5 Guys — The Hawkeyes, not the hamburgers

IOWA CITY — Every day in the roll up to the season opener, the talking gets a little bit cheaper. You can wonder what [fill in the blank] player might do at [fill in the blank] position, but soon, that all will be obsolete and there will be games.

We're not quite there yet, but Saturday is as close are we're going to get.

The Hawkeyes will hold an open scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium (gates open at 11 a.m. and practice begins at noon). This will be your first and only look at Hawkeyes football-like activity until the opener on Sept. 5 against Illinois State.

There are some obvious players you're going to want to see. Hello, quarterback C.J. Beathard. It only seems as if you've been Iowa's starter for 15 years and you were named starter only in January. Wide receiver Tevaun Smith, you know him. He comes with a set of expectations. Defensive end Drew Ott might eat an egg and he might run over an offensive tackle on the way to the QB. You're familiar with his talents.

Here are five players with short or relatively short resumes who'll be asked to assume roles large or small. Saturday, we get to look under the hood and see if the engine has at least turned over.

1. Offensive tackle Boone Myers — Last season, Myers was awarded a scholarship heading into fall camp. The sophomore had done enough his redshirt year to show coaches that he was worthy. Then during the season, he settled in at backup right tackle and watched senior Andrew Donnal earn his way into NFL money.

Now, Myers is replacing Brandon Scherff at left tackle. At times this spring, he looked overmatched against Ott. He also won some battles. The progress he's made since might jump off the page Saturday.

2. Running back LeShun Daniels — Just look at the guy. He's 6-0, 225 and built like tank. This winter, he shed around 10 pounds and set a Kirk Ferentz-era record in the shuttle. He also holds RB records in the bench press and 10-yard start.

The most carries the junior has ever had in a game is 13 against Western Michigan, a 59-3 Iowa victory in 2013. He had 15 carries in 2014 and suffered an ankle injury that cost him five games.

How is his running back vision? Can he beat tacklers one-on-one? Daniels is the No. 1 RB and those questions are still very much mysteries to the outside world.

3. Strong safety Miles Taylor — The sophomore played as a true freshman last season and saw limited time. He was placed in the starter's role in January and has hung on to the job.

So far this camp, the 6-0, 195-pounder laid a thunder shot on Daniels that cost the big back a little time out of practice (he was fine late this week and is expected to play today). Taylor has been consistently physical from the strong safety spot. Could he give Iowa's defense the 'punisher' factor that it lacked last season?

4. Wide receiver Jay Scheel — Last August, Scheel came into camp with a knee injury that eventually needed surgery. He also looked like a kid. He had narrow shoulders and thin legs. You just kind of wondered how this was going to work.

This spring, he performed quietly and then made a few plays toward the end of the game at Kinnick. Hey, Jay Scheel. During Iowa's media day, the redshirt freshman (6-1, 195) looked the part. And now, it's like, 'HEY, Jay Scheel.'

Iowa's wide receiver group needs playmakers. With the injury behind him and a year of physical maturity in the books, Scheel is poised to make some sort of move. Beyond Scheel, it'll be interesting to see if any of the trio of true freshman wideouts (Adrian Falconer, Emmanuel Ogwo and Jerminic Smith) have pushed into the rotation.

5. Linebacker Bo Bower — The headline for Iowa's linebackers coming out of the 2014 season was 'Needs improvement.' During the TaxSlayer Bowl, Bower was pulled from outside linebacker. At some point, veteran assistant coach Jim Reid was put in charge of all three linebacker positions. And in January, the depth chart showed that Bower switched from outside to inside at the weakside linebacker position. These moves were announced around the same time and, logically, they seem related.

Bower is the middle of what could be the pivotal position group for Iowa's defense. If Iowa's linebackers don't make strides from last season — especially given the fact that Iowa will have two new defensive tackles — the defense is in trouble. That is a Captain Obvious statement.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz has said all along that coaches still weren't sure of the best linebacker combination. Some light might be shed on that in Kinnick Saturday.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com