Offensive line expected to lead the way
There’s no more curve grading for Iowa’s offensive line.
They’re no longer the group that people viewed last April as the biggest question for the Hawkeyes. Now they’re looked at as the answer for Iowa football.
“We expect that from ourselves, too,” junior center James Ferentz said. “Now that we have more experience, you have to raise the bar, and every year the bar should be raised. Now that we have more experience, our expectations need to raise and we need to perform better and be a better foundation for this football team.”
This has the makings of a granite base.
Left tackle Riley Reiff was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last year as a sophomore and might be the next lineman to roll off Iowa’s assembly line to the NFL.
Ferentz spent a large portion of Saturday’s spring scrimmage herding defensive linemen around Kinnick Stadium.
Like Reiff and Ferentz, right tackle Markus Zusevics started all 13 games last year. Nolan MacMillan and Adam Gettis locked down one guard spot for the first eight weeks last season.
They weren’t just keeping a place warm, either. There was palpable improvement throughout the season with the offensive line.
They went from area of concern in September when three first-time starters debuted against Eastern Illinois to source of strength in December.
The Hawkeyes allowed nine sacks in the first three games. They surrendered 11 in the last 10. In their last showing, they carved up Missouri’s defense for 225 yards rushing and didn’t allow a sack in a 27-24 victory in the Insight Bowl.
“We’ve got to cut down on those sacks,” Ferentz said. “It was too high. You can’t have that many. Our number one goal as a unit is to cut that number down, and then in the run game we’ve got to make sure we get more yardage offensively, and we’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to finish more games.”
There was a strong push Saturday from Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz after the last of the team’s 15 spring practices. He pointed to penalties and pass protection when asked about his offensive line.
“They’re going to do a little better than they did today,” he said. “I think we did a pretty good job with holding penalties. I think we had three or four or five, I don’t know, something like that, (and) a couple exchange problems. I think that group will be fine, but we’re not there yet by any stretch.”
Coach Ferentz later responded to a question about the quarterback depth chart by saying: “I’m not sure we could get through September with the way we protected sometimes. Everybody better get a little more in tune to our pick-ups.”
Ferentz listed Gettis when he rattled off names of players who sparkled during the spring. The senior is penciled in as Iowa’s right guard.
Freshman Brandon Scherff worked with the No. 1 offense this spring at left guard while MacMillan sat out with what Kirk Ferentz said was an “orthopedic injury.”
Nonetheless, this is now Iowa’s most experienced unit. Now the Hawkeyes are breaking in a new starter at quarterback and five first-year starters on defense. They’re counting on the offensive line.
“(Reiff, James Ferentz and Zusevics) are all capable of getting better,” Kirk Ferentz said. “If we’re going to have a good football team, we’re going to need that to happen.”
There’s no more curve grading for the offensive line.
“Coach Ferentz always says the most experienced guys have to lead,” Zusevics said. “That pretty much puts it on us for the offense.”
“We’re the most experienced group on offense. We’ve got to set the tone, set the example. We’ve got to keep holding ourselves to that high standard.”
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7370 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
