Assistants: So far, so good for Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY -- It should all be good for the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes.

They're 4-1 (1-0 Big Ten), just about on schedule except for a disastrous trip to Arizona. They have an idle week on their hands before running through the bear trap part of their schedule beginning next weekend at Michigan and then at Kinnick Stadium with Wisconsin and Michigan State.

The defense is ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in four categories (scoring, rushing, red zone and total defense). The offense is led by senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who's third in the Big Ten in passing (245.2) and pass efficiency (176.8).

Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe and defensive backs coach Phil Parker talked Thursday. They see the Hawkeyes everyday. They know there's more to it than just stats. And so, they see areas where things could be just a little bit better.

"I think our defense has been, statistically, pretty good, but as we look at it as a staff, there are a lot of things we can improve on," Parker said. "I looked at the game last week [24-3 win over Penn State], I thought we had too many missed tackles and leverage problems for our defense. We're an experienced team, and I just don't think we tackled very well."

For O'Keefe, job one is building or finding depth at a running back position that is sophomore Adam Robinson and then two freshmen, Marcus Coker and Brad Rogers, who've never logged a carry in a Big Ten game.

"The experience factor obviously is something that [they] had very little experience other than Ball State to a large degree," O'Keefe said. "But they have to know what's going on, and really they've gotten a lot of reps this week, as well, especially in the blitz pickup and the protection game, which is critical to what we do."

With sophomore Jewel Hampton out for the season with a torn ACL and sophomore Brandon Wegher off the team since August, any situation where Robinson, a 5-fot-9, 205-pounder, sees a set amount of carries is out the window, O'Keefe said.

Instead of how much Robinson was going to get the ball, it's how much can Robinson take the ball.

In Iowa's 24-3 victory over Penn State last week, Robinson carried a career-high 28 times.

"Whether it's Marcus or Brad Rogers or Adam, it'll all depend on really how Adam is doing, because he's the guy with the experience, he's the guy that kind of is going to carry the load for us at this stage," O'Keefe said. "In this situation, there's no set [number of carries].

"There might be if you had a couple of healthy guys like we had in the beginning, but right now there are no set numbers that we're looking at, and we just want to move forward, move the chains, get in the end zone."

No Stanzi -- who threw 15 interceptions last season to just two in five games this year -- complaints from O'Keefe. Just the highest of praise.

"Certainly, he prepares probably better than any guy we've had, spends an enormous amount of time on that, and he provides great leadership in really all areas of our program, but especially when he's out there on the field," O'Keefe said. "He has that kind of knowledge and experience right now where he can move people to the places where they need to be on the scout team."

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Iowa's defense has been life without coordinator Norm Parker, 68, who had his right foot amputated due to diabetes complications in late September. Norm Parker is out of the hospital, but remains weeks from a return, head coach Kirk Ferentz said this week.

Phil Parker played safety at Michigan State while Norm Parker was a linebackers coach there from 1983-85. Phil Parker has known Norm for 27 years. Iowa's defense misses Norm Parker's wisdom, Phil Parker said, but the defense has clipped along.

Parker, linebackers coach Darrell Wilson and defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski have collaborated on the defense. LeVar Woods, a former Hawkeye linebacker, has moved up from administrative assistant to the defensive staff.

"It's been community service as far as guys working together," Phil Parker said. "We're all on the same page, and we've been doing it together. If Norm were up in the press box, Darrell would be making the calls, and obviously everybody has an opportunity to suggest things that they want called."

All the way around for the Hawkeyes, it's so far, so good.

K O'Keefe and P Parker - 10 07 10