Iowa announces one game suspensions for Lattimore and Jackson

[Blair Sanderson]

JACKSON, LATTIMORE TO SERVE 1-GAME SUSPENSION FOR VIOLATION OF TEAM POLICY AND RULES

IOWA CITY, Iowa - - University of Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz announced Wednesday two additional players will face a one-game suspension due to violating team policy and rules. Alaric Jackson and Cedrick Lattimore will both miss Iowa’s Sept. 1 contest against Northern Illinois.

“As a coach one of the most important decisions is to hold student-athletes accountable,” said Ferentz. “It is painful for the players and the team to impose a suspension, but we have high standards and there is an expectation all players abide by our rules.”

The player infraction is not a legal matter. Violation of team policy or rules can include academic performance, attendance, timeliness, behavior, effort, and engagement.

The issues surfaced in late spring and both players were given guidelines to meet and milestones to achieve over the past 10 weeks. “Their response has been excellent, and I am very pleased with how they are meeting our expectations,” said Ferentz.

Jackson is a sophomore offensive tackle and Lattimore is a junior defensive lineman.

Today’s announcement means four Hawkeyes will not participate in the season opening game against Northern Illinois. Defensive lineman Brady Reiff and offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs were previously given one-game suspensions for alcohol-related violations.

 

[StormHawk42]

 

[nu2u]

Coach Polasek will earn his paycheck the next few weeks. With Wirfs and Jackson out, I wonder if freshman Jeff Jenkins steps into some playing time in the home opener. The Sasquatch brothers will be counted on to plug some holes.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Coach Polasek will earn his paycheck the next few weeks. With Wirfs and Jackson out, I wonder if freshman Jeff Jenkins steps into some playing time in the home opener.

I would imagine all options would be on the table with the 4-game and still redshirt rule available. If -- and big if -- Iowa can manage to win the game against NIU it will benefit by giving depth players the opportunity to play. But I would imagine the line will go down to less than 10 points very quickly. It started at Iowa -13.

 

[grayhair81]

Apparently Alaric is a slow learner.

 

[RyderHawk7]

Well, I guess the positive is that they've probably known this for a while and have some time to prepare for it. It won't be easy, but luckily they have strong TE's that may be able to help out and the new guys have elite DE's to face every day in practice...At least that's what I'm going with.

 

[ThrowBones92]

Coach Polasek will earn his paycheck the next few weeks. With Wirfs and Jackson out, I wonder if freshman Jeff Jenkins steps into some playing time in the home opener. The Sasquatch brothers will be counted on to plug some holes.

It's tough to get a lineman ready who is not already ready or near-ready in 4 weeks' time. There is so much hand and foot technique and body leverage that goes into developing linemen, that I think we will see if Polasek HAS BEEN earning his paycheck. From the way Iowa has developed the OL position, I think Iowa will be okay, but who knows.

 

[LakeviewHawkeye]

Apparently Alaric is a slow learner.

I'm starting to wonder if he wasn't a better fit for MSU. He's got to be just about out of strikes at Iowa.

 

[scotthawk1964]

I think we should have some capable backups for the NIU game, so I don't think this will be devastating. Just glad were not playing Bucky first game with make shift Tackles.

 

[chiphawk59]

Think I remember seeing a couple of posts that KF seemed to be a little more of a hands on approach with the OL in camp. Guess he figures he better earn his money this year

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Glad KF is standing firm. No matter who you are, you follow the rules or you sit. And I'm thrilled for the kids who will get to start in the places of those guys who apparently don't care enough to do what they're supposed to do. What an opportunity for some hard workers to get in there and do the job.

Iowa must turn this into a positive, and with all this time to prepare, it shouldn't be a huge problem. Gotta come out aggressive and stay aggressive. Make sure NIU never has a chance to get comfortable. Blow them out all the way back to DeKalb.

 

[chiphawk59]

Any word on what specifically the violation was

 

[DodgerHawki]

It's tough to get a lineman ready who is not already ready or near-ready in 4 weeks' time. There is so much hand and foot technique and body leverage that goes into developing linemen, that I think we will see if Polasek HAS BEEN earning his paycheck. From the way Iowa has developed the OL position, I think Iowa will be okay, but who knows.

