CEDAR FALLS — Development will be a byproduct, but the focus during Northern Iowa’s spring football practices is winning now.
UNI head coach Mark Farley made it clear how he sees the spring season during a media availability on Monday.
“This is all about winning now,” Farley said. “We have to come out of the gate now. What we do in the spring is the first season. It is not spring ball. To me, it is the first season so when we line up for the first time against [Valparaiso] that is not our first season. We are going into our second season … It is kind of creating the atmosphere, the environment, in practice that we can find out as much about each other as we can.”
In the final week of the spring season — the Panthers’ “first season” — Farley said he wants to see more progress before the end of spring camp on Friday which he said means taking a different approach than previous years.
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“There have been some times that we have closed down [in the final week],” Farley said. “In this particular season, we need to make progress … We have to get better today based on what we have accomplished so far, but what we still need to get done.”
A transformational offseason necessitated such an approach.
In 2024, the Panthers will feature a new starting quarterback, center, offensive coordinator and five additional position coaches. UNI will also need to replace its most productive wide receiver Sam Schnee, leading tackler Jahsiah Galvan, tackles for loss leaders Khristian Boyd and Cordarrius Bailey and four starters in the secondary.
The roster and staff turnover did not catch anyone by surprise. It is the state of college football right now.
“Coaches, players, athletic directors — it is a moving part right now,” Farley said. “At a university our size, we know we are going to have young, inspired talent whether it is coaches or players and then we have to play, and I have to coach that. I have to groom the system to that to fit that. To me, that is college athletics today.
“There is a lot more attrition year-to-year because of NIL, because of big-time TV contracts and more analytics. There are a lot of reasons why there is attrition right now, but we know this: We are going to get young, inspired talent here.”
When asked what pleasant surprises occurred during camp, Farley said he is pleased with the progress of the secondary.
“It seems like that one has hit expectations and, at least to this point — we have a long ways to go,” Farley said. “I am probably more comfortable there than I was at the beginning of spring ball.”
He also added that he likes what he has seen and knows what he has on offense though no quarterback emerged yet in a battle headlined by Iowa natives Jaxon Dailey and Aidan Dunne.
“I know we have talent, offensively, in places,” Farley said. “It is the depth and the unified effort … it is bringing the best out of the talent that we have.”
However, before anything on the field, Farley said his first step lies in unifying his staff which added offensive coordinator Luke Falk, wide receivers coach Trey Tinsley, tight ends/tackles coach Brian Folkerts, cornerbacks coach Bryce Jones, safeties coach/pass game coordinator LaQuentin Black and special teams coordinator Tucker Meyer.
“The priority really is getting the coaches ready for the season as much as it is getting the team ready for the season,” Farley said. “It has to be a unit that pulls in the same direction in a unified way, and they are able to communicate, they are able to think in similar fashions and be able to react and do things instinctively … That takes time.
“How is Luke [Falk] going to call it? Who is going to be the main communicator? How is he going to respond to adversity? We need to find out, now, how coaches respond as well because we have some new bodies, new faces, out there.”
The lack of familiarity and continuity does not shake Farley’s confidence.
“I do not know that it is a system,” Farley said. “I think it is a continuity in the belief in the team — [from] the coaches and the players alike — and the intensity and the pride in the team.
“You have to have a will to win.”
Pointing to his first season at UNI, in which UNI went 11-3 and advanced to the FCS semifinals despite a delayed spring, Farley said he knows the Panthers can be prepared to win out of the gate.
“Get the best inspired people to motivate your team, get the most inspired athletic players on the field and give me some good teachers, give me six months and we will be ready to roll,” Farley said.
UNI will put their retooled squad on display in their annual spring game on Friday at 7 p.m. According to Farley, the format for the spring game was yet to be determined though he did make note that he was allowed to bring in officials for the game.