By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On Tuesday, 15 members of the Iowa football team spoke with the media to discuss the Hawkeyes’ upcoming game on Aug. 31 against Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium.

Below is audio from each of the following players — junior offensive tackle Brandon Scherff, senior linebacker Anthony Hitchens, junior running back Mark Weisman, sophomore cornerback Jordan Lomax, senior tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz, senior defensive end Dominic Alvis, junior strong safety John Lowdermilk, senior linebacker James Morris, redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Beathard, junior defensive tackle Carl Davis, sophomore wide receiver Tevaun Smith, senior linebacker Christian Kirksey, senior cornerback B.J. Lowery, junior running back Damon Bullock and sophomore quarterback Jake Rudock:

Brandon Scherff, Aug. 27, 2013

Anthony Hitchens, Aug. 27, 2013

Mark Weisman, Aug. 27, 2013

Jordan Lomax, Aug. 27, 2013

C.J. Fiedorowicz, Aug. 27, 2013

Dominic Alvis, Aug. 27, 2013

John Lowdermilk, Aug. 27, 2013

James Morris, Aug. 27, 2013

C.J. Beathard, Aug. 27, 2013

Carl Davis, Aug. 27, 2013

Tevaun Smith, Aug. 27, 2013

Christian Kirksey, Aug. 27, 2013

B.J. Lowery, Aug. 27, 2013

Damon Bullock, Aug. 27, 2013

Jake Rudock, Aug. 27, 2013

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Below is a PDF from the Iowa sports information department featuring the complete transcript from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s press conference on Tuesday in Iowa City:

Coach Ferentz – 8 27 13

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Below is a written transcript of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s teleconference on Tuesday with the Big Ten media:

Ferentz’s opening statement:

“You know, I think we had a real productive camp and I think like everybody, we’re probably eager to get on the field and see how things look in game competition, so we’re excited about that. Excited about being in Kinnick. It’s always great to open up the season at home, on your home field. Beyond that, we know we have a real challenge. Northern Illinois comes in here and they’ve had tremendous success, especially over the last three years, and return an excellent football team that played in the Orange Bowl, finished up in the Orange Bowl last year. They’re led by an outstanding quarterback, but they’ve got a lot of really good players. It goes well beyond him, but he’s certainly an outstanding player. We’re going to have to be at our absolute best and that’s what we’re working toward this week.”

On what put Jake Rudock over the top in Iowa’s quarterback competition:

“Well, the first thing I’d say is all three of the returning quarterbacks I thought improved and did a good job in camp. At this point, I think Jake was probably the most consistent for the big picture and we just feel like he’s the best suited right now. But it was a very close competition and the guys have continued to practice real well, so we’re pleased with all three of them.”

On what he sees being the biggest keys for Rudock starting his first game:

“Again, he’s a first-time player like a lot of other guys will be out there. The biggest thing, I think, is just worrying about taking care of his position and doing what he’s supposed to do, not trying to do too much. You know, he has practiced hard. He has been here a couple of years now and he’s a very intelligent player. He has worked hard on the field and had success on the field. The big thing now is to just carry it over to the game field and just try to relax and do what you do well.”

On how players are being coached now in light of the new targeting rule in college football:

“You know, I think it’s probably a big concern for everybody. I think the rule, first of all, is good and I think the intent is certainly good. Nobody would dispute that. They sent an excellent training video around, which I think was a national distribution and it really does a nice job I think of showing the plays that would be considered fouls and then also plays that would be considered legal, so you know, they really did a nice job there.

“I think my biggest concern personally would just be that, you know, in the comfort of our meeting rooms and what have you, it’s pretty apparent what it is and what isn’t a foul, but the bang-bang nature of it during the course of a game. I think it’s going to be a tough thing to challenge and I’ve been saying I think it’s a little bit like an onside kick, whether you know if it’s coming or not coming. If you don’t know it’s coming, forget it. But that’s a really tough play to officiate, too, to make sure mechanics are correct.

“You know, it’s not a black or white issue here and I think, again, the intent is great. I think everybody is in favor of protecting defenseless players. But at the same time, it’s going to be a real challenge and I think one more thing for the officials to have to deal with. I just worry about the mental approach I think we take, that would be my biggest concern going in, and then hopefully the calls are more right than wrong, which traditionally they have been.”

