Q. I'm sure someone else will ask about the quarterback, but going into year three of the Shanahan offense, I guess how encouraged or comfortable are you in the functionality of the offense? As a result, do you think it will be more versatile this year in terms of run/pass?
KIRK FERENTZ: First of all, I think everybody's got more familiarity now. There's a lot of newness to it, the verbiage, just a lot of things to learn. From a staff standpoint, I think all of us are a lot more comfortable than we were. So that's a good thing. I think with our veteran players, same thing. So there's some familiarity there.
The guys that are really in contention for jobs, I think it's safe to say for the most part, not 100 percent, but a lot of those guys have been in the program for a while. So you play faster if you know what you're doing and know what the calls mean, all those types of things. Just anticipate things from looks as well. So that's a positive thing.
Obviously we've got some newcomers that have joined us, so they're catching up and what have you. Familiarity is always a good thing. Repetition is a good thing if you're thinking right. It's a matter of now just how do we handle things out there on the field? Anxious to see how that goes.
Q. I wanted to ask about quarterback, and that is a lot of the numbers in the spring were pretty even between the two players, and I presume that a lot of times they still are. When it becomes that even among the numbers and what they've been able to do, do you take the battle next to like intangibles and feelings and how they move the team and your interpretation of it if the numbers aren't necessarily making that kind of separation?
KIRK FERENTZ: Numbers are numbers, and they are important. I'm not diminishing that, especially protecting the football, being reckless with it. It doesn't always reflect drops or maybe dropped interceptions, things like that, or just terrible decisions. So we try to track all that stuff, and that's, I guess, where there's kind of a meshing of the statistics and all that, but also how you feel and believe in your eyes a little bit in terms of what you see and how other people are affected or impacted by that player being in there.
Going down the road a little bit, the best players I've been around at any position have a positive influence on a team. We're not expecting any of our whoever starts this year to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. That's not realistic at this stage. But that's what you're hoping to get, somebody who can really pull the guys together. When it starts getting a little bumpy out there, they can kind of pull the guys together too. That goes beyond the job description of just throwing the football and some of the stuff they have to do.
And making good decisions, the mental part of it, getting us out of a bad play and into a good play, those kinds of things. It's a lot of variables. You don't want to jump to a conclusion because there's a lot of moving pieces right now. That's where that second part of camp is going to be a little more revealing for us to see how they're doing with the work that they're getting, what they're learning, and how quickly.
Q. There's a lot that's changed in the course of college football, but one of the newest rules with the 5 for 5 rule. How with that rule will it affect your use of the freshman class this year and future incoming freshman classes?
KIRK FERENTZ: It probably made sense 30 years ago, quite frankly, in my mind. Now with the roster reductions it's more important because it's really -- it's impactful.
So having anybody out with an injury, it makes it a little tougher to practice, becomes a little bit of a challenge. The nice thing now is, if we think a freshman can help us, we've got a little room to not only experiment with it but also maybe experiment longer and give a guy more opportunity.
A good example is somebody that's a defensive player, better example. If he gets an opportunity to be on the kickoff team or the punt return team, that type of thing, and really -- that's really what got us -- got our attention about Dallas Clark first was what he did on special teams. Then figured out he's probably out of position at that point.
But it gives you a real exposure to guys sometimes that maybe aren't quite -- it's not happening for them at their given positions, but you see them play on special teams, and you can logically project they have real opportunities. So I think that's a great thing.
Players have a decision to make at the other end, and that's up to them. They've got that anyway.
Q. Kirk, I wanted to ask about the offensive line. You guys are replacing three, obviously, NFL-caliber offensive linemen. Do you feel really good about the quality of depth that you have? I know you guys have looked at moving Kade Pieper to center. Cael Winter is another guy who's come along strongly. Can you give us a little bit of insight into where the center position is coming along and where you see guys right now, and the best five maybe, kind of where they're at?
KIRK FERENTZ: Just where you finish is where it all starts is what's our best five? Then trying to figure out where the best seats are for everybody, a couple different criteria for that.
We're going to be flexible in our thinking. You'll probably see both Pieper working at center and guard tomorrow, same thing with Cael. I think you'll see him do both. Mike Myslinski has done the same. So we're looking at guys in different positions, just seeing what they look like at those given positions that will help hopefully complete the equation.
It was kind of a bigger concern a couple years ago. We had guys graduating and nobody to realistically project them going into play. I think that's kind of settled down, and we're hopefully in the development mode again where we get wiped out by five guys not being there, that type of deal.
