Ferentz expects Hampton at full strength for fall drills

Kirk Ferentz followed Joe Paterno, who let the world in on “Tweetle-do,” the world's newest, quickest communications device. Maybe Paterno meant Twitter, or maybe not.

Ferentz had a tough act to follow at Big Ten media day. The Hawkeyes head coach hit on a few of the off-season mysteries Monday afternoon, including running back Jewel Hampton's availability, suspensions and the general health of his team.

Of course, you know that Hampton, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound sophomore, suffered a knee injury during conditioning drills on July 3. Ferentz said last week that he was “hopefully optimistic.” Monday, he sounded a bit more positive.

“We expect him to be full speed,” Ferentz said. “He's been back two weeks now, going full speed. We're really optimistic there, knock on wood. Hopefully, that all materializes the right way.”

The Hampton question is a big-ticket item. He's the closest thing Iowa has to a proven running back with the departure of Shonn Greene, Doak Walker Award winner and third-round pick of the New York Jets. As a true freshman last year, Hampton had 463 rushing yards and seven TDs.

That's not a lot, but it's something.

“He had a knee injury that didn't require surgery,” Ferentz said. “Those things are part of football. It was non-contact as you might imagine. No one fell on him. It was just one of those things, like a lot of knee injuries are.”

News of Hampton's injury leaked out of Iowa camp and touched off a bit of paparazzi-style hoedown. The Gazette confirmed a knee injury but didn't speculate on the extent. Ferentz addressed the frenzy.

“I missed the three-ring circus, but the circus will come back to town sooner or later,” he said. “It always does, right?”

Offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde's biceps injury didn't include paparazzi.

He underwent surgery in June. Monday, Ferentz said the 6-3, 305-pound junior won't be ready for the start of camp and could miss Iowa's first couple games.

This probably takes Vandervelde out of the equation at center, Ferentz said. Vandervelde saw some action there during the spring.

“It's probably not realistic to think he'll be ready, but everybody heals differently,” Ferentz said. “We're going to go conservative on the comeback. We're not going to risk two or three games for a season. It just isn't smart and not fair to anybody.”

The O-line, a definite strength of the 2008 Outback Bowl champion Hawkeyes, will be uncertain for Iowa's first two or three games.

After a June OWI arrest, senior right tackle Kyle Calloway is suspended for Iowa's Sept. 5 opener against Northern Iowa. Center is also up for grabs with senior Rafael Eubanks and junior Josh Koeppel in contention.

“Raf has a huge experience advantage (over Koeppel), but they competed evenly in the spring,” Ferentz said. “Raf Eubanks is a good football player and that tells me that Josh has really elevated his game very quietly. We might be on the verge of a good story there.”

Freshman James Ferentz might also be in the mix at center, but he'll serve a one-game suspension after two alcohol-related arrests last school year.

“We felt like we had a chance to have a good offensive line last year. Things were probably a little more clear at that point,” Ferentz said. “I think the potential is certainly there this year for that group. We have eight, nine, 10 guys who have a legitimate chance to see playing time.

“We have good competition, we just have to see where it all settles.”

Offensive lineman Dace Richardson, a fifth-year senior, is attempting a comeback from knee realignment surgery. He's listed No. 1 on the preseason depth chart at left guard.

“We were very pessimistic about Dace's future (last year at this time), but he stayed the course and really worked hard,” Ferentz said. “He wasn't making progress last year at this time and even early through the fall, then somewhere in mid-October, he started to gain ground.

“He worked extremely hard, got positive encouragement from teammates. He didn't look great in the spring, but looked good. . . . The things we saw in the spring were encouraging. He's been able to train non-stop since then, and so we expect to see a different guy in August.”

This is the time of year when Iowa finds out if incoming recruits qualify. Ferentz said Iowa is waiting for one score on a recruit. He said they should know Wednesday and if there was something to announce, it'd come at the end of this week.

Sophomore cornerback Shaun Prater faces a two-game suspension for an OWI arrest in late February, Ferentz said. Prater might be a factor at left cornerback, a position Ferentz called “wide open.”

Junior Jordan Bernstine, Prater and sophomore Willie Lowe are in contention.

“The challenge with Jordan is keeping him out there and keeping him so he can practice and practice and practice,” Ferentz said.

Practice and practice and practice. The Hawkeyes open fall practice Aug. 5 and have 29 practices until Northern Iowa.