From the bench to the bottom of the pile

Rafael Eubanks certainly could've taken his ball and gone home.

The Iowa center had 21 starts under his belt going into the 2008 season opener. But when the Hawkeyes kicked off against Maine, he found himself the incumbent who was voted out of office. Then-senior Rob Bruggeman pushed his way to the top.

Eubanks started four games at guard before a balky knee, a sprained ankle and concussion completely struck him from the lineup.

The 6-foot-1, 280-pounder could've taken his ball and gone home.

“Part of the problem last year is he got nudged out by a guy that has played as good of center as we have had in the last decade,” Ferentz said, referring to Bruggeman, who's on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. “That was the circumstance there. The other thing, when you're winning, your older players have to play their best and Rafael is a good example of that.

“He's playing his best ball right now. That's what it takes for us to have a chance to have a successful group.”

Players losing their jobs was a common theme with the 2008 Hawkeyes. It happened to Eubanks. It happened to quarterback Jake Christensen, who transferred left the team shortly after the Outback Bowl and is now happy and productive at Eastern Illinois, which is 6-2 going into this week.

If transfer thoughts entered Eubanks' mind, you wouldn't know it.

“That could hurt a lot of guy's egos,” said offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, on losing a starting spot. “That happened and it really could put a guy down in the cellar.

“In the off-season, he regained his leadership role. He worked in the off-season and summer. Everyone looked up to him. He played as a freshman and sophomore and all the way through until last year. Even last year, guys still looked up to him because he knew what he was talking about. He gave a lot of input to Bruggy.”

Eubanks just looked at it as part of the journey, just as a college football player would with an injury. Part of the journey, knuckle down.

“Just part of the whole experience and I learned from it,” said Eubanks, a fifth-year senior from St. Paul, Minn. “It just makes this year so much more exciting and fulfilling for myself and for the team.”

His mantra was simple.

“You've just got to understand it's part of college football,” he said. “Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. I learned a lot from it. It probably made me cherish it more, coming into my last season. It's an opportunity that not a lot of people have and I want to make the most of it.”

And he has.

Ferentz said he's playing his best, most consistent football. With guard Dace Richardson looking at missed time with a broken leg, Eubanks will be the only one of the five Iowa O-linemen who's made every start.

In the past, Eubanks lost a lot of one-on-one battles with bigger defensive tackles. This season, he's winning or creating stalemates. He's learned the art of being an undersized offensive lineman.

“It's being consistent in what you're doing,” he said. “In the pass game, it's getting your hands in quick, getting your feet set in the ground. In the run game, it's getting on their chest fast and keeping a low pad level. There's a lot of little things you can to do neutralize (size). It's the stuff I try to focus on.”

Last year, Eubanks' uniform barely got dirty. Last Saturday night, he was the first one on top of Marvin McNutt after his game-winning TD catch.

“I was more worried for him, because I was right on top of him and then everyone else started jumping on,” Eubanks said. “One of those things, part of the excitement.”

From the bench to the bottom of the pile. Eubanks is enjoying his view.