July 25, 2008
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CHICAGO – Today was the final day of the Big Ten Conference Media Day, which culminated with the 37th annual Kickoff Luncheon in which a capacity crowd of over 1,700 passionate football fans attended.
University of Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz, along with Hawkeye seniors Mitch King, Matt Kroul and Seth Olsen, again represented the Iowa football program, along with head coaches and three players from each Big Ten school, and talked with the local and national media for two hours this morning.
Ferentz, who enters his 10th season as Iowa’s head coach, touched on a couple areas of improvement he’d like to see out of the 2008 Hawkeyes.
“We were inconsistent in our special teams last season. We did some things better, but if you look back at our successful teams, we have been good on special teams. That’s a requisite for us and I think it always will be. And if I was going to grab a couple of key statistics, I would start with third down on both sides of the ball.”
Ferentz added that this year’s squad will be young, but has experience. “We do have some experience and we need a lot of work right now. We’re counting on a lot of players to improve. And I think all of us are excited about getting started.”
Among the many topics Ferentz discussed, he mentioned that the team feels good about its depth at tight end and receiver.
“We feel better about our tight end and receiver situation going into this season. We’ve got guys like Brandon Myers and Allen Reisner, who as a true freshman, played well for us last year. We welcome back Tony Moeaki who’s, we think, one of our top football players, loads of potential, basically missed last year and missed a Big Ten portion of our schedule with an injury.
“At the receiver position, right now, are Trey Stross and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos are our two most experienced guys returning and certainly will welcome back Andy Brodell, who is also injured in our first Big Ten game, so in effect he missed last year as well. I feel like we have a little bit more depth and experience at that position.”
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“Both the offensive and defensive lines have to be productive in order for us to be successful. As a defensive tackle, you have to make plays and have to lead and be positive because you are in front of every other defender. As a defensive line, we have to stop the run and be leaders. We are experienced and you can’t substitute that for anything.”
Senior Defensive Tackle Mitch King
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Defensively, King is excited to begin pre-season camp. As a pre-season second team all-America honoree by Athon Sports, the senior knows that the team’s success starts in the trenches.
“Both the offensive and defensive lines have to be productive in order for us to be successful. As a defensive tackle, you have to make plays and have to lead and be positive because you are in front of every other defender. As a defensive line, we have to stop the run and be leaders. We are experienced and you can’t substitute that for anything.”
In response to which type offense he’d rather play against, King stressed it’s all about hard work. “Coach (Phil) Parker always preaches that it’s not X’s and O’s, it’s the effort and demand. It goes a long way if you pride yourself in stopping the run or the pass, it doesn’t matter what type of offense the opposition runs.”
King, who is a native of Burlington, IA, enters 2008 with 174 tackles, including 39.5 for loss and 13.5 sacks. He has been named to the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and Lott Trophy watch lists.
Kroul is also energized about getting back at it and seeing what pre-season practice brings to the forefront. “We have some new guys stepping in and we are going to have some competition at some of the positions, which will make for a great camp.”
The native of Mount Vernon, IA, is determined to help improve the Hawkeye defensive unit and emphasized how important it is to win the close games.
Kroul has started 37 consecutive games at defensive tackle, a streak that ranks third-highest in the Big Ten. He enters the 2008 campaign with 181 tackles, including 13 for loss. Kroul was an honorable mention all-league selection a year ago.
Olsen, who hails from Omaha, NE, represented the Hawkeye offense in Chicago the last couple days. The Hawkeyes return 26 offensive lettermen, including seven on offense, which Olsen believes is a stepping stone to an improved season and a return trip to a bowl.
“It helps that we have a solid nucleus returning on offense and that we have some stability to build off of.”
Olsen, who has started 23 career games, including 22 straight, believes the team’s biggest strength, right now, is unity. “We are more unified than ever and it starts with our senior class.”
Olsen, who was an honorable mention all-Big Ten selection last season, is confident the Hawkeye offense will be more competitive than last year. Although the team lost senior leadership and depth at the running back position, he’s certain the new guys will fit right in and be productive.
After the media activities, all 33 student-athletes from the 11 Big Ten institutions signed autographs and posed for pictures with hundreds of fans for an hour prior to the luncheon. After a brief photo session with the players and coaches, the event concluded with the luncheon. All media and fan activities the past two days took place at the Hyatt Regency hotel located in downtown Chicago.
The Hawkeyes will hold its annual football Media Day Monday (Aug. 4) afternoon in Iowa City.
The 113th season of Big Ten football kicks off Saturday, Aug. 30 with all 11 teams in televised action. The Hawkeyes open their 2008 season with three straight home contests inside Kinnick Stadium. Iowa starts the campaign with games vs. Maine (Aug. 30), Florida International (Sept. 6) and Iowa State (Sept. 13). All three games will start at 11 a.m. (CT) and will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network (HD).