Running Backs 2010

Will there be a three-headed monster?  Will the Paki-Bomb make an appearance?  Is Brandon Wegher going to be a part of the backfield?  These questions and more will be answered below:

Jewel Hampton - SO -  Jewel returns to the backfield after missing last season due to a knee injury.  The question is, will he return to his pre-injury form or more like Jermelle Lewis and never have that same burst.  In 2008 Jewel rushed for 463 yards and 7 touchdowns in a backup role of Shonn Greene.  It will be interesting to see if he can perform as well against fresh defenses and not ones that have been pounded by Greene and the offensive line.  Hampton sure didn't help himself this off-season when he was cited for being in a bar under the age of 21 in Iowa City.  The repercussions of this transgression will be watching the first game of the season, which in most cases wouldn't be a big deal, but I will expand on this later.

Adam Robinson - SO - Adam enjoyed a breakout year last year for the Hawks and looks to build on his solid red shirt freshman season.  Last year he split time and carries with Brandon Wegher and still put up very respectable numbers with 834 yards and 5 touchdowns.  One thing that Adam does that goes unnoticed to the normal fan is his pass protection, last year as a first time contributor in the Big 10, I can't remember a time that he was beat on a blitz.  Much like Jewel he does seem to get bitten by the injury bug nursing both ankle and shoulder injuries most of last season.  This fall in camp Adam has been injured, which coupled with Brandon Wegher's absence and Jewel Hampton's suspension creates a gaping hole at running back for the opener.

Brandon Wegher -SO-  Brandon burst on to the scene last year as a true freshman playing in one of the most physical football conferences in the nation.  While splitting time with Adam Robinson Wegher amassed a total of 967 all purpose yards and 641 rushing with 8 rushes finding the end zone, which is an Iowa freshman record.  Wegher has been curiously absent from camp since media day with a bevy of rumors surrounding his situation.  I am no expert, nor do I know anyone related to Brandon, however what I have heard from a reliable source, warrants an absence for personal reasons.  Optimism is high from Kirk Ferentz that it is only a matter of time until Wegher is back with the team.  The good thing is that if it comes to it, Brandon still has his red-shirt available to use.

Paki O'Meara - SR -  Paki is a great special teams player and I think that we saw what his capabilities are as a running back in the UNI game last year.  He is fundamentally sound, knows the scheme, but just lacks the play making ability to be a Big Ten running back.  If Paki sees significant carries for the Hawks this season, it will be a long one for the Iowa team.

De'Andre Johnson - FR -  Iowa seems to be being rewarded for being loyal to Johnson.  De'Andre rushed for 1,848 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry as a sophomore and junior at Monsinger Pace in Miami, Florida.  He tore his ACL and missed his entire senior season, but Iowa honored their scholarship offer.  This is the kind of player that excels at Iowa because he will have a chip on his shoulder about not being recruited by in-state schools like Miami, Florida, and Florida State.  Under normal circumstances, Iowa would love for De'Andre to red shirt, but with the turmoil going on at the top of the depth chart for running backs, he could burn his red shirt and play this season.

Marcus Coker - FR -  Marcus was the more heralded running back recruit last season coming out of the football factory of DeMatha Catholic in Baltimore, Maryland.  In his three years of playing he rushed for 3533 yards at an average of over 10 yards a carry and 43 touchdowns, including one game last year when he rushed for 392 yards.  Coker looks to be a running back of the future for the Hawks and could use his red shirt since he broke his collar bone early in fall camp.




Year projections:
With Wegher playing:
Hampton - 175 carries 925 yards 8 TD's
Robinson - 130 carries 475 yards 3 TD's
Wegher - 95 carries 355 yards 5 TD's
O'Meara - 25 carries 45 yards
Johnson - RS
Coker - RS

Without Wegher playing:
Hampton - 190 carries 980 yards 10 TD's
Robinson - 160 carries 650 yards 6 TD's
Wegher - RS
O'Meara - 20 carries 35 yards
Johnson - 25 carries 55 yards 1 TD
Coker - RS

Norm Parker

So last evening Norm Parker was the guest speaker at the Polk County I-Club event. Here is a brief summary of some of the great things he said:

When asked about the differences from coaching on the sideline vs the press box, Norm said he prefers the sideline, but the press box was warmer. He also said that several games he didn't make it to the locker room for halftime as he was in a wheelchair and didn't have the time to get down there and back up for the start of the second half. They tried a cell phone conversation with the other defensive assistants, but that didn't work very well.

Jared Clauss was in attendance and asked Norm if he remembered recruiting him? Apparently Parker set up the candle sticks on the kitchen table and told Jared that he would be way out here, ie defensive end. Clauss wanted to know how far into his freshman year two-a-days that Norm knew he was a DT and Norm replied, "I knew it sitting at the kitchen table."

When asked about the decision to take a knee at the end of the Ohio State game last year, "I am the defensive coach." He then went on to say that he thought it was the correct decision and he doesn't get too worked up about what the offense does, as defensive coordinator, he has more problems than Hitler.

