College Football Talk

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Iowa seeking starters at QB, RB

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- The biggest question marks Iowa has going into fall practice are at the two places folks seem to notice the most: quarterback and running back.

The Hawkeyes averaged a paltry 18.5 points last season, which was a major reason why they finished 6-6 and missed out on a bowl bid for the first time since 2000.

Iowa knows that it'll have to do better than that in 2008 if it hopes to return to the postseason, and that's why the Hawkeyes aren't promising starting jobs to anyone on offense -- including incumbent quarterback Jake Christensen.

Christensen appeared to be Iowa's answer at quarterback for the next three years, but he completed just 53.5 percent of his passes in 2007, forcing the coaching staff to take a long, hard look at the guys behind him, mainly sophomore Rick Stanzi.

Though Christensen is the favorite to start the season opener against Maine on Aug. 30, both he and Stanzi will take snaps with the first-team offense during fall practice.

"Jake, right now, would be the front-runner. There's no question about it. But he's got to earn the job. He's got to play the position better than he did a year ago," Ferentz said. "We'll let the guys compete and we'll see what happens."

Christensen, a junior, came to Iowa as one of the nation's most highly touted prep quarterbacks. After a redshirt season and one more as Drew Tate's backup, expectations were high -- perhaps too high.

Playing behind an inexperienced offensive line and with a receiving corps devastated by suspensions and injuries, Christensen finished with 17 TD passes and six interceptions. Those numbers weren't bad, but Christensen was up-and-down throughout his first season as starter.

Christensen pointed to accuracy as his biggest problem last season, and he traced it back to shoddy footwork. He spent the offseason trying to correct that problem, even spending a few days working out in Florida with former NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg.

"It's been pretty well documented that I didn't play as well as I should have last year," Christensen said. "It was a learning experience, and it's going to make me that much better."

Stanzi has thrown a grand total of four college passes, and one of them ended up in the hands of the defense. But the sophomore from Mentor, Ohio has impressed the coaching staff with his arm strength, decision-making and his ability to throw on the run.

The one thing working against Stanzi is a shoulder injury he suffered in mid-July. Stanzi is expected to be back by next week, but that missed practice time has put him behind the proverbial 8-ball with the opener less than a month away.

Redshirt freshman Marvin McNutt will likely be the third-string quarterback.

"I'm excited. It's always good to have competition," Stanzi said.

Few holes on either side of the ball loom larger for Iowa than the one at running back. The Hawkeyes lost Albert Young and Damian Sims to graduation, and those two combined for 97 percent of Iowa's rushing yardage in 2007.

There are as many as six candidates for the starting tailback spot -- including Shonn Greene, Nate Guillory, Jewel Hampton, Jeff Brinson, Paki O'Meara and Jayme Murphy -- but all signs point to Greene as the early favorite.

Greene rushed for 378 yards on an impressive 5.5 yards per carry in 2006, but academic issues forced him to attend junior college last season. But he's back at Iowa and in good shape, according to Ferentz.

"Getting Shonn back is big for us. He's a guy that's played out there. Hasn't had a ton of carries, but when he did he could carry the ball. We've seen enough of him to know he knows what to do," Ferentz said. "I think he's a guy that can really impact our football team."

Guillory, who is currently listed as the second-string tailback, is an intriguing prospect. Though somewhat undersized at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, Guillory rushed for 2,644 yards in two seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas and made significant progress as spring practice wore on.

Murphy and O'Meara pushed their way up the depth chart during spring practice, and Hampton and Brinson will each get their chance to earn immediate playing time.

Few would be surprised to see the Hawkeyes open the season using a running back-by-committee approach, as the coaching staff looks for guys who can do better than the 3.5 yards per carry Iowa averaged a year ago.

"The running back position, it's a jump ball in all regards," Ferentz said.