After Iowa football’s media day on Aug. 5, there is one question that looms over all the others.
It’s a question Hawkeye fans across the state have asked since last season ended: Who will be Iowa’s starting quarterback for the 2017 season?
Head coach Kirk Ferentz says both Nathan Stanley and Tyler Wiegers have been taking snaps with the first team and have made strides since spring practice ended.While Stanley appeared to pass Wiegers on the depth chart last season, the position is still up for grabs.
And playing with a new quarterback is nothing new for Iowa; the Hawkeyes have had success in doing just that. Just with with every quarterback, Brad Banks, Drew Tate, Ricky Stanzi, and C.J. Beathard were all new at one point.
With that, players and coaches seem as if they are comfortable with either leading the team.
“I hate to talk for other people, but I think all of us as coaches and players feel good about both guys and feel like they both can lead us to good results,” Ferentz said. “I’m happy with what we’re seeing so far.”
Quarterback coach Ken O’Keefe said they are just now getting to the part of camp where the two signal callers will be able to separate themselves.
While both ultimately want to win the starting job, the two are focused on helping the team get better.
“You’re [going to] have competition every day, no matter what your position is,” Wiegers said. “You’re coming out here playing football, so you can’t really think about it. You just do the little things that you have to do to get better every day, and I think that’s what everyone’s been doing.”
Tight-end time
It came as somewhat of a surprise when the Iowa coaching staff listed two starting tight ends on the depth chart following the conclusion of spring practice. However, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising.
The Hawkeyes have an array of tight ends with different skills, making the group more versatile as a whole.
Sophomore Noah Fant and redshirt freshman T.J. Hockenson are currently listed as the starters, and each brings something different to the table.
Fant saw quite a bit of action as a true freshman, recording 9 receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown. It seems as though Fant is poised to get more involved in the offense.
Ferentz even went as far as to say that he thinks Fant is like a blend of former standouts George Kittle and Henry Krieger-Coble.
Hockensen, on the other hand, was a receiver in high school and didn’t know much about the tight-end position when he stepped on campus, said tight-end coach LeVar Woods.
Since then, Woods has seen an improvement in his blocking and aggressiveness.
With Peter Pekar and Nate Wieting also vying for playing time, Iowa has some much-needed depth at at least one position on offense.
“We have a lot of guys that can do a lot,” Fant said. “That’s a really good thing to see in our group, guys that can be anywhere. I feel like that’s a great characteristic of our group to have.”
Strength in backfield numbers
James Butler ran for more than 3,300 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in his three seasons with Nevada.
He joins Akrum Wadley, who racked up 1,396 yards of total offense and 13 touchdowns last season.
Butler, previously the feature back for the Wolfpack, has a new role in one of the country’s deepest backfields — a situation Ferentz referred to as a “really good dilemma.”
“I didn’t come here to take anyone’s spot, I came here to be the best teammate I can be, to try to help the team as much as I can,” Butler said. “Last year, [Iowa] had two guys run for over 1,000 yards. Now, we have a stable of guys who can run the ball here.”
LeShun Daniels Jr. split carries with Wadley in the running game last season. Now an undrafted free agent with the New England Patriots, Daniels carried the ball 213 times last season, 45 more times than Wadley. With Daniels graduated, it seemed as though Wadley would be the go-to runner for the Hawkeyes.
Butler’s arrival doesn’t necessarily change that notion. The two, along with Toks Akinribade and Toren Young, create a backfield full of opportunities.
One such opportunity is limiting the number of hits on Wadley, arguably the most explosive athlete on the football team.
“With James getting carries, with Toren getting carries, with me getting carries, that keeps us all healthy,” Wadley said. “One guy doesn’t [have] to take 40 hits a game. That’s complementary football.”
Questions at the wide receiver position
Iowa may be deep at the running back position this fall, but the receiving corps sheds light on a different story.
Aside from Matt VandeBerg, the Hawkeyes’ receivers are relatively unproven. On the preseason depth chart, Iowa lists junior-college transfer Nick Easley as the No. 2 option with Adrian Falconer and Devonte Young round out the top four; all three have yet to catch a pass at the Division-1 level.
“I’m not worried at all,” receiver coach Kelton Copeland said. “Am I concerned? Yes. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’ve made a lot of progress. We’ve made a lot of practice in a short amount of time.”
VandeBerg, who injured his foot in practice following Iowa’s 14-7 victory against Rutgers, has made significant progress in his rehabilitation. Ferentz said VandeBerg’s foot is fine.