O-line switch? Maybe, maybe not

MIAMI -- When Iowa's first team O-line took to their three-point stances Wednesday, it looked a little different. And not the way you'd think.

You might think that senior Dace Richardson, who's coming back from a broken leg suffered against Michigan State on Oct. 24, was in the lineup. He was on the field and participated in drills, but he wasn't a starter.

The right side was switched with senior Kyle Calloway sliding down to guard and freshman Riley Reiff going to right tackle.

Why did this stand out? Calloway has started all 36 games of his Iowa career at tackle, including the last two seasons on the right side.

"He's been there for the majority of the bowl prep," senior center Rafael Eubanks said about Calloway, a 6-7, 320-pounder. ". . . Today, I guess that's where he would be, but I don't know what they're (coaches) planning. If Dace comes back, they might switch around again. But if we played tomorrow, Kyle would probably being playing guard."

According to coach Kirk Ferentz, this is all a sort of, maybe thing.

"We're just fooling around with stuff," Ferentz said. "We always do that. We worked a lot of combinations today."

It might be a response to Georgia Tech's personnel. The Yellow Jackets (11-2) have a monster D-tackle in T.J. Barnes, a 6-7, 341-pound redshirt freshman. He'd be lined up across from Calloway. Reiff, a redshirt freshman, checks in at around 280.

"They have a guy inside at 6-7, 340," Eubanks said. "He's going to be loads of fun. . . . Coaches always say I'm vertically challenged, so I have leverage already, so just keep my hands inside and stay low against a bigger guy like that."

It's really kind of a cat-and-mouse thing.

If Reiff moves out to tackle, he could (probably would) find himself against junior defensive end Derrick Morgan, a 6-4, 272-pounder who's an all-American with a possible jump to the NFL draft staring him in the face and 12.5 sacks this season.

Tech coaches will probably try to give Morgan his best shot at success. They'll probably avoid Iowa left tackle Bryan Bulaga and put Morgan up against the more inexperienced Reiff, who started three games at tackle this season when Bulaga fought through thyroid problems.

"He's fine," Ferentz said about Rieff moving. "We do this all year round, so it's not like it's a big deal. He's fine."