ESPN College Football

When you think Big Ten football, what usually comes to mind is big, corn-fed Midwestern players and bruising offenses. The kind of place that would be perfect for a tight end.

But the 2011 season was a little lackluster for that position in the league, at least as far as the passing game goes. Sure, Northwestern's Drake Dunsmore and Wisconsin's Jacob Pedersen were Mackey Award semifinalists, but those two and Michigan State's Brian Linthicum were the only two tight ends in the conference to record more than 25 catches. Some guys we expected to have big years, like Nebraska's Kyler Reed, Minnesota's Eric Lair and Indiana's Ted Bolser, were nearly invisible on the stat sheet. And there was certainly no one who rose the level of recent Big Ten stars like Dallas Clark, Matt Spaeth, Travis Beckum, Lance Kendricks or Dustin Keller.

Dunsmore, who won the league's inaugural Kwalick-Clark tight end of the year award, and Linthicum have both graduated. Yet 2012 is shaping up as a potentially big season for tight ends across the league.

Some of it has to do with changing offenses and playcallers who love utilizing the tight end. Urban Meyer made a star out of Aaron Hernandez at Florida and could do the same with Jake Stoneburner, who started off blazing hot last year before the Ohio State offense forgot about him. With the Buckeyes searching for playmakers, expect Stoneburner to be utilized heavily in 2012.

"Seeing Hernandez make all those plays makes someone like me pretty happy," Stoneburner told Adam Rittenberg last month. "It's something I've been waiting for since I graduated high school, being able to go out there knowing you're going to get the opportunity to get the ball more than once or twice a game. "

Bill O'Brien coached Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski as offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots, which featured the tight end as much as anybody in football. Now O'Brien is at Penn State, where tight ends have mostly been an afterthought. That will change quickly.

"That’s a very important part of what we’re going to do offensively,” O’Brien told reporters in March. “Obviously, the last two years in New England taught me a lot about the use of a tight end, multiple tight ends.”

At Iowa, new offensive coordinator Greg Davis is raving about sophomore C.J. Fiedorowicz, a 6-foot-7, 265-pounder who began to emerge late last season as a weapon. With an uncertain running game and an excellent passer in quarterback James Vandenberg, Fiedorowicz could follow in the footsteps of Clark and Tony Moeaki as breakout Hawkeyes tight ends. Coincidentally, Iowa's new offensive line coach is Brian Ferentz, who coached the tight ends with the Patriots last year.

“You’ll see the tight ends playing outside sometimes,” Davis told the Des Moines Register during spring practice. “Used to seeing them in motion, but there will be motion in wide receiver sets in some situations because they’re tough match-ups.”

Wisconsin returns one of the best tight ends in the country in Pedersen, who had led Big Ten tight ends with eight touchdown catches a year ago. Bret Bielema is also excited about the depth at the position, with veterans Brian Wozniak and Sam Arneson, redshirt freshmen Austin Traylor and Austin Maly and Pittsburgh transfer Brock DeCicco. Given the inexperience at receiver outside of Jared Abbrederis, the Badgers could look to throw to their tight ends even more this season.

Indiana's Bolser had only 14 catches last year, but he was one of the stars of the spring for the Hoosiers. An improved passing game should help him become more of a factor. Purdue likes the depth it has at tight end, led by Gabe Holmes and Crosby Wright.

“A year ago it was one of the leanest positions on our football team," Boilers coach Danny Hope told reporters in the spring, "and now I think going into the season that the tight end position is going to be one of our strengths.”

Reed's numbers dropped last year, but he still led Nebraska with an average of 17.1 yards per catch. He and fellow senior Ben Cotton form a nice tandem of targets for Taylor Martinez. Michigan State must replace Linthicum but is optimistic about 6-foot-5, 280-pound Dion Sims, who practiced this spring with a cast on his hand. Sims could provide a safety valve for new quarterback Andrew Maxwell early on as the Spartans break in some green receivers.

Minnesota's Moses Alipate will at least be a curiosity as a former quarterback who grew to 290 pounds. Michigan needs Brandon Moore or someone else to step in for Kevin Koger, while Illinois' Jon Davis could have a different role in the team's new spread offense after a promising freshman campaign. Whoever replaces Dunsmore for Northwestern should get a lot of touches.

Tight ends could play an important part of many Big Ten teams' attacks this fall. Just as it should be.

One of the most common questions I get from both Iowa fans and Wisconsin fans -- usually around national signing day or whenever we post recruiting rankings -- is why their teams can't land more nationally elite prospects.

Then, they point to the recent NFL draft numbers.

As Brian Bennett detailed last week before the most recent NFL draft, Ohio State had the most selections (66) of any Big Ten squad in the previous 10 drafts (2002-2011). The Buckeyes' success surprises no one.

But which team came in second? Iowa. The Hawkeyes had 42 players drafted between 2002-2011. Wisconsin came in fifth, with 39 players drafted.

When I updated the numbers after this weekend's draft, they look like this.

