Kirk Ferentz News Conference Transcript | Oct. 27

KIRK FERENTZ: Good afternoon. Just looking back real quickly, obviously a disappointing outcome on Saturday. I looked at the tape Sunday, and really not many takeaways that we didn't touch on Saturday.

Obviously turnovers, punt block, too many loose balls. Then a couple of critical mental errors. I don't think we tackled extremely well either.

The bottom line is we came up short. It's never fun. Looked at it Sunday; made corrections. Now we're pushing forward, turning the page, and moving on to our next game.

Captains this week will be Montgomery, Lee, Lutmer, and Ostrenga.

Injury-wise Kamari (Moulton) will be done for the season. Unfortunately, he's going to be done. We'll look forward to getting him back here, but he's got some rehab to go through.

And then LJ (Phillips), we'll see how it goes. He got to work a little bit today, and that will probably be day-to-day, so we'll see what the week brings there.

Quarterback-wise I think we listed Brown/Hecklinski, and our plan is to start Brown. We'll see how the week goes, but right now plan to start him and play it by ear from there. Nothing has really changed too dramatically there.

Looking at Wisconsin, a really good football team coming here at 5-2; 3-1 in the Big Ten. Another big rivalry game. Certainly any time we get together it's always pretty intense.

They're a team that's really playing at a high level right now if you look at it. Had an opening loss to a highly-ranked football team in the opening game and really probably the big moment for them, turning point for their season thus far, would be going over and winning at Penn State. They were down not once, but twice in the second half. Down by 10 points two separate times. Then came back to win that game.

Going into that game Penn State was nationally ranked; Wisconsin wasn't. I think everybody's probably perception of Wisconsin was different prior to that game, and the same thing with Penn State. So big victory for them on the road, and they've been playing with great confidence since that time.

The only other loss they had was on the road, West Coast trip against one of the three unbeaten teams in the country right now. So they're playing at a high level.

I think if you think about people's perception of their football team in August compared to what it is right now things have shifted a little bit, and that's really representative I think of college football in general.

They're very well-coached. Luke was an outstanding coach prior to going to Wisconsin, and nothing has changed there. The players that they've had that we saw last year, the year before, have really grown and matured, and then they've added players.

They've been very successful in terms of bringing players in from the portal that have really been helpful to them and beneficial to what they're doing.

The defensive philosophy has not changed at all. Coach Tressel is an outstanding defensive coordinator, and they've been consistent about what they do. They're doing it at a high level right now, playing very well.

And then offensively, probably seen a little bit of a shift there the last couple of years now, and I think not to speak for them, I don't coach there, but looks like they're really comfortable with what they're doing and the way they're playing and they're doing a really good job. It's been a good combination.

Then special teams has been consistent all the way through. That's something Coach Fickell is really, I understand, very involved in and very passionate about, and it shows. They're well-coached. Kind of representative of their whole football team. Well-coached, play hard, and very physical in that regard.

The bottom line is they're just playing at a really high level right now. We have a big challenge on our hands. We need to do our best to be ready for that.

Kid Captain wise we got Charley Rasmussen, who is a young lady from Marion, Iowa, coming in. She'll be the captain this week. Years ago she was diagnosed with Addison's Disease, which I'm not really familiar with the full disclosure, but what I'm told is one out of four -- anywhere from one to four kids out of 1 million get diagnosed with, so it's a very rare disease.

Has gone through pretty extensive steroid treatments and what have you, but the good news is now she's a really busy, active ninth grader and active in sports, active in cooking. Also enjoys baby-sitting her cousins I'm told.

Really good to have her and her family here. She's also done a podcast to advocate -- or help heighten awareness of the disease. Just doing a lot of good things. She'll be here with her twin sister, Sydney, and her family Saturday. We'll look forward to having them join us.

Good to be back in Kinnick. Feels like it's been a long time since we've been at home.

As Matt alluded to, we haven't played a home game at 11 a.m. at home in a long time. We just haven't played many 11:00 games, so that will be good too. So big task on our hands. We'll look forward to trying to get ready for it between now and Saturday.

Q. Wen we got the chance to speak with LJ today he used the phrase "I've got to be better" six times in the first two and a half minutes of talking to him. We know he holds himself to a high standard. You know what he's capable of. I guess when a player has that mentality, how do you kind of help them find that balance of holding themselves accountable but not -- making sure they don't drag themselves down too much, especially since he's going to have a larger role with Kamari out?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, it's something every player works through themselves. It's just like people in general. Some people are really cognizant what their weaknesses are and how they can get better, and other people have no clue. Sometimes you wish you're one of those people. Just kind of glide through life and not too many ulcer issues.

