Kirk Ferentz
Postgame Press Conference
KIRK FERENTZ: First of all, just a tremendous win for our entire football team. To get our sixth straight, fourth trophy game, although this year we're just holding one of them. I am really happy for everybody, especially our seniors. Those guys have done a great job. Now they can finish their careers here, not only seeing the ball but us having it in possession. Really happy about that.
Really happy for the seniors to have a great memory as they leave Kinnick. That's really a special thing for each and every one of them, something we've talked about. I know they'll all look back on this game really fondly. Just happy for everybody on our football team, but especially our seniors.
Going into the game we knew it was going to be a tough defensive battle. I think everybody understood that. You get in games like this, everything that you do is contested, every yard is a fight. That certainly was the case today.
Also in games like this it's all about trying to capitalize if opportunities appear. Wisconsin did a good job of that, at least on one of them. We were able to do the same thing today. Just really happy about that.
Some guys that did a great job, Keith Duncan broke a record, which is great, for long field goals. Happy for him. Certainly both of our senior receivers gave us a spark. Ihmir and Brandon came up big for us. That's what you really have to do.
I really thought just standing on the sidelines, I have to pay compliments to Chauncey Golston. Did some really good things. Pass-rush, one tackle he had on a third-and-one was really exceptional. Not only did he tackle the guy, but pulled him backwards. The officials, there was no lack of clarity on that one. That was certainly good.
Again, I think just overall coming off an 0-2 start, can't say enough about the way our football team just kept their focus where it should be. They worked hard obviously. They gave great effort, showed a lot of grit over the last six weeks. Just really pleased for them. Really happy for each and every guy on our football team.
The last thing, I just want to thank the parents, our senior parents being here. Unfortunately they couldn't have a normal Senior Day, but hopefully this will work for them.
Also the people that got the field ready to go. It was dicey weather coming in, overnight and this morning certainly. They got us in good shape. The field conditions were great. Gave us a chance to play a good game today.
With that being said, I'll throw it out for questions.
Q. Some of the players said you were pretty emotional in the locker room. Was that everything that you guys have gone through this year with COVID, the racial stuff during the summer, was it kind of the culmination of all that, getting six straight wins?
KIRK FERENTZ: Those guys found a way to pry it out of me actually. They're pretty good at that.
My focus has really been more so once we got going here on September 30th, I say September 30th, I think that was the first day we could put pads on, start practicing football. Our focus has been on this season, solely this zone.
To that point, really feel fortunate we've been able to play because it sure didn't look like it a month before that, even building up to that. That was a real breakthrough.
The other thing, I can't tell you how appreciative I am personally, I think all of us are, that we woke up today, took our tests, found out in the 10 o'clock area we were going to be able to play today without any setbacks that way. It's really kind of the way it's been the last however many weeks. It's day-to-day. You're hoping everything works out in a way where we can keep doing what we like doing. Throw in an 0-2 start on top of that, that certainly is significant.
It just says a lot about our kids. The guys we get to work with. I've been saying that for quite a while, I'll say it over and over, for 30 plus years being at Iowa, the one common denominator is the quality of the guys we get to work with. Whether you talk about the '80s, can't speak to the '90s that much, but since I've been back, we have high-caliber guys and they show a lot of character.
Q. I believe after the regular season last year you announced a couple scholarships. Any more players you've made decisions to give scholarships to or not?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, I normally don't make a big deal of that. We gave out three this week. Charlie Jones, Joe Evans, and Monte Pottebaum. We had three available.
All three of those guys have done a great job. Really proud of the way they've worked. Last year we did it at the end of the season. Just kind of dawned on me a week ago that we're not at the end of the season, but we're in December. We told them during the week.
Q. What did Chauncey Golston do for his future in the sport after this season, especially after a game like today?
KIRK FERENTZ: Chauncey kind of illustrates our typical player. A.J. was a great player a year ago. I've said that many times before. A.J., when he walked in the door, was a little further ahead than most guys that we get. Quite frankly, Cedrick Lattimore was the more targeted recruit out of that school. Chauncey attracted our attention. Cedrick, thought the world of him, rightfully so.
