Defense ahead of the offense in Des Moines?

Here's the whole deal from Saturday at Valley Stadium. It's all charted. It mostly has formations.

First, some numbers and observations.

QBs

C.J. Beathard

- The junior finished 12 of 21 for 139 yards. He missed two TDs, one on a swing route to an RB in goal-line drills and another early in team when WR Tevaun Smith broke wide open in the end zone for what should've been an easy 20-ish yard TD strike. On one hand, the wind was to his back and that might've contributed to overthrows, but he'd tell you that's one you don't miss. Some inaccuracy, but the range CJB's arm gives Iowa's offense is important. Iowa might have a fighting chance on more third-and-longs this year ... if the OL can protect. There were at least nine sacks Saturday.

Tyler Wiegers

- The redshirt freshman finished 9 of 23 for 48 yards. He had a couple of iffy throws, including one to the flat that linebacker Cole Fisher undercut and took for a pick 6. Wiegers tried to thread the needle a few other times over the middle and should've had two more picked. This was, indeed, his first rodeo as the No. 2. One thing that stood out to me in his post-scrimmage comments was when head coach Kirk Ferentz said the No. 2s are really No. 3s at this point. I think that stands for a few positions.

RBs

Jordan Canzeri

- eight carries for 16 yards (After an injury-plagued 2014, I was surprised to see him in so much contact.)

LeShun Daniels

- 4 carries - 14 yards (Not dancing this year. LD is going forward. Is he fast enough to get the corner on the outside zone?)

Derrick Mitchell

- 6 for 13 (Showed toughness. Could be a weapon out of the backfield. If he wins third-down guy, don't stop there. Now that he's an RB, go all-in with it.)

Akrum Wadley

- 7 for 29 (I liked what I saw. Wadley doesn't know he's not supposed to run between the tackles because he's skinny. Looks to be growing his game.)

C.J. Hilliard

- 8 for 35 (Tough drop early in the scrimmage, but stayed in it and stayed productive).

Marcel Joly

- 9 for 37 (Joly belonged with the No. 2s and dominated when the No. 3s where on the field.)

Beathard

- 2 for 12 (Slide.)

No one stood out here. Daniels had at least one run that looked as if it could break big. As a converted WR, Iowa threw Mitchell right into the mix with a few inside zone runs. He didn't flinch.

Overall, Iowa wasn't terribly physical, but a scrimmage halfway through spring practice isn't much of a gauge.

WRs and TEs

Tevaun Smith

- 1 for 12 yards (He might be the No. 1 player on the team.)

TE George Kittle

- 2 for 8 (Coming off postseason ankle surgery, Kittle mixed it up and looked speedy.)

TE Jake Duzey

- 1 for 5 (He's totally invested in blocking. He has a chance to be Iowa's second-best target, but the playbook has to help out the TEs.)

WR Jacob Hillyer

- 3 for 41 (Didn't get great separation, but uses his body very well. In the podcast, I often say CJB is the kind of QB who can make WRs better because of his arm. Hillyer could be a prime example. CJB gives him a ball he can go get.)

WR Matt VandeBerg

- 4 for 47 (Had one painful ball slide through his arms for what would've been a long gainer. Also had a fumble. Those things can't happen, obviously.)

WR Jay Scheel

- 2 for 9 (WR coach Bobby Kennedy said Scheel was still feeling the effects of last season's knee surgery and it looked that way.)

TE Jon Wisnieski

- 2 for 12 (Ray Hamilton-looking dude.)

RB Mitchell

- 1 for 5 (As a converted WR could be a weapon out of the backfield.)

RB Daniels

- 1 for 25 (Beautiful screen pass. Perfectly executed.)

WR Riley McCarron

- 1 for 10 (Has a shot at the top five and the regular rotation. Will have to fight off the incoming freshman.)

WR Jonathan Parker

- 1 for 3 (Just making the move to WR. Scratching the surface here, I think. Let's see where this goes.)

Quick FG drill

This was a nice bit of innovation. To get a look at everyone, Iowa lined up two field goal units on each hash and rotated kickers through. It gave everyone a shot to show what they can do. The kickers did have a decent wind to their backs, so there was some help.

Marshall Koehn

- PAT range left hash good, 40 yards right hash good, 50 yards left hash good, 50 yards right hash good, 28 yards right hash good (5 of 5 with two 50 yarders).

