Video: Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Beth Goetz address recruiting violations
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and athletic director Beth Goetz address recruiting violations.
IOWA CITY — Any hope for Iowa football to have a drama-free 2024 calendar year evaporated pretty quickly.
There was the Kadyn Proctor saga 2.0 and the fallout that ensued. There were two Hawkeye players arrested for OWI in back-to-back months — Kaleb Brown in June and Cade Borud in July.
And this week, as the Hawkeyes close in on the Aug. 31 season opener, another distraction materialized.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr are set to serve a one-game suspension for a recruiting violation. This stemmed from communication with quarterback Cade McNamara and his family prior to him entering the transfer portal in late 2022. Budmayr was an offensive analyst at the time of the infraction.
Missing the 2024 season opener, along with a loss of one week of off-campus recruiting, are self-imposed punishments by the university. An NCAA investigation is ongoing.
More: What Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz said in press conference about 1-game suspension
Seth Wallace, recently promoted to assistant coach, will serve as the acting head coach for the Hawkeyes’ matchup against Illinois State on Aug. 31.
“The bottom line is it was impermissible contact,” Ferentz said Thursday. “That’s what the investigation’s about. And the facts are the facts. There’s a line and I crossed that line. I made a bad error in judgment and I’m just going to take ownership.”
It’s not a devastating blow. Iowa should beat Illinois State, an FCS program, whether Ferentz is on the sideline or not. It does, however, create some unwelcome headlines as Iowa tries to start the season on the right foot.
But it’s hard to imagine many teams are more equipped than Iowa to deal with a situation like this after the circus it went through last season. If the Hawkeyes’ perseverance of 2023 translates to 2024, Thursday’s news could end up as a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things.
“Everybody’s responded really well,” Ferentz said. “The bottom line is, we’ve got a really strong program, great coaching staff, excellent team leadership there. So it’s like I told the players — players win games, not coaches.”
In many ways, Iowa was put through the wringer last year.
The implications of a statewide sports gambling investigation spanned several months, spilling well into the season. The Hawkeyes were devastated by injuries, particularly to key offensive players. There was mania in the aftermath of a questionable call in a loss to Minnesota. And the news that Brian Ferentz, son of Kirk Ferentz, would not be retained as offensive coordinator became a national storyline.
And yet, despite a non-stop stream of obstacles, Iowa still reached the Big Ten Championship Game. Although the season ended on a pair of sour outcomes, the Hawkeyes finished with a 10-4 record, which seemed unfathomable at various points because of what it endured.
In February, Iowa announced that it would self-report a potential NCAA violation surrounding the recruitment of Proctor. Athletics director Beth Goetz said recruiting director Tyler Barnes sent a text message in the vein of “hang in there, buddy,” in September while Proctor was an Alabama student. Proctor briefly transferred to Iowa before returning to Alabama.
Importantly, many of the players who experienced that ride are still on Iowa’s current roster. The Hawkeyes won big this offseason by retaining some of their important players and leaders, such as Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson and Luke Lachey. You can keep going down that list.
“The leadership base on this team,” Ferentz said at Iowa football media day on Aug. 9, “has been really impressive.”
This Iowa team is well-prepared to deal with what comes its way, including operating without its head coach for the season opener. Iowa’s staff is more than capable of handling things.
Wallace, special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, defensive coordinator Phil Parker and defensive line coach Kelvin Bell all have spent more than a decade at Iowa working with Ferentz. Even someone like Tim Lester, entering his first season as Iowa’s offensive coordinator, spent time as the head coach at Western Michigan.
“Staff will do a great job,” Ferentz said. “It’ll be seamless next Saturday with me not being there. I’ve got total confidence in our team. They’re going to respond and do a great job.”
Still, not an ideal situation for Iowa. Ferentz will not be in attendance for Game 1 as Iowa’s offense tries to build some momentum under a new coordinator — with a highly anticipated matchup against Iowa State on deck.
But if the Hawkeyes respond like they did last season? Heck, the suspension might even make them stronger for the road ahead.
“It’s gonna be strange,” Ferentz said of missing the season opener. “It’s gonna be uncomfortable. But I have total confidence in the people that I work with every day.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
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Publish date : 2024-08-22 10:26:00
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