Sure, the preseason All-American and All-Big Ten lists give fans a great indication of the type of talent each roster has heading into any given season. Those are great media fodder when comparing teams’ rosters, too.
Still, one of my favorite pieces of each offseason is getting a look into what the coaches have to say anonymously about each program. Athlon Sports’ annual magazine delivers on that front each and every offseason and 2022 is no different.
Regardless of where you might rank them, the Big Ten has a collection of some of the finest coaches in all of college football. Iowa just so happens to have arguably the best head coach of anybody in the Big Ten. When those coaches and their assistants break down how they view a program, it’s some pretty fascinating stuff.
Once again, Athlon Sports tasked the Big Ten’s coaches with providing an anonymous breakdown of the Iowa Hawkeyes heading into the 2022 college football season. Here’s everything they had to say about Iowa.
‘They do not care if you think they should do it different.’
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
In 2021, Iowa won 10 games for the seventh time under head football coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes also captured the Big Ten West for the second time and have won 19 Big Ten games over the past three seasons, the program’s most successful stretch since winning 20 league games during the 2002-04 seasons.
“Every year that goes by, it’s apparent this staff isn’t going anywhere until the head man (Kirk Ferentz) decides to leave. They do what they do, they do it well and they do not care if you think they should do it different. They’ve got total support, too. So if everyone’s calling for the OC’s (Brian Ferentz) head, it doesn’t really matter. This program moves at its own pace.” – Athlon Sports.
‘They’re a model of defense.’
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and the Hawkeyes boasted one of the nation’s stingiest defenses in 2021. The Hawkeyes held opponents to just 19.21 points per game last season, ranking No. 13 nationally in that category. Iowa also led the nation in interceptions with 25.
“They’re a model of defense. They’re assignment sound, physical up front and they’re rarely out of position. When you look at them on film, it’s all vanilla. It’s hard to see an ‘Iowa scheme’ in anything. The Iowa part of it is running base stuff with great fundamentals, or playing sound…