Ricky Stanzi: A True Humanitanzi

It was a cold night at the Orange Bowl in Miami, with Iowa leading 14-0 and seemingly in complete control. Then the all-too-familiar happened. Georgia Tech's Jerrard Tarrant jumped a quick curl route and picked off a Ricky Stanzi pass with a clear lane towards the Iowa end zone.

That was Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi's fourth pick-six of the year.

Four!

I don't know what the record is for pick-sixes—I don't even know if they maintain such stats—but Stanzi must be up there.

On top of that, he's thrown 15 total interceptions. That makes him first in the Big Ten and tied for fourth in the country in that rather ignoble statistic.

One is left to wonder if Stanzi is the kind of guy that likes to start fires just to see if he can put them out.

However, when questioned after the game, Stanzi shrugged it off and said, "I can't abide by a beat-down."

Was Stanzi saying he meant to spot G-Tech six points?

"Of course. Four pick sixes? I play for Kirk Ferentz. Do you think he'd stand for that?"

Nevertheless, one is left to ask, "Why?" After all, this season has been the season of the nail-biter for Iowa fans. Despite a stellar 11-2 record, the only game this year that Iowa was afforded the luxury of emptying their bench was a 35-3 beat-down of Iowa State.

"And do you remember that game?" quips Stanzi. "I felt horrible for those guys. I mean, I know they're our instate rivals and all, but you hate to see any team get embarrassed."

The game after that saw Stanzi throw his first pick-six, a quick out-route to Arizona cornerback Terevin Wade, a pass that he telegraphed all the way.

He proceeded to follow that up with pick-sixes in the Michigan and Arkansas State games. Pick-sixes that ultimately made what might have and should have been fairly easy victories into games that came down to the final minutes.

"What are you going to do?" asked Stanzi. "Have you watched our defense? [middle linebacker Pat] Angerer—the guy's named Angerer—he hates giving up points. You would think the opposing team stole his puppy or something."

"And [defensive end Adrian] Clayborn. Forget it. He plays like the other team is the Taliban and he is the United States Marine Corps."

"So I try to help the other team out," says Stanzi.

"What's that line from that movie 'The Princess Bride?'," continues Stanzi. "Where Andre the Giant tells the guy in black that he hates for people to die embarrassed? I don't know. I can barely understand a word he was saying. But seriously, you know the other team isn't going to score off our defense. So I try to keep our opponents in it."

Pure altruism on the part of the Iowa gunslinger? Not quite, as he admits to having his own selfish reasons.

"I like to make a game of it. It keeps me sharp. After all, if I don't throw those pick-sixes, coach will bring [backup QB James] Vandenberg in. I didn't come to Iowa to ride the bench."

This leaves one final question for Iowa fans as a tremendous year of football comes to a close: Can Hawk fans expect more of the same next year?

"I don't know," says Stanzi. "It depends. I mean Angerer's gone. Whoever replaces him might be more of a gentle, charitable soul. Of course, Clayborn's still going to be here. And [defensive tackle Karl] Klug. Man, that guy's a beast. Try getting between him and the macaroni at the lunch line. And don't even get me started on [strong safety Tyler] Sash."