Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz speaks with the media each Tuesday during the football season. Every week, The Daily Iowan‘s Pregame Staff will post highlights and interesting quotes and lines from Ferentz’s press conference.

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By Danny Payne
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This is the lightest Kirk Ferentz press conference I’ve ever been to. Just wanted to throw that out there.

• First words, “Thank you, Steve [Roe, Iowa’s sports information director]” Mixing it up here.
• “Marshall’s always had the leg strength but his consistency the last few years has really improved.”
• “Somebody pointed out to me — the students stayed right to the end.”
• Captains are the same — Ott, Lomax, Blythe, Beathard.
• Ferentz said his team came out fairly healthy — some bumps and bruises, but nothing super big.
• On North Texas: “I think it was [LA Angels manager] Mike Scioscia that said a few years ago, ‘Games aren’t played on paper.’ “
• “I think the message we’re trying to get across to our football team is each week we’re trying to grow and develop … That’s especially true here, we need to be growing each and every week and taking advantage of those opportunities.”
• [Dillon Kidd] has done a really good job … Marshall’s biggest challenge is developing consistency, I would give that to Dillon too.”
• Ferentz says the jury is still out on morning practices.
• Ferentz says one of the best things about coaching at Iowa in the 1980s was the tight-knit feeling amongst the coaches.
• On LeShun Daniels, Jr. — “He just couldn’t drive off of [his ankle] the way he needs to be to be successful.”
• On Drew Ott — “Similar to LeShun, but the good thing is that time’s on our side right now.” Says if he can play effectively, the Hawkeyes are going to let him play.
• On Jake Duzey — “I doubt he’ll go this week, but we’re getting closer.” Duzey was in uniform against Pittsburgh and went through warmups.
• On the feeling in the locker room — “Winning doesn’t hurt, I can tell you that much.”
• Ferentz says the biggest things he wants his team to improve before the Big Ten season are little details. “If we don’t get those things cleaned up, we’re going to get found on them.”
• On rugby punts: “It’s a new me.” Brings up feeling after Nebraska game last season. “Everyone left that stadium and said *grunt noise,* really?”
• On home-field advantage: “I know it was short of a sellout but it felt like a sellout. I can’t remember it being much louder, especially at the end.”
• On Beathard’s run game: “We knew he had the potential but the thing I’m most excited about is that he’s been able to get down or get out of bounds at the right time.”
• “We’re not getting into a spread vs. non-spread debate today, I can promise you that.”