By Blake Dowson
Freshman cornerback Manny Rugamba was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after his performance against Michigan, in which he had numerous passes defended, a tackle in the backfield, and an interception that he ripped away from a future NFL wide receiver.
As strong as Rugamba was against the Wolverines, he would not have been out on the field if senior Greg Mabin hadn’t gotten injured during practice.
“It was late in the week when Greg got injured,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Manny didn’t have a lot of time to think about it; that may be good. I don’t know if it dawned on him how good the guys he was going to be competing with were.”
Ferentz and the Iowa program have long prided itself on the “next man in” philosophy. The coaching staff prepares every player on the team each week as if he might get a shot when bullets are flying.
That has come in handy these past couple weeks, with guys such as Mabin, offensive lineman Cole Croston, and tight end George Kittle missing time.
Those three didn’t dress against Michigan, and safety Miles Taylor and offensive lineman Ike Boettger both left the game with injuries.
That’s a significant number of injuries to handle at once, but Ferentz and the staff have taken it in stride.
“We talk about next man in always, and we didn’t invent that term,” Ferentz said. “We always talk to our guys about that, next man ready. If you’re a second-team, third-team guy, you might be there before you know it.”
As was the case with Rugamba’s secondary partner Anthony Gair, a senior who was never cracked the top of the depth chart. But when Taylor went down on Nov. 12, his number was called.
Gair made a number of big plays and was in Michigan’s backfield quite often.
“We talked about Manny being a good story. He had 48 hours or 36 to think about it,” Ferentz said. “Anthony had no time at all … You’ve got the first-year guy versus the fifth-year guy. He’s done a great job.
“To have a good football team, you need young guys stepping in and doing it, a fifth year senior doing it. And doing it without any real warning, other than, all the guys know if you’re not a starter, you always have to be ready.”
Keegan Render, who was listed as a backup guard at the onset on the season but has made numerous starts this season because of injuries, said the players know coming into the program the tradition of guys stepping up in times of need.
“We all know it’s coming in here and understanding what they expect here,” Render said. “You come in, and there’s a long line of O-linemen. We know we want to run first, be the more physical team.”
With Mabin, Croston, and Kittle all out versus Michigan, an Iowa win became even more unlikely.
But then guys such as Nate Wieting, a redshirt freshman tight end who filled in for Kittle, proved they belonged with the big boys.
The work of Rugamba, Gair, Render, and others made it possible to beat Michigan, a team most people said Iowa couldn’t beat.
“As an athlete, when you hear those things, it kind of motivates you,” linebacker Ben Niemann said. “Nobody thought we were going to beat those guys. Definitely, as a competitor, if somebody tells you you can’t do something, you really want to do it. Prove them wrong.”