Kirk Ferentz opens up on what Tory Taylor has meant to Iowa

Following the Citrus Bowl loss to Tennessee, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz opened up on what Tory Taylor has meant to the Hawkeyes.

Ferentz praised Taylor, not just for his ability as a punter, but for the work ethic he’s put in and the role model he’s become for the younger players within the Iowa program.

“I think I’ve said it many times, first of all, Tory is an exceptional young guy,” Kirk Ferentz said. “Came here, was really naïve to college football. There are not many of them around in our country. Just fans, everybody. Everybody was an expert on football. This guy had no knowledge, so I will never forget that, the first game at Purdue during the pandemic.”

Like many punters around college football, Tory Taylor is Australia-born and a little bit older than most other players at 26 years old.

“He has a strong leg. Obviously, could kick a ball. Punt a ball. But what he has done over four years’ time, the way he has refined his skills, the way he has developed just the repertoire of different ways to punt, it is very impressive. Then, most impressively I think, is the work ethic that he displayed, because you do not do those things by accident. It is true at every position, to truly master what you do, it takes a lot of work. I do not care if you’re 34 years old and still playing, there is always work to do,” Ferentz said.

“I think that is the biggest thing I will take away with Tory is his work ethic, his attention to detail, the pride that he has, pride in his performance. By doing all those things, he is like all these seniors. He set a great example for younger guys, not just punters, but anybody that’s paying attention, I think this guy is the best in the country.”

2023 was Tory Taylor’s fourth with the program and it was a phenomenal one that culminated in winning the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best punter. He averaged 48.2 yards per punt on 93 punts this season for a total of 4,479 yards on punts.

For his career, Taylor has punted 295 times for a total of 13,657 yards. That’s an average of 46.3 yards per punt for his career. That makes him the most prolific punter in Iowa history.

“So, how did that happen? Did not just fall out of the sky. That is what you learn in the game is people get good through hard work, through detail, perseverance. Not everybody has a great day. That is how you get good at anything. When guys like Joe, Tory, I can go right down. All these guys as seniors, that is the bar they have set. They have been really good examples for young guys,” Ferentz said.

“I just hope like hell the young guys are paying attention. Some pay attention a little better than not. Jay Higgins is a great example. He learned a hell of a lot from some of the guys that were in front of him and is playing his tail off.”

Kirk Ferentz addresses Iowa’s challenges on offense against ranked teams in 2023

Iowa struggled against ranked teams in 2023, getting shut out three times against ranked opponents. Those are challenges that Kirk Ferentz explained come from how complicated offense can be.

“Offense is pretty complicated. It’s a team effort. I’ll just say this and again I don’t want to get too global on things, we’ve played some top 10 teams, we’ve been a top 10 team. So, I think we know what it takes and what’s required. Typically for us, at least the last 25 years, everything’s got to work together and didn’t today. It was pretty obvious out there. But, usually, whether it’s this year or 1999, if you turn the ball over, if you have negative yardage plays, if you don’t make the makeable plays, it’s going to be tough unless you’ve got great personnel. So, that’s just kind of the nature of football. So, it starts with those things, but obviously, the players and the experience all play factors into that,” Ferentz said.

“But, I mean, we’ve played at that level. We’ve played teams at that level. We’ve beaten teams at that level. So, it’s not like we’re talking about something that none of us are aware of. We’ve just got to get better, and we will. That’s the plan. We’ll start that work in about two weeks.”