Ricky Stanzi

Love it or leave it

This week Tim sits down with a modern Hawkeye legend; Ricky Stanzi. Though he didn’t grow up in Iowa, he certainly became a favorite son in his time in black and gold. Stanzi led the Hawkeyes to 3 bowl wins and a 3-0 record against the Cyclones in his 3 seasons as a starter. Tim also gets the chance to ask Stanzi about his career off of the football field which is a direct result of his not professional career not going as expected. 

Ricky Stanzi is from Ohio and knew he wanted to play Big Ten football. He was ready to run onto the field at Kinnick when Coach Ferentz and Ken O’Keefe came to recruit him. After three seasons on NFL sidelines, Kinnick still stands out as his favorite atmosphere. Stanzi led the Hawkeyes from 2008-2010 and won over 75% of his games. He was 3-0 against top 5 teams. 


Stanzi entered his senior year on several national award watch lists and seemed poised for a successful football career. Stanzi was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011. However, his time in KC didn’t continue on the same trajectory. He wore five different uniforms in the NFL before heading north to give the CFL a shot.

We watch babies move


Stanzi actually credits his limited opportunities for playing time in the NFL with getting him where he is now. Stanzi has become obsessed with improving sports performance through a better understanding of movement. By looking at natural movement patterns and correcting some errors of common training patterns, Stanzi believes that many of the most frequent non-contact injuries in sports could be avoided. His knowledge and passion are clear as he discusses what makes GOATs like Michael Jordan, Barry Sanders, and Simone Biles different from everyone else. Stanzi now works as a coach in the Greatest of All Time Athletes (GOATA) System trying to change the approach to sports performance.

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