3 and Out

1. Rambling wrestler tough guy swagger and all of that

— So, here's how this works sometimes. I asked Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz on Tuesday about Maryland quarterback Perry Hills. I thought, hey, Hills is a state high school wrestling champion. This has got to be in Ferentz's wheelhouse. Ferentz loves the wrestling.

Forget about that for a second. I went on Twitter and saw that the Baltimore Sun's Daniel Gallen, who covers Maryland football, was in on Ferentz's news conference. He heard the wrestling question and tweeted: Kirk Ferentz was also asked about Perry Hills' wrestling background, for those of you playing news conference bingo at home.

NOOOOOOOOOO!

You never want to be the reporter who asks the obvious. OK, let me mitigate my way out of this. Hills' wrestling background probably is 'oh, this bleep again' stuff for Maryland people. They've written, read and digested that story. They also watch how it manifests itself with each Hills start. He attacks, mostly with his legs (not wrestling moves, but running the football) and wisely with his arm (passes, not fireman carries).

After losing the starting job, Hills has returned to the lineup bent on making up for lost time. He's rushed for 100-plus yards in starts against Ohio State and Penn State. He touched the No. 1 Buckeyes for 170 yards, a program record for QBs.

In typical wrestler guy fashion, he brushed off the bruising workload (51 carries the last three weeks).

'I feel good. There's the bangs and bruises,' he told the Sun. 'Nothing that I can't handle.'

Ferentz sees it. He knows.

'He's a really good football player,' Ferentz said. 'I'm not saying he's their best runner, but he's one of their best runners. That gives you a lot to think about and they're very creative offensively.'

Iowa players see the wrestling background in the way Hills plays the game and runs the ball.

'He's a physical dude,' linebacker Cole Fisher said. 'One thing that would fit with that (wrestler as QB) is he has really good balance. When he gets hit, he doesn't go down very easily. I didn't know he was a wrestler until today.'

And there it is. I've gotten myself out of this.

Yes, the Maryland world knows all about Hills' wrestling background. At Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High, Hills finished fourth in the state as a junior and won a gold medal as a 195-pound senior. He had a career record of 145-24. (We'll get to more on where Hills is from in No. 2, but Central Catholic also produced Dan Marino. I don't believe he was a wrestler.)

Iowa has several former wrestlers. Most of them, however, are linemen, with center Austin Blythe ranking as probably the best, with three heavyweight state championships at Williamsburg High School.

So, wrestler/quarterback is kind of a unique combination.

'That's kind of unique combination,' Penn State head coach James Franklin said last week.

You're not helping me, Penn State coach James Franklin.

OK, I've walked in someone's tracks in the snow here. I maintain that it is a unique combo and, hey, this game is in Iowa City and wrestling is kind of big here (30,000 tickets sold for 'Grapple on the Gridiron').

2. Goodbye, Pennsylvania

— Part of my quarterback/wrestler/cowboy/Batman question to Ferentz was 'How didn't you guys recruit this guy?'

My thinking there was wrestler is wheelhouse for Iowa and Ferentz. Along with Blythe on this year's team, there's defensive tackles Jaleel Johnson and Nathan Bazata. Cornerback Desmond King has some wrestling in his background (you can definitely see that). There's just a long line, as you would imagine, of football player/wrestlers at Iowa.

Ferentz's answer was interesting. It wasn't a huge revelation. He has said before that Iowa was finished recruiting Pennsylvania. He said it again.

'Well, we kind of gave up Pittsburgh recruiting,' Ferentz said. 'Our record's not very good in my hometown. Sean Lee kind of broke my heart, and end of story there, you know. Haven't been the same since.'

Linebacker Sean Lee picked Penn State over Iowa and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and has had a long NFL career. He was a great high school player at . . . Upper St. Clair. Yes, the same Upper St. Clair where Ferentz was a co-captain linebacker.

So, Iowa is basically out of Pennsylvania recruiting, and for sure out of Pittsburgh. Lee was a 2006 signee. Iowa's record with Pennsylvania recruits bears out Ferentz's heartbreak.

Running back Greg Garmon signed with Iowa in 2012 out of Erie, Pa. Before Garmon, it was linebacker Marcus Collins from the Philadelphia suburbs and defensive lineman John Raymon from Richboro, Pa.

Wait, two of those players transferred (Garmon and Raymon). Collins was kicked off the team after an OWI arrest while on a three-game suspension.

So, Iowa is out of a state that produced all-Big Ten safety Bob Sanders, all-timer wide receiver Ed Hinkel and all-timer cornerback Jovon Johnson (all three of whom, by the way, were Erie preps). Sean Lee heartbreak is a plausible reason for passing on Pennsylvania recruiting. Clearly, Iowa hasn't connected with prospects the way it wants/needs to, for whatever reason, or has just had bad luck.

3. Big Ten Nerd Game

— During the bye, I feasted at the Big Ten trough. I DVR'd Maryland and Penn State. I flipped to Wisconsin at Illinois. I totally took a bite out of Northwestern at Nebraska. I was enthralled by Indiana's effort at Michigan State.

I admit, I ducked out on Ohio State at Rutgers. What happened there? Rutgers Hauer died at the end of 'Blade Runner.' I'm sure Rutgers Rutgers had a similar fate.

This week it's between Illinois at Penn State and Nebraska at Purdue. I think the Fighting Illini and Nittany Lions are kind of right-sized for each other. I don't know if the Illini will hold up on the road. Still some questions there.

But just on record, the nerd game is Huskers at Boilers. This is a matchup between a 1-3 Big Ten West Division team and a 0-3 Big Ten West team. This is 3-5 vs. 1-6. This is new coach looking for what works and a coach who'll have some 'splainin' to do at season's end.

It'll be at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind., a place that looks like it's perpetually lit by a 40-watt bulb. The stadium will have a smattering of fans.

Happy Halloween.

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