Kirk Ferentz expresses concern for the current path of college football

At 66-years old, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has been around the game for a long time. During his opportunity to speak to a large crowd at Big Ten Media Days, the veteran laid out the good, bad and ugly that he has seen from college football over the years.

As NIL and the transfer portal dominate headlines, Kirk Ferentz expressed his concern for the current path of college football.

“I probably wouldn’t be the only person to say I’m really concerned about the path that college football is on right now and eager to see where it heads and what direction we end up taking,” said Ferentz. “But it’s a great game. It was a big thing in 1980 when I went to the University of Pittsburgh as a grad assistant. It was big when I went to Iowa in ’81. If anything, it’s just grown bigger certainly. It’s always been big, and it’s bigger now.

“With that, I think you just have to think about our players, think about the voices that they hear, the things that they have to deal with, the hands that are on them, the noise that they’re listening to, and most of all, I think the pressure. That’s certainly a concern I have as I think about our football team. I’ve long felt that way.”

Kirk Ferentz on college football

As Kirk Ferentz continued to speak about the trajectory of college football and showed great concern for the future, he shared that people have lost sight.

“I think sometimes we lose sight about just how young our players are and just how recently they maybe are in the backyard catching a pass or out playing in the street playing touch football,” said Ferentz. ”Everybody that plays in the Big Ten typically is the best player on their high school football team and certainly one of their best, but all of that being said, it’s still a big jump going into college football just like it is if they play beyond.

“Small percentage will get an opportunity to play in the NFL, much smaller percentage will have a career in the NFL. But for the most part, the reality is most players, their careers end when their eligibility expires. That’s why I think it’s so important, when they’re in college, they’re doing more than just learning plays and developing their skill set. To me the best part about football in college football is just learning to be a part of a team and what that really means, just having respect for other people and realizing there’s a lot of other things that are bigger than you.”