Moving from rhabdo to spring ball

IOWA CITY - On the football field, rhabdomyolysis is becoming less of a story for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz announced Wednesday that the 13 players who were stricken with rhabdo, the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream and affecting the kidney, have been cleared medically for spring practice, which began Wednesday afternoon.

“They've been working up to,” Ferentz said at Wednesday's news conference. “... They haven't been on the same level of the guys that weren't affected, certainly. They've all been cleared to go now. I'm not going to name names, but I will name one name because it was out there. Shane DiBona, he's not going to go because he's had a shoulder repair. There are examples of that, but basically they'll all be out there.”

The rhabdo players won't go full-bore the first four of the 15 spring practices. Dr. Kyle Smoot, a team physician, will continue to monitor their health this semester. Ferentz said he didn't know if that would continue into the summer.

DiBona, a sophomore linebacker, is one of seven known rhabdo cases. The others include defensive backs Shaun Prater, Jordan Bernstine, Willie Lowe and Tom Donatell. Linebacker Jim Poggi was stricken. Iowa emails indicated that defensive tackle Thomas Nardo was affected.

The Iowa Board of Regents issued a report on the root cause analysis Wednesday in Ames.

“The most positive thing out of the report is that five smart people (the committee that issued the report) are convinced that nobody was negligent here,” Ferentz said. “We have to learn from what happens. We can't discard what happens. We don't have a traceable link to it, so we move forward.”

And so let's move forward with some on-the-field football news:

The last time you saw Micah Hyde, he returned an interception 72 yards for touchdown to win the Insight Bowl and earn defensive MVP. The next time you see him, he might be a safety, switching from the cornerback spot where he started last season and intercepted four passes.

“Yeah, we might fool around with that,” Ferentz said. “Just like the line, we'll look at different combinations. We'll fool around with him in there. We'll fool around with Jordan (Bernstine) in there. We're looking for the best combinations.”

There are other injuries beyond the rhabdo cases. DiBona did get the double dose, though, with rhabdo and a shoulder surgery that will keep him out this spring.

The two most serious absences are sophomore fullback Brad Rogers and red-shirt freshman tight end Austin Vier. Rogers failed a cardio test before the Insight Bowl and will remain out of action while his heart is being monitored. Vier has develop serious back problems and Ferentz doesn't anticipate his working out this spring.

Rogers is listed as the No. 1 fullback, but that will probably go to junior Jonathan Gimm, who moved from tight end in December.

Senior wide receiver Marvin McNutt (thumb, shoulder), junior defensive tackle Steve Bigach (upper body) and safety Tanner Miller (shoulder) also are out this spring.

Senior outside linebacker Tyler Nielsen, whose 2010 season ended suffered a broken vertebrae, has returned but won't go through contact drills this spring.

Your depth chart surprise is ... strong safety Collin Sleeper. The 6-2, 200-pound walk-on junior from Solon is listed No. 1. He hasn't played in his two seasons of eligibility.

Of course, if the Hyde-to-safety thing sticks, that probably pushes Miller, who was No. 2 free safety as a freshman last season, to strong, with Prater holding one corner and Greg Castillo and B.J. Lowery fighting it out for the other.

Sleeper is one of four walk-ons who showed up on the depth chart for the defense, with Nardo (No. 1 defensive tackle), Donatell and defensive end Joe Forgy joining him.

Then again, this is the spring depth chart. This Jell-O has hardly congealed.

2011 Hawkeye outlook

Coach: Kirk Ferentz (13th season at Iowa, 89-60; 15th season overall, 101-81)

Last season: 8-5 overall, 4-4 in Big Ten; beat Missouri, 27-24, in Insight Bowl

Returning starters: WR Marvin McNutt, OT Riley Reiff, OT Marcus Zusevics, C James Ferentz, RB Marcus Coker, OG Nolan MacMillan, OG Adam Gettis, K Mike Meyer, DT Mike Daniels, DE Broderick Binns, LB Tyler Nielsen, LB James Morris, LB Shane DiBona, DB Shaun Prater, DB Micah Hyde

Spring game: Final practice/scrimmage, April 16, noon

Schedule: Sept. 3 - Tennessee Tech, TBA; Sept. 10 - at Iowa State, TBA; Sept. 17 - Pittsburgh, TBA; Sept. 24 - Louisiana-Monroe, TBA; Oct. 8 - at Penn State, TBA; Oct. 15 - Northwestern, TBA; Oct. 22 - Indiana, TBA; Oct. 29 - at Minnesota, TBA; Nov. 5 - Michigan, TBA; Nov. 12 - Michigan State, TBA; Nov. 19 - at Purdue, TBA: Nov. 26 - at Nebraska, TBA