Farley ‘pleased’ with spring results from Panthers

CEDAR FALLS - As spring practice ends for the Northern Iowa football team, Coach Mark Farley is a happy man.

With a disappointing 2013 season fully in the rearview, he and his Panthers have hit the ground running. The annual spring game closed spring practice last night at the UNI-Dome, and the veteran coach was happy with what he saw as the Defense beat the Offense, 45-40.

'I was pleased. I was pleased with our quarterbacks' decision-making, for the most part,” Farley said. 'I think we gained things we can look at on film from our offensive line play. So we got something out of this spring game.”

The quarterback battle between incumbent starter Sawyer Kollmorgen and Brion Carnes continued, though the two aren't concerned, at this point, with who has an edge.

Both showed flashes in the spring game, with Kollmorgen finishing 16 of 20 for 178 yards and Carnes finishing 12 of 22 for 141 yards, one touchdown and one interception. They looked poised throughout the game, despite Carnes' interception. Carnes threw on the run, across his body and the pick was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by Jeremy Johnson.

Farley said if he had to choose a starter today, he could. But he added, with a smile, that he doesn't have to yet, and will wait until the fall to do so.

'I think, if you looked at just this game, you'd say Sawyer, but you also saw what Brion can do,” Farley said. 'Because his speed does change the game. And you can see his throwing is much better than it was. We've got to work on some of the decisions he makes running and throwing now, and kind of put that all together.

'I'm pleased with both for the spring, but there's work to be done.”

Both quarterbacks expressed confidence in what they were able to do this spring when the game was finished.

There's no real rivalry among the two, rather an eagerness to push each other to be better and help lead a winning football team. Knowing the other is talented, they said, drives them to be their best on every snap.

'I feel very confident and had a good spring (but) there's still some things I need to work on,” Kollmorgen said. 'Me and Brion, we push each other. We're good friends, on and off the field, but we know when it's on the field, we're competing. We get after each other, but we also like to help each other out. It's competitive and helpful, and a very healthy relationship, I feel like.”

Carnes got a chance to start three games at the end of last season, and knows as well as anyone the improvements he needed to make from last year to this year, especially in the passing game.

And with a year under his belt in the UNI system, Carnes is way more at ease with what he's doing under center.

'I feel really comfortable,” Carnes said. 'I'm a lot more comfortable than when I first came in, just getting that year in the offense and with the team.

'We're not where we need to be right now, but we'll put a lot of work in this summer and we should be good.”

One position on offense that's in absolutely no doubt is at running back, with David Johnson back for one final season in a Panther uniform.

Johnson didn't play, but only because Farley kept him away from contact all spring to preserve his health. The senior sits just 874 yards from the all-time UNI rushing record (Corey Lewis, with 4,003), with 3,129 career yards.

'David is 100 percent, it was my decision to keep him out, and quite honestly I didn't hit him once live,” Farley said. 'His first live hit will be at Kinnick Stadium (on Aug. 30). I'm pleased with where we're out, and I'm excited to have him for this season.”

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