Video: Cade McNamara provides insight ahead of 2024 season-opener
Cade McNamara speaks with reporters ahead of Iowa’s season-opener vs. Illinois State.
IOWA CITY − For observers watching from inside Kinnick Stadium or on television, Iowa football for the past quarter century has been accompanied 100% of the time with Kirk Ferentz patrolling the Hawkeyes’ sideline.
But for the first time during a Hawkeye game since 1998, we won’t see Ferentz chomping on his sugar-free gum or bending over to write notes on an index card against his left leg or clapping and greeting players after a change of possession.
Ferentz, 69, is suspended for the Hawkeyes’ season opener against Illinois State (11 a.m. CT, BTN), a development that puts linebackers coach Seth Wallace in the acting-coach chair for a single Saturday. Ferentz and wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr are sidelined because of impermissible recruiting contact in November 2022 with Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara.
A game without Ferentz, frankly, will be odd for all of us familiar with the past 25 years of Hawkeye football. It will be a different experience for his players, too. Ferentz’s locker-room presence has long been an emotional plus for the Hawkeyes, who love to see him standing at the front of the tunnel before the “Swarm” onto Duke Slater Field … and love to see him cry after special wins.
“This team loves coach Ferentz,” said McNamara, adding that he wouldn’t talk about NCAA violations involving him. “We’re going to rally behind him.”
By the time Ferentz could speak to the team last Thursday about the suspension, which was university-imposed with hopes of no further action from the NCAA, players already had seen the news reports. After a period of disbelief, fifth-year senior defensive end Deontae Craig is among many veterans who knows how his head coach would want him to think about this week’s opener.
There is a businesslike vibe, not so much “win one for Kirk.” And Ferentz doesn’t want that either, as he has owned up to his punishment.
“He would say the same thing if he was out here (talking). It’s the first game for the 2024 Iowa Hawkeyes, and that’s all the motivation you need at this point in the season,” Craig said. “We’re just excited to get out there and show the world what we’re working on.”
Ferentz, with a touch of gallows humor, downplayed his importance to the gameday operation.
“There’s nothing to rally about or anything,” Ferentz said. “To me, it’s almost a non-factor. It would be the same thing if I got hit by a truck or something and wasn’t there.”
But the dynamic without Ferentz is a tangible thing that needs to be addressed. Let’s dig into some of the resulting Saturday story lines.
What will Seth Wallace’s leadership look like Saturday?
Wallace is a 45-year-old, no-nonsense linebackers coach who is also the assistant defensive coordinator to Phil Parker and was named assistant head coach in January. Wallace’s father was a successful Division III head coach and has head-coaching aspirations. He has been vigorously pursued by other Big Ten programs as defensive coordinator, including Minnesota this past offseason, but chose to stay loyal to Iowa.
So, this is not a role that Wallace has stumbled into, nor will he be overwhelmed. Though he isn’t the defensive coordinator in title, he’s just as active as Parker in making defensive calls.
Iowa players think that Wallace will be an extension of Ferentz, but he does bring a more visible fire to the sideline.
“He’s going to have a certain attitude,” defensive back Sebastian Castro said. “He stepped in, and no one hesitated at all. He’s the man for the job. Everyone respects him in the building.”
Added cornerback Jermari Harris: “I don’t expect much different. I think we all have a common goal, and that’s just to win the ballgame.”
Sebastian Castro praises Seth Wallace’s respect with Kirk Ferentz out
Iowa defensive back Sebastian Castro talks coaching change, the cash position and the approach of the 2024 defense.
What will be interesting is how much latitude Wallace has key in-game decisions, such as fourth downs or whether to try a field goal or when to use timeouts. That’ll be discussed during the coaches’ usual pregame meetings on Thursday, when they’ll also talk about analytics. In that sense, Wallace’s gameday decisions might reflect what Ferentz would do.
But, the head coach stressed Tuesday, he wants Wallace to be himself.
“That’s the most important thing, if I’ve learned anything in coaching,” Ferentz said. “My mentor (Joe Moore) was very different, personality-wise, than I am. The coaches I’ve worked for are very different from my personality. So, you’ve got to be yourself.”
In January, Ferentz named Wallace his first-ever assistant head coach. He did say that the title wasn’t “foreshadowing” of any succession plan and more of an acknowledgment of Wallace’s loyalty to the program.
“I thought it was time to reward him. He’s had opportunities to leave, and several of our other coaches have as well,” Ferentz said. “… I just think it made sense at that time. There’s nothing more to it than that. He’s done a great job. I have total confidence. We have a really good staff of guys.”
Certainly, if McNamara struggles, Wallace may have to come to grips with a quarterback decision in his first game as a head coach. That has always been a choice made by Ferentz, but one would imagine in such a case that offensive coordinator Tim Lester would be involved as well.
To prepare for his first assignment in the top seat, Wallace produced a list for Ferentz of his game-day responsibilities.
“There’s more there (on that list) than I thought, I guess,” Ferentz said. “Some of the decisions we talked about are part of it. But if you think about it, over the course of 12 weeks, there aren’t that many decisions that you make that are really critical. But you just try to keep things in an even flow. … Just try to make sure everybody’s focused on what they do.
“In all seriousness, I don’t mean to low-key it, but probably what you do during the week is more important and certainly during camp and yearlong … just trying to keep everybody’s eyes on the target. Once you get to gameday, the players do win games. They’re the ones competing.”
The first big moment Saturday will be Wallace’s pregame locker-room speech.
Castro is among those curious how Wallace will deliver one.
