That No. 2 tight end

Iowa's offense makes liberal use of tight ends, leaning heavily on two-tight end formations and using three in some situations.

During Saturday's scrimmage, junior Brad Herman had a positive day, catching three passes for 29 yards. Five tight ends caught passes. Obviously, the “help wanted” sign is up.

Iowa does have an incoming freshman who could help. C.J. Fiedorowicz, a 6-foot-7, 250-pounder from Johnsburg, Ill., caught 183 passes for 3,121 yards and 42 TDs. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Nothing is going to be handed to Fiedorowicz, however.

“He had to play his way into one (a role involving playing time),” Ferentz said. “I thought Brad Herman had a good spring, he's clearly made some strides. He's clearly our No. 2 guy. After that, it's a little bit of a coin toss.

“If C.J. can get into that race, great. We're not counting on him, but that would be a nice supplement, certainly, if it could happen.”

But make no mistake, Ferentz is thinking about it.

“If you look at us offensively right now I think our skill positions, minus our second tight end, we have a chance to really have guys who've played well in tough situations, so that's reassuring,” he said. “I think the whole quarterback group has done well, and now we've just got to get those interior guys and our backup tight ends to continue to make progress.”