Raw Chicago: Ferentz Part 1

I'm going to break up the Kirk Ferentz interview from Chicago into a bunch of pieces that are a little bit more digestible than the Marvin interview.

This part starts with trophies and ends with a dialogue on QBs, including talk of a special package for freshman A.J. Derby.

INTERVIEWER: I wanted to ask you about the trophy, the trophy game. I know you're not a big trophy guy but what about the trophy games?

COACH FERENTZ: We do have a few of them and I made the comment a couple of times yesterday that I first learned the significance of trophies October '81, when Minnesota reclaimed Floyd. So I've had a new appreciation ever since that time for them, and it's part of the heritage or the history, I guess, of the Big Ten. And I think this one, certainly what it stands for and what the thought process behind it is, is really, it's outstanding. So, I think it's a win/win situation.

INTERVIEWER: How much play goes into the trophy thought during the week? I mean, is it more for the fans than anything else?

COACH FERENTZ: Oh, you know, if it's something we cover, we talk about, we talk about the story behind it if there is one. But for the most part it's more about possession typically than anything else. That's what players understand. And we want to win games. So do the opponents. So at the end of the day, having the trophy is probably the most important thing.

INTERVIEWER: Now with Vandenberg starting, and a couple years at quarterback, what do you see him learning from Ricky the last couple of years?

COACH FERENTZ: Well, I think he's learned a lot from Ricky and, ah, James is a very good learner. But, you know, the first thing that comes to mind on that front would be just Ricky's dedication and his meticulous preparation, his work ethic, those types of things. And I think, you know, they're very different people, yet they're similar in that I think they both have great leadership skills. I think they're both very mentally tough. And they're both highly respected by their teammates and it's, that's a real credit to James because it's, he hasn't played that many snaps in the big scheme of things yet. He's just highly respected. I'm just sensing that. Mike, Tyler, Marvin, all three of those guys will tell you the same thing. I think if you talk to any of our players a week from Friday, they'll echo that same thing as well. So we're just excited to see him have this opportunity. I think he's excited about it and more importantly, he's worked hard to be ready.

INTERVIEWER: …try to get a taste of that …

COACH FERENTZ: It was an interesting pre-game scenario. He was not adequately prepared to play against Nebraska or the Northwestern entrance. And that is just one of those weird circumstances where we were having a really good season yet he hadn't played. When you're having a good season like that, you want to get him in the game a little bit. But we were having a lot of close games. So that was a tough initiation for him and his … because his … was to go to Columbus and a pretty big game and he certainly gave us every chance to win that game.

And then the next week, you know, it was a blitz pretty good when Minnesota came in and threw every blitz in the world at him and so it was really a pretty good three-week education, if you will. And the thing we've seen him do just over the past year is he's always prepared year around, and the way he's handled himself and the way he's grown. We all felt very comfortable last year that if he had to go in the game, or if something had happened to Ricky for a long period of time, I think James would have done very, very well. That's one of those positions where it's tough to rotate a guy in. And some positions you can work other players in, but it's just one of those things. But we're excited to see him play and he's excited to get that chance, and we're excited to see him play.

INTERVIEWER: There's a lot of hindsight, not hindsight, but trying to reflect on that Ohio State '09 ... How surprised were you by the way he played? He surprised a lot of us, I know.

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, and if you consider a couple of trips we had, at least one, probably two of them. I'm thinking '09 right now. We had a couple of games where we didn't make a first down. So he came in and really played well. I think the whole team played well. But nobody on the team went in there worried about Ricky not being there. They had the right attitude. And James had the right attitude and he made some throws … so that gets you excited. And not only the throws, but I think it's just the entire game. He really won everybody over, I think, that day. And there's a lot of football to be played for him right now, but we're all proud of him and I think he's gonna do a good job.

INTERVIEWER: … a lot of throws that he struggled with that day. The most were over the backers and under the safeties. … How does it … to be better at that particular throw … when it's not an easy throw?

COACH FERENTZ: You know I can think of one in particular that was intended for Tony and he was going to open up, but early, and I love to use this as a teaching moment, but protection broke down probably about a half a count early, and if we had blocked just a hair better we'd had a wide open completion and it would have gone in there to Tony. But because of our protection, the result was a negative thing, a turnover. And to me that wasn't on the quarterback, that was more on the front. So, it's kind of one of those shots where when you give up a sack, you know, there are a lot of things that go into turnovers and I talk to our guys about that all the time. And that was a teaching moment. So I think, … he needs help, too. You know, we all need to … to do a good job. That's a teaching moment for me. That one is etched in my mind.

INTERVIEWER: What is it that allows a quarterback, there's a quarterback I'm thinking of specifically last year, that was a great kid. He just never was able to master that throw. What is it about throw? Ricky …

COACH FERENTZ: You know, it's, part of it is practice. You know, why is it some guys can't run 4 5's. You know some guys do some things better than others and some guys can do some things better than others. And that's just part of football, I guess.

INTERVIEWER: What did you see in James to recruit him?

COACH FERENTZ: We took our time. We were brooding with it. He had been up on campus, I believe it was a 7-on-7 tournament or at least a passing kind of deal. I think it was a 7-on-7 tournament. It's been a while since we've done one of those. And so that was kind of our real exposure to him. And then we let the process run its course. Probably as much as anything for any quarterback it's just what kind of leader he is, how's he lead his team. What kind of success did they have? Given the circumstances. You know, we just watched him really thoroughly and if you combine that with the kind of person that we thought James was and all the things that we sensed in our business with him, we were just really, he sold us.

And my Kodak moment was going down there after Thanksgiving and he was practicing basketball and wearing one of his basketball jerseys and I swear he looked like he was 13 or 14 years old. So, and I remember Bill Brashier saying that about Mark Stoops. And when Mark sat in this office back in the 80's on a recruiting visit and that's when I first saw him, and he said he's gonna get broken in half. He's just not going to last. You know, he's just 210 pounds now, and he's grown and obviously matured, but just what an impressive young man he is and what an impressive family he comes from. So he certainly has all those intangibles that you're hoping for.

INTERVIEWER: So, you're speaking about quarterbacks. And when Derby shows up the first time, can you talk a little bit about his development over the past year from coming in a spring early and now where he's at as a quarterback and what he still has to work on.

COACH FERENTZ: He's on the road. He's on the path, and you know, I think the biggest deal with him, is with each step of the way, he trained this last year, his first spring at camp last year, and last spring. We've seen him improve and we think he has the potential to be a good quarterback. And I know he thinks that. So, I think, like any other player, he's developing and that's a hard position to really master and learn. But yes, he's on the path and one of our, we always have areas every camp that you're really worried on, or focused on, and certainly not ready to say, okay, James is ready to go play and what have you. And we're playing James at a level right now where he's really prepared. And a little bit further down the road, we're figuring out who the number two quarterback is. It's between him and John. We're going to have to try and figure it out. Because somebody is going to have to go into that game after James comes out. So we have to solve that equation and AJ's right in the thick of that.

INTERVIEWER: Is there some kind of special package put together for AJ? Because he has some different talents than your other quarterbacks ..

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, he and 

John especially are very different. And so no question. Whichever way that the road goes, we're gonna to have a little separate approach for each one and try to play to their strengths, but we definitely will try to that end.