No. 1 — QB C.J. Beathard

No. 1 . . .

In the middle of January, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz called a news conference to restate his philosophy with the Iowa program (the 7-6 season in 2014 wasn't cool with anyone in the program) and announce a quarterback change.

Jake Rudock, a senior and two-year starter, had been displaced by junior C.J. Beathard. The hows and whys of this have been shuffled away into generalities. Still, Ferentz has never called a January news conference. To say the removal of a two-year starter (Rudock shortly thereafter transferred to Michigan) was a shocking departure is putting this situation mildly.

And so now it only feels as if Beathard has been Iowa's QB for nine months.

Here is the oral history of that nine months. I think you'll find that Ferentz has gone from mumbling that Beathard is the starter to trumpeting it. I think you'll find players very, very political in their answers but still excited. I think you'll find Beathard has been a pretty even hand in all of this.

'At I sit here today, we still have two very good quarterbacks. I think it's very, very close between the two of them and at this given point you know we just think, we're all in agreement, the thing that gives us, at least at this point with what we believe gives us the best chance to move forward right now is give C.J. a chance to be the starting quarterback.' — Kirk Ferentz on Jan. 14.

'I listened to his assessment of the two quarterbacks. He's been very consistent in saying we have two terrific quarterbacks. I listened to his decision to put out his two deep and what he's thinking right now and I said I support it.' — Iowa athletics director Gary Barta on Jan. 14.

'I'd be remiss if we didn't say we were disappointed we let the Nebraska game get away,' Davis said. 'That's the reason we decided to open it back up.' — Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis on Dec. 29, 2014.

'We made the decision then [January]. In my opinion that was the best thing to do for our football team at that given point, so that was the driving force behind it. It's been close between both of them. They're both really good quarterbacks. They're both tremendous young guys. I've been saying that consistently.

'I still feel that way, and should Jake leave, I wish him all the best. I just want him to be successful and happy, and you want that for every player in your program certainly.' — Ferentz on March 25.

'There's only going to be one quarterback to worry about. We don't have to worry about who's coming in the next series or this series . . . It bugged us in that everyone kept asking about it, just that fact was, I guess, annoying for us.' — Wide receiver Tevaun Smith on April 1.

'I guess the coaches saw after that game the best upside for this team from here on was with me at the helm.' — Beathard on April 1.

'I felt like I showed the best I can do. Obviously, we both had mistakes here and there. In my mind, I felt like I was the better athlete and I could do more things. I think the coaches see that, too.' — Beathard on April 1.

'I mean, he has really good arm talent.' — Davis on April 23.

'I used to braid his hair all of the time. Now that he cut it off, we don't hang out as much . . . No, yes, I hang out with him. He was one of the first guys I met on campus. I've gotten to know him pretty well.' — Defensive end Drew Ott on July 31.

'He's an other-people oriented guy. He's cognizant of others in a good way. He does what he does, but he's very aware. He's a great teammate and he's very unselfish. Even cutting his hair, it was a charity thing, which didn't surprise me. He's been raised right. He's got a lot of empathy for people. He's demonstrated a lot of maturity in these six or eight months. It's been fun to watch him.' — Ferentz on July 31.

'C.J. definitely keeps you on your A game. You can still be covering a guy and he'll still give the receiver a chance to make a play. In a lot of plays, most defensive backs will think they're good (in good position to make the play), but he puts the ball in the air in a place that makes you start panicking and then you have a flag. C.J. will definitely give his guys a chance to make a play. . . . His arm strength is amazing and he really does use his legs to get out of the pocket and keep plays alive.' — free safety Jordan Lomax on July 31.

'I think anytime you have a quarterback who can throw the deep ball and throw it well, it's going to keep teams more honest. They're not going to be able to bring a safety up (to the line of scrimmage to stop the run) or blitz a safety. Instead of eight or nine in the box (on the line of scrimmage), you'll see six or seven. That's the hope anyway, the idea. It'll be fun.' — center Austin Blythe on July 31.

'We thought it was the best thing to do. I think there's a stronger consensus right now that we did the right thing.' — Ferentz on Aug. 8, Iowa's media day.

Now. the talking stops and the playing starts.

Outlook . . .

Let's go down the checklist on how Beathard will be different from Rudock: 1) Stronger arm — It's a fact. Beathard's arm is a differentiator. Can it lift the Iowa receiving corps? I think that's why you make this move. If you're Ferentz, you make this move to make your offense better. In Beathard vs. Rudock, that starts with the arm. 2) A tad more escape-ability — Maybe more than a tad. We really don't know, this remains to be seen. Beathard's 82 rushing yards against Tennessee was the most for an Iowa QB since like the early '70s. Now, the game was decided and the Vols spent most of the second half pasting their names on the 2015 depth chart, but Beathard did things running the ball that Brad Banks didn't do. There are caveats with Beathard running the ball, mainly that the No. 2 QB is Tyler Wiegers, a redshirt freshman who's never played, but you play to win the game, a coach once ranted.

What else? Is 3) this: Camaraderie? Every player seems to have a connection with Beathard. Every player seems to have had some sort of positive interaction. During the offseason, Beathard brought Lomax to his Nashville, Tenn., home for a visit.

This is and will likely always remain political. No one wants to say the wrong thing. The great part is the talking about this is over. Beathard has been Iowa's starting QB for nine months. It's time for him to take those first steps and it's time for everyone to let this happen.

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