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 Ferentz era begins with drills at Iowa
Posted: Thursday March 25, 1999 08:37 PM
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz got his first look at his new Hawkeye football team on Wednesday with the start of spring drills. Workouts will continue past Iowa's scheduled April 17 spring game at Kinnick Stadium. "We'll use the spring as a chance to see just what we have. It will really be our first chance to evaluate the talent that is here on campus," he said. "We're going in with no preconceived notions. It will be a time when the coaches will probably learn as much as the players do." The spring game will be part of the evaluation process. Instead of coming at the end of practices, Ferentz has scheduled it about three-quarters of the way through the team's workouts. Things that need work based on that game will get focused attention during the next week. While Iowa has holes to fill on both sides of the line, such as replacing Jared DeVries on defensive and Derek Rose on offense, the Hawkeyes do return ample experience at the skill positions. The top three quarterbacks all return. Kyle McCann, Randy Reiners and Scott Mullen return from last year's 3-8 team that finished 2-6 in the Big Ten and shared ninth place in the league with Illinois. All three started at least once for the Hawkeyes, who were led by McCann's 54 percent completion rate. McCann hit 86 of 159 passes for 1,179 yards. The team's leading rusher and receiver, both freshmen a year ago, also return. Ladell Betts ran for a team-high 679 yards on 188 carries last fall while Kahlil Hill caught 35 passes for 432 yards and two touchdowns. Betts is the only back who rushed for more than 60 yards that returns this season. Hill led a group of five freshmen who topped Iowa's receiving charts last season. The Hawkeyes return their top six receivers, including Hill, Bashir Yamini, Betts, Ryan Barton, Kevin Kasper and Austin Wheatley. Yamini, the team's second-leading receiver a year ago, is forgoing outdoor track this spring to concentrate on football. A 13th-place finisher at the NCAA indoor meet, Yamini will redshirt in track this spring to focus on football. That also will allow him to compete in track as a fifth-year senior next spring, something that will help him train for the U.S. Olympic trials.
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