Draft picks between 2002-2012

1. Ohio State -- 70 selections
2. Iowa -- 48 selections
T-3. Wisconsin -- 45 selections
T-3. Nebraska -- 45 selections
5. Michigan -- 43 selections

Iowa and Wisconsin have become two of the Big Ten's top four producers of NFL draft picks. The Hawkeyes and Badgers tied with Michigan State for the most players drafted (6) this year. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that neither Iowa nor Wisconsin regularly brings in nationally ranked recruiting classes.

But that could change eventually, and Iowa and Wisconsin must do everything they can to trumpet their recent NFL draft success. The draft numbers should be the focal point for recruiting efforts going forward.

Every program has a shiny display at its football complex listing its current alumni in the NFL. Wisconsin and Iowa are no exception. But these two programs need to do everything possible to tell highly touted recruits that they can reach the next level if they play in Madison or Iowa City. Sure, it's great that Iowa and Wisconsin have turned former walk-ons or lightly recruited players into NFL prospects. But they also can develop elite recruits into next-level players. Both programs also need to sell the positions, namely offensive line, where they've produced so many NFL picks.

One way to trumpet the success is through Twitter, a medium representatives of both programs maximized last weekend.

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema had nine NFL draft-related tweets between Wednesday and Saturday, including these:

• Wednesday, 12:54 pm.: Congrats to all that landed NFL free agent contracts. We will lead the all of college football with rookies in the NFL for second year.
• Wednesday, 12:55 p.m.: The next highest number in the country was Alabama at eight. This year we should have the highest number of NFL rookies again for 2nd year!
• Sunday, 8:57 p.m.: Just wanted to wish all of our guys the best of luck rolling into draft weekend. Last year UW had 14 rookies in NFL camps for first time..

Bielema understands the value of social media and getting his message out. You can bet he'll be mentioning these numbers every time he connects with recruits in the coming months.

Iowa has been a little tardy to the Twitter game, but the Hawkeyes are catching up quickly.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz is about as likely to join Twitter as my 89-year-old grandmother, but his son, Brian, the team's new offensive line coach, was tweeting up a storm during draft weekend.

Some submissions:

• Saturday, 7:38 a.m.: Day 3 of the #NFL Draft. Only #Iowa and Alabama have produced a 1st Rd Draft Pick in each of the last 3 years #GoHawks
• Saturday, 7:41 a.m: Who does everyone think the first #Hawkeye drafted today will be? Remember, I have inside sources... #NFLDraft

Brian Ferentz surely will bring up Iowa's draft success on the recruiting trail in the coming weeks.

Both Iowa and Wisconsin face some inherent disadvantages in recruiting elite prospects, chiefly geography, as their states aren't bursting with high school talent. Neither program is a "traditional" Big Ten power, and while Wisconsin has won back-to-back league titles and Iowa has reached 10 bowl games (2 BCS) under Ferentz, the names "Wisconsin" and "Iowa" don't resonate with the top recruits as much as "Ohio State" and "Michigan" do.

But three letters resonate with everyone: NFL.

The numbers don't lie, and Iowa's and Wisconsin's recent draft output should be at the forefront of their recruiting efforts.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Reporters and fans aren't the only ones who struggle to squeeze information out of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Ferentz's son, James, a senior center for the Hawkeyes, didn't fare much better this past winter.

When Iowa announced in early February that offensive line coach Reese Morgan would move to the defensive line, speculation immediately increased that Brian Ferentz, Kirk's oldest son and James' big brother, would return to his alma mater and coach the offensive front. James Ferentz heard the rumors, too. So he did some recon.

"I was trying to squeeze some information out of my mom, but she wasn't talking," James told ESPN.com. "Obviously, neither was my dad. He wasn't going to crack at all, so I knew my best chance was going to my mom. And when she wasn't talking, I knew I wasn't going to get any information."

James didn't discuss the situation with Brian, not wanting to put his brother "in an awkward position." But when their mother, Mary, clammed up about the situation, James knew there was a decent chance his brother would be leaving his post with the New England Patriots to return to Iowa City.

James ended up getting the scoop, but only a day before Kirk informed the rest of the team.

"I was really excited to finally hear the news," James said. "It's going to be good for Iowa football and selfishly good for me."

It's not unusual to see FBS coaches having their sons on the roster. Ferentz has coached his two oldest sons and his youngest, Steven, might walk on at Iowa.

There are also examples of coaches hiring their sons as assistants, like Frank and Shane Beamer at Virginia Tech or Steve Spurrier Sr. and Steve Spurrier Jr. at South Carolina.

But for a head coach to have one son on staff and another on the roster -- and to have the older son directly coaching his younger brother -- is unique. Brian played guard and center for the Hawkeyes. Kirk coached Iowa's offensive line from 1981-89.

"It's been great on two fronts," Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.com. "On a personal level, it's been interesting and neat, not something I ever envisioned happening. So that worked out beautifully. But more importantly, he's doing a competent job, and that's what we brought him here for, to do a good job coaching the line.

"He's off to a great start."

Brian's hiring has been scrutinized because of his relationship to his boss. The University of Iowa has a policy against nepotism that states familial relationships should be avoided whenever possible during the hiring process. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, Iowa considered more than 100 candidates for two assistant positions before hiring Brian Ferentz and promoting LeVar Woods to linebackers coach.