I can't say enough of the job Chauncey has done since he's been here. He works hard. Wasn't the biggest guy. Tall, but not the biggest guy physically. Worked extremely hard there. Done a great job in the classroom. He's just a really good young person to be around on a daily basis.
The fact that he's playing so well, he gets the credit for that. He's worked really hard. Our defensive guys, all of our coaches, do a good job with their players. It starts with the player, the player having that desire, more importantly the focus and discipline to do all the things you have to do over the course of five years to become a really good college player.
Q. What does this mean for you to kind of have the culmination of another trophy, you have all of them in your possession? This one seems to be the most difficult to get. Everybody buckled up and here you are, one of the best teams in the country. What does this mean for you personally to be where you are today?
KIRK FERENTZ: The last however many months have all been about learning. I don't have a lot of regrets. I don't have a lot of regrets 20 plus years. You always have a couple. I'll share those with you whenever I finish.
The bottom line is trying to handle every day as well as you can. I'm not going to say this period is no different than any other. It's like anything: you have a bad season, you go back and just try to talk to a lot of people, get some viewpoints, feedback, et cetera. That's what we've tried to do very methodically.
It's about taking information and then trying to do the right things moving forward. The good thing is, and I shared this with our staff back on June 6, we have good people in the building, our staff, support staff, most importantly our players. We'll work through it.
Basically that's what we've tried to do on a daily basis. Starting 0-2 wasn't much fun. Same thing: make sure you stick to your beliefs, try to do what you think is best. If you're working with the right people, you have a chance for success. That's been the football part of it. Bigger window, same thing.
We're hardly done. Hopefully we're going to keep playing football. Sounds like we have a chance for two more games. Sounds great. We still have a lot of work to go there.
As far as the program goes, you're never done there. Hopefully we'll be making good decisions as we move forward.
Postgame Press Conference
KIRK FERENTZ: First of all, just a tremendous win for our entire football team. To get our sixth straight, fourth trophy game, although this year we're just holding one of them. I am really happy for everybody, especially our seniors. Those guys have done a great job. Now they can finish their careers here, not only seeing the ball but us having it in possession. Really happy about that.
Really happy for the seniors to have a great memory as they leave Kinnick. That's really a special thing for each and every one of them, something we've talked about. I know they'll all look back on this game really fondly. Just happy for everybody on our football team, but especially our seniors.
Going into the game we knew it was going to be a tough defensive battle. I think everybody understood that. You get in games like this, everything that you do is contested, every yard is a fight. That certainly was the case today.
Also in games like this it's all about trying to capitalize if opportunities appear. Wisconsin did a good job of that, at least on one of them. We were able to do the same thing today. Just really happy about that.
Some guys that did a great job, Keith Duncan broke a record, which is great, for long field goals. Happy for him. Certainly both of our senior receivers gave us a spark. Ihmir and Brandon came up big for us. That's what you really have to do.
I really thought just standing on the sidelines, I have to pay compliments to Chauncey Golston. Did some really good things. Pass-rush, one tackle he had on a third-and-one was really exceptional. Not only did he tackle the guy, but pulled him backwards. The officials, there was no lack of clarity on that one. That was certainly good.
Again, I think just overall coming off an 0-2 start, can't say enough about the way our football team just kept their focus where it should be. They worked hard obviously. They gave great effort, showed a lot of grit over the last six weeks. Just really pleased for them. Really happy for each and every guy on our football team.
The last thing, I just want to thank the parents, our senior parents being here. Unfortunately they couldn't have a normal Senior Day, but hopefully this will work for them.
Also the people that got the field ready to go. It was dicey weather coming in, overnight and this morning certainly. They got us in good shape. The field conditions were great. Gave us a chance to play a good game today.
With that being said, I'll throw it out for questions.
