A few days before Iowa’s 29-20 win over Illinois on Oct. 10 at Kinnick Stadium, defensive end Drew Ott fielded questions at the team’s practice facility from reporters as part of the Hawkeyes’ weekly media availability.
Ott, who had been dealing with a nagging elbow injury since the second week, talked about the mentality of staying healthy and dealing with injuries, both from a personal standpoint as well as the team as a whole.
“You always have to be ready to go in no matter what happens,” Ott said. “Injuries are part of it. You have to know the role of the starter in case he goes down and be able to step up.”
Four days later, Ott, slumped over on a pair of crutches with his right knee wrapped, watched from the sidelines as his team ran out the clock on its sixth victory of the season. His ACL torn and his final season over not even halfway through its course, Ott limped off the field followed by a handful of sports trainers.
The moment felt almost surreal to watch, but in many ways was perfectly emblematic of Iowa’s 2015 campaign thus far.
Boasting serious depth and flexibility on the roster, the Hawkeyes have been able to handle injuries to key players almost without missing a beat in a way that few thought possible early on in the season.
“I think it’s a testament to our character as much as it is anything else,” center Austin Blythe said. “We have guys who can play all over the place and just have that attitude. It’s the next man in, and they have to be ready to go.”
“Next man in” is a phrase that’s been repeated by ad nauseam by many of the Iowa players this year anytime a question about injuries occurs. More than anything, it’s a mantra meant to underscore the necessity of having a team be more than just its individual parts.
But it’s been more than just a platitude regurgitated by a player thinking back to his media training. It’s become a way of life for these Hawks and a vital one at that.
The team has been hit hard by the injury bug, often with numerous injuries occurring in the same week on both the offense and defense. Five players — Ott, LeShun Dainels Jr., Ike Boettger, Boone Myers, and Tevaun Smith — are expected to sit the game at Northwestern Saturday. All of those Hawkeyes were listed as the No. 1 player at their respective position coming into the season.
Not since its first week of the season has Iowa been able to field the best, healthiest version of itself; someone seems to go down in the middle of a game.
It started in the second week with the initial injury to Ott plus a high ankle sprain for halfback Daniels, an injury that has lingered well into October. Daniels missed the Illinois game and the same is expected Saturday at Northwestern.
Making things worse, up until that point, he had been listed as the No. 1 running back on Iowa’s depth chart.
Luckily for Iowa, the emergence of senior Jordan Canzeri as a legitimate every-down feature back has cushioned the blow left by Daniels’ absence in a significant way.
“A lot of the time, it’s just a matter of doing those little things that can really help out your body after a game,” Canzeri said. “Getting in the hot tub, getting in the ice, just taking care of those little bumps and bruises and getting a lot of rest are huge.”
Since becoming the main back in the Iowa offense starting in the third week against Pittsburgh, Canzeri has posted more than 600 yards of total offense as well as 7 touchdowns, with a large chunk of that yardage coming on the ground.
The feisty but undersized Canzeri has also had to shoulder a lot of the heavy run-blocking assignments usually taken by the heavier, more physical Daniels.
“Going into the season, I made sure not to expect anything,” Canzeri said. “You don’t want to give yourself high hopes or anything, so it’s more that I was just ready for it if I was asked to do so.”
That attitude about mental preparation isn’t unique to Canzeri.
It’s what’s really been at the heart of “next man in” the whole time — the expectation that someone’s season could end on the next play, and you have to be ready when your name is called, no matter the situation.
Of course, it helps when a lot of the guys on your roster already have experience playing numerous positions.
Iowa’s offensive line, the unit arguably hit the hardest in terms of players lost, has been helped along in part by a dynamic quarterback in C.J. Beathard but also by pretty much every lineman on the depth chart being able to play different positions.
That flexibility goes along way when you have offensive starters dropping like flies every other game. Particularly at tackle, where the loss of Boettger and Myers has thrown greenhorns Cole Croston and James Daniels into the fire.
“In the summer, you play both sides [of the line].” right guard Jordan Walsh said. “You’ll play guard, you’ll play center. If you play guard, they’ll have you playing tackle, and if you play tackle, they might have you inside. Everybody is flexible.”
It’s really not all that surprising, given coach Kirk Ferentz and his history of recruiting players at one position and turning them into starters at another by the time they leave.
The coaching staff absolutely places importance on flexibility in player development; recruiting heavily in the state of Iowa gives the coaches an advantage.
“A lot of us are small-school guys, so that’s is probably a little bit of an advantage already,” said Parker Hesse, Ott’s replacement. “Your school doesn’t have many kids, and if you’re the only one who can fill a certain role, then that’s your job.”
Hesse, who grew up in Waukon, a town of fewer than 4,000 people, played all over the field on both sides of the ball in high school, including starting at quarterback.
Fewer than two years later, the redshirt freshman will now be called upon to fill Ott’s shoes for the rest of the year opposite Nate Meier.
But for Hesse, it’s not about replicating what Ott brought to the table. It’s about simply fitting into a defense that can be effective on Saturdays.
“[Former Hawkeye] Colin Cole came back last week and gave us a great talk about just being 1/11th of the defense,” Hesse said. “Every man on the field has a job to do, and you have to do your 1/11th. Obviously, with guys such as Drew, they can do so much more, but I’m just worried about doing my part.”
Whether it’s Hesse stepping in for Ott, Canzeri shouldering a heavier workload, freshman wide out Jerminic Smith coming up with a huge game in the absence of deep threat Tevaun Smith, or any of the other gaps that have been filled by players for Iowa this year, there has been one constant: survival.
Maybe the greatest strength Ferentz has built into this team is its ability to take a punch. Currently ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and atop the Big Ten West, the Hawkeyes as a whole have kept rolling despite some of their better parts breaking down.
And while 7-0 is certainly no guarantee; if the first six games have taught Hawk fans anything, it’s that the most important guy on the team is the next one.