New Hampton linebacker Carter Ferrie left Iowa City on Sunday impressed with the family atmosphere displayed by those around him during his junior day trip. We caught up with the 6-foot-2, 210-pound prospect in the Class of 2021 to talk about the visit, the latest on his recruiting, and much more.
Q: How was your trip overall at Iowa today?
FERRIE: I had a great time. I met some really great guys like T.J. Bollers and others from my Class of 2021. There truly is a family atmosphere and I saw that pretty clearly today.
Q: Was the family atmosphere between the recruits or from the coaches?
FERRIE: Both for sure. For example, with the recruits it's nice talking to people about where they're from and how their seasons did and all that. Then from the coaches, they all make you feel like you’re at home. Every time I see Coach Reese Morgan, he greets me with a smile and a handshake. The same goes for Coach Seth Wallace.
Q: What was your schedule during the day?
FERRIE: We started the day off with a meal and then my group was taken to the weight room just to look around first. After that, we went to the athletic training room and talked to the head athletic trainer. We followed that up by going into the locker room and taking some pictures in there. Following that, we went to the player’s lounge and saw that briefly along with the NFL players wall. Then we went into the players’ auditorium and watched a video about culture at Iowa. Following that, we went down onto the practice field and took pictures in the game jerseys. Then we went from there to a player panel with seven current players from the football team where they talked to us without coaches in the room. And finally, we ended the day with a position meeting.
Q: What was your highlight of the day?
FERRIE: Besides the food, it definitely had to be the player panel. Iowa's been my team for a while so seeing those players and having Nate Stanley answer my questions heart fully was very cool to me.
Q: What did you learn from his answers specifically?
FERRIE: I asked about transitions from a high school playbook to a college one. He told me it's very hard and way more complex and that it will take time. He said if I wasn't in any sports other than football, it wouldn't hurt to graduate early just because it'd help you to get that playbook down sooner since you'll be on campus sooner. And he said you can always go to your coach if you have a question, so that's all good to know.
Q: How do you feel about the Iowa program overall?
FERRIE: I feel like it's an excellent program. They've shown they are very stable with only having two head coaches since the 1970's and that's really nice to know the coaching staff won't change halfway through my college career if I was to attend Iowa. Their strength and conditioning program is fantastic and Coach Doyle would most definitely do a great job of maximizing my potential. Finally, it's back to that family atmosphere that I perceived about the place. All that adds up to show me it's a great program.
Q: Did they say anything about you as a recruit?
FERRIE: Nope, not on this trip.
Q: What does your summer camp schedule?
FERRIE: I plan on going to UNI on May 27th, I’m going back down to Iowa on June 2nd, I plan on going to SDSU June 10th, and Michigan State on June 15th. That's it for now.
Q: What school do you feel is recruiting you the hardest?
FERRIE: As of now, the only two schools really are Iowa and Michigan State.
Q: How do you feel about this upcoming season?
FERRIE: I feel good. We had a rough season last year but this next year we all have better chemistry together. We will miss some guys like Noah Fenske obviously and others like Keagan Kane, but we'll manage.
Q: Who will be toughest opponent on your schedule?
FERRIE: Definitely Waukon. Waukon focuses on their football program so much and it's a very successful one because of that.
See highlights from Ferrie's sophomore year at New Hampton in the video below.