So I think the guys competing right now have been in the program long enough to have a realistic chance to play well, and it's going to be really important for us when that happens. I just don't know who they are yet. I think we're in a healthier spot, pardon the pun, than we were three years ago for sure.
Q. Obviously the quarterback decision is ultimately yours as the head coach, but how much of an impact does who Tim prefers go into play in the decision?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's huge. Tim is the coordinator. He's the play caller. Billy obviously is working with the quarterbacks on a daily basis, probably most intimately of anybody. We've got some other people that know something about quarterbacks in the building too, that's only helpful.
In a perfect world, we'll all come to a consensus, and there will be pretty much agreement. But my experience, NFL or college, it's not always clear-cut, and we'll keep an open mind as the decision gets going as well. I've mentioned that before, it may be that in October we're looking at something different. You never can tell because really what matters is what happens in game competition.
We'll talk about it. It's an ongoing discussion. There's no urgency now. A week and a half from now, it will probably be a little bit different. Maybe the picture isn't really clear at that point, but we'll just kind of let it play out. But everybody's opinions are really valued.
Q. I know you've said a few times regarding the defensive line that you can see between nine and ten guys playing this year. Alongside Bryce Hawthorne, Kenny Merrieweather, any guys right now sticking out as they absolutely have to see the field? Or do you see that number being pared down at all at this point in time?
KIRK FERENTZ: It will probably get pared down. It's kind of day to day, quite frankly. It's too early -- kind of like the quarterback thing. It's just too early to safely predict. I think we're getting there now, that type of deal. So it's kind of a wide open jump ball, if you will.
We'll let the guys keep competing. It's kind of the same way on the other side of the ball with the linemen. There are guys with good plays, bad plays, but not enough right now to just say, okay, here's the top three guys or four guys. Probably ten days from now, we've got to get to that point.
Q. Sounds like maybe medical related, but if you could expound on Terrence Smith -- I know he's no longer listed on the roster.
KIRK FERENTZ: He enrolled over at Iowa Western this summer and unfortunately has hit a little bit of an obstacle health-wise there. We communicated about seven days ago. His attitude is great. He's working hard and hopefully, A, gets healthy, and then gets back on the field and just keeps going.
We're going to keep an eye on him. He's still a guy we have really good feelings about.
Q. DJ Vonnahme comes in this year with a lot of hype around his name. How have you seen him handle that early on, and how have you seen his growth over this off-season?
KIRK FERENTZ: He's really the same guy he was a year ago at this time. In terms of his personality, just a steady, every day, just the same guy every day, shows up, works really hard. Clearly he had really climbed the ladder a little bit last year. As the second part of the season came on, I thought he really got comfortable. Reece Vander Zee kind of mirrored that a little bit as well.
That's what you hope for each player. Each year, they get a little bit more comfortable, and their skill set starts to take over a little bit.
DJ is a hard working guy, dependable. Every day is the same with him. I'd go on a limb and say he's going to be a pretty good player for us. We're going to need that.
That's one thing we always talk to our guys about. Our best guys have to play their best, and they've got to play better than they did previously, or we're not going to have a good football team. I think he certainly appreciates that and works really hard.
Q. Roster question. Is Ben Kueter on the roster this season, and is there any context you can provide about I guess just where he stands with the program?
KIRK FERENTZ: He's not on the roster. My understanding is he's just straight ahead wrestling and hopefully does great. I think he will, but that's my understanding.
Q. The last few years you've had great success on punt returns with Cooper DeJean and the last couple of years Wetjen. Who kind of has the edge right now? Do you have any idea who's going to be your number one punt returner?
KIRK FERENTZ: If we were playing tomorrow, which we're not, but you would see Lutmer back there. He'd be the first guy.
That's a great illustration of what everybody needs to understand. Wetjen was off the charts good, just off the charts. Not so much three years ago, but the last two years, just an exceptional player, and he followed a guy who also was off the charts good in Cooper DeJean. One of the reasons Cooper's not one of the best returner guys we had is because Wetjen followed him.
We've been really lucky, guys like Micah Hyde, Desmond King. Historically, just sitting in a meeting, we've got games -- we haven't lost yet, by the way. We always have games running in our building for our players to watch, and we're undefeated in those games. It's really good. Andy Brodell basically won the Iowa State game out here in '08 with the punt return.
