Coker looks for sunnier days

IOWA CITY -- Kirk Ferentz did say after the open scrimmage, Aug. 13 a week into camp, that running back Marcus Coker "got bumped a little bit . . . nothing major."

He went on to say if Iowa would've had a game that afternoon, Coker would've been able to play. The sophomore wore a red jersey and didn't participate in live drills.

And then after Saturday's 34-7 victory over Tennessee Tech in the season opener, Coker said he didn't get hit much in camp because "I had hurt my shoulder." Of course, this could be reaction to the broken collarbone he suffered in '10 fall camp.

But before this turns into a federal case, Coker was quick to stamp this out as an excuse for an afternoon that was a sharp contrast to his last outing in an Iowa jersey, a 219-yard MVP performance in the Insight Bowl.

On an ultra-rainy afternoon, Coker fumbled twice and averaged 3.7 yards on 11 carries, a performance he deemed unacceptable. Still, no excuses.

"I didn't get hit too much [in camp] because I had hurt my shoulder," Coker said. "Again, that would just be an excuse."

And before this turns into an X File, Ferentz doesn't buy the "no contact in camp" theory. He referenced Shonn Greene in 2008. He went the entire camp without being touched and went on to set records for season rushing yards (1,850) and rushing TDs (20).

"You can say yes and you can say no," Ferentz said. "Then conversely, players get hurt without being tackled. You can say, hey, might as well tackle them. The risk-reward thing . . . Once guys have been tackled in live competition a lot, then I don't worry too much about it."

After Saturday, the question with Coker isn't about contact in practice, it's more where can Iowa's training staff find enough bubble wrap for the 6-foot, 230-pounder.

Of course, the big story line out of Tech was the season-ending injury to freshman running back Mika'il McCall. He stormed the Golden Eagles for 61 yards on nine carries. Then, in the second quarter, TTU safety Will Johnson and his body weight and shoulder pads landed in nearly the same spot and the same time as McCall's lower right leg.

Ferentz confirmed that McCall has a broken right ankle and is out for the season. That's that. No time to lament. Iowa (1-0) takes its lone road trip for September when it hops on the bus for Iowa State (1-0), which rode a fourth-quarter charge to a 20-19 victory over Northern Iowa.

Ferentz said the running back depth chart would be sorted within the next 48 hours. Iowa's depth chart will be released sometime Monday afternoon.

Coker is the certainty. Just as last December, he finds himself as Iowa's one and only running back with a college resume.

The sample size is eight games. He has 663 rushing yards on 125 carries (5.3 yards a carry) with four receptions for 42 yards. He has three touchdowns and he has three fumbles.

A good portion of Saturday's postgame was devoted to whether or not Coker is a fumbler, an argument a running back really can't win. Running backs break and tear leg parts. They also fumble. It's part of football. Usually, running backs aren't around long enough for the title to stick.

Oh, and it rained a little bit at Kinnick on Saturday. A storm caused the first evacuation of the stadium. The press box roof also leaked on to reporters' row. But again, Coker threw back that excuse.

"I would never describe him as a fumbler, at least I've never had that thought," Ferentz said. "Two today. It was raining and all that. Moving forward, we're going to play in rain again, probably."

Coker wasn't looking for excuses. He wasn't satisfied with Saturday.

"Not at all," he said.