By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One year of interviewing Rusty Feth is better than nothing.

That was my thought after having interviewed Iowa’s highly entertaining graduate transfer offensive lineman on Wednesday.

Feth was among a handful of Iowa players that met with the media, and it was fun interacting with him.

We talked about the struggles on offense, and with the offensive line specifically, because you can’t bury an obvious storyline, even if it is depressing.

But we also talked about Bigfoot, his love for tattoos, and the stories behind his body paint, and about the Wave.

I’m happy to report that Feth and I are both Bigfoot fans, but also non-believers.

“I just thought Bigfoot was cool,” Feth said when asked about his Bigfoot tattoo. “I never ever believed he was real. I wanted to as a kid, but now, I don’t know, to think that people believe there’s like an eight-foot giant Bigfoot walking around is just kind of cool to me.”

There were several other media members interviewing Feth at the time, but as the only media member born before 1970, or maybe even 1980 or 1990 in the group, I used that experience to ask Feth if he were aware of a 1987 movie titled “Harry and the Hendersons” starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon and Don Ameche.

To no surprise, he wasn’t aware of the movie, nor do I believe were the other media members standing nearby.

I was, obviously, showing my age, but for a good cause as I wanted Feth to know about a movie in which a family hits a Bigfoot on the way home from a camping trip, brings it home thinking it’s dead, and that a fortune could be earned from the discovery, only to find out later that it’s alive and in the kitchen.

“Okay, I’ll check it out for sure,” Feth said.

He might have said that just to make me feel good, but I think he was being genuine because that seems to be Rusty Feth.

He has nothing to hide, including, of course, his tattoos.

He wears them like a badge of honor, the owl, the wolf and the skull, an interest handed down from his father.

“My dad’s all tatt-ed up, so, I kind of fell in love with it as a kid, it kind of made it easy,” Feth said of his love for tattoos. “I know you’re supposed to have meaning and it’s going to be on my body forever.”

Feth then shared a story in which he and his father both got the same tattoo of a dagger while together in Florida.

The tattoo came with a saying that Feth uses as inspiration.

“I’ve got a quote here that “tough times never last” and that means something to me,” Feth said. “That’s probably the most meaningful one.

“Just do some hard stuff and you’re always going to get through it, no matter what.”

Iowa is using this bye week to help get through the tough times.

The bye week comes on the heels of a devastating 12-10 loss to Minnesota this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in which Iowa had a late touchdown on a punt return by Cooper DeJean erased due to an invalid fair catch signal.

Iowa’s next game is against Northwestern on Nov. 4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

“Having this bye week is really nice, I will say,” Feth said. “We have a four-week season ahead of us and that’s all we have to focus on, these next four games.

“And it’s going to fly bye.”

Feth’s time as a Hawkeye will fly bye since he only has one season of eligibility.

And though the offense has struggled in all phases this season, Iowa still is 6-2 overall and in contention for a Big Ten West Division title.

Feth spoke optimistically about his situation on and off the field, and that’s what you would expect from him.

While the fans and the media can point out the problems on offense and be critical, Feth and his cohorts have to stay positive and focused on the task at hand.

“Be better than the previous week, and I think we’ve done a good job with that,” Feth said. “We just have a mindset if we mess something up, move on, we’ll watch it later, learn from it and get better from it. We buy into that and get better every day and every week.

“At the end of the season, we’ll still have the same mindset if we have one more game left, during practice that week, we have to get better for this game.”

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz couldn’t have said it any better.

A native of Colerain, Ohio, Feth has been a Hawkeye for less than a year, but he seems to fully understand the culture and the mindset that Kirk Ferentz has built over a quarter century as head coach.

The hope was that Iowa’s veteran offensive line in which the the five starters, which includes Feth, have combined for 129 career starts, would take a significant step forward this season.

But it just hasn’t happened.

There have been stretches in which the offensive line has excelled, including the back-to-back games against Purdue and Wisconsin in games six and seven when Iowa combined to rush for 381 yards in the two victories.

The problem has been the inability to sustain a productive ground attack.

Feth didn’t make any excuses or point fingers when talking about the problems on offense.

He preferred to stay positive, because that’s just seems to be his nature, and because it’s the right thing to do.

Feth’s decision to be a Hawkeye has reunited him with Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett. Feth spent his first two years at Miami with Barnett as his position coach. Barnett is now in his third season as Iowa’s offensive line coach.

“Everyone here, there is no one I couldn’t ever to talk to here,” said Feth, who started 34 games for Miami (Ohio), including the last 25 at center. “Coaches, players, just the guys, because they go through the same stuff. It’s easy to relate to someone when they’ve done it with you.”

In addition to his tattoos, the 6-foot-3, 310-pound Feth also has a bright orange beard that stretches to the top of his chest.

He looks like an offensive lineman, or a giant lumberjack.

But even someone his size needs a break from the physical demands of playing football.

“It is good to have a break and to get away from it for a couple days,” Feth said. “Like these past couple practices, it is a bye week and it’s just been really good to get out there and run around for an hour and then be done. It’s pretty nice.”

Feth is what’s good about the transfer portal.

He came to Iowa after having played for Miami (Ohio) for four seasons.

Feth gave his heart, soul and body to the Redhawks, but he wanted to end his career on the biggest stage of college football.

He wanted to play against the best and being a Hawkeye has given Feth that opportunity.

It also has given Feth a chance to be a part of the Wave, which is now widely regarded as the greatest tradition in college sports.

It happens at the end of the first quarter of home games at Kinnick Stadium when the players, coaches and support staff from both teams, along with the officials and the fans, turn and wave to the patients on the top floor of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which is across the street from the stadium.

The tradition started in 2017 after a fan suggested it on Facebook and it has since grown into a celebrated tradition that is unique to Hawkeye football.

Feth experienced the Wave for the first time as a freshman for Miami (Ohio).

“And that was cool, but here for Iowa, and doing the Wave, I don’t even know if words can explain it,” Feth said. “It’s just really cool, and I think everyone feels the same way.”