ISU could use four running backs Saturday

By Rob Gray,  correspondent

 Shontrelle Johnson's No. 1 on Iowa State's depth chart at running back, but three teammates aren't far behind.

"I think you'll see four running backs for our offensive football team on the field,” Cyclone Coach Paul Rhoads said with regard to Saturday's 6 p.m. season opener against Northern Iowa at Jack Trice Stadium. “I fully anticipate Shontrelle Johnson, Jeff Woody, Duran Hollis and James White all being on the field at some time for us.”

 Johnson and Woody are the only two with significant game experience.

Johnson gained 218 yards on 35 carries as a true freshman last season (6.2 yards per carry average).  Woody, a junior, rumbled for 192 yards on 47 carries (4.1 yards per carry). 

 “It's a competitive job at that spot,” Johnson said. “We feed off each other, so we're all going to be ready.”

  ISU struggled against UNI on the ground in last season's 27-0 win, grinding out 117 yards on 35 carries (3.3 per carry).  Gains may be hard to come by on Saturday, as well. 

 “Those guys are good over there,” Johnson said of the Panthers. “We have to come in with a good mindset, ready to play.” 

 So does new starting quarterback Steele Jantz, who makes his Division I debut.

After transferring from Hawaii to City College of San Francisco, he established himself as a dual-threat play-caller, throwing for 3,075 yards and rushing for 601 last season. 

Now he's a junior at ISU and expected to play a critical role in both aspects of the offense - in the air and on the ground.

"Any time the pocket collapses, he's able to make plays on the run,” Johnson said.

Rhoads praised Jantz's ability to remain unfazed regardless of the situation.

"He's becoming the leader that we need him to be," he said in Monday's Big 12 teleconference. "I've enjoyed watching him connect with his teammates. I have enjoyed watching him since we named him starter.”