Kirk Ferentz credits Santa Claus for Iowa football roster

Grateful for his football roster heading into this season, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz went straight to the top and thanked the big man personally.

Christmas in July for the Iowa football team, as head coach Kirk Ferentz is very thankful for his 2024 roster. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Ferentz seems to be in the Christmas spirit early this year when looking at all the players who are returning to his Iowa football roster ahead of the 2024 season, giving credit to a surprising source for the Hawkeyes' returning talent.

"I do believe in Santa Claus and getting those guys back was part of that," Ferentz joked at Big Ten Media Days. "That was a Merry Christmas for all of us. We tried to be real fairly cautious and just diligent with our work on that."

Iowa lost only 11 players to the transfer portal, a relatively low number in the modern era, and retains names like quarterback Cade McNamara, tight end Luke Lachey, and linebackers Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins, among others.

"I'm elated all those guys are back," Ferentz said. "Not to compliment our team, but I think it just speaks volumes all those guys wanted to come back."

He added: "They're the kind of guys you want back because they're the guys that should be at the front of the room and younger guys will benefit if they pay attention."

The defending Big Ten West champion Hawkeyes return an expected 69 percent of their total football production from last season, according to ESPN.

That mark includes a purported 80 percent of its offense, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your view of how that side of the ball will fare this fall under new coordinator Tim Lester.

Iowa ranked dead-last in college football with 235.4 total yards per game and was second-to-last nationally by scoring 15.4 points on average each time out.

The Hawkeyes were 8th from the bottom with 216 total points scored throughout the season.

The year before, Iowa scored 230 points, compared to 328 in the 2021 season, and the Hawkeye put up 254 points total during the 2020 campaign, all ranked well in the bottom third nationally.

Hopefully, Santa Claus brought Iowa the right offensive coordinator, too.

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