Miguel Recinos

- RH 50 yards wide right, LH 40 yards wide right, middle 25 yards good, RH 40 yards good (2 of 4 with a 40 yarder).

Mick Ellis

- LH 35 good, LH 31 good, RH 40 good, LH 45 good (4 of 4 with a 45 yarder).

Koehn will handled kickoffs. He might also handle punts. Recinos will be a redshirt freshman walk-on. He's also in the punter's race. Ellis had a nice showing here. The true sophomore might make a bid for a piece of the kicking jobs, if Koehn does indeed end up with a piece of punter. I could see Ellis maybe handling short FGs or kickoffs.

Red zone (inside the defense's 20-yard line) period

The set up here was first down at the 6-yard line. OK, there were no TDs. That's somewhat of a fail, but I'm not sure this session was 'live” tackle. Some of the plays trailed off near the goal line with the running back still pumping feet. Still, no one crossed the plane.

Iowa ran some two-TE with QB C.J. Beathard under center and then in the second half of the drill ran 11 personnel with TE and RB in a spread and CJB in the shotgun.

Play 1

- RB Jordan Canzeri 4 yards around left from a handoff out of the shotgun.

Play 2

- Pass incomplete. From the shotgun, Beathard missed RB Akrum Wadley for what would've been an easy TD. Threw too far ahead of him. CJB had a few misses like this Saturday.

Play 3

- RB LeShun Daniels left for 2 yards. (CJB was under center. As you can see in the two above plays, Iowa still is working on the running it convincingly out of the shotgun. That's something to track, IMO.)

Play 4

- From under center, pass incomplete. CJB missed TE George Kittle on a back-shoulder attempt. It was well covered by (I think) CB Greg Mabin.

Play 5

- Wadley inside zone for 3 yards (12 formation, under center).

Play 6

- RB Derrick Mitchell inside zone for 4 yards (12, under center).

Play 7

- Swing pass to Mitchell for 5 yards. Close to a score. Nice play on both ends (QB was freshman Tyler Wiegers, BTW, out of 11 shotgun).

Play 8

- RB Marcel Joly inside zone for 3 yards (11 gun).

Play 9

- RB C.J. Hilliard dropped a pass. He knows he needs to value every rep like a gold doubloon.

Play 10

- Mitchell outside zone left for 0. This play bubbled at the point of attack immediately. It also was the No. 3 units facing off.

Third downs

It was five third-and-7s for the first and second units.

Play 1

- Sack Nate Meier. The senior DE got under OT Ike Boettger. Boettger is a knee bender (I know, I know, shut up, scout boy), so that's good. He'll need to work on engagement and reconnecting after the initial hit. Don't get too 'thumbs down” here with either new tackle. I wrote going into this that the senior DEs would feast and they did. Iowa's OTs have until August to study, work, improve. I expect they will.

Play 2

- Pass WR Matt VandeBerg for 12 yards and first down. BTW, these were counted as victories by Kirk Ferentz in the postgame (11 gun). Has VandeBerg's game grown enough to hold down a No. 2? I didn't like the fumble he had late in this, but he showed steady hands Saturday and a nice burst.

Play 3

- Flush and sack by Meier and DT Jaleel Johnson. I asked Johnson after this scrimmage if he thought the offense might remember the defense doing some hooting and hollering on Saturday.

'They definitely will,” Johnson said with a laugh. 'Next practice, they're going to come out even harder than they did today.”

Play 4

- Screen pass! Well executed by the OL (set up the rush with the pause and got in front of the play), CJB (waited and threw a nice touch pass) and RB Daniels, who sold run and made himself big and visible for the ball. A nice 25-yard gain (11 gun).

Play 5

- Pass incomplete (11 gun vs. a nickel defense).

Play 1

(No. 2s) - Pass incomplete. WR Andre Harris kind of gator arm'd in traffic for what looked like a dicey WR screen (11 gun).

Play 2

- Pass incomplete. Harris was the target; LB Cole Fisher was there for the break up (11 gun).

Play 3

- It was late and could very well be disputed by the defense, but after DE Matt Nelson passed the QB (he's 6-8, you can't miss him), Wiegers completed a 10-yard pass to WR Riley McCarron (11 gun).

Play 4

- LB Aaron Mends blitzed and Joly showed some heart meeting him head on. The pads echoed. Pass incomplete (11 gun).