From the AP report:

Athletic director Gary Barta has said it was his decision to hire Brian Ferentz, he will act as his supervisor and that Kirk Ferentz recused himself from the interview process. The claim was undercut earlier this month when Brian Ferentz said he had spoken about the job with his dad and took it because "you can't say no to your father."

The documents released Friday do not mention the relationship between Ferentz and his son, or any special steps taken during the hiring process. In fact, they show Kirk Ferentz was a member of the search committee for both positions along with other assistants and athletic department officials. A department spokesman had no immediate comment Friday, and university spokesman Tom Moore said the school had "followed its policies throughout this process."

Asked about the response, Kirk Ferentz said, "Not surprised, especially in Iowa, you kidding me? Anything that happens, you have to consider it to be news."

Ferentz noted how Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands hired his twin brother, Terry, as associate head coach.

"That was a pretty good thing for the wrestling program," he said. "I wouldn't have brought Brian back here if I didn't think it would be a good thing for our program. That was the first priority."

James hasn't struggled to view Brian as a coach, first and foremost. He has been impressed by Brian's knowledge and his ability to connect with each offensive lineman.

"I don't if he's harder on me than most guys," James said, smiling. "He's probably a little quicker to point out my mistakes, but I make plenty of them, so I leave the door open a lot."

Iowa is young up front. While Ferentz has started the past 26 games at center, left guard Matt Tobin is the only other lineman with significant starting experience.

Ferentz sees the need for the line to prove itself and come together. He's excited to do so with his older brother and father calling the shots.

"If you can't appreciate the uniqueness and the incredible opportunity," he said, "I think I'd be missing out on a lot. I'm really fortunate to be in this position."

The first Happy Flight of 2012 is in the books. Here's hoping for many more.

• A pair of Illinois defensive backs could spend some time on offense this season as Tim Beckman searches for playmakers.
• Scrutiny or not, Brian Ferentz was the right hire for Iowa, Pat Harty writes. Everyone's in play for the Hawkeyes at running back.
• Dion Sims has a chance to shine at tight end for Michigan State, provided his wrist is fully healed. DeAnthony Arnett is playing a waiting game right now.
• MarQueis Gray says the next Minnesota athletic director needs to be accessible to players.
• Once a blue-chip recruit, Nebraska's Baker Steinkuhler has been a solid player, but not a superstar. He's not satisfied with that going into his final season. Will Compton played well down the stretch last season, and is drawing praise from Bo Pelini this spring.
• Jibreel Black is taking on a new role by moving inside on the Michigan defensive line.
• Defense is winning at practice as Ohio State's offense continues to learn a new system. John Simon and Zach Boren will likely serve as captains for the Buckeyes.
• Peter Konz showed off a little more strength at Wisconsin's pro day, and likely solidified his draft stock.
• Cornerback Lawrence Barnett brings some consistency to the Indiana defense.
• Danny Hope wished he hadn't redshirted Frankie Williams last season, but the defensive back is glad he waited.
• Receiver Tony Jones is back at full throttle for Northwestern.
• The learning curve is pretty steep this spring for the Penn State tight ends.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri was scheduled to undergo knee surgery Wednesday, reducing an already thin position group from three to two.

"Hopefully, it will go well, and hopefully, he'll be cleared somewhere in the fall," Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz told ESPN.com. "But I don't think we can count on him next year. We're going to do what's best for him, first and foremost. We have to go on as if he weren't here."

Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, it's a situation they know all too well. But it's also a situation they've handled remarkably well in recent years.

Despite having little to no proven depth at running back since 2008, the Hawkeyes have had a rusher finish in the nation's top 60 in each of the past three seasons.

It could happen again this fall. Damon Bullock and De'Andre Johnson both are drawing good reviews from Ferentz and new offensive coordinator Greg Davis through the first five spring practices.

"I'll probably jinx 'em," Davis told ESPN.com, "but they have not left the ball on the ground yet."

Iowa fans aren't too worried about that kind of jinx regarding the running backs. They'll be happy just having both Bullock and Johnson healthy and on the roster come September.

With heralded freshmen Greg Garmon and Barkley Hill joining the mix this summer, perhaps a featured back will emerge.

"We've had experience doing it for sure," Ferentz said. "We'll keep bringing those guys along, and when the new guys get here, we'll throw them in there as fast as we can."

Although Iowa wants to maintain its core beliefs of the power run and zone blocking, it's pretty clear the offense will trend more toward the pass under Davis. Senior quarterback James Vandenberg returns, and while All-Big Ten wideout Marvin McNutt departs, he'll have some weapons at wide receiver (Keenan Davis, Kevonte Martin-Manley) and tight end (C.J. Fiedorowicz, Zack Derby). The no-huddle will be a part of the scheme, and Iowa will try and stretch the field.

Like many, Vandenberg can't believe the misfortune that has plagued Iowa at running back, calling it "pretty crazy, actually." He also understands that the uncertainty in the backfield requires everyone else to elevate their play.

