Growing up Hawkeye

Derek Pagel

Book - 2014

Growing Up Hawkeye: The inside story of Iowa Football's 1999-2002 rise to Big Ten champion, told by a walk-on turned NFL draft pick. Derek Pagel arrived at The University of Iowa as a small-town walk-on, and left five years later for the bright lights of New York as an NFL draft pick. In between, he helped usher in a new era of Hawkeye football. Pagel shares inside stories of the transition from legendary coach Hayden Fry to Kirk Ferentz, of the frustration that set in as the Hawkeyes sank to 0-8 in the Big Ten Conference in 1999, and of the celebration as they went 8-0 just three seasons later. Relive the highlights with Pagel as he explains how he - and the program - grew up under Ferentz. Read about how the coaching staff orchestrat...ed the climb from the cellar, how the team pulled together to shake off failure, and how Pagel personally grew and matured into a player worthy of a scholarship and a pro contract. Former Hawkeye players Tim Dwight, Matt Roth, Sean Considine, Scott Boleyn, D.J. Johnson, Colin Cole, Fred Barr, Warren Holloway, Ben Sobieski and Edgar Cervantes share stories and insights. The memoir is a must-read for any Iowa Hawkeye football fan, answering all the questions about what it's like to be a Hawkeye player. Pagel, The University of Iowa's 2013 alumni winner of the Brett Greenwood Award, spells out in moving detail exactly what it was like, Growing Up Hawkeye. more