By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It always is a treat when one of Iowa’s top two fullbacks attends the weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Brady Ross made a rare appearance a few Tuesdays ago and delivered what might be the quote of the season so far when he said he doesn’t pay attention to the outside noise anymore because that is a good way to lose IQ points.

Fellow fullback Drake Kulick took his turn in the spotlight on Tuesday and didn’t disappoint.

Kulick was invited to this week’s press gathering mostly because he scored his first touchdown as a Hawkeye in last Saturday’s stunning 55-24 upset over Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.

Kulick didn’t just score a touchdown, he caught one of Nate Stanley’s five touchdown passes against the Buckeyes.

An Iowa fullback catching a touchdown pass happens about as often as Nick Saban is pleasant.

Kulick’s touchdown only covered two yards, but it came during a record-setting performance against a powerhouse opponent that Iowa has defeated just five times since 1963.

It also came almost one year after Kulick broke his leg against Nebraska in the 2016 regular-season finale.

Kulick’s importance to the team can’t be measured in statistics or in playing time, but rather with emotion. His touchdown triggered a wild celebration with his teammates that morphed into an even bigger celebration after Saturday’s historic win.

“Anytime a fullback gets to touch the ball, forget about a touchdown, if they get to touch the ball, it's a big moment, so that's good,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday. “But yeah, then you factor in Drake's story, and it wasn't that long ago when he was out there in a lot of pain. You think about the rehab and all, and he's been in pain – I think he's doing pretty good right now. But early in the season it was hard for him.”

Kulick was injured on Iowa’s first offensive play of the game against Nebraska last season. His left leg was put into a splint and Kulick was carted off the field, pumping his fists along the way to inspire his teammates and the fans.

Kulick missed all of spring practice while recovering from his injury. But he worked hard to get back and is now being rewarded for his effort and determination.

Without being in the locker room with the players, it’s hard to know who the vocal leaders are for sure on the Iowa team. But it wouldn't be a surprise if Kulick, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior from Muscatine, had that role.

He plays a position that brings little glory, but lots of pain and suffering. And he plays it well.

Kulick also loves the physicality of football and the thrill of competition, which was apparent as he talked about facing the 9-0 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday in Madison, Wis.

“I like playing Wisconsin a lot because you know it’s going to be a knock-down drag out fight,” Kulick said. “We pride ourselves on being tough. They pride themselves on being tough. We pride ourselves on going the full sixth minutes and they do the same. So it’s just kind of let’s see who shows up on Saturday and who’s tougher.”

It has been a Hawkeye love fest since the shocking victory over Ohio State, with team and individual awards pouring in on a daily basis.

Iowa (6-3) also cracked the Associated Press poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 25 and one spot behind Iowa State, and vaulted to 20th in the College Football Playoff rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Kulick celebrated the Buckeye beat-down with his teammates on Saturday night and again on Sunday.

By Monday, though, it was time to move on as part of Kirk Ferentz’s 24-hour rule.

Kulick had clearly moved on by Tuesday and actually tried to temper the enthusiasm with the media, reminding them that Iowa was a double-digit underdog and ranked way below the Badgers.

“I don’t think there’s too much to get big-headed about,” Kulick said. “If it was the other way around, then there might be a little bit of worry that we might be resting on our laurels. But we’re the underdog, we’re two touchdown underdogs and they’ve got our trophy and we’re going to their house.

“So I don’t think there is much of a worry that we’re going to fall off and play like turds because we went out and did that on Saturday and we think that we’re Gods now. We’re going over there and we’re going to get our trophy back. That’s the only think we’re focused on.”

Kulick was referring to the Heartland Trophy, which has been given to the winner of the Iowa-Wisconsin game since 2004. Wisconsin gained possession of the trophy by defeating Iowa 17-9 last season at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa won the last game at Camp Randall Stadium 10-6 in 2015 and would go in to finish 12-0 during the regular season.

In fact, the visiting team has won the last six games in the series.

“I don’t know how much they respect us, but we certainly have a lot of respect for them,” Kulick said of Wisconsin. “They’re a very well run program and have been for as many years as I’ve been alive. So we respect them a lot.

“But that respect doesn’t go any further than that. There is no fear. We don’t believe that they’re better than us. We respect them and we respect the way they play. But come Saturday, when that ball is kicked off, respect goes out the window and it’s time to go.”

Kulick, as a hard-charging fullback, represents the way football used to be played all over the place, but Iowa is one of few programs that still relies on his position.

Kulick is used almost exclusively to block, so that’s why his touchdown was so well-received by his teammates and coaches.

Even Kirk Ferentz took time on Sunday to enjoy what his team had just accomplished.

“We see a different side of head coach than you guys do," Kulick said. "He’s very professional with you guys. But in the locker room he was extremely happy and he was very proud of us for the way we played. But his message on Sunday was we had the rest of the day to enjoy this and we should enjoy this because we worked really hard to get it. But come Monday, it was time to get back to work.”