This is the correct answer. Jenkins may be an option, none of us know. But counting on a true freshman to be ready Game 1 or even anytime this season isn't a viable answer. O-linemen who play as true freshman have to be very blessed physically to be able to do so. That's why the list of those who have at Iowa is so short.

 

[LakeviewHawkeye]

I think we should have some capable backups for the NIU game, so I don't think this will be devastating. Just glad were not playing Bucky first game with make shift Tackles.

Agree on NIU. That said, I wonder what these incidents say about the leadership in the program right now?

 

[DodgerHawki]

Any word on what specifically the violation was

This sentence in the release is key: "Violation of team policy or rules can include academic performance, attendance, timeliness, behavior, effort, and engagement. "

Based on that it could be things like missing too many classes, missing a study table, attendance/tardiness to team functions/weight lifting, or other things I'm not considering. We will likely never know unless the players themselves say.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Glad KF is standing firm. No matter who you are, you follow the rules or you sit. And I'm thrilled for the kids who will get to start in the places of those guys who apparently don't care enough to do what they're supposed to do. What an opportunity for some hard workers to get in there and do the job.

Iowa must turn this into a positive, and with all this time to prepare, it shouldn't be a huge problem. Gotta come out aggressive and stay aggressive. Make sure NIU never has a chance to get comfortable. Blow them out all the way back to DeKalb.

All depends on how the game goes. If Iowa is playing from behind and gets into lots of situations where they have to throw, protecting the QB could be a huge issue. If Iowa is playing from the lead, BF can be less predictable and you lessen the opportunities for Sutton to not care about the run and just get after the QB.

 

[Parker D]

I think we should have some capable backups for the NIU game, so I don't think this will be devastating. Just glad were not playing Bucky first game with make shift Tackles.

They do have the nation's sack leader returning at one DE spot:

 

[m.stoops2013]

Hoping to see a lot of C.Gholston on opening week!

 

[anon_8rcdnbko1jbe0]

Think I remember seeing a couple of posts that KF seemed to be a little more of a hands on approach with the OL in camp. Guess he figures he better earn his money this year

Really?

 

[Dick Rambone]

Kallenberger will probably play one of the Tackle spots I would bet .

 

[Blair Sanderson]

Think I remember seeing a couple of posts that KF seemed to be a little more of a hands on approach with the OL in camp. Guess he figures he better earn his money this year

No different than any other year. KF is always very hands on with the OL, especially the tackles.

 

[Iafootballfan]

I'm starting to wonder if he wasn't a better fit for MSU. He's got to be just about out of strikes at Iowa.

Apparently not if he's only getting a 1-game suspension.

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

Again, this is a great opportunity for several Hawkeyes to make a name for themselves. For example, I'd be welcoming the chance to go up against first team All-American Sutton Smith. What better way to make your mark?

Work hard in practice, study the film, and take him on. That's why you came to Iowa City. With a smart game plan from BF, let's see how All-Americanish Mr. Smith is by the time he limps back to DeKalb.

If the Hawkeyes needed something to fire them up for NIU, this should do it.

 

[bumpstock]

If both weren't starters, it's a non-story..couple of Detroit kids raising hell in I.C.

 

[grayhair81]

This sentence in the release is key: "Violation of team policy or rules can include academic performance, attendance, timeliness, behavior, effort, and engagement. "

Based on that it could be things like missing too many classes, missing a study table, attendance/tardiness to team functions/weight lifting, or other things I'm not considering. We will likely never know unless the players themselves say.

I have a hard time believing it is academic since fall classes haven't started yet. If it is summer-class related, they would have to have been behind academically to be held accountable for anything.
When the Wirfs story broke, someone said there were three people on his scooter. Could this be the situation? If so, Guiness Book of World Records should get involved because there would have been close to 1000 pounds on that scooter.

 

[mazda1]

It's a shame when 4 selfish guys do dumb things that could well determine what bowl game (if we make one at this rate) the other guys who've been busting their butts all year go to. If Stanley goes down due to poor line play the season is shot IMO.