"Everybody realizes that we need to pick it up, as well as bring them along," he said. "You can't have 10 guys out there doing the right thing, and one guy doing something different because that messes it all up. So we're just making sure we're bringing them along and giving them confidence."

New offensive line coach Brian Ferentz has challenged his group to help make the running backs' job as easy as possible.

"We had an unfortunate injury with Jordan," said center James Ferentz, Brian's younger brother. "Brian just said no matter who's back there, it's our job to make sure there's holes and that we're making the way for that guy, whoever it is, to get 100 yards a game.

"Because if we can't do that, we're not going to win many games."

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- It's a big day as both bloggers are on the road in B1G country. Brian is spending some time in West Lafayette, Ind., with the Purdue Boilermakers, and I've just arrived here to visit with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Change is the big theme for Iowa this spring as the Hawkeyes made coordinator changes for the first time in coach Kirk Ferentz's tenure, promoting Phil Parker to run the defense and bringing in Greg Davis from the outside to spearhead the offense. Ferentz also made several assistant coach moves, most notably shifting Reese Morgan from offensive line to defensive line, and he brought his son, Brian, back to Iowa to coach the offensive line. For a program conditioned to continuity, this certainly represents something new.

But many believe it's also something that was needed. After an 11-2 season in 2009 that might have been even better if not for a Ricky Stanzi injury, Iowa has lost momentum. The Hawkeyes fell well short of expectations in 2010 and saw their bowl wins streak end last year following a 7-6 campaign. The current team is very young at spots and once again needs to find help at running back after Jordan Canzeri's injury.

Iowa fans have been some of the more vocal folks on this blog since its inception, and they're always going to have high hopes. But I'm interested to find out where this program is headed and what are reasonable expectations for 2012.

I'll be visiting with Kirk Ferentz, Davis, Parker and several players at the football complex in a bit. Check the blog later and also Thursday for more on the Hawkeyes.

Change is in the air this spring at Iowa. The Hawkeyes have two new coordinators for the first time in Kirk Ferentz's tenure, one from the outside (OC Greg Davis) and one from within the program (DC Phil Parker). Ferentz also hired two new assistants, offensive line coach Brian Ferentz and linebackers coach LeVar Woods, and moved offensive line coach Reese Morgan to defensive line. For an Iowa staff built on continuity, this represents a a major shakeup. The coaches also will be working with a very young roster, as evidenced by the pre-spring depth chart issued this week. It all should make for an interesting spring in Hawkeye Country.

The Hawkeyes opened practice Wednesday, and ESPN.com caught up with Ferentz on Thursday.

Here are his thoughts.

What is the atmosphere like this spring being on the field with this group after all the changes?

Kirk Ferentz: Certainly we have a lot of learning to do for two reasons. Number one, our youth and inexperience, and secondly, with some of the staff changes. We have a lot of different elements involved. It's certainly different than when we finished up in December. It's a lot of positions, and some of it's schematically and that type of thing. We're all on edge a little bit, and that's good.

You made some of your hires fairly recently. How do you feel about where the offensive and defense schemes are at this point?

KF: We're pretty well down the road that we need to be on. We've had some really good meetings over the last several weeks. A little bit more intensive on the offensive side with Greg being hired at the end of February, but I think we've had good meetings. He certainly has a good grasp of what he likes to do and what he's comfortable with. We've been able to blend and mesh things. I think we're pretty much on the same page right now. It's been fun actually, just invigorating to re-examine some things. And the players, they always pick it up faster than the older guys.

When you sat down and talked with Greg, how close was your offensive philosophy to his?

KF: One of the things that really impressed me so much is his experience with various styles of offense. He's been with a lot of different types of players, quarterbacks, going back to Eric Zeier at Georgia, the guys he worked with at North Carolina, and at Texas, they ran several styles of attack. There was a lot of evolution when they got Vince Young. The thing is, he has a system that's been proficient and that he's comfortable with. It really is very flexible and adaptable. That part has all been good.

Very impressed with Greg, starting with all the recommendations I got, people who I have a lot of respect for in football who spoke so highly of him as a coach and so highly of him as a human being. And after a month of being with him, I can see why all of those things were said. He's really been tremendous. We've been fortunate to have great coaches here. You're always a little nervous when you lose somebody as good as Ken, but Greg has been outstanding.

I read your comments from the other day and wanted to clarify something. Did you expect to make some changes even if you didn't have the coordinators leaving?

KF: Absolutely. I was entertained a bit reading the reports of the press conference. The headlines were a little bit overstated. But that was something Ken and I had talked about, and Norm [Parker] and I had talked about as the year went on last year. You're 13 years into it, and we're all feeling good about being here such a long period of time. The great thing about stability is we all know each other.

But the other point, too, and every year you look back at things, but I remember specifically in Cleveland one year in '94 where we looked back and went through our playbook step by step. Steve Crosby had become our coordinator after the '93 season. We went through everything. The advantage of doing it is if you've been somewhere for a while, you add this one year and then you add that, and things don't always mesh or make as much sense as they should, so there's a cumulative effect there. So it's a good exercise to do, and I think it was time for us to do that regardless. And in the case of getting new coordinators, you have to do that anyway. It's been really healthy, it's been invigorating, and hopefully we'll be a more efficient operating group here moving forward.

