Ferentz says no starting jobs guaranteed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IOWA CITY — Iowa’s spring workouts are under way, and to coach Kirk Ferentz that means the battle begins for every starting job on the Hawkeye roster.
“Like I told the players: Right now our season is an open book, and our roster is pretty much the same way,” Ferentz said Wednesday. “We don’t have any preconceived notions about how our starting lineup is going to come out. To say anybody is an incumbent right now would be silly.”
While it’s safe to say a handful of starting spots are locked down by proven veterans, Ferentz stressed the importance of the next 13 practices in finding players that can help the Hawkeyes rebound after a lackluster 6-7 season.
Despite starting the season in the top 25 and four straight victories, the Hawkeyes faltered and lost their final four games to record the first losing season since 2000, Ferentz’s second year as head coach.
“We’re coming off a year where we’re a little disappointed with our overall production — I think that’s well documented,” Ferentz said. “We’ve all got a lot of improvement to make, and that’s what our focus is right now.”
Seniors Albert Young and Damian Sims will likely carry the load at running back.
At quarterback, Jake Christensen is the logical front-runner to replace Drew Tate. But Christensen, a sophomore who started one game last season, will be tested by redshirt freshmen Arvell Nelson and Rick Stanzi, Ferentz said.
Christensen, a highly prized recruit out of Illinois two years ago, played in five games last season, threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns and led the Hawkeyes to a victory over Northern Illinois.
Nelson is more elusive than Christensen, but lacks the experience and knowledge of the offense.
“Jake’s been with the program now for two years. I think right now it’s safe to say he’s got the biggest edge going into the spring,” Ferentz said. “It’s an interesting time, but I think the guys outside of Jake, this is going to be a huge learning time for them.”
The rest of the lineup is anybody’s guess.
As many as 13 linemen are poised to compete for five starting jobs, including Alex Kanellis, who played defensive end last year but sought a switch to offense. There are no seniors among the group, but at least three earned significant playing time last season, including center Raphael Eubanks and tackles Seth Olson and Dace Richardson.
“We’re maybe not quite as young as we appear or quite as inexperienced,” Ferentz said. “I realize we’ve got a lot of ground to cover as far as experience goes, but I also feel pretty good about the potential of the group.”
Some familiar names round out the depth chart on the defensive line, including returning starters Bryan Mattison, Matt Kroul, Mitch King and Kenny Iwebema, who was hampered by injuries much of last season.
Outside linebacker A.J. Edds joins 2006 starters Mike Humpal and Mike Klinkenborg, the team’s leading tackler last season. But the secondary contains at least two job openings — both at safety, positions vacated by veterans Marcus Paschal and Miguel Merrick.
Marcus Wilson, who started two games last year, is the early favorite to join starting cornerbacks Adam Shada and Charles Godfrey. The early favorite at free safety is Brett Greenwood, a redshirt freshman from Bettendorf.
What is certain about the 2007 Hawkeyes: Youth will predominate.
The first and second string rosters released this week include 10 redshirt freshmen and 14 sophomores. Ferentz said their life is about to get more complicated, not just physically as they compete with older players for roster spots, but mentally as coaches throw more of the playbook at each over the next 2 1/2 weeks.
“The good thing now is we’ll get a chance to see how they learn, because we’re going to give them a bigger volume of information than they got (last year),” Ferentz said.
The team wraps up spring drills April 14 with a light scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium that is open to the public.
The season opener is Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field in Chicago.