On line -- OL Brandon Scherff

As noted in this "On Line" series during Andrew Donnal episode, there aren't a lot of openings on Iowa's O-line for 2011. This is Iowa's healthiest corps, with depth and competition up and down.

Kirk Ferentz is coaching for 2011. He's also coaching for '12 and '13 and maybe all the way to 2020, the full length of his current contract. And so, yes, it's smart practice to break in a few newbies. The Bryan Bulaga experiement worked pretty well. He started as a guard his true freshman season, moved to tackle and then moved a year early to the NFL. Mike Jones also started as a true frosh. He never developed into the NFL blaster, but he had four productive years as a guard for the Hawkeyes.

The door is open for Brandon Scherff. He's not there yet. He hasn't locked down the left guard spot. Nolan MacMillan will be back with an agenda in August after an unsteady spring with a shoulder and rhabdo.

The door is open. The ball is in Scherff's court. And we are out of cliches.

Scherff is No. 68 in this video. Donnal is No. 78.

Three most interesting bio items a year in . . . 1) Passed for 1,200 yards as a sophomore (yes, he was a QB at one point for Denison High School); 2) also second team all-conference basketball selection as a junior and earned varsity letter in tennis as a freshman; 3) placed second in shot put at Drake Relays as sophomore and junior.

Key quote . . . Kirk Ferentz: "We see what he does. He's getting a lot of good work this spring. He did a good job last fall. Right now of the five, he's fifth, just with tempo. He looks like a younger guy. He's not reacting to things as quickly as you might like. He's got good potential. He's very coachable and works hard. I think these 15 days will really help him [spring practice]. I expect him to be a much better player in August, and he should be. He'll work hard and he should be. We're going to need him to take another step, that's for sure, and another couple guys from that group do the same thing."

Offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe: "I've seen a big guy who can move his feet whose got to learn what he's doing. And that's the thing.

"Other than the quarterback position, the toughest place to learn, where you have to learn the most about what we are doing, is going to be up front. And when you're in there at the guard position, it's a little different. When you're at tackle, you're dealing usually with just a guy out here over you, or a little wider than you normally, and you know what's happened and you know where you're headed.

"But inside there, those guards, they have got to deal with, you know, 300 pound guys, fast linebackers, a lot of movement, things like that, a lot of things that tackles don't have to deal with.

"Their world is a little bit different and it takes a little bit longer to get used to it. And again, it comes back to if you know what you're doing, you can be very aggressive at what you do. And when Brandon knows exactly what he's doing, he'll be much better able to execute.

"But he's still a guy trying to get the system figured out, and Reese [O-line coach Morgan] is doing a great job with him. You can see him flash and you can see him use that body at times, which makes a huge difference. But he's got to know what he's doing on every play."

Standing after spring . . . Ferentz put it as plainly as possible, fifth out of five. And remember, that's what matters with the Iowa O-line. Center and left tackle seemed to be hand picked more often than not, but the other three spots are usually the best available athlete.

If Scherff has a productive redshirt freshman season, he should have an eye on tackle for 2012. At 6-5, 310, he has the size and reach. He's a former tennis player, so you know he has the feet.