Hlas: Hard-running Canzeri never ran from hard times

IOWA CITY — Drew Ott had a knee injury, maybe a severe one.

As is so often the case in football, there was carnage amid our entertainment in Kinnick Stadium. It came to both teams Saturday in Iowa's 29-20 win over Illinois. Illini wide receiver Geronimo Allison appeared to be knocked cold by a shot he took from Hawkeye safety Jordan Lomax.

Ott, Iowa's star senior defensive end, got hurt in punt-coverage. He had put an early-season elbow injury behind him, but now may face an extended absence and grueling physical rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, Jordan Canzeri ran from his injury-plagued past. He had one of the all-time great games by a Hawkeye running back with a school-record 43 carries for a whopping 256 yards.

How he went to that from where he had been is what makes these elite athletes elite.

In Iowa's first padded practice in the spring of 2012, Canzeri tore his ACL. A few months earlier, he had 86 total yards for the Hawkeyes in the Insight Bowl as a true freshman suddenly cast in a starter's role. But he spent the 2012 season on the sideline.

Last season, Canzeri rushed for 494 yards backing up Mark Weisman. But he had nagging injuries that limited his effectiveness. He couldn't really show how good he could be.

'In previous years it hurt to have the injuries and sit on the sidelines and watch,' Canzeri said. 'You just have to stick with it and you've got to keep that positive focus, especially when bad times come. Because when you work through those bad times, it gives you perseverance.

'It's something so many guys on the team have done, and (something) as a whole team — as one unit — we've done from last year to now.'

Ott has a knee injury. Offensive tackle Ike Boettger suffered a lower leg injury. Offensive tackle Boone Myers and wide receiver Tevaun Smith missed their second-straight games. The latter was adequately replaced Saturday by a freshman named ... Smith.

Illinois freshman running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn got blasted by tacklers in the fourth quarter. He returned on the Illini's next possession, but fumbled the ball away on the first play of that drive.

It was a killer turnover. Who knows how much of the cause of it was the hit he took the previous time he touched the ball?

But Canzeri just kept running and getting tackled. His 75-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter was one for the highlight shows. However, his 11 consecutive carries as Iowa nursed a 23-20 lead midway through the fourth made the performance epic.

None of those 11 rushes were sensational. But they were just what his team needed at the time.

Rushing yards

For a more detailed breakdown of this game, click here.

Most of us don't think a 5-foot-9, 192-pound back gets 43 carries at this level. Or 11 straight fourth-quarter carries after he'd already had 30 rushes. Particularly a 192-pounder whose body was punished in the past by injuries.

'It's just a testament to his determination and his courage because those were hard yards,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

'He could have put his hand up and said, 'Hey, I need a break,' but he's a strong team leader right now, and he laid it out there for us.'

'Jordan made us right on a lot of plays,' Iowa center Austin Blythe said.

Canzeri wasn't Iowa's No. 1 back at the start of the season. But LeShun Daniels had a bad ankle sprain a month ago that still hasn't healed. Winning teams have players who embrace extra responsibility.

'I'm ready to do whatever's asked of me,' Canzeri said. 'You never really know what you're capable of until you push through the barriers that you previously had for yourself.

'I never had that opportunity, never had that chance to do that. When asked to, I was willing to put everything on the line to do so.'

These guys put everything on the line every play. Take one wrong twist, absorb one wrong hit, and you're on crutches watching your team celebrate a 6-0 record and sole possession of the Big Ten West lead.

The band plays. The fans whoop it up. The pundits try to make things fit into their storylines. Then they all go home.

But some of the players go to the hospital. Others like Canzeri have been there, and came back to play at a brilliant level. How can they not be at least a little amazed by their own capacity to persevere?

Here's to fast recoveries to all the injured. And the injured-to-come.

Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com

Twitter: @Hlas

Subscribe to Mike Hlas — The Gazette on Facebook