Q: Opening comments?
A: Last year (Iowa finished 4-8) was obviously very disappointing for all of us, and as soon as the season ended in November, we encouraged our players to turn the page and I wanted to get them looking forward and then go back to work, and that?s pretty much what we?ve done.
Q: Have you thought much about the spearing penalties and how that?s going to play out?
A: I think all of us are concerned about any of those types of plays. Anybody can recognize that needed to be dealt with, but I think on the plays that are bang, bang, which many of those are, I?m just hoping the officials will use good judgment. And I know they?ve talked about video replay being instituted, too, which I think would be really something that needs to be done. It?s concerning.
Q: Urban Meyer was in here getting grilled about the disciplinary issues. How do you look at that as a head coach?
A: The most important thing you can do is try to equip players to making good decisions, try to educate them in terms of some of the challenges that are going to be out there for them, some of the things that they?re going to have to contemplate and think about. And then obviously the landscape?s changed an awful lot, too, with social media.
It?s a lot different than it was eight years ago, certainly 18 years ago. So all those things kind of magnify it. But I think some of the issues, some of the temptations, some of the bad decisions all college students can make, it hasn?t changed an awful lot, but the communication with them has. It?s an ongoing challenge.
But I do certainly think it?s a big part of our responsibility as coaches to try to educate and arm our players as best we possibly can to making good decisions. And I think people were doing that 30 years ago. It?s just the landscape?s changed a little bit.
Q: How do you feel about the tailback position entering this season having more depth?
A: I never feel too good about that position, but we?re certainly further ahead than we were last year. Last year at this time, quite frankly, we didn?t know if we had a Big Ten running back. And Damon Bullock, I think when he was playing, did an excellent job. I think he?s grown a lot in 12 months? time, and we?re really excited to see how he performs this year.
Mark Weisman at this time last year, we thought he would be a pretty good fullback. And I?ll backtrack. Going into spring a year ago, we weren?t sure if he?d block or not. He proved that he could do that. And we kind of stumbled into him as a running back during the course of last year. So with those two guys alone, we feel a lot better about where we?re at. Both those players have improved since last fall.
Jordan Canzeri rejoins our team. He?s healthy, had a good spring. Got a couple of younger players on our roster. Excited to see how they perform in August and some incoming players, too. We?re excited. All that being said, from experience, it?s hard to feel too good or too comfortable about any one position.
Q: A couple of coaches who you previously coached with who are now in the Southeastern Conference. They?ve expressed concerns about the hurry-up offense and the potential for causing injuries. What are your thoughts about that?
A: I don?t have a lot of thoughts about it. And I haven?t really seen any statistical evidence to say it is leading to injuries. I don?t know if you can quantify that or not. I?m sure somebody?s working on it. But needless to say, it?s changed the complexion of the game. And it?s become very, very popular. So as a result of that, you have to be prepared for that.
And whatever your answers may be to slowing things down, either it?s rotating more personnel in defensively or somehow trying to slow the game down, the tempo of the game down. Probably the best answer still is to get off the field in three downs. That?s always a good answer, no matter what your opponent runs offensively.
Q: You went 0-8 in your first season at Iowa, and Tim Beckman went 0-8 in his first season at Illinois. Can you talk about the patience level or lack thereof, or is there less time to build programs now than there used to be?
A: I think there?s certainly less patience at all levels in football right now for anybody. And typically, if you?re 0-8, it?s going to require patience. You hope you have an administration that understands that process and understands what it is you?re trying to get accomplished and then allow you to go do the work you have to do. I?ve always felt if you look at things over a five-year window, at any point in a program?s tenure, it gives you a little bit of a picture to what?s going on.
Typically, it takes time to rebuild. To rebuild a good foundation, it does. If you?re 0-8, it?s probably what you?re doing. We?ve been there. We won two games in the conference last year and we?ve got a lot of work to do obviously, too.
Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130724/SPORTS/130729368
kim zolciak kim zolciak Richard Matheson red panda Rizzoli And Isles amy schumer amy schumer
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