On what he and his staff saw in Rudock while recruiting him out of Florida:

“Yeah, Ken O’Keefe was our coordinator at that time and I think Jake was one of the guys that we had identified as a guy that we had a real interest in. I think Ken went down there and watched him play baseball in the spring and then watched him in a quarterback battle while he was in school and Jake did a tremendous job at St. Thomas Aquinas in football and he was a good baseball player. Ken got to see him compete at playing baseball and the more we learned about him, the better we felt, certainly.

“Then he came up here after we had offered him for an unofficial visit and he actually volunteered to compete in our camp on a Saturday. He didn’t have to do that, but he really impressed us there, too. So that just made us even that much more confident that he was the kind of player we’d feel comfortable with. So he has been here and worked hard and I think it’s just the byproduct of doing things well for a real long time. That’s kind of his nature.”

On if he likes having a tough opponent such as Northern Illinois to open a season:

“Yeah, we didn’t get the option. Nobody asked us. But you know, it really doesn’t matter how we feel about it. All I know is we’re playing an excellent football team. I think the good thing is I think all of our players fully realize it. We played Northern last year and we were very fortunate to beat them.

“So all of our players, at least the guys who were here last year, realize how good Northern Illinois is, and for the ones who weren’t here, all they have to do is look at film of them playing in the Orange Bowl and I think they can figure that one out. You know, we’re playing an excellent opponent and that means we better be at our best and I think that’s a really good thing, quite frankly. I think it’s a healthy thing.”

On having to possibly rotate players in and out more due to expected heat:

“Uh, you know, we’ll see how it goes. This weather — and I don’t know what it’s going to be Saturday; I don’t think anybody knows — but you know, it’s not totally uncommon. Our guys have trained in heat before, just like others have too. You know, the good news is it’s kind of like snow and rain. If it’s a factor, it will affect both teams equally, so we’ll just play it as it comes.”

On if any injuries have occurred since the first 2-deep was released:

“You know, we’ve had a good camp and I think a big part of it is our health has been probably as good as you could have hoped for. We’ve had some camp-type injuries that have been a couple days here and there, but overall, I think we’re about as healthy as you could ask to be. That’s a good thing and now we still have three days to get through. That being said though, we feel good about our status.”

On what makes Jordan Lynch an effective QB for Northern Illinois and what other weapons the Huskies present:

“You know, both good questions, first of all. Northern Illinois is much more than Jordan Lynch. I’m not trying to minimize his role because that would be really silly, but they’ve just got a really good football team and I think if you look at it, they’ve won 34 games in the last three years now. I don’t know who has done that nationally. I’m sure there might be one or two teams maybe, maybe Alabama. But that’s pretty exceptional and they’ve lost one game in conference now in three years. So they’ve played really well and you don’t just do that with one player.

“You know, they’re really well-coached in all three phases. They’ve got a lot of good players in all three places and the thing about them defensively last year was we couldn’t catch up to their defensive ends, who are both in pro camps right now. They’ve had a lot of good players there, so they do a great job. That’s just a very, very strong program.

“Jordan Lynch, in a word, is a winner. You know, he can throw the football and beat you. He can pull the ball down and run if you don’t keep your rush lanes the way you should. He’s a tough guy. He wins throwing, he wins running and then he’s also a smart guy. Again, he has got a good supporting cast. Their running back is an outstanding football player, a really tough guy. They’ve got good guys outside and their line is a veteran line that’s extremely tough and physical. It’s just a very good football team, but I got to assume he’d be the catalyst, the spark plug for them. He’s just a tremendous leader.”

Every Monday, we will be running a weekly series titled “State of the Big Ten,” which will be made available to all members of HawkeyeDrive.com. This series of columns will focus on one major headline regarding the conference and go in-depth on the subject at hand.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

A somewhat bizarre story sufficed out of Columbus, Ohio late last week when it was reported that Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s anti-blue colored clothing policy at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center went so far that two NFL scouts attending a Buckeyes’ practice actually got asked to change into Ohio State shirts because they happened to be wearing the color blue. The blue, obviously, is in reference to Michigan having maize and blue as its school colors.

