Deuce Hogan doing what he can to stay in shape during Coronavirus pandemic
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Like most athletes right now, Iowa football signee Deuce Hogan has had to improvise to stay in shape amid the Coronavirus pandemic that has shut down most everything around him.
The lone quarterback in Iowa’s 2020 recruiting class is simply doing what he can with what he has in his hometown of Southlake, Texas.
Texas issued a statewide stay-at-home order on April 2.
“All the gyms around me are closed,” Hogan said. “My school gym won’t let us in so I’m running a lot trying to stay in shape. And then as of, I think yesterday, (the Iowa coaching staff) sent out the workouts we can do with only dumbbells and then a lot of body weight stuff. There was a cross fit gym near me that didn’t close for a while, so I was able to go up there alone. But other than that lots of running and body weight stuff.”
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Hogan said he has been in frequent contact with Iowa quarterbacks coach Ken O’Keefe and has tried to get his hands on whatever he can to help him prepare for life as an Iowa football player, whenever that may be.
Players usually report to campus in June, but if that doesn’t happen Hogan said the Iowa coaching staff has considered the possibility of holding virtual meetings with players.
Hogan said he was also planning on taking a summer class at Iowa, but is unsure whether or not he will be able to now.
“It’s weird to think about,” Hogan said. “It’s very weird and I don’t really know what to think about it. I just know all I can do is try to stay in the best shape I can and keep throwing.
"I feel like in an ideal world I would probably grasp it better if I was able to be there on campus, just like all the other guys in this recruiting class. But I’m not even thinking about that as much as just wondering what’s next."
As far as the possibility of there not being a football season at all, Hogan is just trying to stay positive amid uncertainty.
“I just pray that doesn’t happen,” Hogan said. “I don’t even know (what I would do). My dad always tells me, and a lot of people have said this too, but life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. And so all I can control is what I can control.
“I know that the constant throughout this whole thing will be hard work and consistency. I just don’t know where that will be, whether that be in Iowa City or in Texas or what I’ll be working on all the time. There are a lot of variables in this so I’ll just keep working and control what I can.”
Away from football, Hogan has been working on completing his high school classes online and enjoying extra time with his family playing board and card games.
Hogan said he has also been playing guitar and piano and restrung the basketball hoop in the family’s driveway for the first time since his sophomore year of high school.
“For me its been a thing where – I’m obviously not grateful for this terrible breakout, it’s cost a lot of lives – but because we had to be on campus so early, I wasn’t going to get a lot of time with my family before I’m a long way away from home for a long time,” Hogan said. “So right now I’m just trying to invest in my little brother, play Fortnite with him, and enjoy every one of mama’s meals. I’m cherishing those now that I see how that clock is running out.”