When asked if he would comment on the recruitment of Seantrel Henderson, Norm politely said, "No." He then said that the kid really liked Iowa and sometimes parents get too involved and it should be the kids choice. He also stated that Iowa was the runner-up in the Mark Ingram recruiting battle, apparently Mark wanted to come to Iowa and then his dad got out of jail and Alabama got in the picture. He didn't elaborate more on this, but I thought it was interesting.

Norm wants Derby as a linebacker, mentions it to him all the time, but doesn't think he is making much progress on convincing AJ.

When asked how long he was going to continue to coach, Norm said that this is the only thing I know how to do, and my wife doesn't like me, so I'll keep doing it for a long time. Went on to say that he has "Phil Parker coaching the DB's, Darrell Wilson the LB's, and Rick Kaczenski the DL, I don't do a damn thing. I walk around from drill to drill and I think the players say 'Uh oh, here comes dipsh*t.' All I do is mess up the drills. I have two jobs at defensive meetings, decide when they start and when to take a piss break."

Spoke about the recruitment of the three Maryland players and stated that for Jim Poggi it was down to Texas, Ohio State, and Iowa and his head coach and father said Iowa, because I trust Kirk.

Had just glowing words for Kirk, said that as fans we don't realize how great he really is. Doesn't have an ego and is very even kilter, no ups and downs. Said that his salary is a bargain for what he does, spends a lot of time at the hospital visiting patients, but doesn't take a camera crew, so you don't hear about it.

Norm was asked about ISU and putting too much emphasis on one game. He said that because it is so early it can be detrimental to a team. Said that UNI played a heck of a game last year, but when it didn't pay off, it is like taking a pin to a balloon. Also said that he can smell the stink of Ames when in Des Moines and is sure we can too when the wind is blowing the right way.

Was asked about Big Ten expansion, he thinks it will happen, as a coach he hopes it isn't Texas, already added a powerhouse in Penn State. He thought if they were going to add Texas, they might as well add the Dallas Cowboys. He would add a team from the East coast.

He was asked about Iowa's chances of winning the Big Ten next year and he said that they could, but Ohio State, the kid they have playing quarterback is a freak. You could tell that he thinks highly of Pryor.

Said that Clayborn is up to 294 and Ballard is 311, Binns is the runt of the group at 265.

You can tell that he expects great things out of the defense next year.

Sash and Greenwood had shoulder surgeries this off season.

Lebron Daniel and Mike Daniels will back up the starting four up front.

Jeremiah Hunter, Jeff Tapinian, Bruce Davis, Tyler Nielson, and Troy Johnson will battle it out for LB

Shaun Prater, Tyler Sash, Brett Greenwood will be three of the four DB's

Bernstein, Hyde, Castillo, and Lowe will battle for the fourth spot

Someone asked him about players we haven't heard much about that we will and he pointed out Herman at TE, Ferentz and Nolan McMillan on the OL, Nielson at safety, and Domonic Alvis in the DL

Praised the DL for allowing the defense to handle the Georgia Tech triple option, said that the DL took away the dive and half the QB, allowing the LB's and DB's to scrape to the outside.

When asked about freshman making an impact, he said that he doesn't count on anyone who was riding a yellow bus a few months ago to make a difference, but if they do that is a bonus.

When asked about the difference between players now and when he started coaching, he said the invention of the facemask took the fear out of the game and allowed players now to run like missles into tackles.

All in all if you ever have a chance to hear Norm speak or field questions, do it. He is well worth the price of admission.

ISU game analysis- Special Teams/Coaching

K- It looks more and more like Murray will keep this job all season and Mossbrucker will red shirt. Nothing to speak of here, he made his PAT's and had no FG attempts.

P- Donahue is a weapon for this defense. He only averaged 39 yards per punt, but 3 of his 4 were downed inside the 20 and that leaves a long field for the opposing offense.

Returns- Chaney had a long punt return snuffed out by a block in the back and his other one was for only 2 yards. He brings some explosiveness to the return game and hopefully we will see him get into the open soon. Kick return wise Spievey got the only return of the day for 20 yards, if the defense keeps playing like it did last week we won't see too many of these again this season.

Coverage- Iowa kept the dangerous Leonard Johnson in check, holding him to an average return of 17 yards. The punt coverage unit only allowed three return yards, so once again last week they did a great job of covering kicks. Shout out here for Bruce Davis who covered the ill-advised onside kick attempt by Iowa State in the first quarter. Who needs a hands team?

Coaching- One of the better called games for both O'Keefe and Parker. Had Stanzi hit his open receivers there would have been a lot more points on the board. Parker was the puppet master of Austin Arnaud, you would have thought that he knew what plays were coming and he called defenses that baited Arnaud into throwing into coverage. Seemed that Kirk also had the team ready to play on Saturday, they came out and withstood the early ISU emotion unlike the past couple of trips to Jack Trice