It’s one thing to control what players do and those in associated with a football program do. But this is an example of taking something too far.

Look, it’s obvious why Meyer did this and the rivalry aspect of things is what will be used by him and others at Ohio State as justifications for these actions. But this isn’t something that will do him or his program any favors long-term.

NFL scouts probably shouldn’t let personal agendas get in the way of the work they’re doing for the team they represent, but there’s no guarantee that the scouts who were asked to change shirts won’t hold that against a Buckeye player they’re thinking about drafting. Sure, the player did nothing wrong, but it’s more about the culture than anything else.

What’s supposed to happen if, for example, a New York Giants scout travels to Columbus to watch a practice and they wear a blue polo with the Giants logo on it? They can’t wear a polo featuring a logo of the team they work for because Meyer won’t let anyone wear blue to his practices? It doesn’t make sense.

Then there are reporters who cover Ohio State, who if anything try to avoid wearing scarlet and gray at all costs. Is Meyer going to toss a reporter out of a press conference for wearing blue jeans? This hasn’t happened, but it’s a hypothetical to think about now in light of this story. And let’s say a reporter did wear blue of some kind to a Meyer press conference. That reporter is probably smart enough to make sure there’s no sort of Michigan emblem or anything on said piece of blue clothing.

If Meyer were to make this policy a team rule that his players have to abide by, that’s his prerogative because it’s his program and his players have to listen to him. But to try enforcing that type of control on others who have no affiliation to the program is taking it too far. No other Big Ten coach (heck, probably no other college football coach) has this sort of policy.

The name-calling done between Ohio State and Michigan is one thing because both sides do it and everyone not associated with either school sees the humor. But this is over the top and just to be clear, it’d be just as over the top if Brady Hoke barred NFL scouts and/or reporters from ever wearing red around Michigan’s facilities. There’s no double standard here, or at least there shouldn’t be.

While the premise of this policy is associated with a rival school, enforcing this on third parties that there’s some sort of relationship or connection with just isn’t wise, whether it’s an NFL team, a media outlet or whomever.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Northern Illinois head coach Rod Carey took part in the MAC’s weekly teleconference on Monday to discuss the Huskies’ game on Aug. 31 against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.

Below is the audio from Carey’s teleconference:

Every week, we will post the TV schedule for all games featuring Big Ten teams. Here is where and when you can watch them this week:

Aug. 29:

Indiana State at Indiana, 6 p.m., BTN

UNLV at Minnesota, 6 p.m., BTN

Aug. 30:

Western Michigan at Michigan State, 7 p.m., BTN

Aug. 31:

Southern Illinois at Illinois, 11 a.m., BTN

Buffalo at No. 2 Ohio State, 11 a.m., ESPN2

Massachusetts at No. 23 Wisconsin, 11 a.m., BTN

Purdue at Cincinnati, 11 a.m., ESPNU

Northern Illinois at Iowa, 2:30 p.m., BTN

Central Michigan at No. 17 Michigan, 2:30 p.m., BTN

Penn State vs. Syracuse (at East Rutherford, N.J.), 2:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2

Wyoming at No. 18 Nebraska, 7 p.m., BTN

No. 22 Northwestern at California, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2

*All times listed are Central Standard Time.

OFFENSE:

SE 8 Shumpert, 4 Smith

LT 68 Scherff, 76 MacMillan

LG 59 Boffeli, 58 Simmons

C 63 Blythe, 57 Gaul

RG 65 Walsh, 78 Donnal

RT 70 Van Sloten, 73 Ward

TE 86 Fiedorowicz, 82 Hamilton/87 Duzey

WR 11 Martin-Manley, 23 Cotton/17 Hillyer

QB 15 Rudock, 16 Beathard/19 Sokol

RB 45 Weisman/5 Bullock, 33 Canzeri

FB 34 Cox, 42 Plewa

DEFENSE:

LE 95 Ott, 98 Hardy

LT 71 Davis, 97 Cooper

RT 90 Trinca-Pasat, 67 Johnson

RE 79 Alvis, 94 McMinn/34 Meier

OLB 20 Kirksey, 39 Perry

MLB 44 Morris, 52 Alston

WLB 31 Hitchens, 55 Collins/36 Fisher

LCB 19 Lowery, 28 Fleming

SS 37 Lowdermilk, 21 Law

FS 5 Miller, 12 Gair

RCB 27 Lomax, 35 Smith

SPECIAL TEAMS:

