Raw Chicago: Kirk Ferentz Part 10

This one starts with freshman (now sophomores), moves on to some pretty great stuff about Norm Parker and ends with, you guessed it, more Nebraska.

Thanks for hanging in there.

INTERVIEWER: How much growth should we expect to see from the change we saw in James Morris from …last year to this year. How much experience …

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, when I was on the banquet circuit, we had three freshmen who played pretty prominent roles last year. Mike Meyer, Coker and Morris. And you know, I expect all three of those guys to be a lot better this year. And they did a nice job last year. You know, there's nothing harder your first year in college, for all of us, and all of us went to college. That's hard. If you're playing sports that's hard. So, you know, just having some kind of familiarity and comfort level will be a big thing, I think for all of those guys. And James' position, he's kind of a switchboard guy. So, it's really going to be a great thing for him and he works like a dog at it. He's very conscientious. So I think it's just gonna be all good for him and we have really high hopes for him. But the big thing is, all three of those guys really think right. They have great attitudes and so I expect all of the really younger players this year.

INTERVIEWER: [Question on Norm Parker and whether or not he'll be able to make it through the season, something he hasn't done the last two years] How important is it, you know, the last three seasons were all pretty tough. I don't know if … is the right word, but he's… How important is it to have him for 13 games and --

COACH FERENTZ: It's real important. And there's a reason he's our coordinator. And I can't say enough about the job the other guys did last year when Norm wasn't here. They did phenomenal.

INTERVIEWER: That's so hard though, because it's just –

COACH FERENTZ: It's a huge chunk of what we are.

INTERVIEWER: …gets in the way, and you worry about. I'm sure those guys are turning down the volume on themselves a little bit because it's Norm's defense and they don't want to look like they're trying to take over. I'm sure you guys have to step around that a little bit.

COACH FERENTZ: It's tricky. It's tricky. So, getting him back at the end of the year was great. To have him with us during the Bowl preparation was great. And another thing moving forward, it is what it is. I mean, Norm is diabetic. You know, I'm his employer. I'm not allowed to know how old he is. But I know he's older than he was ten years ago. I know that. So, but you know, there's a reality and the only thing I've encouraged Norm to do is just really examine his life style and his work habits and sometimes you can't do what you did when you were 35. So I try to encourage him to, you know, we don't need that from him. We just need his expertise, his wisdom. He's coaching from a golf cart right now as opposed to being on both feet. And that's okay. I mean, it's doable. So you know, I'm just trying to encourage him to be smart about what he's doing so he can run the whole race. I'm not 35 anymore either, so we all have to make adjustments. I wish I could eat what I ate 25 years ago. But I can't. It's just one of those things. But Norm's a little hard-headed. I don't know if you guys have detected that. He's a little set in his ways on some things.

INTERVIEWER: … [Again, Norm making it through the season.]

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, it's been a challenge. I think maybe last year it got his attention a little bit. And nobody's asked him to change dramatically, but give himself a chance to be there the whole, because we all need him, we all want him and need him.

INTERVIEWER: … [Will Norm be a compliant patient?]

COACH FERENTZ: I think so. But the proof's gonna be in the pudding. And once we get going here. It's competitive. That's kind of what we've talked about when things are calm and give it some thought. Is there a way to shut your door and take a nap. My mentor did that when he was 35, you know? He shut the door and took a nap for half an hour. I've read those are good things. I wish I could do it. But, things like that. And he is getting his exercise and things like that. He looks great right now. But it's just, I know what's waiting us right now and it's, he needs to be smart about it.

INTERVIEWER: … Feeling after hugging Norm in the wake of the Insight Bowl victory over Missouri.

COACH FERENTZ: It was awfully good. It was awfully good. All Bowls are good. Bowl wins. The … was pretty good, too. You know, pretty good performance. But you know, in light of all the circumstances, the lion's share, it's just good to have him back with us.

INTERVIEWER: He really pressed the buttons back then. I'm not on the …

COACH FERENTZ: But it wasn't like we stonewalled him. I mentioned Persa earlier and Randal El and this guy [Blaine Gabbert], I don't know if we played it against the quarterback that's been drafted … We had to play against [don't know] or Breese. You know, and Breese, that was one of their greatest trades ever. But you know, to come out of there with a win, I mean, you know, we had a lot of respect for not only the quarterback but their entire offense. It was a challenge.

INTERVIEWER: …Nebraska a rivalry game which is natural with the border … You have Nebraska in the Big Ten. …

COACH FERENTZ: Well, I think it's fantastic. It's new for all of us certainly. We have played Nebraska in the past. And the last two times we played them it wasn't much fun, my first few years. So at least I think we're a little more competitive than we were 12 years ago. And it's gonna be a national TV game, so I think great, great environment over in Lincoln. There's a great environment. So I think it's got the makings to be a real good thing.

INTERVIEWER: …Nebraska … Colorado and Missouri. …Do you look forward to someone like that at the end of the year having one game to see who plays in Indianapolis? Do you like that?

COACH FERENTZ: Well, you know, we used to play Minnesota at the end of the season. It's a little different there. But in a perfect world, hopefully it is a game that decides that. I know we've got a lot of work to do to get in that position and my guess is they're gonna be there. They've got a great football team, but it ought to be a great thing for college football.

END OF SESSION