Analysis: Vikings need a center. They can learn something from Kirk Ferentz.

The longtime Iowa head coach understands how to develop top NFL offensive linemen and how draft experts can sell centers short.

Chuckles were shared recently between a certain old sportswriter and the winningest football coach in Big Ten history when one particular scouting ding against former Iowa center and current NFL draft prospect Logan Jones was read aloud over the phone.

Despite starting 50 games, earning unanimous first-team All-America honors, winning the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center, and anchoring the finest line in college football per the Joe Moore Award, it seems Jones’ arms are too short.

The OG sportswriter and Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz go back to 1993, when Ferentz was hired as Bill Belichick’s offensive line coach in Cleveland, so Ferentz was asked, tongue in cheek, if perhaps Jones was part turtle, or if the young man has ever needed any help getting off his back or paying for drinks with arms so dreadfully short.

“I swear to God, I don’t think we’ve had a lineman that the so-called draft experts didn’t make that short-arms comment about,” said Ferentz, who has had 21 of his offensive linemen drafted since he took over for Hayden Fry at Iowa in 1999.

“That’s one commonality we’ve had. I guess I need to find guys with longer arms. The other commonality is we’ve had a lot of really good linemen go on to play in Pro Bowls and make All-Pro as really good NFL players.”

Because of his short arms (30¾ inches) and lighter frame (299 pounds), and the usual deflation on centers, Jones isn’t expected to be taken until Rounds 2-4 of the NFL draft next week.

The Vikings have three picks in that range. The 49th overall in the second round and the 82nd and 97th overall in the third. They also need a center. Badly.

If Jones is the best player available, the Vikings should grab him, short arms and all. They won’t be sorry, Ferentz says.

“If you draft Logan, you just locked down your center position for the next eight to 10 years,” Ferentz said. “It’s easy for me to talk openly about Logan because, to me, he’s got no flaws. And he’s impressively mature. He doesn’t get distracted. He’s always focused on what’s important. Historically, the best players I’ve been around, that’s one of their secrets.”

Ferentz spent nine years coaching Fry’s offensive lines in the 1980s. He coached the position in the NFL from 1993 until taking the Iowa job 27 years ago. He’s also become a bit of a center whisperer over the years.

He found Jones and Jones’ predecessor, Tyler Linderbaum, on the other side of the Hawkeyes’ line of scrimmage. Both came to Iowa City as OK defensive tackles until Ferentz made them elite centers.

“The reasoning was twofold,” Ferentz said. “One, assessing our roster, we didn’t have a center. And, two, center, to me, is a special position that requires a guy who is a little bit special playing it.

“It’s like quarterback. Ultimately, your quarterback better be someone everyone will follow. I feel centers have to do the same thing for your offensive line. He better be a leader, a difference-maker. It was evident to me that Tyler and Logan were just wired a little bit differently. It was a chance to help us as a team and also extend their careers into the NFL.”

The Ravens made Linderbaum the 25th overall pick in 2022. This spring, after three Pro Bowl seasons and starting every game since Day 1 in the NFL, Linderbaum hit free agency and got a three-year, $81 million deal – a fully-guaranteed contract that pays him an average of $27 million a year, shattering the previous record for a center by $9 million annually.

“Who knows, maybe the Ravens plan to draft Logan to replace Tyler,” Ferentz said. “I’m being facetious, but it would be a lot cheaper.”

STRIB