Football Notebook: Hawkeyes Getting Out The Vote

Iowa Players Eager to Take Part in Process

IOWA CITY, Iowa - There was something else for Noah Shannon to do on Tuesday when he left Iowa’s football facility.

The senior defensive tackle had to go vote.

Shannon wasn’t about to miss casting a ballot in the midterm elections.

“For me, personally, being of color, I know it’s something we really fought for,” Shannon said. “I wanted to uphold my responsibility, pay my respects to my past generations who really fought for that, and wanted all of our voices to be heard.”

Voting was something that the players who spoke to the media on Tuesday said they take seriously.

“I mean, it’s your civic duty,” quarterback Spencer Petras said.

“Everyone should do it,” safety Kaevon Merriweather said. “If you have the opportunity, your voice, your opinion, it matters.”

Athletes were given a day off from practice by an NCAA rule on Election Day in 2020, but that rule has been amended. Teams out-of-season can’t have any workouts on Election Day, while teams in season have to provide a day off for “civic engagement” activities in the 15 days before or after Election Day.

Iowa had a voter education event for players last Thursday.

“How to vote, where to vote, if anyone had any questions,” fullback Monte Pottebaum said.

“People on campus came over and just did a little voter education program for our guys, and we've talked to our guys about that,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Ferentz said he liked the change to the rule.

“I think this is a better approach,” he said. “I think the program last week was great. Nobody would disagree with that. But it's nice to be in a normal routine, especially when we're in season.”

Ferentz encouraged his players to vote.

“Not probably, we do live in the greatest country, and one of the rights we have that's so valuable is to get an opportunity to go vote,” he said. “We live in a country where a lot of people have opinions but don't really back it up with anything, so this is a chance to go back it up. If you have an opinion about something, go vote and try to be part of the process.”

“It means a lot,” Merriweather said. “Every vote counts. I think everyone should get out and vote. Somebody might think that vote doesn’t count, but there have been some elections that have been decided by six votes, five votes.”

TROPHY DASH: Saturday’s game against Wisconsin at Kinnick Stadium will be a chance for the Hawkeyes to get back the Heartland Trophy, which goes to the winner of the rivalry game.

The Hawkeyes have already lost the Cy-Hawk Trophy to Iowa State this season. The Badgers have the Heartland Trophy from last season. Floyd of Rosedale, which goes to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game, is still in Iowa City, as is the Heroes Trophy for defeating Nebraska last season.

“It's all about what they stand for,” Ferentz said. “It's about every game — you want to win the game. That's why you line up and play and that's why you invest all that work during the course of a year.

“It's a lot better to have them in your building, that's for sure, but the only way to get them, you have to earn them. That's especially true in this series, because both teams, whoever has been the winner, have typically played the best and really paid a price to get it.”

INJURY UPDATE: Ferentz expects running back Leshon Williams and Gavin Williams to be available for Saturday’s game.

Both players were dealing with injuries for last Saturday’s win at Purdue, but could have been used in emergency situations, Ferentz said.

“The good news is both Gavin and Leshon are 100 percent better than they were last week,” Ferentz said. “They were really kind of touch-and-go and we weren't sure if they'd be able to play. At least they were there and they were able to step in in an emergency, but they both feel great now, so that's good.”

Kaleb Johnson had the bulk of the carries, and finished with a 200-yard rushing day in the 24-3 win over the Boilermakers.

Asked if Johnson was the No. 1 running back for the Hawkeyes now, Ferentz said, 

“Short-term, yes, but not ready to ordain him as the next Shonn Greene or something like that. But, he's doing a good job. My experience is we'll probably need all three before the season is up, so we'll keep pushing for it with all three guys.”

“We have total faith in both guys, just like we did a month ago,” Ferentz added. “The only thing that's really different now is Kaleb has inserted him a little bit in the discussion, but we'll play all three guys, I'm pretty sure of that.”