You've talked about wanting to see better execution. What can you stress in the spring to help you execute better as a team?

KF: That's always the challenge in football. There were complaints about us. The perception is we're a conservative offense, and we threw the second-most amount of passes we had in 13 years last year, so I said they must have been conservative passes because we didn't get any credit for that. But overall, that's the name of the game, whatever you're doing, offensively, defensively or special teams, the key is how you execute those things. Certainly what you call can affect that, but at the end of the day, it's about the team that executes the best. That's the never-ending battle.

You have some guys out on the defensive line, but it's definitely one of the younger groups you've had there. With Reese Morgan moving over to that side, how do you see that group shaking out in the spring, and how will Reese's experience help there?

KF: It's maybe not identical, but it's similar to what we went through in 2005. We graduated four guys that were all in NFL camps after that season. Three of those guys are still active players -- Jonathan Babineaux, who's done a good job in Atlanta; Matt Roth's had a nice career; Derreck Robinson continues to be rostered; and Tyler Luebke is the other guy, was with the Redskins as a free agent. That's the price you pay when you graduate some good players. The last two years we've had a high number of seniors go out both years, and some NFL players in that group. It's something we anticipated, we knew it was going to be a challenge, but all that being said, we're optimistic.

One of my motivating factors for moving Reese over to that spot is Reese is just a tremendous teacher. That's the No. 1 thing I saw in him when we hired him here. He took Pat Flaherty's spot. He's a real builder, and he's done that with the offensive line. You look at last year, we had Riley Reiff, who people are talking about, but we also had Markus Zusevics and Adam Gettis, who both I think are going to get drafted here. They were both roughly 225, 230 [pounds] when they came out of high school and built themselves into players. Reese was a key component of their development, and that's what he does a great job of. I think we've got the right guy with the right group. We've got a lot of work to do, but at the end of the day, that group will be fine, just like in '05.

What would you like to see out of James [Vandenberg] during the spring?

KF: Just continued improvement. We expect him to play his best football next year and lead even better than he did. He played well last year and he led well, but he's going to have to do better. With a young team like this, it's going to be imperative that our most experienced guys play their best and lead our football team. It sure helps when you're playing better. And he's totally capable. We have confidence in James.

Is Keenan [Davis] another guy who fits into that category, needing to play his best as an older guy?

KF: Most definitely. If you look at the improvement Marvin McNutt made throughout his career, from making a move [from quarterback] in the middle of the '08 season, to the records he set, it didn't happen just by accident or just by him hanging around. He worked hard, he got better each year, and his hard work and effort, certainly in production and yardage, that's what we need from Keenan. Marvin's not here, quite obviously, so Keenan has to be the guy and take a very prominent role as a receiver. And he's certainly capable, so we expect to see that growth from him.

What would you like to see from the running back group by the end of the spring?

KF: Development and maturation. We have three guys that are working at that position who are talented enough. They're all capable, but they're young. Jordan Canzeri missed a significant amount of time last year with a hamstring issue. Damon Bullock, we moved him around enough that it probably rendered him ineffective. We'll let him settle at the running back position. And we think De'Andre Johnson has potential as well, but he's got to mature. He missed his first year because he was coming off an ACL injury from high school, so he's a little bit behind that way. But he's got every opportunity to develop and be a good player. It sure would help our football team.

When you're this young, are you more tempted to play freshmen if they come in and show that ability, or do you have to work with the guys who have some experience?

KF: We'll have a better grip on where we are at the end of spring practice. We're going to need some help at some spots, that's a given. Bottom line is for the most part, the guys that demonstrate they can play and help us, they're going to get that opportunity. We had the case with Allen Reisner. Back in '07, we had to throw him in. He was a true freshman. He wasn't necessarily ready to go, but we ran out of guys, so he had to go in there. We hopefully won't be in that situation. But anybody [who] can help us win next year, if it's special teams or on offense, defense, we'll give them an opportunity.

Greg came in from the outside, while Phil Parker has been there. What's it been like seeing him in this role? Do you see him putting his personality on the defense?

KF: We're early into the process right now. To the casual fan, it's not going to look a lot different, probably, but there will be some subtleties and some things not only Phil, but the entire staff talked about. It's like anything else, you're always trying to evolve and progress, move forward a little bit without losing your identity. That's probably what you'll see from that group. Phil's a veteran coach. He's had several chances to leave here for BCS coordinator positions and has chosen to stay here, so I don't think there's any question he's ready to go. He'll do a great job. He's very detailed and he's a good leader.

From a leadership standpoint, do you have some guys in mind, especially on defense, who you could see moving into those roles this spring?

KF: Most definitely. The guys that we're really counting on, you start with Micah Hyde. He's probably our most experienced player on defense, most proven, so we're counting on that from him. James Morris and Chris Kirksey, they're only third-year students next year, but they've played a lot of football, too, and good football. They're playing a leadership position at linebacker. And up front, I'd say Steve Bigach's a guy we're really counting on to really help set the tempo of the group. He's already been doing that, and I think he'll do a good job.

In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe.

