5 players to watch for in Iowa football’s conference opener at Rutgers

IOWA CITY — Let the conference chaos begin.

Iowa football has a short week for the first time this year, making the trip East to visit Rutgers. These two programs will play for just the fifth time in New Jersey, and the second time the last three seasons.

Rutgers is trying to go 4-0 for the second consecutive season, but it has been littered with injuries over the last three games. The Scarlet Knights lost four impact players last week, including running back CJ Campbell.

“It’s definitely a concern,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said Monday. “You don't realize as they happen one at a time, but we're down quite a few guys that were going to be in the two deep already, and it's only a quarter through the season.”

The Hawkeyes are dealing with some injuries themselves, but are hoping for positive news on running back Kamari Moulton — who head coach Kirk Ferentz said could return this week. Ferentz said he’d know more on Tuesday.

“I think there's a chance with Kamari,” he said postgame Saturday. “He's really made progress pretty steadily. The trainer seemed optimistic at the end of last week, just where he's heading.”

With the injuries, Schiano is turning to his depth — specifically a few underclassmen. His main priority is to help his team on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Then, more importantly, he’ll see what needs to be done to prevent the Hawkeyes from a 1-0 start in the Big Ten. Here are five key players the Scarlet Knights may lean on in New Jersey.

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1. Athan Kaliakmanis

Starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has a similar build to Iowa quarterback Gronowski. Kaliakmanis stands at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, and already has thrown for seven touchdowns with no picks so far.

He doesn’t use his feet often, having just rushed 18 yards this year compared to his 820 passing yards. He’s also surpassed 250 passing yards per game in back-to-back weeks.

Kaliakmanis, however, won’t have a few of his main weapons alongside him. That includes wide receiver Ian Strong, who had 116 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Miami (Ohio) in Week 2.

2. Jett Elad

One of the faster defensive backs the Scarlet Knights have, junior Jett Elad is second in tackles this season, registering 15. He’s picked up a tackle for a 3-yard loss and had an interception against Ohio University to start the season.

Elad can be used in the kickoff return. He’s only made one appearance there so far this season, but his speed gives him an advantage in the return game as Schiano needs it.

3. Eric O’Neill

Senior Eric O’Neill is likely to be one of the biggest threats from the line of scrimmage. He’s registered back-to-back tackles for loss in the last two games, and a pass break up against Miami (Ohio).

The former James Madison defensive end was a first team All-Sun Belt player last year, including 18.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. He ranked fifth nationally with a sack per game and sixth in tackles for loss per game, too.

4. Antwan Raymond

With the unknown status on Campbell, sophomore Antwan Raymond will likely take a larger load against the Hawkeyes. He’s the team’s current leading rusher, picking up 248 yards and five touchdowns.

With the uncertainty of Rutgers’ offense, Schiano said they’re expecting to make decisions earlier in the week to who’ll get how many carries. It looks like most have gone to Raymond, but the Scarlet Knights have Ja’Shon Benjamin, who just surpassed 100 rusing yards this season.

“There's a lot of pieces right now that are that are in flux,” Schiano said. “When you have the challenge of playing a top flight defense and figure that out, that's something that we're going to have to really work hard to make sure we're giving ourselves the best chance.”

5. DT Sheffield

Senior wide receiver DT Sheffield is the only other receiver with at least 200 yards this season. The other two — KJ Duff and Strong — are injured.

Sheffield scored in back-to-back games to start his season, and had a 51-yard grab against Norfolk State last week. It’s likely Sheffield will be the Hawkeyes secondary’s main priority to slow down Rutgers’ attack.

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