He's really conscientious. He's been a great addition to our team. Just a great personality. All about the team. Very appreciative I think of his opportunity.

We'd love to get him fully healthy. Hopefully he'll be there by Saturday. If not, push forward. Great young guy.

I think every player has to work through that and try to find a balance, and I think it really gets down to all you can do in sports is all you can do. Do your best to prepare physically, mentally, and then you got to go out and perform.

You can't put too much pressure on yourself during competition. That's what practice and preparation is all about, to get those things ironed out during the week so you can play with some freedom and really play at your best.

Q. Bryce Hawthorne has really been playing well in recent weeks. How have you seen his growth since he first transferred here both on the field and as a leader as well?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, I talked about Wisconsin's players. They got a lot of examples of guys that have joined their program or guys that -- the two linebackers are really playing well for those guys.

They played I think part the way through our game second half, whenever it was they came in. But they were young guys a year ago, and now they're playing at a really high level, as good as anybody in the conference.

I think that's experience. That's being in a program whether you got recruited there or where you've been in the program for second year. Makes a big difference typically. It's certainly the case with Bryce.

He was a good player last year. Playing a little catch-up with us and trying to get used to the tempo, the way we do things, and our style is maybe unique to what he had done previously. But he's worked at it. He has a great attitude. He's always had that. Works hard.

Now he's more confident because he knows he's more capable. I think I alluded to this Saturday and before that. I think he was playing maybe third -- about one-third -- roughly one-third of the snaps last year, and now he's playing the majority of the snaps, and that's experience and being a veteran, too, versus a younger guy.

Really fun to watch his growth and progress. We're not as experienced this year as we were last year. Obviously there's a big leadership void, and he's readily grabbed that. He is I would say the most veteran, he and Kenny are the most veteran guys up front, and we need that with that young group.

Q. Asking a little bit of a bigger-picture question here, but this is the centennial matchup between Iowa and Wisconsin. I'm curious, how have you seen this matchup evolve as your time as a head coach and seeing how it's evolved and kind of transcended despite divisions not existing and college football change and all of that?

KIRK FERENTZ: I could burn some real clock here if you guys want on this one. I'll go back to '81 when I got here. I mean, it's interesting, quite frankly. We went up there. Two things I remember. Basically the winner of that game was going to position themselves for potentially maybe a Rose Bowl berth, and I'm pretty sure we were the underdogs.

The other thing I remember --we won, so that's one thing I remember.

Then the other thing I remember was practiced all week for a bounce pass. The old Astroturf was like this carpet right here. You know, you skip it off it, throw out to the receiver. I mean, we must have practiced it 20 times. Guess what? They ran it. And guess what? They scored a touchdown on it. Pretty sure that's historically accurate.

Anyway, but that was '81.

Then at the end of my time here in the late '80s, for whatever reason, things had really diminished. They had some personal tragedy; Coach McClain passed.

Anyway, at the end of that decade their program was really in dire straits, and historical perspective, that's when Barry went there, Barry Alvarez went there, who was the first guy I met when I came here in '81.

What he did in that next I guess it would be nine years, pretty historic. Then you fast forward. We're the victims at the end of that '99 season. They clinched a Rose Bowl and Ron Dane sets the record. So they were at the top of the league. There was only 11 teams back then, but imagine that. They were setting the bar for everybody. Everybody was chasing them.

That's kind of some perspective. But the commonality is I think for the most part, at least my, whatever it is, my 37, 36 years, it's been a tough contest. I didn't realize this was the 100th one, but, boy, most of them have been really close and tough and competitive. That's what I see coming Saturday, another tough contest.

Q. Coach, how would you evaluate the quarterbacks after looking at the film on Sunday?

KIRK FERENTZ: I mean, not good enough. Fair to say about our whole team and the coaching staff. We just didn't do enough to get the job done.

I've been saying it consistently. We believe in both players. I think both Hank and Jeremy are good young people, and they're good young quarterbacks. Neither one of them are really experienced right now.

There are some things we could have done better, but that's true in every facet. A lot of things we could have done better.

Coaching, too. We take ownership in that as well. Probably the most perplexing thing was the loose ball dilemma. Turnovers and loose balls. Turnovers sometimes happen. You are never accepting of that, but loose balls, I just can't remember a game when it's been out that much, and I can't tell you why.

