So what proves that Kirk isn't one of those guys?
First off, there is a growing list of former Iowa players who are now doctors. They were never discouraged at Iowa from pushing themselves academically. At many top football schools, the football players are often treated as if they were just "football majors."
Even Northwestern, that prides itself concerning its academics, constrained Cain Colter's class schedule so much that he couldn't take all the classes he needed as a pre-med. In contrast, Iowa would reschedule practices around BOTH Vandenberg's and Rudock's class schedules (when they were starters).
Marcus Coker, while still at Iowa, was a physics major. Many former Iowa players have been math majors (I believe Nolan MacMillan was one) and others have been computer science majors. Even more guys have been engineering majors. The point being that guys aren't at all discouraged from choosing perceived "harder" majors. At other schools, football players are often ushered into "easier majors" so that football can be their sole focus.
From a very fundamental standpoint, Ferentz places emphasis on cultivating a strong work ethic and not cutting corners. Admittedly, many other coaches do the same - thus, Ferentz is not unique in this regard. On a repeated basis, Ferentz often talks about making sure that the program is doing things "the right way." He places that emphasis with the full knowledge that many, if not most, programs do not do things "the right way."
Apart from academics, look at how discipline has been handled at Iowa. At some schools, Dom Douglas and Anthony Bowman may not have even missed game-time ... or, if they did, they would have only missed a few games. Instead, those guys were indefinitely suspended and eventually booted from the program. When greater improprieties occurred, like in the case of Everson and Satterfield - those guys were suspended right away. While the investigation may have been mishandled by Iowa administrators - Ferentz participated fully and never dismissed the concerns of the young lady (in stark contrast to REPEATED occurrences at Baylor).
When you cumulatively combine all the facets that I mention above - there is an exceedingly large set of evidence that supports that "Kirk isn't one of those guys."
A valid and interesting concern is whether or not Kirk shares too many similarities with guys like Osborne or Paterno. Has he gotten too big, too powerful? Does he wield his power with impunity, with disregard for valid and established rules? There were windows of time when I suspect that he may have been going down that road ... but I think that he's a thoughtful and reflective guy ... and I think that he's pumped the breaks and chosen other paths. One of those paths has led us to the "new Kirk" ...
