Developmental Iowa

CHICAGO - During his opening thoughts on the big stage at Big Ten media days, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz used the word 'development” or some form of it seven times.

Here's a sample: 'What we do in the next month is going to be really important for our development as a football team and kind of representative of our development of a football team, how some of these younger players come on,” Ferentz said. 'Offensively, our focus right now would be to develop a starting offensive line and develop depth at that position. We need to develop depth at the cornerback position, receiver position as well.”

This in and of itself isn't a bad thing. The state of Iowa isn't a college football player factory. Thursday, however, Ferentz spoke just before Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. You know, the Buckeyes, the defending national champions. To Ohio State, 'development” are named Glen Something and is somewhere mini-mansions are built.

Ohio State claims new territory with uber recruits. Iowa tries to develop players that its staff works hard to find (three eight-man players on the defensive line this season). It's an inexact science. It's risk/reward. It can be a maddening way to try to build a consistent winner in college football.

'We can't,” Ferentz said when asked if he worried about recruiting ratings and stars. 'We don't have that luxury.”

Conversely, does Iowa rely on too many guys who are 'in development”? Is that happening with its roster right now?

'The more guys who are already developed, that's a good thing,” Ferentz said. 'Obviously, the more experience you have, that could be a good thing. But I also look at it, anytime a guy graduates, that opens the door for another guy to have an opportunity and opens the door for another good story.”

Ferentz and Iowa players, of course, are going to say good things about the roster. After all, it's them. Not evaluation is flattering.

CFBMatrix is an e-magazine that comes with a membership into the Football Writers Association of America. Dave Bartoo publishes the content and it, as the title states, is heavily into numbers. One of the equations is this - Recruited Talent Rankings - Attrition + Production Experience. Bartoo writes that recruiting stars and rankings are a hugely valuable metric for predicting wins and losses. He takes recruiting rankings, subtracts attrition and adds experience for a number.

The quick translation, Bartoo writes about the Hawkeyes in this year's magazine, is this year's Roster Talent Ranking is at a 10-year low. Harsh? Yes. On the bright side, Bartoo writes, eight teams on Iowa's schedule have a lower Roster Talent Ranking.

Is this a eureka formula? Bartoo writes that every national title game contestant over the last nine seasons has started with a CFB Roster Talent Ranking above No. 16. Iowa is No. 49.

If nothing else, this metric melds the relative quality of recruits a school can get, the amount of experience on the roster and attrition, a factor that visited Iowa a few times this summer, including safety Solomon Warfield, who, the school announced Thursday, has decided to transfer.

Attrition is time lost, Ferentz said, but he doesn't consider it defeat as much as the development of the story.

'We try to work and develop all of our guys the same,” he said. 'It doesn't matter if a guy is fourth on the depth chart, a walk-on, a scholarship player. One thing we tell everyone is once they're a Hawkeye, they're a Hawkeye. We're going to coach them and train them will all the intensity we can.”

Yes, Iowa is a developmental team. Defensive end Drew Ott embodies that. He played high school football at Giltner (Neb.) High School. He played eight-man football. He played everything from quarterback to guard (in a four-point stance).

'You have to come to work every day, you can't take days off when you're trying to develop,” Ott said. 'That's why it's tough. It's not for everyone. When it does work, the payoff is big, just like when you work hard for anything.”

Safety Jordan Lomax came to Iowa with three stars from Rivals. He had offers from the Hawkeyes, Maryland, Louisville, Stanford and Virginia. He came with a pedigree and didn't just sit on it. He saw the 'developmentals” around him and knew he was in for a fight.

'They come in with a chip on their shoulder and a hard work ethic,” Lomax said. 'You see it, you can tell. They come to work everyday full of energy. They do the dirty work and that helps make a good team. You're going to need guys like that.”

Ferentz said the perfect mix of developmental players, stars, experienced players and whatever makes Iowa teams work varies from year to year.

'You can't rely on too many raw players to come through,” senior center Austin Blythe said. 'You probably won't win very many football games, and I think that would happen at any school. There's a certain mix you have to have.”

Ferentz did his hourlong sit down at a table with mostly local reporters. Over his right shoulder, Meyer did his sit down. The ring around Meyer's table was two-reporters deep. You couldn't see Meyer.

Ferentz acknowledged that, yes, development does have to hit this season, on several levels. He also said this isn't a microwave.

'You can only make the clock go so fast,” Ferentz said. 'We'll do all we can to make sure it goes as fast at it can and make sure guys progress.”

At its heart, Iowa is developmental and you know it. If you don't, the players do. Asked if 'developmental” is a 'bad” word that needed reconciling and how it might measure against the glitz that is Ohio State, Blythe said, 'I don't think we're going to get guys like that at Iowa. For whatever reason, people don't think Iowa City is a glamorous place. It's worked before and I think it will work again.”

Can it work this year?

'Absolutely.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com