From 'a guy' to 'the guy'

In two short years, Ricky Stanzi has gone from skinny prospect from somewhere near Cleveland to cover of the Orange Bowl program.

In 2007, Stanzi's one pass completion was to a Syracuse player. He could come out of the lockerroom after games, skip past the media and dance off into the night without signing one autograph.

This season, the junior quarterback often got pinned down in autograph lines after games. As for media duty, he's the face and de facto spokesman of the Hawkeyes.

He's good at it, too. 

"There are so many different personalities portrayed in the media about athletes," Stanzi said. "As you see that growing up, you kind of develop the one you'd want to have. When you get the chance, it's displayed."

He's personable, honest, funny and offers some insight to the game and his though process. He doesn't show a lot of emotion, something Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has coached players on as they leave the lockerroom and enter the interview room.

Stanzi credits his parents, Joe and Mary Jane. His mom is a hairdresser in Mentor, Ohio, Stanzi's hometown. His dad is a portfolio manager.

"They have street smarts, people skills, stuff like that," Stanzi said. "They've taught me those things indirectly.

"It definitely helps a lot when you're talking with the media. After a bad game, you don't want to talk about it, but you have to. After a big game, you do want to talk about it, but you have to know how to be humble about it. Doing those two things is a big challenge."

Yes, he's had bad days. He's among the leaders in FBS with 14 interceptions this season. He has you on the edge or completely out of your seat a few times a game and maybe every other series or so.

He acknowledges interceptions are No. 1 on his list of improvements going into the Orange Bowl and beyond.

"The way our offense is set up, we'll take a lot of low percentage shots down the field that are tough to complete, but when you do, they pay off big," said Stanzi, who finished the regular season with 15 TD passes and 14 interceptions. "It's helped and it's hurt us. It's been a double-edged sword. We've done great getting a lot of plays down the field, but then of course we've had more interceptions than we've had.

"That's all up to me. There's no one else to blame on that one. You have to learn how to deal with those things during the course of the game and at the end of the season. A lot of it comes down to moving with your feet and not your arm. There are a lot of little things and plays that we can go back and look and improve on."

Despite that, you seem to like him.

He's been one of the leaders of Iowa players' outreach into the childrens' cancer center at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. His relationship with Jenna Waters, a 4-year-old cancer patient from Ainsworth, has been chronicled.

“Every week, you're getting ready for a game and then you look at Christina and Jared (Jenna's parents), they fight they have to go through everyday with raising their kids and taking care of Jenna,” Stanzi said. “You have so much respect for them that it makes your job look easy. We play a sport.

"They'll text after games and say how happy they are to watch the game. It just makes you happy that you can be there for someone when all you really have to do is play a sport. I think it just puts things into perspective.”

Several of the wristbands he wears (and he wears a lot of them) represent a rally effort for kids in the hospital.

When Stanzi suffered a high-ankle sprain that kept him out of the last two games of the season, he received well wishes from a couple grade school classes in Iowa, including one from Oskaloosa.

He keeps most everything fans send him. He passes it on to his parents.

He has a genuine, respectful air about him. Given the chance to name names on athletes who make fools out of themselves in the media, Stanzi, of course, passed.

"I wouldn't put anyone in the fire. Everyone is battling their own problems," he said. "I wouldn't throw anyone in the fire because we're all in the same boat. We're on this side of the fence. I understand why someone might say something. It's hard when you get into a situation where emotions are rolling."

This magnanimity has practical football uses, too.

He was named a permanent team captain this year, the surest mark of accepted leadership on the Iowa team. This whole leadership thingie can be overblown, but when you're talking quarterback, you want leadership and some self-awareness.

When he won the job last season, Stanzi still hadn't really done anything. He knew he couldn't assert himself. He played it cool, followed the lead of a veteran O-line and star running back Shonn Greene.

"You have to display the amount of leadership that is expected," Stanzi said. "You don't want to be talking when you haven't done anything yet. At the same time, you don't want to be too quiet when you should be in a vocal position.

"It's just a feeling. When it feels right, it takes over naturally. You don't have to think about it. I think that's the best time to do it. When you feel comfortable that what you say is going to mean something, then you say something. Last year, I'm not saying anything because I haven't done anything yet. So, I shouldn't have.

"This year, once you've been in a few games and have won in big games, you have to assume that leadership role, or no one will. They're looking to you."

You can't argue with the logic. Stanzi earned his own set of stripes this year -- the steady hand at Wisconsin, the Michigan State drive and the five-interception fourth-quarter comeback against Indiana.

Ah yes, the interceptions. Stanzi realizes he's been vulnerable this season, so he doesn't wield his leadership with an ax handle.  

"I'm not really a big 'yell at your player' guy to get them going because I wouldn't want that done to me, so I don't do that," Stanzi said. "I just try to encourage everyone as a whole. Sometimes, nothing is said. And saying nothing is just as good.

"Depends on the situation and what's going on, but I'm not the kind of guy to yell at a receiver when he drops a pass or yell at a lineman who misses a block. They know. They know that they missed it. It's just like when no one is yelling at me for throwing a pick. It goes both ways."

You grow during the journey from "a guy" to "the guy" or you don't. Stanzi gets it.