Iowa football notes

IOWA CITY - Iowa City native A.J. Derby literally got his feet wet Saturday in his debut as an Iowa quarterback.

After a torrential lightning storm postponed the game for 1 hour, 24 minutes, Derby was told by coaches he would replace starter James Vandenberg when play resumed. Derby, a red-shirt freshman, entered play with 3:38 left in the third quarter, which happened to be third and 8. Derby's pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley was dropped, and Iowa had to punt.

Derby completed two passes in five attempts for 27 yards in his first action as a Hawkeye. Iowa led 34-0 lead at the time, so Derby's action didn't leave a heavy impression with Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz. But Ferentz was happy Derby got on the field.

“It was a start for him,” Ferentz said. “Yeah, it was a start. That was the other good thing that happened Saturday. Besides winning, after the intermission we were able to play an awful lot of folks and that was good, because those guys haven't played at all. It's his first time ever, so it's important.”

Derby was an all-state quarterback at Iowa City High and spurned other major football programs like Oklahoma, Florida and Michigan for Iowa. Derby graduated early from Iowa City High, enrolled at Iowa for the 2010 spring semester and red-shirted last fall.

Speculation has mounted since his arrival that Derby, who carries a 6-foot-4, 232-pound frame, would switch from quarterback to linebacker or tight end.

“I've always thought of myself as (a quarterback), so I never really try to paid attention to outside people,” Derby said.

Derby's father, John, was an all-Big Ten linebacker and team captain for Iowa in 1991. Derby's older brother, Zach, is a junior tight end. Just playing at Kinnick is a dream of his, Derby said.

“It's what I've dreamed of since I was younger,” Derby said. “My dad played here; my brother's here now. So it's all I wanted to do for a long time.”

Injury update

Ferentz left a little wiggle room for a possible return by true feshman running back Mika'il McCall, who suffered a broken leg Saturday. McCall led Iowa with 61 yards on nine attempts before his second-quarter injury.

“There is a chance Mika'il could be back at the end of the year,” Ferentz said. “That's possible. If he can, we're trying to win today, so that's possible.”

Red-shirt freshman defensive tackle Carl Davis is cleared to play after missing the first game with an injured knee. Linebacker Dakota Getz (shoulder) could play on special teams Saturday, Ferentz said.

Small world

Iowa State Coach Paul Rhoads and Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg have a connection to Division II Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo. Rhoads was a free safety for the Griffons from 1986-88 and recently inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame. Vandenberg's father, Toby, played quarterback at Missouri Western in 1983.