Red-shirt freshman Riley Reiff now three starts into his career

Riley Reiff's Iowa football career started with a gasp, which quickly turned into a shrug and later became a nod. If that range of human emotion is hard to follow, let's start at the beginning.

Reiff, a red-shirt freshman, replaced ailing preseason All-American candidate Bryan Bulaga at left tackle against Iowa State. Many people were skeptical he could hold up in an environment known for rattling Iowa football players. Those doubts were erased quickly.

“At first, you're thinking, ‘I have Bryan Bulaga,' and the next thing you don't,” Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. “You have a new guy that wasn't tested. But at the same time, before that game I knew what kind of person (Reiff) is and was confident in his ability. After that game you're even more confident because you saw how he played.”

Reiff was called for a false start on Iowa's third play but rallied to limit Iowa State right defensive end Christophe Lyle to three tackles. Maybe his technique wasn't perfect and he needed help from teammates, but he didn't get his quarterback battered, which is a positive in itself.

Now, three starts into his career, Reiff most likely is headed back to the bench. Bulaga will reclaim his spot after recovering from a thyroid condition, but Reiff has given Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz an option. Reiff competed at guard in training camp and could return to the starting lineup in case of injury or ineffectiveness.

“All I can say is we've got a lot of confidence in him,” Ferentz said. “I felt that way going into the first game he played three weeks ago. It wasn't like we were tremoring or shaking about it. You worry about inexperience mistakes. ... But I thought he really did a good job, and we've got total faith in him.”

Reiff, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 280 pounds, went to Iowa as an all-state defensive player from Parkston, S.D. - 30 miles from former Hawkeye and current Minnesota Viking linebacker Chad Greenway's hometown. Like Greenway, Reiff terrorized opponents on both sides of the ball, and Coach Jon Mitchell shifted Reiff to linebacker before his senior season.

“I changed him from defensive end because quite often people would just run away from him,” said Mitchell, who retired after Reiff's senior season. “I didn't tell anybody about it, but I wanted to have one more Butkus-type of player. He was a Butkus-kind of player for us.

“I said this was all good, fast backs will have to run through this fellow. He put a dent on quite a few people.”

Reiff played tight end as well and was all-state three seasons. He was impressive as a blocker, Mitchell said, which doesn't surprise the coach now.

Eight games into his first playing season, Reiff has proven himself on the football field. His size and skills make him a likely impact player for three, possibly four years. But he has one attribute that endears him to his teammates

“The biggest thing I know about Riley is his toughness as a person - that's really his biggest attribute,” Stanzi said. “That's one of the things we pride ourselves on at Iowa is you're a tough football player ... and he fits that mold perfectly.”

The gasps are gone, as are the shrugs when it comes to Riley Reiff, offensive tackle. He's a respected football player. Most now nod in agreement.