P 98 Kornbrath

PK 96 Meyer, 1 Koehn

LS 61 Kreiter

HOLDER 98 Kornbrath

PR 11 Martin-Manley

KR 23 Cotton, 33 Canzeri

Iowa vs. Northern Illinois Game Notes

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

As I have done annually here on HawkeyeDrive.com, I conclude my preseason football coverage here with my Big Ten bowl projections. After a 2012 season where the conference only had one BCS team for the first time since 2004, I see the Big Ten sending two teams back to BCS games this year and eight teams in total to bowl games. With these numbers in mind, yes, I’m projecting the league doesn’t fill its entire bowl allotment for 2013.

Below are my projections involving those eight teams:

BCS National Championship Game — Ohio State (Big Ten champion) vs. Oregon (Pac-12 champion)

Jan. 6, 2014; Pasadena, Calif.

Chances are you quickly noticed how I don’t have a SEC team in this game despite the conference having each of the last seven national champions. That’s because I don’t see an undefeated SEC team in 2013, but do see three teams from other BCS conferences doing so and have two of them meeting in what will basically be a second Rose Bowl (Louisville is the third unbeaten if you were wondering). Right now, I don’t see anyone in the Big Ten beating Ohio State and I don’t see anyone in the Pac-12 beating Oregon. These will be your beneficiaries of the SEC not having an unbeaten squad.

Rose Bowl — Nebraska (replacement for Ohio State) vs. Stanford (replacement for Oregon)

Jan. 1, 2014; Pasadena, Calif.

Because I have Ohio State meeting Oregon for the national title, the Rose Bowl gets to make replacement picks before other selections are made and I assume they’ll stick to tradition here. If that’s the case, Nebraska is my pick to win the Legends Division this season and replacing the Buckeyes with the Cornhuskers here wouldn’t be a bad trade-off. Meanwhile, I think Stanford is the clear No. 2 in the Pac-12 and will end up in position here to win a second consecutive Rose Bowl.

Capital One Bowl — Michigan (Big Ten No. 2) vs. Georgia (SEC No. 2)

Jan. 1, 2014; Orlando, Fla.

The Legends Division will be brutal in 2013. Since I have Nebraska winning the division again and playing in Indianapolis on Dec. 7, Michigan goes to Orlando to face a Georgia squad that I think will benefit from South Carolina losing in the SEC title game. This would be a second straight trip to this bowl for the Bulldogs, but it’s either this or the Wolverines playing the Gamecocks for the second straight year.

Outback Bowl — Northwestern (Big Ten No. 3) vs. South Carolina (SEC No. 3/4)

Jan. 1, 2014; Tampa, Fla.

There’s precedent for the Outback Bowl picking Northwestern over Wisconsin back in 2009 and I have a hunch it would do so again if this plays out like I’m projecting. Part of my reasoning here, again, is the strength of the Legends Division. I also think the Wildcats will start to benefit long-term from what it was able to accomplish last winter and this will be an example of that. Here, I have Northwestern facing South Carolina, who ends up here after losing the SEC title game (a la Georgia in 2011).

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl — Wisconsin (Big Ten No. 4) vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 No. 4)

Dec. 28, 2013; Tempe, Ariz.

Since I have Northwestern going to Tampa, that leaves Wisconsin heading to a bowl game that probably wouldn’t pick Michigan State for a second straight year. The one concern that might exist here is the Badgers returning to Tempe after playing at Arizona State in September, but I feel a match-up between Wisconsin and Oklahoma State here would entice the members of this committee. Regarding the Cowboys, they were picked to win the Big 12 this year and I’m not as sold on them as others are. That’s why I have them here facing Wisconsin.

Gator Bowl — Michigan State (Big Ten No. 5) vs. Ole Miss (SEC No. 6)

Jan. 1, 2014; Jacksonville, Fla.

