Iowa football gained 1,731 yards on the ground in 2021. The Hawkeyes ranked 102nd among 130 Power Five teams in rush yards.

Tyler Goodson was Iowa’s featured tailback in 2021. He declared for the 2022 NFL Draft on Dec. 10, foregoing his senior year of college football.

Despite all that, Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz isn’t planning to make any fundamental changes to his team’s rushing attack ahead of the 2022 season.

“We’re gonna do what we do, at the end of the day,” Ferentz said at a meeting with reporters on March 30. “We’re gonna be a zone team that runs inside, runs slants, runs outside, and we’re going to run gap schemes — more counter probably than power. That’s gonna be the basis of the run game for us, always. That actually has a lot more to do with the guys we’ve got blocking.

“Certainly backs have their own unique styles,” Ferentz added. “I think, within those things, guys have a tendency to be better at certain things than other things. When you have backs, you try to lean to their strengths. You try to lean to what they do well.”

Goodson gained 1,151 of Iowa’s rush yards on 256 carries in 2021. The Hawkeyes’ second-leading runner was Gavin Williams, who picked up 305 yards on 65 attempts.

Gavin Williams figures to be Iowa’s lead back in 2022, as he was the Hawkeyes’ first option out of the backfield in the Citrus Bowl. Williams carried the ball 16 times, picking up 98 yards in the process.

“I think we got a pretty good picture of [the 2022 run game] through bowl prep and in the bowl game,” Ferentz said. “I really liked what I saw out of [Gavin and Leshon Williams].”

Leshon Williams has carried the ball just 21 times in his career, rushing for 68 yards. In the Hawkeyes’ 20-17 Citrus Bowl loss to the Kentucky Wildcats at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Leshon Willaims ran the ball 10 times for 42 yards.

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Gavin Williams and Leshon Williams — who are not related to each other — both have different running styles than Goodson.

Gavin Williams’ ball carrying style, in particular, is most contrasted with Goodson’s. Gavin Williams’ game is centered around power and strength, while Goodson relies more on speed, quickness, and agility.

“I’ve been running between the tackles since I started playing football,” Gavin Williams said. “So, that’s where I kinda feel a bit more comfortable. I feel like Tyler is more of an edge rusher or kind of like a running back that can do a little bit of everything … He can go out, run a receiver route, and then come into the backfield. Something like that is a real dangerous weapon.

“Not a lot of people like [running between the tackles],” Gavin Williams added. “I mean, it’s an acquired taste, for sure. It’s just what I’ve been doing since I started playing football. I kinda feel like my own inside running style complements inside running very well. So, that’s kinda what I like.”

Gavin Williams’ physical style will be on full display at Iowa’s open spring practice at 9:45 a.m. inside Kinnick Stadium on April 23. The Hawkeyes’ first game of the 2022 season is scheduled for Sept. 3 against SD State in Iowa City.