Brian Ferentz does not view ‘backyard football’ as solution to Iowa’s offensive woes

IOWA CITY — Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz doesn’t have to look far to see the problems with his offense.

The unit ranks 131st out of 131 FBS teams in yards per game and near the bottom in many other key statistics.

“I look at all 11 spots,” Ferentz said. “I look at the coaching. I look at the scheme. I look at everything, and I say we have to do better in all regards.”

The quarterback results have been far from ideal. Spencer Petras has completed 54 percent of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions in 2022.

Since last year’s Purdue loss — a 12-game stretch — Petras has thrown three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He completed 50 percent or fewer of his passes in six of those 12 games.

But a switch to a more mobile quarterback, Ferentz believes, is not necessarily the solution.

“I'm not interested in making a change for change's sake,” Ferentz said this week.

Part of Ferentz’s hesitancy to switch to a mobile quarterback goes down to how Iowa’s passing game works.

“The system is built on timing and location in the zone coverage world,” Ferentz said, “or if we're dealing with man-to-man coverage, matchup leverage throws.”

Ferentz considers deviating from that timing to be “backyard football.”

“The reality is the majority of the passing game, it needs to happen on a timeline,” Ferentz said. “The minute that timeline is compromised, now all bets are off. Now it's backyard football.”

The sixth-year offensive coordinator recognized the occasional need for a quarterback to scramble, saying there is “nothing wrong with that from time to time.”

Ferentz used an example of Petras running for 16 yards on a third-and-2 in the third quarter against Illinois.

“You're off your clock,” Ferentz said. “You've got to go.”

If the coaching staff wanted to go with a more mobile option, Alex Padilla has experience leading Iowa’s offense.

Padilla’s numbers weren’t spectacular — he completed 49.1 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions in 2021 — although Iowa was 4-0 when he started.

Beyond this year’s Petras-Padilla situation, the future points toward Iowa eventually having to play quarterbacks who can make plays in what Brian Ferentz calls “backyard football” situations.

Joe Labas, Iowa’s No. 3 quarterback, considers himself a dual-threat quarterback although Ferentz said he “has not yet closed the gap on” Petras and Padilla.

True freshman Carson May is more of a prostyle quarterback although the next few classes of quarterbacks are more mobile.

Iowa’s quarterback commits in the 2023 and 2024 classes — Marco Lainez and James Resar — are dual-threat quarterbacks. Resar’s 10.86-second 100-meter time is the equivalent of going about 20.6 miles per hour.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz said earlier this season the decision to recruit more mobile quarterbacks was “not necessarily intentional.”

“We try to recruit the best guy, and then we’ll bend toward what they do well,” Kirk Ferentz said.

But for now, it’s clear the 2022 Iowa football staff is not inclined to bend toward a mobile quarterback.

“Just having a guy running around, I'm not sure that's going to solve any of our issues,” Brian Ferentz said. “You're not going to be any more open just because a guy is running around.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com