5 things Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said following the Hawkeyes’ open practice
Iowa welcomed fans inside Kinnick Stadium to view the Hawkeyes’ final spring practice on Saturday. Though the Hawkeyes had their fair share of notables out, fans did get a glimpse at all three quarterbacks on Saturday afternoon.
It’s been no secret that senior Spencer Petras, junior Alex Padilla and redshirt freshman Joe Labas have been battling to lock down the starting quarterback duties for the 2022 season. While Petras has been listed as the starter from the beginning of the spring, the opportunity for one of the other two quarterbacks to impress throughout the spring, summer and fall has been available.
In addition to the quarterbacks and skill talent on display, it was the first look for fans at the 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes in general. Here were five things Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz had to say about his team’s open spring practice and the spring as a whole.
About those quarterbacks
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ferentz was asked how he feels about his three quarterbacks now that the spring slate has come to a close.
“I think all three have made a lot of progress. Alex had some injury issues he was dealing with the first couple weeks, so his work was limited. I think all three of our guys are growing. All three are a little different discussions, how they play and how we play if they are in there. They’re all growing.
“Joe is obviously as I said back five weeks ago, he’s behind the other two as far as knowing what to do. This was huge for him, to get 15 set practices when Alex was out. That increased his workload a little bit, which was good. This will be really helpful for him. Not that he’s a first-year guy. He is kind of, but like this isn’t his first spring. If you think about the young guys that came in, too. Having these 15 days, that will really help them accelerate between now and August. Hopefully they’ll be further down the road when we get going then,” Ferentz said of his quarterbacks.
Then, Ferentz was asked how much ground Labas has made up with his work in the spring.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s made progress. He’s doing a good job. He’s still got a lot to learn, but we would expect that and certainly do. He’s got a good attitude, he works really hard, he’s very conscientious. As you saw, he does some good things out there,” Ferentz said.
Lastly, Ferentz was asked if Petras is still the leader at quarterback.
“You know, overall, yeah, but, I mean, we’re going to keep an open mind. That’s the way with our whole football team. We’ll let guys keep competing. I think he’s done a lot of really good things and seems confident. He’s healthy. He throws the ball well,” Ferentz said.
On the offensive line
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Iowa is set to replace both center Tyler Linderbaum and left guard Kyler Schott from last season. The Hawkeyes have been working through injuries to Michael Myslinski and Nick DeJong. To help out up front, Iowa moved Logan Jones over from defense. Despite the injuries, Ferentz said he feels his offensive line made progress during the spring.
“Yeah, I do. I think we’ve (improved) with an asterisk on that. We’ve got a couple guys injured. Nick you saw wasn’t out there working today. Yes, I think we’ve clearly made ground or gained ground there. I thought we did during the course of the year last year, especially the last — basically November on, I thought we started to look a little bit more like what we hoped. We’re still young, but I think we’re certainly more experienced than we were a year ago. But all that being said, we still have work to do,” Ferentz said.
Now that the spring is in the books, Ferentz is excited about what this group could look like once everyone is healthy. He also felt it provided a great opportunity for Logan Jones to get reps and transition to the offensive side of the football.
“That’s why practice is so invaluable. It was a great learning experience for him. We were watching Mike Myslinski kind of make that same progress in December until his injury. It’s going to be fun to see how those two guys do when we get back. And then I think, you know, we’ve seen some growth from guys like Elsbury. You go down the list. We talk about Colby like he’s a grizzled veteran and the guy’s been here one year, so there’s a lot of room for improvement still and that’s good. Jack Plumb’s really I think made some strides. He’s really practiced well for the better part of this spring. Can say the same about Mason. I think we’re seeing some things that are encouraging, but we still have work to go and a lot of room for improvement,” Ferentz said.
Sam LaPorta's day-one maturity
Bryon Houlgrave/The Register
Sam LaPorta was Iowa’s leading receiver last year with 53 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdowns. Ferentz discussed LaPorta’s unique maturity.
“Yeah, I mean he just, some guys just have a certain knack or air about them and he just has had that. It’s a little bit ironic because he was not a five-star recruit and took us a while to figure it out and thank goodness we did.
“But since the day he walked in here, he just acts like a football player. I hate to use that word ‘natural’ because it suggests guys haven’t worked at it. He makes good decisions and just has a knack for doing things the right way. That’s good to see. And he’s got a confidence about him, an air about him, just the way he is naturally. He’s one of those guys that people gravitate towards,” Ferentz said
On the defensive line
Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa returns some talented players along its defensive line. Lukas Van Ness had 8.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks last season, John Waggoner recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, Logan Lee had five tackles for loss and three sacks and Noah Shannon added two sacks. The Hawkeyes have toyed around with the idea of Van Ness playing outside and Ferentz talked about how he’s looked in that role.
“He’s got a chance to be pretty good I think and works hard. He’s got a good motor and he gets after it pretty well and he’s problematic when you’re trying to pass block him. He does a lot of things well, but he’s a good football player.
“I think that’s coming along. We’ll get Joe Evans back, that will help us. Really Zach (VanValkenburg) was the big loss as far as contributions from last year, so we feel like we got a chance. That was part of the rationale for considering Logan on offense just because we have some depth there. I think the guys have done a really good job. They’ve been really steady. Noah’s had a really good spring. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention him. John Waggoner, the same thing.
“If you’re going to have a good team going back to personnel, there’s two guys that have played football. They’re seniors and these guys just they live it every day, just the way they operate. Everything they do is really first class, so that’s good for guys like Lukas to see, okay, this is the tempo these guys work at and this is how we do it. Noah especially has really done well and John’s really done well in a very quiet way, but they’re going hard. That makes our offensive line better, too,” Ferentz said.
The X Man
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Naturally, fans have been excited to see five-star defensive back signee Xavier Nwankpa in action. Ferentz has been pleased with his progress this spring as well.
“I think we’re going to see a big jump just in terms of his confidence and just being a little bit more decisive with his play when we get back in August. And he’s done some really good things. He flashes some things that are like, you know, you can see the guy that we knew he is. That will show up on special teams, too. He’s just a tremendous young guy, great personality and demeanor, really good to work with, good work ethic and good work habits. He’s doing a great job in the classroom as well, so it’s really been great and say the same thing about TJ Hall. They’re both back there together as true freshmen. They both just are really doing a nice job so far,” Ferentz said.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
1
1