Kirk could have let this slide since it happened last spring and word hadn't leaked out, but he did the right thing. I'll try to remember this when I'm screaming at the o-line and the defensive front.

 

[grayhair81]

I think we should have some capable backups for the NIU game, so I don't think this will be devastating. Just glad were not playing Bucky first game with make shift Tackles.

The problem is there have not been adequate backups, especially at tackle. That is why a true freshman and a RS freshman played last year. Looks like a similar deal this year. Kallenberger is probably going to be LT for the first game. Levi Paulsen will probably be RT if he survives camp without getting hurt and his brother or Banwart will be on the inside. There is a strong possibility the Hawks lose this game. The OL is going to be a serious concern for this game. More significantly, there seems to be a character issue on this team. Very disappointing.

 

[HawkIDrummer]

Let's hope Kirk doesn't crawl into his "play not to lose" hole again... we've seen that movie before and it often ends in an upset loss

 

[HawkinK.C.1]

Starting line projections......

 

[Harbinger273]

 

[ThrowBones92]

This is the correct answer. Jenkins may be an option, none of us know. But counting on a true freshman to be ready Game 1 or even anytime this season isn't a viable answer. O-linemen who play as true freshman have to be very blessed physically to be able to do so. That's why the list of those who have at Iowa is so short.

What does the backup situation look like at Iowa? Curious if there is a two-deep? Are you looking at having to play true freshmen or do you have redshirt and sophomores in the mix?

 

[DaCDiggity]

It's a shame when 4 selfish guys do dumb things that could well determine what bowl game (if we make one at this rate) the other guys who've been busting their butts all year go to. If Stanley goes down due to poor line play the season is shot IMO.

Kirk could have let this slide since it happened last spring and word hadn't leaked out, but he did the right thing. I'll try to remember this when I'm screaming at the o-line and the defensive front.

Don't see how calling an Uber is a dumb thing from a selfish guy but carry on

 

[Wadzinator]

That Sutton kid is going to be a handful

 

[Harbinger273]

Unfortunately we lost one of our indispensable players for this year. At least its only for one game.

 

[unoHawkeye]

I’m bummed because Smith would have been a good test for either Jackson or Wirfs (not sure which side he plays). Valuable experience that would have really helped both over the course of the year.

Iowa still wins

 

[Harbinger273]

The problem is there have not been adequate backups, especially at tackle. That is why a true freshman and a RS freshman played last year. Looks like a similar deal this year. Kallenberger is probably going to be LT for the first game. Levi Paulsen will probably be RT if he survives camp without getting hurt and his brother or Banwart will be on the inside. There is a strong possibility the Hawks lose this game. The OL is going to be a serious concern for this game. More significantly, there seems to be a character issue on this team. Very disappointing.

 

[anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba]

It sounds like Iowa might as well forfeit. Mighty Northern Illinois and the greatest DE in the history of forever are coming to Iowa City. Poor little Big Ten kids gonna get clobbered by the brutes from the MAC.

Really?

I know Iowa's history in such games under KF, but c'mon. The coaches have known about this likelihood (Jackson and Lattimore) for almost three months! You don't think they'll have backups ready to roll for the opener?

Frankly, I think Iowa will more than compensate for the missing players and teach NIU...and those suspended Hawkeyes...a mighty powerful lesson.

Iowa -- 41
NIU -- 13

 

[mazda1]

Don't see how calling an Uber is a dumb thing from a selfish guy but carry on

Mistaking a police car for an Uber ride isn't what I envision as a bright move.

 

[Burbank84]

Don't see how calling an Uber is a dumb thing from a selfish guy but carry on

Mistaking a police car for an Uber ride isn't what I envision as a bright move.

But there was no reason to arrest Reiff in this situation unless he started a fight or was urinating in public. ICPD comes off as glorified meter maids.

 

[HaydensHat]

This sentence in the release is key: "Violation of team policy or rules can include academic performance, attendance, timeliness, behavior, effort, and engagement. "

Based on that it could be things like missing too many classes, missing a study table, attendance/tardiness to team functions/weight lifting, or other things I'm not considering. We will likely never know unless the players themselves say.

Failing a drug test also falls under this category.