Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz met with the media this week, and provided an update on his team’s health. He also previewed the matchup with Michigan, a program that he has a lot of respect for.
Some of the highlights of what he had to say are below:
Injury Updates On Key Iowa Football Players
Ferentz is hopeful that junior left tackle Alaric Jackson (knee), freshman free safety Kaevon Merriweather (foot), and freshman cornerback Julius Brents (knee) will all be able to return Saturday.
“It just depends on how the week goes," he said. "[Jackson] looked good today and the film looked good. As long as he can keep progressing, if he’s capable, certainly we’ll start him.”
As for Merriweather and Brents, Ferentz noted: “We’ll let them work all week and see how that goes.”
Ferentz On Michigan Football
“Things haven’t really changed since I was exposed to watching them in person in 1981. They are one of the premier football programs in the history of college football. They’ve been good for a long, long time. When you look at them, typically, they’re very, very talented. That’s certainly the case with this group. Pretty much at every position, they’ve got good skill, good talent, and good ability. That really has been pretty consistent. Typically, when you play a Michigan team, they’re well coached and I think that’s the same case here.
“All that being said, we’re traveling up to a very historic stadium, one of the biggest stadiums in the country. It’s just a great environment for college football. That’s something I think anybody can be excited about — having a chance to compete in that environment.”
On Wisconsin's Dominant Win Over Michigan Two Weeks Ago
“Sometimes games like that happen to teams, good teams. You know, we’ve seen that before and we’ve been victimized by that ourselves, but it was just one of those days. Wisconsin played a tremendous football game and it just wasn’t Michigan’s day. But, I got to say, that back [Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor] is pretty special, too.”
On How His Signature Seasons At Iowa Often Include a Win Over Michigan Football
“I’ll go back to the first thing I said. They are a premier program in the history of college football. It’s in the numbers. There are a very small, maybe a handful plus number of teams, that can say that, and they are one of them. It’s on paper, and more importantly, it’s on the field when you look at their teams. It’s hard to find a team that struggled. It’s just really hard to find one.”
On The Different Looks He Expects Michigan To Show Defensively
“We played a really aggressive group [Middle Tennessee State] last week. This isn’t exactly the same. It’s a different scheme, a different form of pressure. They have a clear identity on defense and it’s worked for them very, very well for several years.
“Going into the game, we know points are going to be really tough to come by. It’s a different style [than] Iowa State, but Iowa State we knew that was going to be a challenge. So, going in, it’s going to be a different form of a challenge here. They have really good players; they play extremely hard and they’ve got a tough scheme to prepare for.”
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