By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating.

Kirk Ferentz’s decision to hire Ladell Betts as his running back coach in 2021 might prove to be one of Ferentz’s best decisions as the Iowa football coach, and that’s saying a lot.

Kirk Ferentz has made numerous decisions over the past quarter century that have helped him become Iowa’s all-time winningest head coach, the longest tenured head coach in the country, and the Big Ten’s third all-time winningest head coach.

Ferentz won his 198th game as the Iowa head coach with Saturday’s 38-21 victory over Troy, and the performance of the Iowa running backs, namely Kaleb Johnson, helped to lead the way.

The Iowa offensive line is what actually led the way as Johnson so astutely pointed out after the game.

But the running backs certainly did their part.

Johnson ran for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns, pushing his season totals to 479 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

And then after the game, if he wasn’t praising the offensive line, Johnson was crediting Betts for helping him reach this level.

Though it’s only three games, or in Johnson’s case 2 1/2 games, since he was withheld from the first half of the season opener against Illinois State, Johnson is gaining yards at a similar pace to what former Hawkeyes Shonn Greene, Tavian Banks and Sedrick Shaw gained in their best seasons.

Greene holds the program’s single-season rushing record with 1,850 yards, which he set in 2008 on his way to winning the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best college running back.

Johnson, who is from Hamilton, Ohio, is currently on pace for about 1,900 rushing yards, but it’s still very early, and he shouldn’t have to carry the load by himself.

The amount of depth that Betts has helped to assemble at running back is as good as any that I can remember dating back to 1992 when I started covering the team.

Betts had no college coaching experience when Kirk Ferentz hired him.

Betts had coached at three different Florida high schools, starting in 2013, but that was it.

And yet Kirk Ferentz still hired Betts when Ferentz probably had all sorts of candidates to consider.

But with Betts, Kirk Ferentz had somebody with instant credibility as Iowa’s second all-time leading rusher who would go on to play nine seasons in the NFL.

Betts was workhorse at Iowa, but early in his career, he ran behind some young and overmatched offensive lines that left much to be desired.

His first season at Iowa in 1998 was also Hayden Fry’s final season as head coach.

Betts led the 1998 team in rushing as a redshirt freshman with 679 yards , but Iowa only finished 3-8 in Fry’s last season.

Kirk Ferentz then replaced Fry as head coach and Betts would go on to lead Iowa in rushing in each of the next three seasons.

Betts rushed for 3,686 yards as a Hawkeye and he is the only player in program history to lead Iowa in rushing for four straight seasons.

A native of Blue Springs, Missouri, Betts was one of the key early pieces that helped to lead the resurgence under Kirk Ferentz, and Kirk Ferentz will forever be appreciative of that.

Head coaches have to trust their instincts and take some chances.

Betts was greatly admired as an Iowa player, and Kirk Ferentz was right to believe that Betts could excel as a coach.

Perhaps the most impressive thing that Betts has accomplished so far is the depth at running back.

There are currently seven running backs on scholarship, if you include Terrell Washington Jr, who played receiver in the win over Troy, and only one of them, true freshman Brevin Doll, is from Iowa.

The others are from all over the country, Florida, Ohio, Texas, Illinois and Indiana.

While Johnson is clearly the headliner amongst the Iowa running backs, and deservedly so, Patterson’s performance against Troy also deserves some recognition.

But not just his performance on the field.

Patterson also deserves praise for being ready when his number finally was called. That takes preparation throughout the week and having the right mindset.

Patterson didn’t even dress for the season opener against Illinois State and didn’t play in the 20-19 loss to Iowa State.

The Florida native also watched from the sideline for three quarters on Saturday before finally getting his shot in the fourth quarter.

Patterson would go on to rush for 72 yards on eight carries, his longest gain being a 39-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

“I can’t say enough, there are some guys I am really pleased with. Stating the obvious Kaleb Johnson is playing his best football right now,” Kirk Ferentz said after Saturday’s win. “Obviously he’s getting yards, but the way he’s running right now is really encouraging.

“Jaz jumped in there today and looked like we were hoping Jaz would. Both those guys are going in their third year now. That’s when you really just in general terms hope a player, at least in our program, when they got to start really kind of seeing the big picture a little bit better. I think both those guys are doing it.

“Jaz hasn’t been out there. I don’t know if he’s had a carry this year. But he looked good today. It’s really encouraging.”

It would have been easy for Patterson to leave Iowa in this age of the transfer portal.

He was a coveted recruit, and he rushed for 86 yards in a win at Iowa State last season.

So, there would have been takers, but Patterson decided to stay at Iowa, and that says a lot about Patterson, about Betts and about the culture in the Iowa running back room.

As great as Kaleb Johnson is showing signs of becoming, he still doesn’t have to do it by himself.

Redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton has emerged as a reliable option, and don’t forget about senior Leshon Williams, who led the team in rushing last season.

Williams was slowed by an injury in preseason practice, and with Iowa’s depth at running back, it has taken him a while to climb back up the depth chart.

Patterson entered Saturday’s game no higher than fourth on the depth chart, and he will likely stay in that position barring injuries.

But he will also stay ready because Ladell Betts will make sure of it.