“He is a hyped-up guy sometimes. I would like to see that, “Castro said. “That reminds me of a high-school mentality – get pumped up, juiced up, whatever. … If he does, I’d like to see it.”
All eyes are also on a different coach Saturday
And that would be offensive coordinator Tim Lester.
The successor to another Ferentz (Brian) is in the spotlight against Illinois State, as Lester’s Mike Shanahan-inspired offensive style that dominates the NFL is brought to the college game.
“We’re excited. We want to show what we can do,” said offensive lineman Beau Stephens, who won the left guard job in fall camp. “Going through camp, we just thought about, ‘We could do a really good job this year.’ I’m excited how it’s going to play out Saturday and for the season.”
Lester will call plays from the Kinnick Stadium press box, a departure from Iowa’s previous offensive coordinator. He likes having that separation from the emotions and sounds of the field so that he can focus on the best play calls. In-helmet communication, which was approved for this season, was a major victory for Lester, whose nomenclature is extremely complicated. Signaling it in from the sidelines would be a challenging chore.
It’s been a race to the opener to get this offense in place, considering Lester wasn’t introduced as OC until early February and neither McNamara (ACL recovery) nor backup Brendan Sullivan (who transferred in June from Northwestern) were on the field this spring.
Kirk Ferentz said last week that he was upbeat about how the offense had taken strides late in fall camp. The running game looked much better than the passing game during the Kids Day at Kinnick open practice on Aug. 10.
Video: Luke Lachey preparing for return to game-action
Luke Lachey speaks with media ahead of Iowa’s 2024 season-opener against Illinois State.
“As a whole, we’ve just started to really mesh. That’s the biggest thing,” tight end Luke Lachey affirmed Tuesday. “The run game has really come a long way as well as a passing game. It’s all about timing and getting the right depths on things. As people start to learn that more and understand it more, it’s gotten better.”
Lachey noted that McNamara had looked much better since the Kids Day performance, when he was 8-for-24 for 20 yards with a pick-six (unofficially). Ferentz also has grown more comfortable with McNamara, who was named one of the four gameday captains (along with Lachey, linebacker Jay Higgins and safety Quinn Schulte).
“He’s more than ready to go,” Ferentz said. “We’re really confident in his body.”
What is the impact of Jon Budmayr’s absence?
And this comes at a position of high interest for Iowa, its wide receivers.
First, the logistics. Northwestern transfer Jacob Gill, who won a starting job along with Jarriett Buie and Kaden Wetjen according to the Week 1 depth chart, said that Lester (upstairs) and graduate assistant Tanner Krueger (on field) would assume Budmayr’s in-game duties. Krueger, a 2016 graduate of Waverly-Shell Rock High School, spent the previous four years at Wayne State, including as receivers coach in 2023.
Iowa’s wide-receivers room is young, especially with expected starter Kaleb Brown (OWI arrest) suspended for the opener. Reece Vander Zee, a true freshman, will definitely play snaps Saturday. Presumably, Krueger will have the lead hand in receiver rotations. Lester will have enough on his plate calling plays in the booth, but he does have preferences of who runs certain routes.
“He’s addressed it,” Gill said of Budmayr and his absence. “We’ve got to take accountability as players as well and take leadership roles to account for that. I think we’ll be OK.”
With a new play-caller and no wide receivers coach, Iowa still needs to find some momentum at this position considering a tough opponent (Iowa State) with a tough defense is coming to Kinnick Stadium on Sept. 7.
Video: Jacob Gill on how Iowa will adjust on gameday without Jon Budmayr
Video: Jacob Gill on how Iowa will adjust on gameday without WRs coach Jon Budmayr
A potentially important audition for Seth Wallace
If someone had told you last August that Jim Harbaugh would leave the Michigan program after the 2023 season, you wouldn’t have thought that Sherrone Moore would be the next Wolverines’ head coach without even a search process for such a blue-blood job.
But that’s exactly how it played out in late January, after Harbaugh left to coach the Los Angeles Chargers. Moore became the sensible replacement after guiding Michigan to a 4-0 record when Harbaugh was suspended over an NCAA violation and a sign-stealing scandal. Two of Moore’s wins as acting head coach included biggies, at Penn State and at home vs. Ohio State. Moore, who was hired as Michigan tight ends coach in 2018 and became co-offensive coordinator in 2021, endeared himself as a future Michigan head coach with the way he led the team in Harbaugh’s absence.
Likewise, it’s worth watching how Iowa responds to Wallace’s leadership, even if it’s only one game against Illinois State as Ferentz watches on TV. Ferentz, 69, will not be coaching Iowa forever. And while at this moment a national search would be deemed necessary to find Ferentz’s successor, Wallace can give himself a feather in his cap for that future process if the Hawkeyes enjoy a successful Saturday.
By the way, there’s no official word yet whether a win (or loss) would add to Ferentz’s 196-119 record at Iowa or whether it would be assigned to Wallace. Athletics department spokesman Matt Weitzel said a determination had not been made as of Tuesday. The Big Ten Conference said in an e-mail to the Register that “we defer to the schools” on how the win is counted, but noted the NCAA’s guidance states a coach suspended by the Committee on Infractions would not receive credit for the wins or losses. However, this suspension is university-imposed. Thus, who gets credit for the win is likely decided by Iowa officials.
In Michigan’s case, Moore was given one non-conference win as a head coach last season, but Harbaugh got the three Big Ten wins that Moore led, which goes to show there’s no clear-cut answer.
My 2 cents: Ferentz should get the result, win or lose. As he said, the head coach’s job is a year-round process, and gameday is merely one day out of 365 in that process.
Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.
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Publish date : 2024-08-27 09:49:00
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