Harty: Faith Ekakitie has my respect for staying the course
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Seven members of the Iowa football team met with the media on Wednesday to mark the start of summer workouts.
The group consisted of six starters, including 2015 Jim Thorpe Award winner Desmond King and second-team all-Big Ten quarterback C.J. Beathard.
Senior defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie was the lone reserve to meet with the press on Wednesday.
There were times when Ekakitie stood or sat by himself on Wednesday while his more celebrated teammates answered questions from reporters.
He didn’t seem bothered by the lack of attention.
Ekakitie was just being a good teammate. He was asked to attend the press conference because starting defensive tackle Nathan Bazata had a scheduling conflict.
One reporter eventually made his way over to Ekakitie and was soon joined by a few others, including myself.
At that point, I figured I’d write about King or Beathard because each is a star and because each has an intriguing story to tell.
But the more I heard Ekakitie talk about the importance of finishing what you start and about his respect and admiration for the Iowa coaches, it was apparent that he also has a great story to tell.
His story is about perseverance and patience and about picking a college for all the right reasons.
It’s about checking your ego at the door and making the team a bigger priority than your individual pursuits.
And it’s about preparing for life after football and for the obstacles that are sure to stand in the way.
A lot of players in Ekakitie’s position as a former four-star recruit with multiple power five scholarship offers would’ve bolted from Iowa a long time ago because we live in an age of instant gratification and because some players feel a sense of entitlement.
Ekakitie certainly had other options, but he has chosen to stick it out at Iowa for reasons that he shared on Wednesday.
“I feel like that’s the way my parents have raised me, if your start something, you had better finish it,” Ekakitie said. “And I love being here at the University of Iowa.
“Besides coming here to play football, I feel like I’ve grown as a man. And I just love my college experience so far. And I really wouldn’t want to change that.”
That says a lot about Ekakitie’s character and resolve and a lot about Kirk Ferentz’s approach to running the Iowa program.
Instead of being bitter or making excuses about not being a starter, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Ekakitie looked in the mirror on Wednesday, telling reporters that he has to be more consistent.
He trusts the Iowa coaches and respects their opinion.
“I feel like the University of Iowa is one of the few places where you can come and the coaching staff is realistic with you,” Ekakitie said. “They’re not going to sugarcoat things and tell you, hey, you’re going to come in and you’re going to play play right away.
“They tell you that you’re going to come in and you’re going to work. You’re going to work for whatever you get.”
Ekakitie singled out Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle for special praise, saying Doyle is one, if not the best at what he does.
“That’s what really attracted me to the University of Iowa,” Ekakitie said.
Attracting Ekakitie to Iowa is one thing. But getting him to stay is another.
He grew up in Canada and attended a prep school in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Ill. So it wasn’t as if Ekakitie was born and raised to be a Hawkeye.
He was born and raised to be strong and sure, though. And it takes somebody with those qualities to stay the course.
Ekakitie has one more season to make his mark as a Hawkeye. He has had sporadic success on the field, highlighted by his goal-line fumble recovery against Wisconsin that helped to secure a 10-6 victory last season in Madison, Wis.
“At that point, I was just happy to do whatever I could to help our team,” Ekakitie said.
Recovering a fumble wouldn’t be enough to make some players happy, but Ekakitie is different.
He is loyal to the end and he thinks being a Hawkeye is a privilege whether he starts or not.
Ekakitie picked Iowa for more than just football. He picked it because he had faith in the coaches, no pun intended, and because he felt it was the best place for him to become a responsible young man.
In that case, mission accomplished.