HAWK TALK

September 2018

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39 Editor's Note: On Aug. 31, the National Iowa Varsity Club welcomed seven members into its 30th Hall of Fame class at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. e inductees were introduced at halime of the Northern Illinois-Iowa football game Sept. 1 inside Kinnick Stadium. Short in stature, huge in heart. at's how University of Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz describes Bob Sanders, one of the most ferocious defenders to play for the Hawkeyes. "I wasn't really recruited at all (out of high school)," said Sanders, his 5-foot-8, 200-pound frame blamed as the perceived liability. But the smallest guy on the field compensated with hustle and hard work during his playing days at Cathedral Prep in Erie, Pennsylvania. One of his high school coaches, Joe Moore, also coached Ferentz at Upper St. Clair in Pittsburgh. Moore phoned Ferentz and said Sanders would make the Hawkeyes better. Iowa was coming off a 1-10 season and aer watching film, Ferentz offered a scholarship. e Hawkeye Hit Man was born. He came to Iowa City in the same recruiting class that produced future pros Jonathan Babineaux, Tony Jackson, Nate Kaeding, Derreck Robinson, Fred Russell, Benny Sapp, and Kevin Worthy. Sanders played immediately on special teams in 2000. In the ninth game of the season against Wisconsin, he started and made 12 tackles. He remained in the starting lineup for the final three games, making eight stops at Penn State, 12 against Northwestern, and three at Minnesota. Iowa was 2-2 with Sanders in the starting lineup and he was named honorable mention All-Big Ten. "You hate to single out one guy because there have been so many players who gave us a chance to get traction, but Bob was such a catalyst for us defensively," Ferentz said. "We started operating with some tempo, a little bit more urgency, and then we became good. Bob was a big part of that." e Hawkeyes were 3-9 in 2000, 7-5 in 2001, 11-2 in 2002, and 10-3 in 2003. With the hard-hitting Sanders at safety, the Hawkeyes won 24 of their final 30 games. Iowa played in three straight bowl games, defeating Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl in 2001, losing to Southern California in the Orange Bowl in 2003, and defeating Florida in the Outback Bowl in 2004. Postseason play was a highlight for Sanders. "Going to the bowl games were the bonus at the end of the season," Sanders said. "We worked so hard throughout the year, beginning with training camp. It felt good to make it to those bowls." Sanders finished his college career with 348 tackles, 30 pass breakups, 16 tackles for loss, and seven interceptions. ree times he was named first-team All-Big Ten, twice he was Iowa's most valuable player, and aer the 2003 season, was named permanent team captain. Sanders was a second-team All-American by e Associated Press in 2003.

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