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Marshal Yanda is the 9th player to be added to the ANF Wall of Honor. Marshal is a 5th generation dairy farmer from Anamosa.
Yanda
Almost like media day in Baltimore, here we go.
Q: What does this mean to you?
YANDA: Oh, it's awesome. With my upbringing and growing up on the farm, you learn hard work and discipline and sacrifice and that really transitioned to football for me really well. Learned hard work from my parents and appreciate all the sacrifices they made for us growing up.
Q: Physical strength from farming background?
YANDA: For sure. When I was a kid, we were doing physical labor all the time. As a football player, I was pretty strong in the weight room, but always had that farm strength in my score. That was just from being physically active on the farm. My dad always had some guns just from working on the farm.
Q: Mental side of things help as well?
YANDA: Definitely. I was a junior college transfer with a long ways to go. As long as you have goals and a good work ethic, you just never know what you can accomplish. You can lock a lot of potential you don't even know you have with a good work ethic in place.
Q: How much did that help you as you lost weight after football?
YANDA: Yeah, it correlates because you just have to keep working at the same thing over and over just like football, just like on the farm. You have to be mentally tough and get after it even when you don't want. That kind of paved the way for me.
Q: Do you miss football?
YANDA: Oh, for sure. I definitely do, but I understand what comes with it. I got to play my last two years healthy and had never made it more than three years without having a major injury, so I knew I wanted to end without any rehab. I definitely miss it on Sundays though. You can't get that anywhere else.
Q: What did you learn from KF and staff?
YANDA: Two things come to mind and that's preparation and focus. You can carry that on to anything you do. Every battle is won before it's fought. That comes down to preparation. Then with focus, it comes down to the little things in practice every day, what you eat, and all of that.
Q: Linderbaum said it was such a great example to see you come in after a decade in the NFL and get a work out in?
YANDA: It's awesome. I love being back here in the off-season. You find out this is a big family and when you go to battle together you forge those bonds. To be able to come back was an edge for me, so it was a win-win. As you get older, the less guys want to lift heavy, but doing that here helped me play at a high level into my 30s. Any chance I got to be around here, I loved it.
Q: No. 3 vs. No. 4 on Saturday?
YANDA: It's awesome. You're just happy for everybody in this building because they go to war ever Saturday with a common goal so to see them achieve their goals at a high level is awesome. You're happy for the players and the coaches and to see it pay off for them. Great college atmosphere, running out at Kinnick is awesome. It's exciting.
Q: What are you doing these days?
YANDA: Right now, I'm helping my dad on the farm right now. We've done about eight straight days of harvesting. Last year was the first year I was able to do that with my dad. Then we've got three kids, so busy with their activities and we've got a house and some land, so enjoy time outdoors. Still figuring things out one day at a time. I'm still transitioning, but it's been awesome.
Q: It's difficult for a lot of players to mentally transition. Have you spoken to former teammates about it?
YANDA: Yeah, for sure. We went and met up with some guys in Florida this off-season and talked about it for sure. You can't do it forever, but it's a transition. I always felt like I was always conscious of my ego and never let it get to big, so might be an issue if you have a bigger ego, but if guys need help it's good to be there for him.
Q: What advice would you give to this team?
YANDA: The biggest thing is don't make this game any different from every other one on the schedule. You just focus on the moment. It's about today's practice today and tomorrow's tomorrow. You can only focus on one thing at a time. They've had that drilled into them here, taking things one at a time and don't worry about the opponent, worry about us.
Q: Have you thought about coaching?
YANDA: Yes, I have because I love the game, but just taking it one day at a time. I always love the time with my dad and my family, so just focused on that for now.
Q: One guy stand out as the toughest to block?
YANDA: Back in the day, it was JJ Watt because he could just wreck a game. Then on the interior Aaron Donald would be at the top of the list the last few years.
Q: What does it mean to you to see your influence?
YANDA: It's awesome because I pride myself on working hard and that's the Iowa way, giving 110%. I enjoyed coming back and not being treated any different. I looked up to the guys that came before me too.
Q: What was it like with the brotherhood of Iowa players? Do you miss that?
YANDA: Yeah. Every year in the NFL the teams and the rosters change so much. You spend more time together in college, so really bond more there and you're pulling for one another. That stuff is so natural because you work so hard together in February, in June, so it's great to see it pay off in the fall when you get to games.