So we've been lucky that way, but I think part of it is program emphasis, and we continue to emphasize it. It is important to our -- has been for 27 years. Hopefully somebody takes the opportunity and runs with it. Zach is sitting in the first seat right now, but it could be anybody. So we'll see how it all plays out.
First things first, though, you've got to make good decisions back there. It's kind of like being a quarterback. You can't have somebody back there that isn't reliable and dependable. That's sudden death. It's a quick way to lose a game.
Q. Which position groups do you feel like need the most work?
KIRK FERENTZ: I'd say all of them obviously, but we're most veteran at running back and most veteran at tight end. I'd probably stop there.
It's really an intriguing -- that's part of the intrigue of this team right now, and I felt this way coming out of spring. I think we have a lot of guys that are capable of playing really -- playing well at the level we play at or the league we play in, but we're not there. We're not ready yet.
It's a race against ourselves and against time. That's why this work is so important. That's why summer was important, spring. The guys' attitude has been really good. If we come up a little short, all we've got to do is make them aware of it and they come back the next day and typically respond.
Can we get good enough to get ready when the season starts, and can we be good enough in November, October, when things really get decided? It's going to be interesting. It's intriguing. It's interesting. I hope it's a good intriguing and a good interesting. We'll see.
Q. There's a lot of talk about Vonnahme and then Ostrenga coming back this season. I wanted to ask about the rest of the tight end room, specifically Ortwerth and Meyer and what they've been doing. We had a chance to talk to Meyer a little bit in the spring about his development, but what have you seen with the rest of the tight ends and what they can bring into the team this year?
KIRK FERENTZ: I think they're all really improving. Thomas is -- we talked about Addison. The other end of the spectrum is Thomas Meyer, a really young guy. He was unusually serious and focused when he showed up here, kind of like a 25-year-old guy when he was a freshman. Not that he didn't have a lot to learn, but his ability to really stay focused throughout practice. So just seeing growth and improvement with him.
That's one area where we do have depth. We've got Zach Ortwerth in there. Just a really good, solid group of guys. They work well with each other. Michael Burt is improving. Really excited about the group. Luke Brewer just joined us, and he's a good, serious young guy too.
Kind of interesting the history of our tight ends, we've had a lot of different kinds of tight ends, and the room is kind of that way too. We have different kinds of guys, but they're good guys, and I think they're all really capable of playing good football for us.
Q. Your running back room, there's a lot of tools in the toolbox, including a first year -- a highly rated transfer that came in and a couple of veterans. Only so many downs to go around. How do you decide which kind of attributes you look for to get on the field on a first down or maybe a third down passing situation? And assuming health, has anyone stood out in that way making their way towards the front of the line?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's all kind of the same discussion. It's a good group. One of the guys has been out for significant time. He's back with us now. That made it a little bit easier to spread the repetition, and I think some of the younger guys have taken advantage of that.
We feel good about the group. It's been interesting to watch, watch their development progress. L.J. has improved. He looks a world more comfortable now than he did in the spring, and my guess is he's probably better when it's live football than he is like touch football, that type of thing.
Kamari continues to grow and do a good job, really good guy. Xavier Williams is a good back. You could go right down the list. I think Nathan McNeil the past couple days has really done some good things also. It's a good group. Braeden Jackson is another guy, just kind of coming. He was a walk-on last year, and the guy got our attention. I think he's grown also.
That and the tight end room, we feel pretty good about our depth and guys that have ability going into play and help us win.
Q. We know how tough it is to win on the road in the Big Ten. With a tough road date in Ann Arbor, Michigan, what does the preparation look like for your players to block out the noise of a place like The Big House?
KIRK FERENTZ: First of all, we'll worry about that when we get there. The other think is that every game in the Big Ten is tough in my mind, at least that's my experience. To your point, if you're in this conference, you're going to have to win on the road if you want to have a good record. That's just part of the deal. If you have the right attitude and right outlook, you can make an advantage hopefully.
What you want to do is certainly not get off to a bad start. It would be really advantageous to get off to a good start any time you're on the road, but if you get off to a bad one, it could be catastrophic. It just snowballs. I've had a few of those in our career, not much fun.
First things first. Just go in there focusing on the game, knowing it's you against 60,000 or 100,000, whatever it may be, and staying focused on what's happening on the field. Just not giving them a reason to have a pep rally in the first 30 seconds. That's one thing you want to try to avoid. Be solid, be sound, and just get off to a positive start.
Q. Coach, you talk about leadership about as much as anybody I've ever heard. This year lack of your traditional seniors. I know it's different in the five-year environment, but when you look at that lack of senior leadership, how concerning is that to you?