Since I don’t see Michigan State returning to the B-Dubs Bowl, I got the Spartans ending up in Jacksonville and playing Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. This would be an interesting match-up between a current up-and-coming program and a program like Michigan State who a few years ago might’ve been considered the same but now is trying to sustain that previous success.

Texas Bowl — Indiana (Big Ten No. 6) vs. Kansas State (Big 12 No. 6)

Dec. 27, 2013; Houston, Texas

I like Indiana enough this year that I not only foresee the Hoosiers in a bowl game, but I think 7-8 wins is doable for this team assuming it can handle its business at home since the schedule features eight games played at Memorial Stadium. Here I got Kevin Wilson battling wits with Bill Snyder and the Kansas State Wildcats, who I believe take a step back this season without Collin Klein and Arthur Brown leading the way like they did a year ago.

Heart of Dallas Bowl — Iowa (Big Ten No. 7) vs. Tulsa (C-USA)

Jan. 1, 2014; Dallas, Texas

If the Hawkeyes can get to 6-6, I believe they end up in Texas and it wouldn’t shock me to see them playing down at Cotton Bowl Stadium on New Year’s Day against Tulsa, a team that I don’t see winning C-USA this season even though it’s considered by many pundits to be the favorite in that conference. Keep in mind there’s currently a rotation between the Big 12 and C-USA, which is why C-USA would be sending a team to Dallas on New Year’s Day 2014.

Illinois — no bowl

Tim Beckman’s squad should be better this season, but I don’t think it’ll be good enough to crack six victories.

Minnesota — no bowl

Regardless of the Floyd of Rosedale outcome, I foresee the Golden Gophers having a tough season, mainly because their schedule is a lot more challenging this year. Should Minnesota reach six wins however, Detroit’s a likely landing spot for the Little Caesars Bowl on Dec. 26.

Purdue — no bowl

I like Darrell Hazell, but it’s going to take some time there in West Lafayette.

Penn State — ineligible for postseason play from 2012-15

And just for fun, I’ll leave you here with the rest of my bowl projections for the 2013-14 bowl season. This way you can kind of get an idea how I got to some of those match-ups involving Big Ten teams I projected:

Orange Bowl — Clemson (ACC champion) vs. Louisville (American Athletic champion)

Sugar Bowl — Alabama (SEC champion) vs. Florida State (BCS at-large)

Fiesta Bowl — TCU (Big 12 champion) vs. Texas A&M (BCS at-large)

New Mexico Bowl — Utah vs. San Diego State

Las Vegas Bowl — Fresno State vs. Oregon State

Idaho Potato Bowl — Ball State vs. Nevada

New Orleans Bowl — UAB vs. ULM

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl — East Carolina vs. Rutgers

Hawaii Bowl — Louisiana Tech vs. San Jose State

Little Caesars Bowl — Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Poinsettia Bowl — Toledo vs. Boise State

Military Bowl — Rice vs. Duke

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl — BYU vs. Washington

Pinstripe Bowl — Cincinnati vs. Baylor

Belk Bowl — UCF vs. North Carolina State

Russell Athletic Bowl — Miami (Fla.) vs. Notre Dame

Armed Forces Bowl – Utah State vs. Navy

Music City Bowl – Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech

Alamo Bowl — USC vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl — UCLA vs. Texas Tech

V100 Bowl — Syracuse vs. Kentucky

Sun Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. Arizona State

Liberty Bowl — Marshall vs. Arkansas

Chick-Fil-A Bowl — North Carolina vs. Florida

Cotton Bowl — Texas vs. LSU

BBVA Compass Bowl — Vanderbilt vs. Houston

GoDaddy Bowl — Western Kentucky vs. Bowling Green

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany speaks with the local media following his visit with the Iowa football team on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013, at the Kenyon Practice Facility in Iowa City. Delany’s stop was one of three he conducted Thursday as part of his tour across all 12 Big Ten campuses this month.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa — On what was the final day of his campus tour, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany made his first of three scheduled stops Thursday at the Kenyon Practice Facility prior to the Hawkeyes’ morning practice.

Shortly after the team conducted its walkthrough, all the players were called over by head coach Kirk Ferentz and from there, Delany briefly addressed the entire team about their opportunities as Big Ten student-athletes. As soon as Delany finished speaking, he was presented with a chair that had the Big Ten logo and an inscription on the back of it by Iowa athletics director Gary Barta.

