Kirk Ferentz

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz met the media Friday in Iowa City to talk about the work ahead as they prepare for the upcoming season.

Ferentz says they lost a big senior class and will have many holes to fill on offense and defense.

Ferentz says they have a lot of questions to answer and a lot of things to look at, and he says it’s not a desperate situation, but they have to assess things. He says they will be a different football team by the end of the month and by the end of fall practice than they were in the spring.

Junior James Vandenberg will step in to replace Ricki Stanzi at quarterback, and Ferentz says he is confident Vandenberg will do the job. He says Vandenberg would have played very well last year if they needed him to based on what they saw two years ago, and he says this is a case where a talented player has been stuck behind another talented player.

Ferentz says it’s hard to get the number two quarterback work. There are 34 true freshmen coming in and Ferentz says they will get a shot to make it into the lineup.

He says they are going to let everyone compete at every position, so if a true freshman earns playing time, they will have a chance to play. The Hawkeyes open the season on September third at home against Tennessee Tech.