Iowa notes: Coleman a beast, punt returns, 75th anniversary

IOWA CITY — Running back Tevin Coleman has reached historic levels of success at Indiana, and he's a threat every time he runs the football.

Coleman, a junior, has rushed for 100 yards in seven straight games. He has scored in 14 consecutive games. Both streaks are the nation's longest.

Then you look at Coleman's current statistics. He ranks first in the nation with 196 yards per game from scrimmage, second in rushing yards per game (168.2) and fourth in yards per carry (8.01). There's no gimmick to his success, and Iowa safety John Lowdermilk said 'you definitely have to be alert at all times.'

'They spread you out and try to gash you a little bit,' Lowdermilk said. 'It's just big for all of us to know our run fits and who's the support player and who's the alley player because that's when he gets his yards and gashes teams — when they have mental errors and get out of position and he's gone because he's really athletic.

'He's really thick, too, and to be able to run as good as he does being that big is really impressive.'

Coleman (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) has 13 runs of 40-plus yards — tied for the most nationally — and boasts seven runs of 50-plus yards. He's also caught 13 passes for 127 yards.

'They like to run a lot of screen passes and they like to run some speed option stuff and you just have to be aware that he can beat you in a number of different ways,' Lowdermilk said.

'He's very fast and he can definitely hit that explosive 20-yard-plus play,' free safety Jordan Lomax said. 'Once he gets past the second level, it's pretty much really hard to catch up to him. You definitely want to keep your leverage and keep him boxed and make sure everybody's running to the ball.'

FAIRLY CAUGHT

Iowa forced Purdue to punt nine times two weeks ago, but the Hawkeyes posted zero punt return yards. The final seven Boilermakers' punts ended with fair catches from Iowa's Riley McCarron.

Multiple times McCarron had room to run, but he opted for a fair catch. It was McCarron's first full game as a punt returner.

'Hopefully we'll get that train moving a little bit,' Ferentz said. 'I think that's his first game out there, so we'll get that going a little bit.

'We're not against that (returning punts). We're not against returns. I am for fielding it, but returns after that.'

Iowa's Micah Hyde — now a starting defensive back in Green Bay — returned just 30 of the opponents' 120 punts in 2011 and 2012. He was instructed to field the ball cleanly without turnovers. Gaining yardage was a secondary concern for Iowa.

The Hawkeyes loosened up a bit last year by returning 24 of 89 punts. Kevonte Martin-Manley brought back two punts for touchdowns against Western Michigan.

So far this year, Iowa has returned just six of the 29 punts.

'We were still safeguarding, but we could have gotten both done the other day,' Ferentz said. 'That's kind of the next step there in the progression. That was his first game out there. If I had the choice, field the ball. Don't let it roll, field the ball.'

75 SEASONS

One of Iowa's greatest wins took place 75 years ago Tuesday. After trailing by nine points in the fourth quarter, Iowa's famed Ironmen rallied to beat Indiana 32-29 in Iowa City. Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick threw three touchdowns to All-American end Erwin Prasse, including the game-winning score with five minutes left. Kinnick also rushed for a touchdown and set a still-standing Big Ten record with 201 punt return yards.

Coincidentally, Iowa plays Indiana this Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, and they'll meet for the 75th time.

INJURY TIME

Two Iowa players who missed the last game with injuries returned to the depth chart Monday and another has a chance to play, Ferentz said.

Wide receiver Matt VandeBerg and fullback Macon Plewa both are likely to play. Running back Damon Bullock missed the Purdue game and his status is undetermined.

'Damon is supposed to practice today, so we'll see how it looks this week,' Ferentz said.

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