Upbeat Spencer Petras ‘extremely determined’ to improve after slimming down, watching tape

IOWA CITY — Being the first to greet media waiting in the Hawkeyes’ indoor practice facility, occasionally winking as he cleverly answered questions and even asking reporters to guess his weight, Spencer Petras’ jovial spirit was on clear display Tuesday.

“It means I get to play football if I get to see you guys,” Petras said as a media scrum formed around him for the first time since the Citrus Bowl. “So not always bad.”

Don’t let the upbeat mood in what he describes as a “great time of the year” be confused with any lack of awareness of past shortcomings, though.

Petras said Tuesday he is “extremely determined” to improve and play “great football” after a 2021 season that he knows could have and should have ended better than losses in the Big Ten title game and Citrus Bowl.

“Offensively specifically and for myself specifically, we left a lot out there,” Petras said. “We could’ve done a lot better offensively.”

Petras is coming off a season with mixed results. He completed 57.3 percent of passes while throwing 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. While his completion percentage was above 60 percent for the first six games, his production wasn’t the same in the second half of the year.

“That completion percentage needs to be much higher,” Petras said Tuesday.

It’s hard to point to an aspect of Petras’ game where he hasn’t been trying to improve.

Intangibles? Check. Cleaning up his technique? Check. Being in better shape? Check.

“I’m too smart of a player to not take advantage of coverage better than I did,” Petras said. “If I’m getting soft coverage where the things that are there are going to be underneath, I need to take that more.”

Petras attributed much of the shortcomings in the 2021 passing attack to this area of his game.

“It’s not a talent issue with me,” Petras said. “It’s not a talent issue with our receivers. It’s more so my own mindset with each concept.”

After taking a two-week break following the Citrus Bowl to “really just unwind and to rest,” Petras rewatched each game of the season multiple times.

Now that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is coaching quarterbacks, film sessions have gone in more depth on particular plays.

“We'll watch one single play for 20 minutes sometimes in the meeting room to make sure we really fully understand it,” Petras said.

As for improvements in his fundamentals, the soon-to-be senior has worked with his private quarterbacks coach Tony Racioppi, whose clientele also includes projected first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett.

“When my fundamentals are correct, I don’t miss,” Petras said. “My balls go where they’re supposed to every time.”

Racioppi and Petras have worked on keeping his weight balanced while throwing — “staying back because I lunge typically” — and not opening his shoulder too much.

Petras spent his spring break in New Jersey with Racioppi and wide receiver Nico Ragaini.

He also slimmed down from 234 pounds to 226 pounds — an eight-pound difference already noticeable in his training.

“My performance indicators in the weight room have all gone up,” Petras said. “I’m faster than I ever have been, so it’s helped. I had a scramble a couple days ago where I didn’t hesitate to let them know I looked pretty fast.”

The incumbent at starting quarterback, who hopes to raise his completion percentage to 65 percent in 2022, is not a lock for retaining his role.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz said in February he wants a quarterback competition between Petras, Alex Padilla and Joey Labas.

Ferentz noted last week Petras and Padilla have a “real distinct advantage,” though, because of their experience heading into spring camp. Petras isn’t fretting about it at this point in the spring season.

“I’m not worried about that at all,” Petras said. “I’m focused on myself. … Any energy spent on anything else is a waste.”

Petras and the other quarterbacks, as expected this early in spring practices, still have plenty of work to do before Iowa’s 2022 season opener against South Dakota State in about five months.

After one quarterback-receiver drill in the portion of practice open to media, Brian Ferentz didn’t hide his displeasure.

“That was 0-for-everything,” Brian Ferentz said loud enough to be heard halfway across the field.

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