Not dirty, but not dainty

IOWA CITY -- Going into James Ferentz's sophomore season, Iowa offensive line coach Reese Morgan described his on-field demeanor as "plays with an edge."

This means the guy is a pain in the butt pad for people lined up across from him.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz and Morgan have made "the edge" one of the canons of Iowa O-lines. Robert Gallery had it. Bryan Bulaga had it. Marshal Yanda certainly had it.

“It's a toughness, a mentality, a demeanor,” Morgan said. “It means I'm going to go out and I'm going to have a little bit of a physical edge that we like our guys to have. Bulaga had it. When I say edge, that's a compliment. He's got an edge to it.”

Junior tackle Riley Reiff took it a step further.

"We're always trying to finish," said Reiff, a 6-foot-6, 300-pounder. "We're trying to get the last punch in, as you call it. It makes or breaks a lot of plays."

Whether it's a hand to the face, blocking to and maybe a little beyond the whistle or little good ol' fashioned trash talk, it's the edge.

"You hate to say dirty, but that's a good word," said Reiff. "As an offensive lineman, you like that word. So, anything extra, anything to give a little extra."

Of course, rules are important. There's nothing an O-lineman hates more than a flag. It's the only way they make it into the box score.

"We try to make sure we're being physical, but play within the boundaries of the rules," James Ferentz said. "We try to pride ourselves on being a physical unit."

It's not technique as much as it's a tone. It's not strategy as much as it's an accumulation.

"I've played against really physical players, too," James Ferentz said. "When a guy is beating on you consistently, it's difficult to come back to him every snap. You try to impose that same physical mentality on the other guy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

 "The last punch" can make or break plays. It can mean the difference between springing a running back for 5 yards or 50 yards.

"A nasty offensive lineman is someone who plays hard through the whistle," Ferentz said. "He really wants to make sure the other guy knows he's there."

The Hawkeyes' 2011 O-line is sort of built on the "last punch" philosophy.

Reiff has gone from defensive end from Parkston, S.D., to everyone's preseason all-American, including Playboy all-American. Ferentz, who's on the preseason Rimington list, considers himself an undersized plugger, even though his play has outgrown that label.

Guard Adam Gettis is an undersized (6-2-ish and 285) plugger who has a shot to be a starter for the first time in his career. Right tackle Markus Zusevics came to Iowa with a sidebar as a club volleyball player. The other guard is between Brandon Scherff and Nolan MacMillan. The edge could be the decider.

"To be successful and put us over the top, we have to play that way," Reiff said. "It's those little details that are going to matter. Finishing a block or giving that little bit of extra effort go a long way on the football field. People don't notice it, but it does."

It's not dirty, but it's not dainty.

"As an offensive lineman, you like to have the last say," Reiff said.