Some of the nuts and bolts of the QB race

IOWA CITY -- Four practices into fall, no hard, fast decisions have been made at Iowa quarterback.

Sophomore Jake Rudock, junior Cody Sokol and redshirt freshman C.J. Beathard remain viable candidates. Coach Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis said during media day Thursday that there is no inkling of separation between the three.

It's too early. Check back Aug. 17, when the Hawkeyes have their first public scrimmage.

"We have a three-horse race, and we're going to let them compete," Ferentz said.

The Iowa passing game might make or break the Hawkeyes this season. The results last year, Davis' first at Iowa, were bottom three of Ferentz's 14-plus seasons. The seven TD passes were the worst since six in 1999. The 2,249 yards were the lowest since 2003 (2,095). Iowa's 232 points were the fourth-lowest under Ferentz and fewest since 222 in '07.

So, here's Davis on the three who would be QB, none of whom, by the way, has taken a snap in a game.

First, a general statement on the three (they have fairly similar skill sets):

"They all have the ability to make plays with their feet, to extend plays," Davis said. "They all throw the ball well, they're bright guys. And they all have no experience, so they have similar skill sets in all three of those."

On Rudock: "Jake is extremely bright, very bright. He's getting us into the right plays, making the right decisions."

On Beathard: "He's got a really quick arm. He's got the ability to extend plays. He has a little bit of a . . . I don't know what the right term is . . . sometimes you want to say 'no, no, no, OK, that turned out pretty well.'

Like a 3-point shooter?

"Yeah, and he's not afraid to keep shooting."

On Sokol: "C.J. and Cody are probably a little closer mentality-wise in being a '3-point shooter,' that's a pretty good term."

Without prompting, Davis discussed explosive plays, another element Iowa needs to check off in '13. Last season, Iowa finished 118th in the nation with just 132 plays of 10-plus yards. In 2011, Iowa had 117 and in '10 it had 191 (37th in the nation).

Yes, it's only been four practices, but Iowa QBs have exercised that muscle.

"We've made a big to-do of it in these four practices," Davis said. "We've to take more shots. We have got to put the ball down the field more often. . . . We've made a conscious effort from spring to this point in camp of understanding that we've got to force the defense back and take more shots."