2023 season ranked No. 132 in points per game (of 133 schools), No. 133 in yards per play and No. 133 in total offense. It was, by far, the worst offense in the country. Lester will need to replicate some of what Packers HC Matt LaFleur brought to Green Bay if the Hawkeyes are to continue their on-field success.

The other Packers–Iowa connection is Lukas Van Ness, a former Hawkeye who the Packers selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Wisconsin will visit Iowa on November 2 in what will be a pivotal contest on the team’s 2024 schedule.

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CBS Sports links QB Brendan Sullivan to Iowa via Tim Lester’s Western Michigan ties

Could Brendan Sullivan become an Iowa Hawkeye? CBS Sports thinks the signs from Tim Lester’s background at Western Michigan could make it so.

Let’s call a spade a spade: Cade McNamara has a mighty uphill climb to return to his true form after two season-ending injuries in each of the last two years he has played. His mobility during spring ball was suspect at best even with roughly four months before the season begins.

The Iowa Hawkeyes need quarterback depth and possibly even someone to push for the starting job. After Deacon Hill and Tommy Poholsky hit the transfer portal, Marco Lainez is alone alongside McNamara in the QB room.

Lainez has a high upside, but he has very limited playing time: mop up duty in last season’s bowl game. He is getting first team reps while McNamara rehabs, but it could be a stretch to imagine him being thrust into the starting role.

That leaves Iowa with a need for QB depth at worst and a hidden gem to take over the starting role at best. While it is late in the game to bring a quarterback in, one in the transfer portal has ties to Iowa and could make sense. CBS Sports believes Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan could rekindle his connection with Tim Lester and join the Hawkeyes.

If I had to bet on a likely outcome, I’d look at Brendan Sullivan. Sullivan was viewed as the likely favorite to win Northwestern’s starting QB job this fall but made a surprising decision to enter the portal. Sullivan is from Michigan, and when he was still a three-star prospect going through the recruitment process, one of the schools that offered was Western Michigan. Western Michigan’s head coach at the time? Current Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester. – Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports

Relationships matter now more than ever in college football with the transfer portal. Sullivan has that with Lester. Obviously there was an interest from Lester to bring Sullivan to Western Michigan. That feeling could still exist and even be exacerbated by Iowa’s glaring QB need.

Brendan Sullivan was the No. 49 QB in the class of 2021 on the 247Sports composite. Last year, Sullivan was 63 of 99 for 714 yards with six touchdowns to two interceptions. He is a career 68.7% passer with a two-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also has ran for 257 yards in his collegiate career.

Lester’s new offense can be enhanced by a quarterback with more mobility. Sullivan is objectively more mobile than McNamara and more experienced than Lainez. Could the Wildcat be headed to Iowa City.

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CBS Sports highlights new-look Iowa offense among Big Ten’s spring overreactions

Has Iowa indeed finally modernized its offense?

Everyone and their mothers know that the success of the Iowa Hawkeyes‘ season once again rests squarely on the shoulders of their offense. A new offensive coordinator, Tim Lester, joins an offense that gets some key starters healthy. But, is that enough to enter the modern era of successful offensive football?

Iowa had their open practice inside Kinnick Stadium and it was the first glimpse for fans to see the new offense. The Hawkeyes made a point to show motion, spread sets, and more innovation than the past few years combined.

Despite the innovation, it was just spring ball. The Hawkeyes have to do this in live game action. Due to that, CBS Sports has planted the Iowa Hawkeyes’ new offense on their list of Big Ten spring football overreactions.

Tom Fornelli of CBS believes that the Hawkeyes actually having a modern offense is among the biggest overreactions across the conference.

The Hawkeyes finally have a modern college football offense: Coaching staffs make a point not to put too much on tape for opponents to see in spring games, but there was a sense that new Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester wanted to make sure Iowa fans knew this wasn’t going to be the same offense. Yes, those were three receiver sets you saw, with Iowa running out of 11 personnel (3 WR, 1 RB), and that was a lot more motion than Iowa fans are used to seeing.

It’s beginning to look a lot like 2014 in Iowa City! Seriously, though, the changes Iowa showed in the playbook are encouraging, but there are still some key personnel questions. QB Cade McNamara was not a full participant this spring following his ACL injury, and Deacon Hill is in the transfer portal. – Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports

The large issue with Iowa’s offense, regardless of the scheme or play caller, has been, and appears to still be, the quarterback play. Cade McNamara tore his ACL last year and if spring ball is any indication, he appears a ways away from being game ready.

Deacon Hill, who was forced to play in a tough spot last season, has hit the transfer portal along with Tommy Poholsky, a walk-on. That leaves the Hawkeyes’ quarterback room very thin with just Marco Lainez behind Cade McNamara currently.

James Resar, a four-star signee in Iowa’s 2024 class, will join the Hawkeye quarterback room this summer.

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