Ferentz says he’s leaning against sending blockers downfield to help set up returns after Iowa was burned by a fake punt in Saturday’s loss to Michigan State.
Ferentz indicated that Iowa might always keep its defense home in the future, with a returner charged simply with keeping punts from hitting the ground.
Last Saturday wasn’t the first time this year that Iowa has been caught with its pants down on a punt return. Northern Illinois also caught the Hawkeyes in the season opener.
The crazy thing about this idea by Ferentz is that Iowa is second in the nation in punt return yardage this season, mostly thanks to the efforts of wide out Kevonte Martin-Manley, who has two return TDs while ranking second nationally in return average (25.78).
So if Ferentz goes this route, he’ll be giving up a dynamic return threat in exchange for the security of never getting fooled on a fake punt. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it?