“I don’t talk to these players any differently than I talk to my own sons,” Delany said about being able to speak to the Hawkeye players Thursday. “I don’t think young kids have changed. I think the scrutiny has changed.

“I try not to judge kids. You try to teach them, you try to lead them, you try to encourage them to make good decisions and that’s part of growing up. That’s part of playing Big Ten football.”

Once the Hawkeyes’ practice got officially underway, Delany then spent 10-15 minutes addressing conference matters. When the topic of conference expansion came up, Delany described it as “calm.” There aren’t plans for the Big Ten (right now at least) to expand beyond Maryland and Rutgers joining the conference next year and Delany said he has enjoyed being able to establish connections for the Big Ten along the country’s Eastern seaboard as a result of those two schools joining.

The topic of Black Friday was discussed, as Delany was asked about the future of Iowa’s annual game against Nebraska remaining on that date in the future. The Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers have met on the last two Black Fridays since Nebraska first joined the Big Ten in 2011 and are currently scheduled to meet on that date up through the 2017 season. Delany didn’t give any clue no way or the other on that game, but made clear the two weekends he’s most willing to showcase the league on dates other than Saturday are Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving weekend.

“We like to use that Friday if we can find a good game to put in it and both Iowa and Nebraska have been willing to play it,” Delany said. “I hope they continue to stay flexible and open on it, but I don’t really know exactly where it goes in the future.”

Delany also talked about being able to incorporate Big Ten football games during prime time. He mentioned that the league is willing to experiment over the next three years with prime time games during the month of November if interest from schools is piqued, including perhaps this season.

“It’s a possibility,” Delany said about possible prime time games this coming November. “If TV requests it and the schools were willing, we would look at it,” Delany said. “I don’t think there’s anything scheduled this year, but the weather turns a little bit and the crowds are very large. Those kinds of things are not easy to do, but I think we’re more open to it than we’ve been.

“I don’t think we’ll do one in the next three years, but we’ll look at it.”

Following Delany’s departure, the UI displayed its new video board at Kinnick Stadium for the first time to local media, showcasing some of the different nuances pursued in order to what those inside the athletics department will enhance the game day experience for fans attending games this fall.

Every video screen at Kinnick Stadium is now in high definition. Along the new wall behind the North end zone, there are two screens (one in each corner) that have expanded by a total of 369 square feet (dimensions are now 21.5 x 38). The scoreboard behind the South end zone will now three different types of video screens — in-game, split-screen and full screen, all three of which are also bigger.

The in-game screen that will be most commonly seen throughout a game is now 1,296 square feet. The split-screen and full screen will appear periodically (including when replays are being reviewed). The split-screen is now 1,984 square feet and the full screen is 3,968 square feet, both of which are significantly bigger than the 814 square feet used before.

Iowa associate athletics director Rick Klatt said a survey was provided to season-ticket holders during the offseason about how the school could enhance fan experience for those seeing a game in person versus watching from home. He mentioned the four most common responses he received from fans were more replays (including instant replays that are being reviewed), bigger video screens (which Iowa has now addressed), more stats being made available on the scoreboard to fans during games and being able to see scores from other college football games regularly as opposed to only during TV timeouts.

Klatt acknowledged that part of the reason for Iowa not showing more instant replays before had to do with tightly following guidelines by the Big Ten. But given the conference becoming more open to showing more replays, the school is now looking to provide fans more of what they’re looking for with that.

“I think what our fans are going to see in 2013 is they’re going to continue to see just about every play have a replay to it, but unlike a year ago when we were a little bit more close to the policy in terms of those controversial plays, we’re going to open it up,” Klatt said.

Klatt and Barta both mentioned some demands with the video screens not being able to be met since Ferentz and his staff need to remain privy to certain information displayed on the scoreboard while the game’s in progress, such as timeouts, time on the clock, etc. But the split and full screens will be used more often during play stoppages.

