THE HIRING OF BRIAN FERENTZ IS UNDER SCRUTINY. Brian Ferentz was hired out of a pool of 102 applicants writes the AP's Ryan Foley. If you recall, Iowa released a statement that said Gary Barta hired and will supervise Kirk Ferentz's son. The latest statement says Brian's salary will be $15,000 more than recently promoted LeVar Woods. Iowa cites Brian's NFL coaching experience as the justification for the higher salary. Scrutiny also comes from The Big Lead writer Ty Duffy. He has some good points, we can't really believe Kirk had nothing to do with Brian's hiring.
FUTURE HAWKEYES ADAM WOODBURY AND MIKE GESELL WERE IN NEW ORLEANS. The duo were teammates and starters for the North team in the All-American Championships. ESPNU had the rebroadcast of the game last night (it was live on ESPN3). Gesell played very well and had a few "wow" passes from the point guard position. Woodbury displayed what he can do without three defenders hanging on his every move. Woodbury would end the game with a double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Mike Gesell and Adam Woodbury have been terrific in this all-star game. Both getting it done and have the North up.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDanielscout) April 1, 2012
GERRY DINARDO AND HOWARD GRIFFITH WERE AT IOWA'S FOOTBALL PRACTICE SATURDAY. As part of their spring practice tour the Big Ten Network commentators stopped by Iowa City to take in a Hawkeye practice. Both DiNardo and Griffith took to Twitter to update us on some observations. Hawkeye Nation's Jon Miller has all the tweets included in a post. Here is a sample of what they tweeted:
Spg Prac Tour stop 8 #Hawkeyes new coachs & coaches being reassigned usually energize & increase enthusiasm 2 a staff-definitely true @ Iowa
— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) April 1, 2012
Spg Prac stop 8 #Hawkeyes Thought the back 7 had really good day - like their energy & enthusiasm - could be a fun defense to watch develop
— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) April 1, 2012
BO PELINI SAYS KACZENSKI IS A TREMENDOUS PERSON WITH TREMENDOUS CHARACTER. Kaczenski opened up to Big Red Today's Tom Shatel about the path taken to Nebraska. Kaz said of leaving Iowa, "Bo called me on Sunday and I talked to Kirk on Monday. It was difficult. I got all choked up." Kaczenski admits it was Joe Moore that both he and Ferentz had a relationship with that got his foot in the door at Iowa. When it came time to decide to leave Iowa City Ferentz told Kazcenski,
"you've got to do what's best for you and your family. He said back in 1989, that's what he did. He had to tell Coach (Hayden) Fry he was leaving (to become head coach at Maine). He said Coach Fry treated him great, told him you did your job, you did what you're supposed to do."
BRUCE PEARL SAYING HE'S SORRY. Pearl reportedly offered an apology to former Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins. In 1989, Pearl was an assistant at Iowa and used a tape recorder in attempt to prove Illinois had offered Deon Thomas improper benefits, included a Chevy Blazer. Pearl also said he now believes Thomas was the "victim."
PHIL STEELE HAS RANKED THE TOUGHEST FOOTBALL SCHEDULES FOR 2012. Now that #MACtion has released their 2012 football schedules Phil Steele has issued his rankings of toughest. The Hawkeyes come in at #32 on Steele's complete list of FBS teams. Iowa will face seven teams that had a winning record in 2011. Eight of Iowa's upcoming opponents played in bowl games. Other notable rankings: Iowa State comes in at #6, Nebraska is the highest rated Big Ten team at #14, and Illinois has the lowest rated Big Ten schedule ranking at #82.
THE HAWKEYE FOOTBALL UNIFORM IS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS AGAINST MICHIGAN. The Big Ten Network's website has conducted a championship for Big Ten football uniforms. You have to click here to vote and can do so several times. Iowa defeated Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue to get to the finals.
KEENAN DAVIS IS READY TO BE A LEADER. Hawkeye wide receiver Keenan Davis is entering his final season at Iowa and he says he's ready to step-up and be the leader. Davis had 50 receptions for 713 yards last season despite missing some action after a twisted ankle against Indiana. Davis is settling into new offensive coordinator Greg Davis' offense and says it is "a little more comfortable and a little more exciting."
JAMES MORRIS IS TALKING BIG TEN TITLES. James Morris has some goals set for the 2012 season. One of those goals is to win Iowa's first Big Ten title since 2004. To accomplish this Morris has changed some personal behaviors. Pat Harty writes that Morris "reeled off a bunch of things he's doing to initiate this change. He's trying to sleep better and eat better and plan better and focus better and do a better of job of watching film."
GREG GARMON SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT PROM, INSTEAD HE'S TALKING TO REPORTERS ABOUT BECOMING IOWA'S FIRST TEAM RUNNING BACK. Pat Harty reached out to incoming running back Greg Garmon to ask what he thought of Jordan Canzeri's season ending ACL tear. Garmon told Harty,
"When I first heard it, I was sad because he's a teammate to me now. So I was upset a little bit."
Garmon said potential playing time his freshman year was a big factor in choosing Iowa. He'll have to quickly learn the playbook and beat out De'Andre Johnson, Damon Bullock, Andre Dawson and fellow incoming recruit Barkley Hill to see the field.
Other links:
- Fresh Faces in 2012: Defensive End
- March 31st football practice pics
- Kyle Fiedorowicz stood out for NFL scouts
- Iowa Golf Finishes 2nd at LSU Invitational
- Dahm gets 200th win at Hawkeye helm
- Hawkeye baseball Falls to Hoosiers in Rubber Match
- Canzeri injury leaves Erb in a familiar spot
- Chad Greenway continues to contribute to charities in a big way
- Hawkeyes Looking for Kid Captains
- Dallas Clark made a much anticipated stop Friday evening in Iowa City
- Wrestling legend Gable happy to have Olympic Trials in Iowa
- Running backs battle injuries, adversity
- Hawkeye men's golfer arrested
- McNutt Prepares for Draft Day
- Iowa Wins 10-inning Marathon Game, 1-0, over Illinois to Sweep Series