March 29, 2024

Pressure builds for Iowa offense, new OC Ferentz

IOWA CITY — The Iowa football team’s defense ranked fourth in the Big Ten Conference with an 18 points allowed per game average.

Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, the offense didn’t score much more than that per game and it led to an 8-5 season.

Iowa’s offense produced two 1,000-yard rushers and had one of the best run-blocking offensive lines in the country. But the Hawkeyes’ passing game left a lot to be desired even with a quarterback in C.J. Beathard who was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft.

The same offensive line who paved the way for Akrum Wadley and LeShun Daniels Jr. to more than 1,000 yards apiece also allowed 28 sacks. and the Iowa offense converted only 32 percent on third down.

Flash forward to one year, and Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz brought in a new wide receivers coach and promoted his oldest son Brian to offensive coordinator. The Hawkeyes also have a new offensive line coach and a familiar face was brought back on board to be the quarterback’s coach.

“I’m all about stability. I think that’s a really important thing. But a little spice in the recipe doesn’t hurt things,” Kirk Ferentz said. “A little change here and there, tweaks, we can go through coaching changes a couple years ago, but we changed our practice, approach, that type of deal.

But offensively it’s been different because we’re getting to know the players a little bit better. Even Brian, who is at a different position, so it’s a whole different dynamic for him. I think it’s probably been healthy, quite frankly.”

Kirk Ferentz is hoping a change to the coaching staff will help an offense that struggled in the passing game when senior Matt VandeBerg went down with a season-ending injury after just four games.

The good news is, VandeBerg was given a fifth year of eligibility and he’s back for one final run. The bad news is, no other receiver on the roster caught a pass last year.

“I see a lot of young faces that are eager to learn and eager to be better than they were the day before,” VandeBerg said. “That’s all you can ask for. That’s all we are trying to do.”

VandeBerg had 19 catches and three touchdowns in his four games last year.

The next best returner in the passing game is Wadley, who rushed for 1,081 yards, totaled 315 receiving yards and scored a total of 13 touchdowns.

The rest of the receiving core is loaded with a bunch of unknowns.

Former Newton Cardinal Nick Easley begins fall camp as a starter opposite of VandeBerg, but the roster also has talented veterans Devonte Young and Adrian Falconer and a host of true freshmen who are expected to compete for playing time.

“We are aware of what people are saying,” VandeBerg said. “But we also know the only way to get better is on the practice field. As long as we are building blocks toward success, that’s all we can ask for. I just want our group to be better tomorrow than we were today and continue getting better every day.”

Easley joins the Hawkeyes after an All-American year at Iowa Western Community College in 2016. He got a head start when he got to campus in January and has been atop the depth chart ever since.

“We don’t really listen to what people outside the program are saying,” Easley said. “I think we’ll be all right. I think we have some good young guys, and we have some guys with some experience who are ready to make that next step up in their progress.”

The youngsters with talent includes a freshmen class of Max Cooper, Brandon Smith, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Henry Marchese. Seven of the 11 wide receivers listed on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

“Looking at the depth chart, common sense says based on numbers is that those true freshmen are going to have opportunities to play,” new wide receivers coach Kelton Copeland said. “I told them from Day 1 that they need to prepare to come in and be ready to compete for playing time. The opportunity is there.”

The opportunity at quarterback also is there. Beathard is gone to graduation. Returning to the team and battling for the starting quarterback position includes sophomore Nathan Stanley and junior Tyler Wiegers. Sophomore Ryan Boyle, who began his prep career in Newton, and freshman Peyton Mansell are two other quarterbacks on the roster.

Stanley and Wiegers are neck and neck for the starting position in camp. Easley doesn’t think the team will drop off much if either one is under center.

“They’ve both done a really good job. I am not worried about who gets the job,” Easley said. “I think we’ll be Ok with either guy or both guys if we do that.”

What the Hawkeye offense does know is that it has one of the best offensive lines in the Big Ten with tackles Boone Myers and Ike Boettger, guard Sean Welsh and center James Daniels all returning. Keegan Render, who prepped at Indianola, is expected to start at the other guard position.

Brian Ferentz also knows he has a stable group of running backs in Wadley and Butler as well as sophomore Toks Akinribade and redshirt freshman Toren Young.

“I could see us playing with three running backs on the field at the same time if that’s what it takes to win games,” Brian Ferentz said. “We could also play with no one in the backfield. It’s a challenge on our end. We need to be open to put them in different spots.”

The Iowa offense is expected to feature a fullback and multiple tight ends in most of their sets. Senior Drake Kulick and sophomore Brady Ross are both back at fullback, and the tight end position is filled with talented players such as Noah Fant, T.J. Hochenson, Peter Pekar, Nate Wieting, Jon Wisnieski, Shaun Beyer and Drew Cook.

The Iowa offense won’t change its culture as a whole, but Brian Ferentz will lean on the new guys on staff to bring in fresh ideas. Tim Polasek replaces Brian Ferentz as offensive line coach and former OC Ken O’Keefe is back in the program as the QBs coach.

“We have to be open to new ideas. Culturally we are not going to change. We are who we are,” Brian Ferentz said. ‘But there are different ideas for everything. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat. And a lot of them work. We’d be crazy not to listen to new ideas from the new coaches, especially since they all were highly successful doing those things. They will influence us for sure.”

While improving the passing game will be important and may even be the key to Iowa returning to a bowl game this season, Brian Ferentz won’t forget about Wadley, who is the most explosive player on the roster.

“We changed a few things. Coach Brian Ferentz is a genius. He’s putting in new stuff every day,” Wadley said. “There are different looks to make things fun. We just have to execute and win at the line of scrimmage. That’s what it will come down to.”