Congratulations to Dan McCarney and the Iowa State football team from a lifelong Hawkeye fan and graduate.

You stole one of our outstanding sons from us to coach this football team in big Mac. I remember Dan McCarney as my next door neighbor in Hillcrest dorm in our freshman year of college.

Some of the things I remember include Mac starting as a 195-pound guard that might not have scared the 5-feet 10-inch, 260- pound nose tackle from a little class A Iowa school. I remember watching Mac studying at night and ending with a higher grade point average than that nose tackle who was a National Merit commended student and admitted to the honors program at Iowa.

I remember watching Mac come in for his sophomore season 50 pounds heavier and faster, (that nose tackle would not have wanted to face him as a sophomore). I remember watching a play where Mac came down field on a kickoff unblocked and hit the return man head on at full speed (They are still scraping pieces of that kick returner off the south stands).

I remember watching Hayden Fry’s teams of the ’80s with Mac as an assistant coach. As you can guess, that nose tackle was me.

I have followed Dan McCarney’s career as he went from Iowa to defensive coordinator at Wisconsin to head coach at Iowa State.

I have enjoyed watching Mac on the sidelines, just seeing the intensity in his facial expressions and knowing nothing has changed from the fall of 1971. Mac is still McCarney.

I’ll tell you what, he makes hating Moo U football a lot rougher for this Hawkeye; it’s like hating your own. I really would like Mac back, but I guess that this might help make up for another coach that went the other way. I think his name was Gable.

I hope Mac is nearly as successful as Dan Gable. Sorry Dan, can’t wish a national title for you, that means my Hawks wouldn’t win it. By the way, should you read this Dan, and not recognize the name, I was referred to on our dorm floor by the nickname (affectionately I hope) as Dumpy.

Oh, and Dan, please kick the Big Red of Nebraska soon. I live in the Nebraska panhandle, and I am really tired of those Big Red fans gloating.

Greg Detty

Resident

Scottsbluff, Neb.