By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In his four seasons as the Iowa running back coach, Ladell Betts made a lasting impression.

He built quality depth, a close-knit brotherhood and a competitive environment in which to excel as a Hawkeye running back.

And for Iowa’s sake it’s good that he did because the position has been rocked by injuries this season with four different running backs already having started at least one game this season.

Sophomore Kamari Moulton is listed as the starter for Saturday’s game at Wisconsin, but he already has missed two games this season because of an injury, which occurred early in the season opener against UAlbany.

Redshirt freshman Xavier Williams is listed as the backup alongside true freshman Nathan McNeil, but Williams also has missed two games this season due to a shoulder/arm injury.

Junior Jaziun Patterson, who leads Iowa with 199 rushing yards, will miss his second straight game due to an injury that occurred in the first half of the 38-28 win over Rutgers in the Big Ten opener on Sept. 19 in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Sophomore Terrell Washington Jr. is also expected to miss the Wisconsin game due to an injury. The Texas, native is the only Iowa running back to have started more than one game so far this season according to the weekly game notes as he started against Iowa State and Indiana.

It has just been one injury after another, and yet, Iowa still has managed to keep at least three running backs healthy enough to play on a game-by-game basis.

This week it’s Moulton, Williams and McNeil who are expected to carry the load, assuming they all stay healthy between now and the 6 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

All of these running backs were recruited by Ladell Betts, as was former Hawkeye star running back and current NFL rookie Kaleb Johnson.

Betts had instant credibility as a former Iowa and NFL running back, and he used it to his advantage while building depth at his college alma mater.

Betts is Iowa’s second all-time leading rusher with 3,686 yards and he also played nine seasons in the NFL.

Betts played his final three seasons at Iowa under Kirk Ferentz from 1999 to 2001, and together they helped to build the foundation.

Ferentz then gave Betts his big break as a coach by hiring Betts to coach the Iowa running backs in 2021.

The problem for Iowa, though, is that Betts performed his duties so well that the New York Giants hired him as their running back coach this past February.

Betts left just a few weeks after Nathan McNeil had enrolled at Iowa.

McNeil bypassed his last semester of high school in Tampa, Florida to enroll early at Iowa.

So you could say that McNeil is a parting gift from Betts, and so far, McNeil has been one of the pleasant surprises on offense.

McNeil has come a long way since Betts told him to be patient during the recruiting process.

“He told me my recruiting was going to be slow because he wanted to see more out of me,” McNeil said Tuesday. “So after a couple games, I kept sending him film an stuff, and after the sixth game, he offered me finally, and then I came for a visit and then everything just started flowing after that.”

The fact that Iowa was even interested in McNeil as a high school senior was quite a development considering where he was just a year earlier from a football standpoint.

“I didn’t do too good my junior,” McNeil said.

McNeil started to address the problem by transferring to Winegrass Ranch High School in Tampa for his senior year.’

“I transferred out and I started rolling after that,” McNeil said.

McNeil is among three Iowa running backs from the state of Florida, the others being Moulton and Patterson.

Betts was coaching high school football in Florida when Kirk Ferentz hired him as the Iowa running back coach in March 2021.

Betts would go on to use his Florida connections in recruiting.

Omar Young was hired to replace Betts as the Iowa running back coach this past March, and McNeil said Tuesday that the transition under Young has been easy.

Young had coached previously in the NFL and at four different levels in college before joining the Iowa staff.

And though Iowa’s rushing totals and explosive plays have dropped off some this season compared to last season, the Hawkeyes still are averaging 178.8 rushing yards per game.

Explosive plays is where Iowa has struggled the most without Kaleb Johnson, who had six runs of 40 yards or more last season and 21 runs of 20 yards or more.

Xavier Williams has Iowa’s longest run this season of 43 yards. No other player on the team has a run of more than 22 yards.

McNeil’s longest run this season gained 17 yards, while his longest reception gained 32 yards.

It would have been easy to assume that McNeil would have redshirted this season, given all the depth and experience at running back.

However, the combination of injuries and McNeil showing that he was ready and able to contribute right away now has him in the rotation.

Kirk Ferentz has spoken highly of McNeil since he first arrived on campus in January, praising McNeil for his poise and maturity.

“He’s done a really good job,” Kirk Ferentz said in August. “He’s a really mature guy.”

McNeil faced the glare of the spotlight this past Tuesday as he was one of six Iowa players that were made available to the media.

“It’s something,” he said.

McNeil credits his parents for helping him reach this point in life and for his mature outlook.

“My parents taught me really well growing up,” McNeil said. “I’m a reflection of my parents.”

McNeil also values his relationship with God and considers it a guiding force.

“I grew up as a Christian so my faith in God is very important to me,” McNeil said. “So I just like to represent wherever I go.”

McNeil is fortunate that Ladell Betts saw in him what most other coaches didn’t see during the recruiting process.

Iowa was the first Power 4 school to show interest in McNeil and that would be the start of a relationship that continues to grow, even though Betts has moved on.

“The first carry I was a little nervous,” McNeil said. “But then after that I’ve been doing this since Little League. So it’s just the same thing.”