That's something we're going to have to get corrected or we'll pay for that on Saturday if we don't.

Q. With special teams, questions on the blocked punt. I guess what went wrong there? Also, second game in a row that Evan James has put the ball in the ground. You guys still feel comfortable with him moving forward, or are you going to look at making a change there?

KIRK FERENTZ: Any time the ball is on the ground you have to be concerned about it. At that position that's the first thing you have to do is field the ball cleanly. That's first and foremost. If you have it, you have to secure it.

But fielding the ball is important at that position, whether it's a fair catch or whatever, but fielding it cleanly, not letting the ball roll. That's the No. 1 requisite there. We'll keep assessing that.

I think he's a really good young player, but he's a young player, and I emphasize the young part, and there's give and take there. How long do you go and what have you?

Then the punt block. As you might imagine, it was a communication issue. We were in position to block it, but we had a miscommunication in terms of responsibility. On Saturday, we let a guy run free up the middle, and that's not good. It's going to get you beat.

Just that alone. If you get a punt block, I can't quote the percentage, but I know the percentage of winning becomes a lot more difficult. I think we could all AI it quickly, and then you do that and turn it over three times, forget about it.

It's a miracle we were in the game at the end.

Q. Tony Diaz had more catches in the first two games than he's had in the last five. How do you get him back into a more consistent level of production?

KIRK FERENTZ: We definitely want to get the ball in his hands. We'll do whatever we can to do that, and it's something we'll have to work on. Same thing about the run game or any of the other areas we're not doing well enough in right now; we'll have to find a way.

He's certainly a playmaker, so the more he is touching the ball and Reece is touching the ball, the more Reece touches the ball and Kamari, DJ, those are good things for us.

We'll have to assess that and see what we can do moving forward.

Q. We talked with Will Hubert just about his journey to becoming a starter. What can you kind of say about the progress that guys like him and Luke Gaffney have made in their time and how good of an example maybe is that in terms of them battling through adversity, staying in it for the long haul trying to bounce back from a loss this week?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, it's funny you bring that up. I was thinking about that as I was looking at one of our young defensive linemen right now who is a walk-on and a pretty good player. I'm thinking, you know, I wonder how he compares to Gaffney or Hubert four years ago, five years ago.

That's something historically we've done well with guys that have walked on here. We're selective about who comes in. It's typically not just an open house.

We want guys that are serious about it, and I remember going to Will's high school and meeting him and his family and his high school coach and just how impressive they all were. He's done nothing but work hard since he has gotten here.

I'd say the same thing about Luke. Both those guys have just -- and we're not the most experienced group up front, and I'm trying to think. Thinking about that again a few minutes ago, where we would be without those two guys, two seniors that just work hard. They provide great leadership through example. They're not game experienced, but they're playing really well, playing hard, and giving us a chance to play good defense.

There are a lot of little things that go into being good collectively, and they're both good examples of that, and I'm thrilled they're here and appreciative of that and the job they do. It's not just on the field. It's off the field, work habits, all that. They're exemplary.

Q. Circling back to the running backs. I remember you mentioning a couple of weeks ago you typically like to go with three running backs. With Moulton's departure and you guys had on the depth chart Nathan McNeil and Braeden Jackson with an "or" there, I'm curious, how often are we going to see Braeden Jackson and Nathan McNeil get carries the rest of the year?

KIRK FERENTZ: It's been interesting. Whatever it was, four weeks ago we had to play with those guys because we were out of backs then. They both stepped up and did a great job.

We've talked about both of them. I think they both young players. They both have good potential, but it's hard. That's one position where you have one guy playing, kind of like a quarterback spot. It's hard to get that rotation. It's a little bit easier at running back than quarterback.

Yeah, pleased with everybody so far. Then ultimately it gets down to what they do in the game, and what you're missing a little bit there is -- just like I've been saying about Kamari. Kamari is playing his best football this year because of the experience, confidence that you only get by playing. You have to go out and get beat up sometimes to grow true confidence.

Those guys don't have that yet, but then sometimes -- I can flip it around and say sometimes it's better to not know what you don't know, too. We're excited to see them go.

They're going to have to go this week for sure, all three of the guys, and then if L.J. can help, great, but we have to count on the three guys that are healthy right now.

