Iowa football notebook: Braithwaite on replacing Doyle; Coaching staff high on Pottebaum
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Raimond Braithwaite made his first appearance in front of the media Thursday since being named Iowa’s interim strength and conditioning coordinator in June.
Braithwaite replaces Chris Doyle, who reached a separation agreement with Iowa on June 15 after several former players came forward with allegations of racial disparity within the program, most of which centered around Doyle.
“That was a very difficult situation for everybody involved,” Braithwaite said. “I’ve been close friends with Chris Doyle since 2002 and I have never witnessed or heard him make a racial comment. Now, with that being said, moving forward we need to challenge and push the guys that are on this team to help instill a confidence in them that they can do things, achieve things that they may not necessarily think they can, while at the same time we must ensure they have a good experience while they’re here at the University of Iowa. And that’s what we’re going to do moving forward.”
Braithwaite, who is entering his 16th season at Iowa, said that while Doyle may be gone, the general training philosophy will remain the same.
During Doyle’s 20 years with the program, Iowa gained a reputation for developing lightly-recruited high school players into NFL draft picks.
“The proof is in the results,” Braithwaite said. “And the results speak for themselves from a training philosophy perspective. I really believe in what we’ve done here currently, and what we’ve done in the past and plan on carrying that forward.”
Braithwaite also faces the challenge of running a strength and conditioning program during a global pandemic, which he said has forced him and his staff to get creative.
“We joke as a strength staff that the easiest part of our day is coaching the guys,” Braithwaite said. “That’s a relief. The training, and dealing with all the protocols and stipulations, you’re kind of hamstrung. It’s been really good for us as a staff because it has forced us to think outside the box. How can you still do certain drills or certain movements that we need to do without being able to use the equipment or the methods that we’ve used in the past.”
Pot-A-Bomb: Hawkeye fans may see an unfamiliar face make in impact in the backfield this season.
Iowa coaches spoke highly of sophomore walk-on fullback Monte Pottebaum on Thursday.
“Monte is a very special player at his position,” running backs coach Derrick Foster said. “He allows us to do multiple things. Monte can run the football, he can catch, he’s a versatile kid. He’s a very big kid, he’s got a nice size, long arms, big hands. He competes very well.
“I’ve been seeing him day in and day out come in the building and then going to practice and compete, he shows up on film. And I think that allows us as an offense to do some different things with him that we probably wouldn’t have in the past at that position.”
The 6-foot-1, 244-pound Pottebaum nearly ended up at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D., a short drive from his hometown of Larchwood.
But Pottebaum ended up at Iowa, with fellow West Lyon High School graduate, and Iowa specials teams coordinator, LeVar Woods.
“The coach at Augustana is not a fan of mine,” Woods said. “I think he was going to go there to play linebacker and they had really high hopes for him. We stole him, we got him to come here. I’m really happy he’s here. You look at some of the things that he’s able to do, not only the fullback position, but from a special teams standpoint I think he looks to add to be a core contributor for us.”
Cronk Time: It’s not often Iowa has an offensive lineman join the program with 40 Big Ten starts under his belt.
Indiana graduate transfer Coy Cronk is doing just that.
The Lafayette, Ind., native joined Iowa during the spring semester and has quickly made his impact felt, according to offensive line coach Tim Polasek.
“This guy from a character standpoint, you’d think he was a sophomore trying to break through,” Polasek said. “That’s how coachable he is. I really appreciate that. I think he’s eager for football in general. I really appreciate his approach daily. He’s trying to do it our way, the technique and the system. He’s not a guy I have to worry about, OK, he’s just going to revert back to however he was coached before.”
The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Cronk was named to the Outland Trophy preseason watch list in 2019 and 2020.
He played in four games at Indiana last season before suffering a season-ending injury against Connecticut.
Nobody is Safe: Even if you’re a consensus All-American, special teams coordinator LeVar Woods made it clear Thursday that nobody’s spot on the depth chart is safe.
Woods said that he doesn’t want senior kicker Duncan, who finished runner-up for the Lou Groza Award last season, to rest on his laurels.
Woods may have made his comments in jest, but he wasn’t smiling when he said it.
“All jobs are open and everybody knows that,” Woods said.
Jonesin’ for Playing Time: Iowa’s receiving corps is as deep as it has been in some time, especially now with the addition of Buffalo transfer Charlie Jones.
The 6-foot, 187-pound Jones has gained hype on social media since he joined the team last season, and receivers coach Kelton Copeland mentioned Jones as someone who could break into the rotation this season.
Jones, a native of Deerfield, Ill., sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
“He’s done some really promising things in practice,” Copeland said. “Is there a chance for him to get on the field? Absolutely. Does he need to improve on some things? Absolutely. That’s part of my job, as well as his. He’s done a really tremendous job.”
Jones caught 18 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns for Buffalo in 2018.
KF comments on QB1: Sophomore quarterback Spencer Petras is entering his first year as a starter at Iowa, replacing three-year starter Nate Stanley.
Petras was named the starter shortly after Iowa’s Holiday Bowl victory over Southern Cal last December, and head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke Thursday about why Petras stood out to him and his coaching staff.
“Like all the guys on our roster we certainly liked him in the recruiting phase of things,” Ferentz said. “And recruiting’s, a big percentage of that is projection, based on what you learn about a prospect and then what you see and then what you think maybe they can grow into. Until you get them on campus you’re never quite sure and I think it was really last November where, at least me personally, I felt like we saw Spencer starting to hit his stride a little bit and gain the confidence and showed some things that maybe would give you thought that he could become a really good player in our program.
“So I think we saw that, we saw that continue in December and the fact that Nate’s gone now, certainly opens the door for him. But, yeah, we’re really pleased with what we know about him, what we have seen of him on the field, off the field, the way he works with his teammates. And I’ll echo that, Alex Padilla too, I’ve seen him in the last two weeks I guess just kind of gain some confidence too and do some really good things as well.”
A Vegan O-Lineman: Iowa offensive line coach Tim Polasek is experiencing a first in his nearly 20-year coaching career.
And that is coaching a vegan offensive lineman.
Senior Alaric Jackson has noticeably slimmed down since last season but has not lost weight while maintaning a vegan diet.
“I don’t think I’ve coached a vegan before,” Polasek said. “He no longer appreciates my pictures of meat and the jerky I smoked. He’s not interested in that. He’s quicker, he’s more sudden. I see a change in the morning. He’s got a little more energy, so maybe there’s something to this, maybe we all should take some notes.