• Michigan added an Ohio cornerback to its 2013 recruiting class, which is now up to 15 commitments. The Wolverines will look for complements to Fitz Toussaint in the running game this spring.
• Adam Breneman and Christian Hackenberg want to help Penn State put together a Top 5 class. Landing Breneman was important for the Nittany Lions on many levels.
• Ohio State coach Urban Meyer uses a color-coded grading system for every player, and Jonathan Hankins was the first Buckeye to graduate to the next level.
• Some nuggets on Illinois' first few days of spring practice.
• The Nebraska defense looks for a resurgence without as much star power as last year. The media got a rare glimpse into a full Huskers practice, and Steven M. Sipple came away with these observations.
• Iowa's Brian Ferentz seems ready to prove himself as a college coach. New Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Greg Davis likes what he sees from quarterback James Vandenberg.
• Purdue's spring practice is off to a promising start.
• Bret Bielema got married on Saturday and is about to get a real lesson in clock management.

Enjoy a weekend full of hoops, everybody.

• The salaries of three new Iowa football coaches were released; offensive coordinator Greg Davis will make $300,000. It's safe to say LeVar Woods and Brian Ferentz are a little more social-media savvy than their head coach.
• Speaking of social media, Drew Sharp writes that Michigan and Michigan State ought to restrict the tweeting of their players. The top recruits in the state of Michigan have had mixed results of late. If you missed colleague Ivan Maisel's story from Thursday, Rich Rodriguez thinks he baked Brady Hoke's cake.
• Mel Kiper Jr. answered some questions about Michigan State's potential NFL draftees.
• Nebraska players showed off their stuff at the Huskers pro day, where Jared Crick did the bench press for scouts for the first time since his pectoral muscle injury.
• Jeremy Ebert stole the show at Northwestern's pro day, running a 4.38 40-yard dash. Dan Persa said he's willing to switch positions if that's what it takes to make an NFL roster.
• Former Ohio State star LeCharles Bentley is tutoring aspiring NFL offensive linemen, including Mike Brewster.
• Bill O'Brien has made up recruiting ground fast and hopes to get some more good news today from Adam Breneman. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Penn State was right to fire Joe Paterno.

A little basketball tournament just started in Indy. Who ya got?

• Russell Wilson got a little taller and was quite the baller in a dynamite pro day audition. Jon Budmayr's setback could have the Badgers going all out for a transfer quarterback.
• Purdue's Ishmael Aristide is making the switch from safety to wide receiver this spring.
• The coach of Penn State recruit Ross Douglas says the cornerback has tremendous upside. Matt Millen says Bill O'Brien just needs to be himself.
• Ohio State will do away with its courtesy car program for coaches and offer stipends instead. Urban Meyer issued an apology to Ohio State's gay and lesbian students for making his underperforming players wear lavender shirts.
• Former Northwestern running back Adonis Smith is transferring to UNLV.
• Linebacker Will Compton isn't happy about how the Nebraska defense played in 2011, and he's leading the charge to do something about it in 2012. Lavonte David's successor might not look much like him.
• Brady Hoke is ready to continue Michigan's success in Year Two (and did he really use the words "Ohio State?"). Al Borges expects Denard Robinson to keep running in 2012.
• There's no place Brian Ferentz and LeVar Woods would rather be than back home at Iowa. The bureaucratic hoops the Hawkeyes had to go through to hire the younger Ferentz are all pretty silly.
• Michigan State is pursuing a Texas offensive lineman.

Many football coaches like to say their programs are like a family. Iowa is walking the walk on that talk.

New Hawkeyes offensive line coach Brian Ferentz was officially introduced to the media on Wednesday and talked about reuniting with his dad and head coach, Kirk. One of the players Brian Ferentz will coach is center James Ferentz, his younger brother.

The pull of family was obviously strong, because the middle Ferentz was climbing his way up the coaching ladder with the New England Patriots. There was even talk that he might become Bill Belichick's offensive coordinator in the near future. But Brian Ferentz decided to come back to Iowa.

"It was a no-brainer," he said. "You can't say no to your father. And for me personally it was hard to say no to Iowa. I know that sounds cheesy and corny, but it was, it really was."

Kirk Ferentz said he wanted Brian to get some distance from Iowa as he started out in his coaching career so he could learn from other people. A couple of years ago, Brian asked about coming back and being a Hawkeyes graduate assistant. Kirk's response: "You're out of your mind."

But the timing was right this time, as Iowa experienced its first major staff shakeup in Kirk Ferentz's 13 years as head coach this offseason.

"For me it just seemed like a natural move for a lot of reasons," Brian Ferentz said. "This is home, this is family, and more than just family with my family, but I feel like this program is family for me.

"I think change can be a very healthy thing and I think it was time for a change for me personally to grow and hopefully I can be a part of the change of this program to do the same thing."

Change has certainly not been a hallmark of the Kirk Ferentz era, but with two new coordinators, as well as the promotion of LeVar Woods from administrative assistant to linebackers coach and the move from offensive line to defensive line for assistant Reese Morgan, the Hawkeyes won't look the same this spring.

