10 Takeaways from Hawkeyes Wednesday

1. Several different runs were taken on more info regarding the CJB/Rudock decision

- And offensive coordinator Greg Davis kept the playbook closed on that front (I couldn't help the wordplay, I couldn't help it).

How does C.J. Beathard go from backup to No. 1 in December and then permanently after the bowl game? 'We had said all along, we thought we had really two good players. And so we thought that, hey, we would open it up for the bowl game, which we did. And then they both knew going into the game that we were going to alternate the series. And so after the bowl game we decided that we needed to clear the air, so to speak. And with that in mind we sat down as a staff and decided to go in the direction we did.”

What changed over three or four months to help you reach that conclusion? 'We just felt like he gave us the best chance to win. It was not like an epiphany. It was just that we felt like - they had been close for a long time. And we just felt like that, like we do at every position, who did you think gives us the best opportunity to win. And that's what we felt after the bowl game.”

2. Was there separation between the two?

- I thought this answer gave some insight - as much as we're probably going to get - into the actual decision. 'And we just felt like that C.J. was at a point mentally to the question of getting in and out of plays, that he had cut that gap down. We felt like physically that there was a bigger upside. And we're talking about a guy that's a really good player in Jake,” Davis said.

'And so we just - we had to make a decision and sometimes it's what does your gut say. In words it's not as easy as this, this, this, this. Part of it is what we've seen every day for the last couple of years and we just made a decision.”

3. Was part of it to definitely answer the QB question for 2015

- Davis deferred to Kirk Ferentz on this one, but since I asked . . .

'I think that he felt like as the head coach that it was time to make a clear decision instead of taking it into spring training. So, you know, we made it.”

And Jake Rudock will have a great shot at being Michigan's starter next fall. I will plea now and probably only once that we don't keep a leaderboard on this over at Twitter.

4. So, CJB's football IQ game has jumped and that's why the change happened

- That's how I'm reading it. I asked Davis if we (media and probably mostly me) underestimated that element of CJB's game.

I couch this all in comparison to Rudock. You saw Rudock, you heard from him for two seasons. You know he's razor sharp. He was locked into a QB competition with Beathard. You've seen a little of Beathard now. I'm giving the arm and athleticism check to CJB and Jake gets the playbook, mental checkmark.

Ground was made up, and so higher upside CJB, change at QB.

'The fact is C.J. is really bright. He's extremely bright, and I don't think we'll lose anything there in terms of getting in and out of plays and those kind of things,” Davis said. 'I think you'll see the same thing, stepping away from the center, and I don't think you'll notice any difference there.”

5. One more run at Rudock info

- Did Iowa encourage him to stay? 'I think part of the reason coach wanted to do, again, he certainly can speak for himself, I think part of the reason he wanted to do it during the break, during the semester break was where he would have an opportunity to sit back and reflect and decide what was best for him. We had conversations during the time, during the break, and he came to a decision and we honored that decision.”

6. So, all-in on CJB

- I think that's the route Gazette columnist Mike Hlas is going today. I would suggest reading the living daylights out of that.

Iowa has had five mediocre seasons. The Hawkeyes ended 2014 with three straight defeats. There is a level of frustration, at least outside of the complex.

Is this the time you tell a senior quarterback, in January, that he's lost the job? Ferentz and staff certainly have equity. This is Ferentz's 17th season. Maybe that kind of equity allows you to make that kind of decision.

Or maybe you make that decision because you know you need to pull out all of the stops.

Rudock had two seasons as a starter. CJB has a relatively short resume (one start, one pretty great second-half comeback road victory).

I don't think this is an investment in the future. I think this move is to give the 2015 Hawkeyes the best possible chance at winning.

The question has been answered, let's see how it goes.

7. Phil Parker and eye discipline

- Oh goodness, he's going to go X and Os here. Well, yeah, a little.

I will cop to neglect on the importance of eye discipline for defensive players. A couple of eye openers here: @HawkeyeGameFilm on Twitter is a tremendous resource and has shown me the light on a lot of X-n-O. Iowa LBs were new last season. Eyes were fooled at times and ghosts were chased. Also, I saw a shot of a Bear Bryant plaque on Twitter. It's the last thing Alabama players see when they walk out of the Bryant-Denny Stadium tunnel: 'Simply put, football is eyes, movement, and contact.”

OK, so my eyes are open (hahahahaha and I'm sorry).

Here's Iowa DC Phil Parker on gauging eye discipline: 'To me it's one preparation. And you would sit down and watch them on film and see where their eyes are at sometimes. If maybe a guy pulls one, he doesn't see it, how come he didn't see it? To me with the secondaries and safeties, I'm always looking at kind of [secondaries and safeties] got three layers of looking at them. Look at the offensive line, back field action, quarterbacks, and see if they're seeing the same thing I'm seeing. You can tell. What's the offensive line doing, what's the running backs doing, what's the quarterback doing, are you picking up your reads fast enough? You can tell if they don't react. And it's all film study and rewatching the film. If you're slow on your read, how can you not see that, and why? Are you doing enough studying of the film? Are you paying attention in practice?”

This is why Iowa isn't planning to junk the 4-3 over defense. It believes it can play it better. Parker seems focused on gaining steps through details. A big part of that is knowing where you are going.

'It's hard to play without your eyes if you don't really use them, and what information they're giving you,” he said.

8. As far as safety goes, it sounds like Jordan Lomax and then three guys

- Freshman walk-on Brandon Snyder, junior Anthony Gair and sophomore Miles Taylor are battling for strong safety. It sounds as though all three have done some things to get Parker's attention, particularly Snyder.

'I think Snyder and Anthony Gair are trying to figure that out, too, seeing if they're in the right spot, to create some competition. But the last practice I seen some stuff I liked out of Brandon Snyder a little bit. So we'll see. It's still a long ways to go,” Parker said.

On if Taylor is hanging on to the starting spot? 'Today he might go out to start. I think we're going to rotate some guys in there and give them a chance with the first group over there to see where he's at. But right now he's lined up as today, yeah, a good chance.”

9, We met a new player and that is always fun

- I would suggest the video interview of DT Kyle Terlouw. He is 'Turbo” and he is a wide-eyed hungry player who bet on himself to make it at Iowa. (I'll have player videos later, still downloading.)

Also, fullback Adam Cox tells a good story. Of course, you know he lost last season after suffering a torn ACL in camp. Did you know he was put on scholarship the day before he was injured? Cox is the kind of guy who believes he owes something for his scholarship. He's dying to do that this year.

10. Is there a conscious effort to make WR Tevaun Smith a go-to guy? - Why, yes. Thank you for asking Mr. Rhetorical Narrator.

Here's Davis on that topic: 'We're moving Tevaun around formationally, that was one of the things that we went into the offseason in trying to find some ways to put him in spots that he hasn't played in as a slot receiver, for example. When he's an outside receiver it's easier to low coverage to him. It's harder to do that to a slot receiver. So, yes, we've done some things that we feel like will give him some opportunities to get more advantageous coverages.”

OK, sounds like Smith will be moved around to try to find matchups. Davis mentioned the same thing with the TE group (I still think George Kittle is going to have a say).

I don't have to remind you that this is spring and a lot of what is said in spring doesn't always make it into the fall.

For example, C.J. Beathard.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com