Playing time is the topic at QB

IOWA CITY — The subject of playing time always is a delicate topic for quarterbacks. There is and always will be one, the one, and the other one.

That's pretty much how it stands for the Hawkeyes this fall. Jake Rudock is the one.

'We know who the two quarterbacks are and Jake Rudock is our starter,' head coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'That's not a debatable question right now. I don't foresee that changing.'

And, thusly, sophomore C.J. Beathard is the other one. But remember, this is a discussion about playing time not starting. Rudock, a junior who threw 18 TD passes and 13 interceptions last season, is the starter. That isn't debatable. The hint that there could be some playing time for Beathard has been out there since the end of spring, when Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis acknowledged the possibility.

It's a difficult topic to broach. So, you keep things light and look for any help you can find.

As Rudock prepared to address his third or fourth wave of reporters during Iowa's media day, a light bulb popped on one of the makeshift field studios photographers used.

Rudock didn't flinch. 'It's all right, we've got gunshots in the background,' he said.

That loosened up Rudock, a pre-med major who is perfectly comfortable with media and microbiology. He was then asked if the game slowed down for him last season, his first as a starter.

'The Matrix effect?' Rudock said, referencing a movie franchise that started when he was 6 (1999). 'Yeah, you see things a little quicker, which helps slow things down a little bit, but I'm not doing the whole Neo bullet-dodging thing.'

One more nonsensical question should do it. What music do you QBs listen to?

'C.J. loves country, his dad writes songs,' said Rudock, who passed for 2,383 yards with a completion percentage of 59 percent last year. 'I listen to country, but I listen to singer/songwriter stuff. I listen to everything. You can Google singer/songwriter stuff. It's like John Mayer, that type, Jason Mraz, Ed Sheeran.'

OK, now, now, NOW with the playing-time question. Getting Beathard into games, what does that mean for you?

'For me, I'm just focusing on the team right now,' Rudock said. 'Whatever coach decides to do, if it helps the team, I'm all for that. That's the biggest thing, just trying to get the win at the end of the day. If C.J. has to step in sometimes, we'll do that. At the end of the day, it's what's best for the team.'

The warm-up question for Beathard, who finished three games last season after Rudock suffered knees, is 'bro-country.' That's an offshoot genre of country music that includes elements of hip-hop and rock and carries themes like alcoholic beverages, trucks and reckless freedom.

Beathard's dad, Casey, is a Nashville songwriter who's worked with Eric Church among others.

'It's kind of changing right now,' C.J. Beathard said. 'My dad gets frustrated sometimes because a lot of those songs out there are pop and hip-hopish more than old-time country. Hopefully, it'll make it back around to old-time country.'

Now, now, NOW with the playing-time question. Coach Ferentz and coach Davis say you might play in real-time games this year, C.J., what about that?

'I don't know exactly what the coaches are talking about, but I know in the spring they talked about it,' said Beathard, who completed nine passes last season and rushed for two TDs. 'They said I had a good spring. They don't know what it's going to be right now, but they said they feel like I've earned the right to get to play in some games next year. So, whatever that means.

'I didn't know what it meant.

'Right now, it could mean a lot, it could mean a little. Who knows?'

Ferentz has said all along that the first three weeks of fall camp will determine if Beathard's skill set would become part of the game plan. With today's open scrimmage, the Hawkeyes are turning the corner from week 2 to week 3.

While Rudock showed a steady if not unflappable hand last season, Beathard has been tagged with the 'wildcard' factor, which is good and/or bad.

'We all like it when a guy runs around and dodges four guys and throws the ball down the field for a first down,' Davis said. 'None of us likes it when he does that and throws it to the other team.'

Ferentz and Davis have acknowledged that Beathard has the stronger arm of the two QBs. Again, this is good and/or bad. Davis was asked if QBs sometimes fall in love with their big arms. 'Not sometimes. All the time,' he said. With Beathard, he's often relied on his arm and that's slowed his reads and drained the clock on protection.

'I think that he right now isn't so much, 'I'm going to wait because I have a big arm.' I don't think it's that,' Davis said. 'It's just getting through the reads a little bit quicker. It's more that.'

Beathard on the wildcard thing: 'I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. Honestly, I don't know.'

And now on if he has to talk himself out of relying on the arm: 'Sometimes, I feel like I maybe need to check it down. Sometimes, I like going for the bigger ball than some other guys. I might need to start checking it down a little bit more.'

Ah, there it is. Some progress, a sign of maturity.

'In C.J. I see a guy who's much more mature right now than he was,' Davis said. 'He's gotten into playbook and the little things, looking the safeties off, fake audibles. He's really playing the position more. I think part of that is because that's what Jake does. He's been able to see the way Jake prepares for a ballgame and the way he goes about handling himself at the line.'

That's a solid lead-in to Rudock's strength, his intelligence and football IQ. Rudock's brain has been discussed, but another element of his chemistry pushes him even harder.

He's a competitive cuss.

'I don't like lose, let's put it that way,' Rudock said. 'It bugs me. I think that's one of those things my parents instilled in me, that competitiveness. I think there are some genetics in there that you just have.

'Winning is the most important thing each Saturday. So much goes into it, it's like a test. The better you prepare, the better you feel each Saturday. That feeling after a loss is horrible. All the guys are hurting. You don't want that, you want the euphoria.'

And that's why playing time is a topic. Is there a blend of the two quarterbacks that can elevate Iowa's offense? Iowa constantly strives for balance. The Hawkeyes offense boasts an all-American candidate at left tackle (Brandon Scherff) and a 240-pound running back (Mark Weisman).

The power game is bona fide and credentialed. Can the passing game hold up its end of that bargain?

Ferentz is open to some sort of rotation, as long as Beathard shows the staff his arm and short-area quickness (Beathard has that knack in the read option game) are worth using.

'What we don't want to do is screw up our team, take away the rhythm of what we're doing,' Ferentz said. 'I think a big part of that will be the mindset we take, but the first part is we have to be convinced what we see is going to help us move the ball and score points. That's the only reason to do it.

'We're not trying to keep C.J. happy or any of that stuff. We're not trying to entertain people. Or create a controversy, that too. I haven't thought about that option. If it's going to help us be tougher to defend, and I think it has that potential, that's what we're kind of working through.'

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