Iowa-Miami notebook; A youth movement at Kinnick
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz wasn’t kidding when he said at least six to 10 true freshmen could play for the Hawkeyes this season.
It took just one game for ten players from Iowa’s 2016 recruiting class to see game action, headlined by now backup quarterback Nathan Stanley, who came in late in the fourth quarter, and placekicker Keith Duncan, who was a perfect on six point-after attempts and made his only field goal attempt from 22 yards.
Other true freshmen to see game action were: running back Toks Akinribade, receiver Devonte Young, tight end Noah Fant, defensive end Cedrick Lattimore, linebackers Kristian Welch and Amani Jones and defensive backs Manny Rugamba and Amani Hooker.
"I think a couple things," Ferentz said. "Again, there’s a little bit of the void because of the seniors that we graduated, the 21 guys that played really good football. Probably 11 or 12 of them were starters. Starters with plug-in cogs sharing a position so, that’s one thing. And any time you lose those kinds of players, guys off your football team, somebody’s got to emerge.
"And I think the other combination is we felt really good about the class when we signed them a year ago. Once they got here in June and July we felt even stronger. And then, most importantly, we put the pads on in August and actually started practicing football. We just thought they had a chance. So, I’m hopeful and encouraged by it.
"We have seen a lot of improvement this past month, so now the objective is to keep pushing them forward and expedite the process and it’s really no different than AJ back in 2006, we made that decision, we have done that along the way, but this is certainly the biggest number we have had."
Iowa’s true mostly played on special teams in Saturday’s game.
Injury report: Fans will have to keep waiting for the much-anticipated debut of Jay Scheel.
The sophomore receiver dressed for Saturday’s game, but did not play due to an undisclosed medical issue. Scheel has struggled with hamstring issues during preseason practice.
"Yeah, he’s got some health issues,"Ferentz said. "So we thought he might have a chance to go today and at the end of the week we just made that decision not to play him. So, there were two other guys in that boat that did play and we were watching them a little bit to make sure things were okay.
"Fortunately, they came out fine. Hopefully Jay will be ready here next Monday, but it’s just kind of a touch and go thing until the end of the week."
Sophomore defensive end Parker Hesse left Saturday’s game early and did not return with what was described as a strain by Ferentz.
"He had a strain out there," Ferentz said. "That’s why we took him out of the game. Hopefully, it’s nothing that’s going to last too long."
The Outlaw gets outlawed: Iowa junior linebacker Josey Jewell was ejected for targeting just three minutes into Saturday’s game.
The penalty resulted in a long punt return by Desmond King being erased and Iowa having to start its opening possession on its own 20-yard line. Jewell was replaced by sophomore linebacker Jack Hockaday.
"It wasn’t perfect, but it’s a great experience for him," Kirk Ferentz said of Hockaday, a second-year sophomore from Forsyth, Ill. "And that could happen at any time. It’s just one of those deals.
"So we have a lot of those today, where next man in. Parker had to come out of the ball game. So those things are going to happen during the course of the season. Guys have to respond."
The bright side to Jewell being removed from the game is that Hockady gained valuable experience.
"It was a great experience for Jack, I think he did a lot of really good things, had some good hits," Ferentz said. "Certainly, caused a turnover. And he’s a guy we’ve really liked since the day he got here. He’s a really conscientious young guy and this experience will really help him, I think."
Hockaday recorded six total tackles and forced a fumble soon after replacing Jewell early in the first quarter.
Full Nelson: Redshirt freshman defensive end Anthony Nelson replaced the injured Parker Hesse
in Saturday’s game and made the most of his opportunity.
Nelson recorded his first career sack that also caused a fumble in the first quarter, leading to another Iowa touchdown.
The Waukee native finished the game with 6 total tackles and 2.5 sacks and a pass breakup, along with forcing a fumble.
"I just envisioned doing my best and doing what I could to help," said Nelson, who is the son of former Iowa offensive lineman Jeff Nelson. "Coming out for the first snaps I had a lot of butterflies, but after that I had my teammates there helping me, and after that they really got me settled down and got me comfortable."
Iowa recovered three fumbles during the game, all of which led to touchdowns.
Ten Years Gone: Iowa senior running back LeShun Daniels started at running back in the season opener for the second consecutive year. The last Iowa running back to start the season opener two years in a row was Albert Young in 2006 and 2007.
Movin’ on up: Senior Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard threw for 192 yards and moved into 10th place in career passing yards at Iowa.
Beathard passed Gary Snook on Iowa’s all-time list with 3,825 career passing yards. Beathard is now 500 yards from passing Kyle McCann on Iowa’s all-time list.