Hawkeyes front and center at today's media -- follow LIVE

It's Kirk Ferentz's turn today to introduce his 2011 football team to the media. Check back throughout the day for updates from Marc Morehouse, Mike Hlas, Scott Dochterman and James Steward.

We will have photos, video and live updates from the 1:30 p.m. news conference. Join our live chat (below) to submit questions and get real-time updates from what Coach Ferentz and the rest of the Hawkeyes staff are saying.

Here's a sample of what Ferentz might be asked today (from the Big Ten meetings last week):

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

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.

Question: 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.

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.

 Here's some information about this year's team:

 Coach: Kirk Ferentz (13th season, 89-60; 16th overall, 101-81)

Last year: 8-5 overall (4-4 in Big Ten), beat Missouri, 27-24, in Insight Bowl

Returning starters: Offense - WR Marvin McNutt, RB Marcus Coker, OL James Ferentz, OL Riley Reiff, OL Markus Zusevics; Defense - DT Mike Daniels, LB James Morris, LB Tyler Nielsen, DB Micah Hyde, DB Shaun Prater; Specialist - K Mike Meye

Schedule: Sept. 3 - Tennessee Tech, 11 a.m. (Big Ten Network); Sept. 10 - at Iowa State (Fox Sports Net); Sept. 17 - Pittsburgh, 11 a.m. (ESPN or ESPN2); Sept. 24 - Louisiana-Monroe, TBA; Oct. 8 - at Penn State, TBA; Oct. 15 - Northwestern, 6 p.m. (BTN); Oct. 22 - Indiana, 11 a.m.; Oct. 29 - at Minnesota, TBA; Nov. 5 - Michigan, TBA; Nov. 12 - Michigan State, TBA; Nov. 19 - at Purdue, TBA; Nov. 25 - at Nebraska, 11 a.m. (KCRG)