Tuesday Quotebook: For Ferentz, Recruiting Means Meeting Everyone ... And Having A Good Breakfast

Iowa coach talks about relationships heading into Senior Day.

Kirk Ferentz was asked on Tuesday about the recruiting process when he went after offensive linemen Levi and Landan Paulsen.

The twins grew up in Moville, Iowa — population 1,618.

"Quite a breakfast, as you might imagine," the Iowa football coach said, smiling.

"One of my favorite memories of both those guys was talking to them on the phone on a Thursday like 6:00, 5:30, something like that. They were working the popcorn stand, I believe, of the volleyball game at their high school. The girls were playing volleyball, and those guys were working the popcorn stand. I think they had band practice at 6:00 the next morning, Friday morning. I was just chuckling, these guys are beautiful, they do everything in that school."

Ferentz told of meeting members of the Paulsen family and their friends.

"You go in the school and then you see how people in the school feel about them and how they're respected as young people, and then the home visit was just a totally delightful day," he said. "It was a lot of fun and a lot of good food."

Ferentz used the Paulsens as an example of why he likes recruiting.

"You're meeting neighbors, family members, all that kind of stuff," he said. "There's a lot of things about recruiting you don't like. It's not as bad now because my kids aren't in the house, but the travel when you have kids, that type of thing, but the good part about recruiting is you get to meet a lot of great people around our country and you learn a lot about how good the people are in our country as a rule. We've got so many good people and so many diverse places and from diverse backgrounds, and I think that's a lot of fun.

"To me, small town Iowa is about as good as it gets. That's pretty good."

Senior Day

Nineteen seniors will play their final game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, when the Hawkeyes play Illinois in an 11 a.m. game.

"It's always a bittersweet day for everybody involved, but 19 seniors will be out there on Saturday before the game being recognized with their families," Ferentz said. "It's always a special thing. And, as always, I have such respect for the guys that run the entire race, that stay here and fight through the adversity they go through, whether it's academically, injury-wise, all the things that are challenging about being a student-athlete at this level.

"It's a really impressive group of guys, and the best thing about it, I'm not going to have to worry about them after they graduate and after they leave and they're all in good shape right now academically, all doing a good job leading our football team. They're a big part of the reason we're having success, and just a lot of really good stories."

Ferentz talked about the relationships he has with his players.

"It's the best part about coaching. It always has been," he said. "The worst part about being a head coach is it's hard to be as intimate with all your players as you were as a position coach. Just the nature of what we do unfortunately or what head coaches have to do. It's a bigger classroom. But yeah, the fun of coaching has always been the people you work with on a daily basis. It's a lot of fun to celebrate, believe me. That's the best part of it.

"But as sick as this may sound, there's something about those lows, too. The highs and lows are just ... they're hard to compare to anything else you experience in life. Something you go through at those times with people, the people you care about and the people that have worked really hard and invested, yeah, there's a real special bond that forms. I think that's what sports are all about. That's the best part with sports from my standpoint."

The emotions of Saturday

Iowa's athletic department posted a video on Twitter of Ferentz getting emotional after Saturday's 23-19 win over Minnesota.

"You are what you are," Ferentz said. "You know, you are what you are, and I've been accused of being emotionless, I think, many times. But you are what you are, and I'm my dad's son. My dad had that same gene. You just are what you are. That's one thing I believe no matter what you are, be who you are, and that's be comfortable with who you are. It's the way it worked out. There's not much I can change at this point, and I'm really not interested at my age in changing a hell of a lot."

Injury report

Ferentz said wide receiver Brandon Smith and cornerback Michael Ojemudia have been working in practice this week.

Smith missed two games with an ankle injury, then played one play in Saturday's win over Minnesota. Ojemudia missed the game against the Gophers with an injury.

"I don't want to say they're full speed but at least they're moving in the right direction," Ferentz said. "Hopefully they'll be able to play at least partially on Saturday. We'll see how the rest of the week goes, but it's encouraging from that standpoint."