"We'll look a little different defensively next year," Kirk Ferentz said. "It's not going to be wholesale different, but we will be different offensively, too."

Kirk Ferentz wasn't necessarily looking to change coaching assignments, saying he was happy with his old staff and adding, "we were not so dumb two years ago." Still, bringing in new coaches and changing some roles will mean some fresh perspectives and ideas.

And in the case of Brian Ferentz, the new blood happens to share DNA with the head coach. He said he recently received a note from Virginia Tech's Shane Beamer about what it's like to work with your father.

"I think he's like the associate head coach, so I've got a long way to go," Brian Ferentz said. "I'm not quite there yet."

But Iowa has this whole family thing down pat.

Links are served:

• Nebraska players are starting to take ownership of the team, a process that began right after the Capital One Bowl loss. Taylor Martinez is using the offseason to address some of the deficiencies in his game. Bo Pelini doesn't want a bunch of yes men on his staff.
• Purdue has a whole bunch of healthy quarterbacks for once, and they're ready for the competition -- although Sean Robinson has moved to linebacker this spring. Some news and notes from the Boilers' first practice.
• The commitment of Mike McCray to Michigan could cause a domino effect among linebacker prospects the Wolverines are interested in. The Michigan compliance department got involved when Roy Roundtree tweeted McCray.
• Michigan State is expecting record season ticket sales this season, so much so that there might not be single-game tickets available. Andrew Maxwell is ready for his turn as the Spartans quarterback.
• Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald does not support a proposal to make seven wins mandatory to play in a bowl and hopes the Big Ten doesn't vote for it.
• Kirk Ferentz made good decisions in hiring Greg Davis and Brian Ferentz, Pat Harty writes.
• Recruit Garrett Sickels called committing to Penn State a "no-brainer" despite the Sandusky scandal. The Nittany Lions are hoping to land Adam Breneman and Ryan Switzer, who look like perfect fits for Bill O'Brien's offense.
• Illinois players who were "All In" during winter conditioning were rewarded with a steak dinner, while Tim Beckman had to eat porridge. Whitney Mercilus writes a draft diary for the Chicago Tribune.
• Seth Littrell is making a smooth transition into the role of Indiana's offensive coordinator (subscription required).

Apologies for posting this late as I've been traveling all morning, but Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has bolstered his staff with former Hawkeyes players, announcing Brian Ferentz as offensive line coach and LeVar Woods as linebackers coach.

Brian Ferentz rejoins his father after spending the past four seasons on the New England Patriots staff. He served as tight ends coach in 2011, tutoring Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The younger Ferentz was an offensive assistant in 2010 after spending two years in scouting. Some saw him on the fast track to a play-calling role in the NFL, but he’ll return to Iowa, where he played for two Big Ten championship teams (2002, 2004).

Speculation about Ferentz’s return to Iowa increased after his father moved offensive line coach Reese Morgan to defensive line.

Woods’ appointment is no surprise after he spent the past four seasons as an administrative assistant for Iowa. He coached the defensive line in the 2011 Insight Bowl after Rick Kaczenski left for a position with Nebraska.

Woods’ promotion to an assistant coach seemed like a formality. The only mini surprise is that he’ll coach linebackers after Ferentz shuffled his defensive staff. Woods played linebacker at Iowa and for four NFL teams.

"I am excited to have LeVar and Brian, two men with strong ties to our program and high school football within the state of Iowa, join our staff," Kirk Ferentz said in a prepared statement. "LeVar and Brian had great careers at the University of Iowa and both have enjoyed unique experiences and opportunities since their graduation. I am confident they will make positive and significant contributions in all areas of our program."

Kirk Ferentz still has one staff vacancy to fill at offensive coordinator after losing Ken O’Keefe to the Miami Dolphins earlier this month.

Iowa fans grew antsy while waiting nearly two months for head coach Kirk Ferentz to name successor to Norm Parker at defensive coordinator. But Ferentz said Wednesday that he wanted to take his time with the decision, which resulted in defensive backs coach Phil Parker (no relation) being promoted on Tuesday.

"I just didn't see any advantage to moving quickly," Ferentz said at a news conference. "Unless you have to, there's no real advantage to that. So I just wanted to kind of sift through it, and I'm really glad that I did because my mind was in a couple different places. ... You want to take your time and feel really good."

Ferentz said he eventually settled on Parker -- who has spent the past 13 years coaching the Hawkeyes secondary -- as the best fit for the program. He said Parker has had opportunities to leave to go to other BCS teams, including a top-10 program that offered him a coordinator spot.

Ferentz did not announce a new offensive coordinator or any specific plans to fill the role vacated when longtime playcaller Ken O'Keefe left for the Miami Dolphins last week. He said he knew about O'Keefe possibly leaving as soon as Joe Philbin -- a friend of O'Keefe's -- got the Dolphins job. Expect Ferentz to take his time with this hire, too, even though current assistant Erik Campbell looks like a strong candidate to become another in-house promotion.

In some ways, it's understandable why Ferentz isn't making these decisions quickly. After all, O'Keefe and Norm Parker were the only coordinators he'd had at Iowa until this point.

