April 25, 2015
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IOWA CITY, Iowa – – University of Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said his team had a productive spring as the Hawkeyes wrapped up the 15th and final practice of the spring here Saturday afternoon in a wet and chilly Kinnick Stadium.
The offense outscored the defense 29-28 in the scoring system that was used for the third straight year, awarding points based on big plays and team performance during the controlled scrimmage.
“We had a productive spring, I’m happy with the way the guys have worked,” said Ferentz of the spring practice overall. “We saw some good and some bad, but overall we have made positive strides, and that goes back to January. It’s a process. We are making progress, and yet have work to do, which is typical of a spring practice period. We’ll continue our training, finish up the school year academically these next few weeks, and then turn our sights to the summer program after that.”
On Saturday, running back sophomore Akrum Wadley scored on a short run and senior kicker Marshall Koehn was successful on all three of his field goal attempts. Defensively, senior linebacker Cole Fisher and redshirt freshman safety Brandon Snyder had pass interceptions.
“The defense might be ahead of the offense after 15 practices, but that happens when you work against each other all spring, or in fall camp,” said Ferentz. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about. The defensive line had a good spring as a group; I’m more concerned about the fundamental things, ball security and such, that we need to clean up.”
Throughout the spring, junior C.J. Beathard and redshirt freshman Tyler Wiegers handled the quarterback duties, and Ferentz said he is pleased with the progress both players made during the spring.
“C.J. has made a lot of progress. This spring has allowed him to grow and empowered him to be more of a leader, and he has embraced that,” said Ferentz. “For us to have a good football team, he will need to do that, and he is aware of that. I’m pleased with what we have seen, and there will be more to follow. The bottom line is he hasn’t played a lot in games over the last couple of years. Getting out on the field and playing this fall is going to be good for him, and he’s prepared for that. If we were playing tomorrow he would be ready to go, and that’s a good thing.”
Iowa opens the 2015 football season Sept. 5, hosting Illinois State. The Hawkeyes will also host non-conference opponents Pittsburgh (Sept. 19) and North Texas (Sept. 26), along with Big Ten foes Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota, and Purdue. Home dates with Pittsburgh and Minnesota will be held in primetime and televised on BTN.
Questions concerning the purchase of 2015 football tickets, including general public, UI faculty/staff and UI student seasons tickets by current UI students, should be directed to the UI Athletics Ticket Office. The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The office telephone number is 1-800-IA-HAWKS.
