Dec. 28, 2006
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SAN ANTONIO — Norm Parker held court Thursday, meeting the media assembled in the second largest city in the big state of Texas for the 2006 Alamo Bowl between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Texas Longhorns.
Iowa’s veteran defensive coordinator talked like he always does: Humorously straight-forward and brutally honest. Here’s a sampling:
When asked about whether the Iowa defense will go through any overhaul between now and the start of 2007, Parker said flatly: “We do what we do and we believe in what we do. We just have to do it better.”
When asked about Texas’ offensive scheme, he smiled: “They’re doing what’s in vogue in college football today. But, hey, they’re pretty good at it. They’ve got some good-looking cats out there. Those aren’t ordinary people.”
At the top of his presentation, he was clear about the task confronting his defense Saturday in the Alamodome.
“This game gives us an opportunity to play the way defense should be played. It’ll be a challenge, but I think we’re anxious to give it a shot,” he said.
Parker said he thought things were pretty much on track through Iowa’s first five games. Iowa was unbeaten in that stretch. However, during victory No. 5 – a 24-7 route of Illinois – the Hawkeyes were dealt some pretty serious personnel losses, losses the UI never really rebounded from.
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“We do what we do and we believe in what we do. We just have to do it better.”
UI Defensive Coordinator Norm Parker
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“We lost Kenny (Iwebema) in that game and a handful of other guys. We found ourselves playing musical chairs from that point on,” said Parker. “Some seasons, you don’t lose anybody. Others you do. This was our year to lose a good number of first teamers.”
Parker aid Iwebema, a pre-season all-Big Ten selection, and cornerback Adam Shada are back, healthy and practicing. He’s excited about having them back on the field, but uncertain of just how much they’ll be capable of offering come Saturday afternoon.
“I’m not certain how long they’ll be able to last,” he said honestly. “We’ll just have to see how much they have in their tank. I hope they last because we’re going to need `em.”
The Longhorn offense is a defensive coordinator’s nightmare, according to Parker. He thinks UT’s offensive line might be the best Iowa will face this season and the unit is full of scoring threats.
“Guard to center to guard, they’re every bit as good as Ohio State or Michigan,” he said. “They’re so big and strong…I hope they don’t just maul us.”
Parker said Texas makes you defend everyone on the field and he’s been surprised by the criticism being tossed the Longhorns way.
“That offense was good enough to win a national title a year ago,” he said. “They didn’t forget it since last season.”