Q. Some of the players said you were pretty emotional in the locker room. Was that everything that you guys have gone through this year with COVID, the racial stuff during the summer, was it kind of the culmination of all that, getting six straight wins?
KIRK FERENTZ: Those guys found a way to pry it out of me actually. They're pretty good at that.
My focus has really been more so once we got going here on September 30th, I say September 30th, I think that was the first day we could put pads on, start practicing football. Our focus has been on this season, solely this zone.
To that point, really feel fortunate we've been able to play because it sure didn't look like it a month before that, even building up to that. That was a real breakthrough.
The other thing, I can't tell you how appreciative I am personally, I think all of us are, that we woke up today, took our tests, found out in the 10 o'clock area we were going to be able to play today without any setbacks that way. It's really kind of the way it's been the last however many weeks. It's day-to-day. You're hoping everything works out in a way where we can keep doing what we like doing. Throw in an 0-2 start on top of that, that certainly is significant.
It just says a lot about our kids. The guys we get to work with. I've been saying that for quite a while, I'll say it over and over, for 30 plus years being at Iowa, the one common denominator is the quality of the guys we get to work with. Whether you talk about the '80s, can't speak to the '90s that much, but since I've been back, we have high-caliber guys and they show a lot of character.
Q. I believe after the regular season last year you announced a couple scholarships. Any more players you've made decisions to give scholarships to or not?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, I normally don't make a big deal of that. We gave out three this week. Charlie Jones, Joe Evans, and Monte Pottebaum. We had three available.
All three of those guys have done a great job. Really proud of the way they've worked. Last year we did it at the end of the season. Just kind of dawned on me a week ago that we're not at the end of the season, but we're in December. We told them during the week.
Q. What did Chauncey Golston do for his future in the sport after this season, especially after a game like today?
KIRK FERENTZ: Chauncey kind of illustrates our typical player. A.J. was a great player a year ago. I've said that many times before. A.J., when he walked in the door, was a little further ahead than most guys that we get. Quite frankly, Cedrick Lattimore was the more targeted recruit out of that school. Chauncey attracted our attention. Cedrick, thought the world of him, rightfully so.
I can't say enough of the job Chauncey has done since he's been here. He works hard. Wasn't the biggest guy. Tall, but not the biggest guy physically. Worked extremely hard there. Done a great job in the classroom. He's just a really good young person to be around on a daily basis.
The fact that he's playing so well, he gets the credit for that. He's worked really hard. Our defensive guys, all of our coaches, do a good job with their players. It starts with the player, the player having that desire, more importantly the focus and discipline to do all the things you have to do over the course of five years to become a really good college player.
Q. What does this mean for you to kind of have the culmination of another trophy, you have all of them in your possession? This one seems to be the most difficult to get. Everybody buckled up and here you are, one of the best teams in the country. What does this mean for you personally to be where you are today?
KIRK FERENTZ: The last however many months have all been about learning. I don't have a lot of regrets. I don't have a lot of regrets 20 plus years. You always have a couple. I'll share those with you whenever I finish.
The bottom line is trying to handle every day as well as you can. I'm not going to say this period is no different than any other. It's like anything: you have a bad season, you go back and just try to talk to a lot of people, get some viewpoints, feedback, et cetera. That's what we've tried to do very methodically.
It's about taking information and then trying to do the right things moving forward. The good thing is, and I shared this with our staff back on June 6, we have good people in the building, our staff, support staff, most importantly our players. We'll work through it.
Basically that's what we've tried to do on a daily basis. Starting 0-2 wasn't much fun. Same thing: make sure you stick to your beliefs, try to do what you think is best. If you're working with the right people, you have a chance for success. That's been the football part of it. Bigger window, same thing.
We're hardly done. Hopefully we're going to keep playing football. Sounds like we have a chance for two more games. Sounds great. We still have a lot of work to go there.
As far as the program goes, you're never done there. Hopefully we'll be making good decisions as we move forward.
