Frosh factor in Hawkeyes' escape

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Big Ten added top freshman to its weekly awards this season. The Hawkeyes haven't had a legit candidate through the first eight weeks.

Coming out of Saturday's 18-13 escape at Indiana, Iowa has three freshmen who could make strong arguments for the league award.

Running back Marcus Coker, middle linebacker James Morris and kicker Mike Meyer factored heavily for the No. 13 Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten), who travel to Northwestern (6-3, 2-3).

Iowa fandom asks why it was so difficult to win at Indiana, where the Hoosiers have dropped 10 straight Big Ten games? These three newbies weren't the weak link.

Coker perhaps had the most pressure, stepping in for injured sophomore Adam Robinson (concussion). He went into Saturday with 26 career carries. He had 16 in the first half and finished with 22 carries for 129 yards, averaging 5.9 yards a carry.

Morris, a 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Solon, had nine tackles, two pass breakups, a half tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. One of his tipped passes ended up in the hands of Iowa free safety Brett Greenwood. It was Morris' second consecutive start, something that might become a permanent deal.

Meyer made 4 of 5 field goals, including a career-long 42 yarder in the fourth quarter. The true freshman walk-on hit kicks of 23, 27, 27 and the 42-yarder. He missed a 22-yarder, but he made two tackles on kick returns, which isn't necessarily a good thing but he was there.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was keenly aware of his freshmen and their performances.

"He stepped up big for us," Ferentz said about Coker. "A week ago, James Morris jumped in there and did a great job and I thought he played well again today. Marcus was called upon today and he carried more than his share of the load.

". . . We're talking about freshmen, I'll throw Mike Meyer in there, too. That last field goal, that was not a routine chip shot. He missed one earlier, so he showed some resiliency there by coming back and getting a critical field goal for us."

So, here do these three go from here during the Hawkeyes' final three games?

Meyer is permanent. He took over after sophomore Trent Mossbrucker had a PAT blocked at Arizona. Senior Daniel Murray is still feeling the effects of a leg muscle strain. It's Meyer's job. Before a miss from 22 yards Saturday, Meyer had a streak of seven consecutive field goals. He's made 9 of 11 field goals this season.

Meyer is permanent and has a shot at make this a four-year deal.

Morris' case is a little more cloudy. His play has held up. He got his first career start against Michigan State and made nine tackles. He's been active and has shown good instinct against the run. At Indiana, Morris showed speed in getting depth against the pass and caught IU quarterback Ben Chappell's eye.

“That mike, No. 44 [Morris], he was causing problems all day," Chappell said. "He was switching to wherever he was dropping to the field and boundary, reading my eyes, doing a good job of that."

Morris' status might depend on the health of senior Jeff Tarpinian, who's still limited because of a neck/shoulder stinger. Tarpinian has played in passing situations the last two weeks. He began the season as middle linebacker, but could slide to the outside position. Saturday, freshman Shane DiBona got the start there, but Tarpinian has a history at the position and could play there, leaving Morris in the middle. Ferentz said Saturday that outside linebacker came down to DiBona and Tarpinian.

Morris seems to have already earned that degree of confidence.

"James loves the game of football," defensive tackle Mike Daniels said. "He'll do whatever it takes to be the best."

His energy is noted by pretty much every veteran.

"He has a nerdy freshman kind of energy," defensive end Adrian Clayborn said. "It's a good thing, just a little different."

Coker probably goes back to No. 2 this week. Ferentz said he expected Robinson to return to practice Tuesday, but he also acknowledged that Iowa might now have two "capable" backs.

If a Hawkeye doesn't earn Big Ten freshman of the week Monday, they'll have two or three legit candidates going forward.