Q. A couple of quarterback questions for you. Saw Tradon Bessinger traveled for the first time this season. What went into that decision, and how has he developed? Then the second part, looking back at Saturday, are you happy with how you operated and moving to Hank after Hecklinski...

KIRK FERENTZ: No second guessing there at all. I'll start with that one. This kind of pertains to the whole quarterback discussion.

The best analogy I can give you. I remember when I was in the NFL scouting and looking at players. You'd see a player do some things. You like the player kind of, but you know, you watch him do some stuff and it's like, I don't know, you know? Things that you worry about. Until you talk to that player, meet with them and sit in a room and ask him to explain some stuff to you, it's hard to get the full picture.

So the picture I'm trying to paint is until you really -- let me take one more sidebar. There was no Pro Football Focus when I coached in the NFL those six years, thank God, because now you have an expert in every town as I understand. I guess we all have PFF people analyzing us, too, and I don't read any of that crap.

You have these people analyzing you or critiquing you and they don't know the intricacies of the scheme and how pieces go together. Where I'm trying to go on this whole thing, when I was talking to the linemen, until you get in there and actually give with the guy one-on-one and watch film with them and find out what he's being taught, it's hard to evaluate somebody if you don't know the details of what they're being asked to do.

They may not like what they're doing, but they're being asked to do it, and you know, we all have bosses. That's the way it works.

What I'm trying to say is sometimes what seems obvious isn't obvious. Then it's a little bit more intricate than that. We're not just pulling numbers out of the air or pulling rabbits out of our hat. We're trying to be as critical as we can and as fair as you can, too, kind of going back to the question about how far do you go or don't go when a guy is maybe making mistakes and that type of thing.

There's no right answer on that. You have to do it by feel. What I'm trying to say is typically if we do something, we usually have a reason for it, and it's hopefully well thought out and grounded in substance. Not to appease the fans or the media, but really so when you are with that player the next day, you can say, okay, here are a couple of things that we need to get cleaned up, and this is why this isn't good enough and this is what we need to be doing instead.

So it's an ongoing process, but we're not throwing darts or any of that kind of stuff.

Sometimes you do go by feel, and that's as unscientific as it gets, but gut feelings sometimes play in too, you know? No different than baseball, right? We have baseball going on right now, and do you keep a pitcher in? Do you yank them? Pinch hitter, all that stuff. That's the human aspect of sport.

Q. And Tradon?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, he's a beneficiary of the new rule. Our rosters are squeezed down where we're the few, the proud, the free anymore. With our practices out there, our scout teams are basically decimated in the new world, but the good thing in the new world, you can travel 80 instead of whatever it was, 74, so we get a little room there.

He's going to be a player in the future. We wanted to get him used to just being in the game routine and traveling, all those types of things. That's a positive, that 74 to 80 because it allows us to travel more guys than we used to, although I'm not a big fan in taking people that are going to be spectators. It's not a field trip either, but for him it was valuable, and we'll keep doing that.

Q. You mentioned needing to clean up the loose balls immediately. I'm curious as to how you address that. Do you do more drills in practice? Is it a messaging thing? Is it film? What goes into trying to clean that up as soon as possible?

KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, two things I would say. We do ball security drills very frequently. Like every day. We also do tackling circuit every day. So those are things, it's part of who we are, what we are in terms of practice and emphasis.

If we're not in full pads then the scale of intensity goes down a little bit, but you still want to emphasize it and make sure the players are thinking about it.

We've operated that way for 20-plus years. To me, typically ball security is just concentration more than anything else. Sometimes a ball bounces funny. I get that, and that's a human element. We've never really had issues with it, and we haven't done anything I don't think out of the ordinary that people would say, wow, that's a great idea.

It's all pretty basic. But it gets down to players appreciating and understanding the value of ball security, and then secondly keeping their concentration where it needs to be. That's where the experience and inexperience can play in a little bit. You get big picture, you're looking where you shouldn't look, and no different than a kid taking his eye off a ball and not catching it or finishing the catch.

A lot of it's concentration. I think we have to do a better job concentrating when it comes to that. I can't remember a game. You guys have seen a lot of football. I can't remember a game where it came out as much as that.

It's not funny. It wasn't funny at all Saturday, and it probably cost us the game or could have cost -- I mean, what did we have, three turnovers it felt like? Well, four because of the blocked punt. Yeah, I mean, so blocked punt is like a turnover. It is one.

It could have been worse, and that's scary to think about, and the score would have been a hell of a lot different if that were the case.

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