They also mentioned improving the audio that comes from Kinnick Stadium’s sound system. Barta said small improvements have already been made and that their is for it to become clearer over the course of a two-stage process that should be completed by the start of next season. The UI Board of Regents gave approval of up to $9 million on all the audio and video upgrades being done to Kinnick Stadium and according to both Barta and Klatt, the school is looking at spending a total somewhere between $8-9 million once everything is completed.

“We’re going to put some enhancement in this year, so you’re going to hear a difference,” Barta said. “The consultants want to be here for every game, hear it when the stadium’s full, hear it from all angles. Then you’ll see an even more dramatic upgrade next year.

“We’re going to do less really well, and then we’re going to ramp up.”

PHOTO GALLERY: New Kinnick Stadium Video Board/Screens

The Northwest corner portion of the new video board behind the North end zone at Kinnick Stadium.

The Northeast corner portion of the new video board behind the North end zone at Kinnick Stadium.

This is what the scoreboard behind the South end zone at Kinnick Stadium will look throughout the majority of games this fall. The new dimensions for the video screen are 48 x 27 square feet.

The new video board showing footage from the open practice during Iowa Kids Day back on Aug. 17, 2013, at Kinnick Stadium.

Panchero’s showcasing some well-done marketing with the #BurritoLift hashtag on both ends of the new video board behind the North end zone at Kinnick Stadium.

Among the new features on the South end zone scoreboard is the ability to go split-screen with new dimensions of 62 x 32 square feet.

The South end zone scoreboard is also now capable of going full screen with video at dimensions of 124 x 32 square feet.

The video frame on the South end zone scoreboard at Kinnick Stadium will go full screen with this graphic following Iowa touchdowns during home games this fall.

Iowa legend Calvin Jones with the distinction of being the first former Hawkeye football player to have his name and number etched on the new “Wall of Honor” that will be on display at Kinnick Stadium. Jones is one of nine former players who will have their names and numbers appear there in 2013.

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

The 2013 college football season is upon us, meaning it’s time for the return of the “Talkin’ Hawks” podcast for the fourth straight autumn here on HawkeyeDrive.com.

After recording the podcast solo in its inaugural season of 2010, the decision was made to have a former Hawkeye player become a regular fixture in 2011. I’m happy to report former Iowa defensive back Chris Rowell is back as my “Talkin’ Hawks” co-host for what is now his third season as part of the podcast. Rowell spent five seasons as a member of the Hawkeyes, joining the program as part of its 2005 recruiting class and ending his playing career with a 24-14 victory over Georgia Tech in the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl.

In the podcast’s first two years of existence, the first one of the season came during the week of Iowa’s season opener. Last year, our first edition of “Talkin’ Hawks” came one week earlier and was in the form of a season preview where each position group on the Hawkeyes was discussed, as were each of the six BCS conferences. That format proved to be successful, which is why our first podcast of 2013 takes on a similar format.

In this two-hour plus edition, Rowell and I discuss the coaching changes made on Kirk Ferentz’s staff since we recorded our most previous podcast last December. We also examine the Hawkeyes position by position and give our thoughts on each of the six BCS conferences, giving those who subscribe to or visit this site a taste of what teams will be mentioned regularly in the HawkeyeDrive.com Pick ‘Em, which has officially begun accepting entries for the season’s first week. At the end, we both provide our Heisman Trophy and BCS National Championship predictions, as well as our final thoughts about the Hawkeyes prior to the season starting.

Our next edition of the “Talkin’ Hawks” podcast will be posted Aug. 29, as Rowell and I preview Iowa’s season opener against Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium and share our picks for each of the 10 games featured in the season’s first HawkeyeDrive.com Pick ‘Em. For now though, I hope you enjoy our 2013 season preview edition of the “Talkin’ Hawks” podcast:

*Intro sound byte credit to my former Daily Iowan colleague Ryan Young for putting that together.

ADDITIONAL FOOTBALL COVERAGE:

*Below are links to the eight position breakdowns written earlier this month about the Iowa Hawkeyes: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers and Tight Ends, Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebackers, Secondary, Special Teams

*Below are links to season previews of the other Big Ten teams, each of which include audio from players and coaches recorded from Big Ten Media Days last month in Chicago (please note you must have either a paid monthly or yearly subscription, or a three-day free trial, to HawkeyeDrive.com to access all of these): Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, Nebraska