"We probably cheated time here a little bit," he said. "I don't think anybody envisioned the head coach or two coordinators making it for 13 years. ... Right now, I'd settle for 10 out of the next two guys. That would be great if we could get 10 I'll be, what, 66. I'll have to figure that out then. Somebody will feel sorry for me and come join us at that point."

Some other notes from Ferentz's press conference:

• He explained his surprising decision to move offensive-line coach Reese Morgan to the defensive line by saying Morgan is an excellent teacher. The Hawkeyes will be very young on the D-line next season, and Ferentz felt Morgan was the right guy to get that group up to speed. He pointed to Morgan's excellent work of developing offensive linemen, including projected 2012 NFL first-rounder Riley Reiff, who came to school as a defensive end prospect.
• With the offensive line job open, speculation is rampant that Ferentz will hire his son Brian, currently a New England Patriots assistant, to coach that position. The elder Ferentz addressed that by saying he's "open to anything" but added that his son has a pretty good job right now.
• LeVar Woods was elevated from administrative assistant to a temporary coach during recruiting, and most expect him to be named the full-time linebackers coach. "He's still the interim coach as far as I know, at least," Ferentz said. "He's certainly interested in working here, and we'll let him go through the process. Hopefully he'll do well in the weeks ahead here and we'll find a seat for him."
• Ferentz said he didn't think the athletic department's budget would be an issue in hiring new assistants. But he also added, "I don't think we're going to try to sign a superstar coach or anything like that."
• A lot of Iowa fans wanted some change in the staff and many criticized O'Keefe's conservative game plans. Ferentz didn't rule out a major change with the new offensive coordinator, but odds are more likely that Iowa's style of play will look mostly the same. Ferentz said his next coordinator has to "believe in blocking" first and foremost. "As a head coach what I'm interested in is we've got to block. We've got to make the make-able plays and make sure we're doing a good job in turnover ratio. I think that's really critical if you're going to try to get somewhere."
• Iowa will move the start of its spring practice back a couple of days, and Ferentz would like to have the staff complete before the Hawkeyes get going in late March. But, again, moving fast is not his top priority. "Right now I think we've just got to make sure it's the right guy, certainly before we leave on spring break. ... Spring ball to me is about teaching the basics. It's about executing basic plays and just getting things taught. We have a very young team right now so it's not like we can be on page 7 anyway, so we really have to start at the beginning. So I think that gives us a little wiggle room there, too."

Iowa waited nearly two months to promote a position coach to a coordinator role. And that's not even the surprising part of the Hawkeyes' announcement Tuesday.

Phil Parker is Iowa's new defensive coordinator. After spending the past 24 seasons coaching defensive backs, the past 13 at Iowa, Parker now will lead the Hawkeyes' defense. He replaces Norm Parker, who announced his retirement in December. Although Phil Parker, who isn't related to Norm, had been mentioned as a top candidate when Norm announced his retirement, the likelihood of a promotion seemed to decrease as the days went on with no announcement from Kirk Ferentz.

Some Iowa fans had been gearing up for a big-splash hire, whether it was Mike Stoops back in December or former Michigan defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann in recent days. The big splash never happened, and Phil Parker gets the job. Expect him to maintain a similar defensive philosophy after working under Norm Parker for so long.

OK, so here's the surprising part: Reese Morgan, Iowa's offensive line coach for the past nine seasons, is moving to defensive line. He replaces Rick Kaczenski, who left in December for the same post on Nebraska's staff. Morgan has only coached offense at Iowa, working with the team's tight ends from 2000-2002 after serving as a high school coach in Iowa City.

Morgan's move is, well, odd. Defensive line is Iowa's biggest question mark entering 2012 -- yes, even bigger than running back -- so we'll see early how Morgan fares with the transition.

Ferentz also announced that Darrell Wilson will move from linebackers coach to defensive backs coach. Iowa has one defensive staff vacancy to fill, and administrative assistant LeVar Woods, a former Hawkeyes linebacker, likely will be named the team's linebackers coach. Woods' appointment makes a lot of sense.

"Phil, Darrell and Reese have all done an outstanding job in our program for a significant period of time," said Ferentz. "I am confident they will have a very positive effect on our team as we transition forward."

Ferentz, who has a news conference scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, still must name an offensive coordinator to replace Ken O'Keefe, who left last week for a post on the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff. He also must name an offensive line coach to replace Morgan.

Tuesday's announcement increases speculation that Brian Ferentz, Kirk's son and a New England Patriots assistant coach, will return to Iowa City in an assistant role. Don't be shocked to see Brian Ferentz named Iowa's offensive line coach.

That leaves the coordinator role, which could go to wide receivers coach Erik Campbell, if Ferentz once again promotes from within.

Should Ferentz go that route, he would be reaffirming faith in his guys rather than outsiders. The moves likely won't go over well with Iowa fans, who have seen the same two coordinators throughout Ferentz's tenure. Many fans naturally want big-splash hires from the outside. Phil Parker certainly isn't, and Campbell would fit into the same category. I think promoting Campbell makes a lot of sense, as he has paid his dues as a position coach.

We should learn more about Iowa's coaching plans Wednesday, so stay tuned ...