MOUNT PLEASANT – The Iowa Wesleyan College football program is going to be receiving a very unique form of exposure this summer, as Tiger assistant coach Peter Jennings will be appearing in the upcoming season of the national cable television show “Pros vs. Joes”.
Jennings, the IWC quarterbacks coach and a former college quarterback at NCAA Division III Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., will be going one-on-one against former professional athletes as a contestant on the upcoming season of the show. Jennings is in Los Angeles this week to tape his performance for the show, which appears on Spike TV (formerly known as TNN and once known as The Nashville Network) and will be filming for its fourth season.
Pros vs. Joes is a show that, according to the Spike Web site, allows “regular guys the opportunity to compete against their sports heroes.” Contestants on the show compete against former professional athletes in one-on-one and team scrimmage situations, such as one-on-one basketball or trying to run a football and past a former NFL linebacker for a touchdown.
Many of the “pros” featured on the show are former professional athletes. Among the athletes featured in the first three seasons of the series include Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Bo Jackson, Ricky Williams, Herschel Walker, Dennis Rodman, Clyde Drexler, Eric Dickerson, and Roy Jones Jr. The series is hosted by Petros Papadakis, a former University of Southern California running back and currently a Fox Sports Network college football analyst, as well as a Los Angeles sports television/radio personality.
Jennings landed a spot on the show after going through several rounds of cuts as the show’s producers narrowed down the field of prospective contestants. He found out about the casting call through some e-mails from friends in January, and after discussing with some of his fellow coaches at Wesleyan decided to give it a shot.
Jennings had to fill out an application form and also had to put together an audition video of himself in action showcasing his skills. He admits the video shoot was a hastily arranged production filmed quickly in IWC’s Ruble Arena basketball facility, for Jennings decided to try for the show just a few days before entries needed to be postmarked.
Jennings is a native of Fort Madison, Iowa, and was a four-year starter at quarterback at Illinois College and holds the school’s record for career touchdown passes. He also was as a three-year starter for the IC basketball team, and he impressed the show’s producers with his video. He was then was in contact with the show’s producers for several weeks, answering more questions and sending pictures before finally getting word he would be a contestant.
Some details about his appearance are being kept quiet even from Jennings. He knows he will be competing in a football portion of the show, unlike past seasons in which contestants competed in several different sports. He does not know the “Pros” he will be facing, or when the show will air.
Jennings is going on the show with the hope that he wins. He’s also hoping the opportunity gives him a chance to showcase IWC to the nation, even if it may be in a small way.
“Ultimately I’d really like to win,” Jennings said. “I’m a competitor, and this is something that allows me to work towards a goal of fitness and staying in shape.
“I also feel it’s a great opportunity to promote our school, to get a small Midwest liberal arts college on the map and to get the school visible to a national audience. I’m going to do my best to promote the institution, to promote athletes and non-athletes alike.”
Jennings was scheduled to leave March 2nd and return from Los Angeles several days later.
For more information regarding the IWC football program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