KIRK FERENTZ: It's something we're aware of. I don't know if I'm concerned. I was in January, but so far, so good what I've seen.
Typically, seniors, you always see your leaders being seniors. One thing I would separate too, there are good leaders and leaders that aren't so good, and it goes both ways. If you've got the guys on that side that aren't so good, that's a really bad thing. Better off playing a bowl of oatmeal, quite frankly.
Leadership can come from anywhere and anybody. Everybody's got an opportunity if they've got a good attitude, they're a team first guy and work hard and leading by example.
Trying to pick a really easy example for me. Last year we had our 12 Hawkeye championship captains, and we added three players to the mix like we typically do every year. Jayden Montgomery was the first guy all of our veterans were talking about. I found that really interesting because we had a pretty veteran group, but they all saw him as an equal. At that time, what was he, a sophomore last year, or a junior, whatever it was. I lose track of all that stuff. Anyway, he's a younger guy who hadn't started a game, but that's the way the older guys saw him.
The message is this guy's doing a lot of things away from the building and a lot of things in the locker room or when he's training that everybody, the older guys really respect.
So anybody can lead. Anybody can step in and be part of the equation. This year, especially with the limited number of guys we have in that fourth and fifth year of class, we need everybody setting the tempo. Guys like Vonnahme, guys like Vander Zee that have played some and they know the drill. It is important. I've never been around a winning team that didn't have good leadership.
I've become a huge NBA fan, when they get down to the last four teams. Otherwise, you couldn't -- I might watch it, but I doubt it, not more than 10 minutes. Brunson, are you kidding me? He doesn't go by a first name. He didn't have a one name deal, at least he didn't prior to this year. If I had a team, I'd start with him, the little I know about basketball. That's a great example, second round pick. Whoever let him go, New York knew what they were doing, that's for sure.
Q. I know you've only seen a little bit of him, but just impressions of Tradon Bessinger so far.
KIRK FERENTZ: Oh, good. Really positive. Good football mentality. He's really serious, good learner. When the pressure is not on, he's pretty good out there, looks pretty good. I say that, just when guys are flying by his face and all that. But that's all part of the process. This is just invaluable time with him.
His approach has been really good. He's really curious and anxious to learn more, eager to learn more. It's all good, all positive.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
170104-3-3580 2026-08-14 20:29:00 GMT
%20--%3e%3csvg%20xmlns:inkpad='http://taptrix.com/inkpad/svg_extensions'%20height='231pt'%20xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20width='796pt'%20version='1.1'%20viewBox='0,0,796,231'%3e%3cdefs/%3e%3cg%20id='Untitled'%20inkpad:layerName='Untitled'%3e%3cpath%20d='M102.252+48.3067L83.5399+48.3067L83.5399+182.202L102.252+182.202L102.252+230.822L-0.0490809+230.822L-0.0490809+182.202L18.6626+182.202L18.6626+48.3067L-0.0490809+48.3067L-0.0490809+0.300613L102.252+0.300613L102.252+48.3067ZM239.828+230.822L165.748+230.822C138.908+230.822+121.27+213.184+121.27+184.35L121.27+46.773C121.27+18.092+139.215+0.300602+165.748+0.300602L239.828+0.300602C266.669+0.300602+284.307+18.2454+284.307+46.773L284.307+184.35C284.307+213.031+266.362+230.822+239.828+230.822ZM218.816+182.356L218.816+48.4601L186.607+48.4601L186.607+182.356L218.816+182.356ZM313.448+48.3067L297.037+48.3067L297.037+0.300613L394.123+0.300613L394.123+48.6135L375.718+48.6135L392.282+159.503L426.945+0.300613L476.025+0.300613L512.834+159.503L526.178+48.6135L509.307+48.6135L509.307+0.300613L605.166+0.300613L605.166+48.6135L589.368+48.6135L560.534+231.129L482.313+231.129L451.945+95.0859L420.963+230.822L345.81+230.822L313.448+48.3067ZM588.141+182.356L605.779+182.356L640.902+0.300613L745.656+0.300613L780.166+182.356L796.577+182.356L796.577+230.975L718.356+230.975L710.994+174.687L672.19+174.687L665.288+230.975L588.601+230.975L588.141+182.356L588.141+182.356ZM706.853+132.509L691.975+39.4111L676.638+132.509L706.853+132.509Z'%20opacity='1'%20fill='%23ffcd00'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