Play 5

- Fisher breaks up another pass (11 gun).

Two-minute drill

The ball started at the offense's 36. If it didn't move the ball, it defaulted to that spot.

Play 1

- Remember I told you CJB wasn't going to run? This was a play-action bootleg for 6 yards (he did find space). This was out of 21 under center (two RBs, one TE).

Play 2

- I wrote a little yesterday (or maybe it was tweeted) that free safety Jordan Lomax had quite the day cleaning up plays with big hits. On this one, Canzeri dead legged him for a 4-yard gain on second-and-4 (21 personnel, under center).

Play 3

- A miscommunication on the LOS left DT Nathan Bazata unblocked (he was lined up across from guard Eric Simmons, who was in for Sean Welsh, who is out right now with unspecified issues). Play was DOA and Bazata was credited with 6-yard sack (12 under).

Play 4

- On second-and-16 from the 40 (out of 11 gun), Beathard hit WR Jacob Hillyer for a 21-yard gain. Hillyer had a nice day, making plays and diving catches. He doesn't separate, but his long body buys him space.

Play 5

- Canzeri 3 yards on inside zone (11 under).

Play 6

- Canzeri right rush for 2 yards (11 under).

Play 7

- Pass incomplete (Meier batted down).

Play 8

- Pass VandeBerg for 14 yards and a first down (11 under center).

Play 9

- Canzeri up the middle for 6 (21 under).

Play 10

- Canzeri outside zone to the left for minus-4. The point of attack bubbled immediately. Ugly (21 under).

Play 11

- VandeBerg drop (11 gun).

And now the 2s:

Play 1

- Wadley rush left for 8 yards (11 under).

Play 2

- Wadley inside zone for 2 yards and first down (11 under).

Play 3

- Pass WR Jay Scheel (I think it was Scheel, notes say No. 11 and there's no No. 11) for 3 yards (11 under).

Play 4

- Wadley left for 1 yard (21 under).

Play 5

- Cornerback Maurice Fleming blitzes and sacks Wiegers (out of a nickel defense).

Play 6

- Wadley for 15 yards on an outside zone to the left (21 under).

Play 7

- Mitchell inside zone for 3 yards (weird formation with a 20, but I might've missed a TE).

Play 8

- Notes say CB Joshua Jackson blitzed and sacked (12 under).

Play 9

- Fumbled snap.

Play 10

- Pass complete to Scheel for 6 yards (11 gun spread formation). DE Melvin Spears might've had a sack here.

Play 11

- Fisher pick 6. Wiegers threw late to the left flat and Fisher undercut the route and sprinted to the end zone from about 60 yards untouched.

Live go

The offense started with a first down at its 36 and went from there.

First, the No. 1s:

Play 1

- This might've been a great catch, but CJB kept a play alive (12 under center) rolling to his right and put a perfect pass along the right sideline that slid between VandeBerg's arms. This offense can't afford to miss these. On the flip side, CJB gives the offense range it didn't have last year. Sure, percentages drop on third-and-longs, but with CJB and his arm, you feel as if Iowa is at least in range.

Play 2

- Daniels inside zone minus-1 (11 under).

Play 3

- CJB 12-yard pass to WR Tevaun Smith (hey, remember him?). Again, I saw a spread 10 formation without a TE, but I might not have picked up on a TE. Senior Jake Duzey and Kittle were in there a lot in spread formations.

Play 4

- Pass Duzey short right for a 5-yard gain (11 under).

Play 5

- Maybe the play of the day. Daniels took an outside zone left for 12 yards. Well executed and well run. The Valley crowd acknowledged this with claps (21 under).

Play 6

- Play-action pass to VandeBerg for 15 yards (21 under). Opportunity is there for VandeBerg.

Play 7

- Canzeri inside zone for 1 (21 under).

Play 8

- Pass Hillyer for 5 yards (12 under, into a blitz).

Play 9

- Great coverage. Throw away (11 gun).

Play 10

- On fourth-and-4 from the defense's 15, Meier gets a pressure and CJB pass falls incomplete (11 gun).

And the 2s:

Play 1

- Wadley left for 3 yards (21 under).

Play 2

- Wadley left for minus-3 (21 under).

Play 3

- Pass incomplete (Harris target, 11 gun).

Play 4

- Mitchell left for 1 (12 under).

Play 5

- Wiegers tripped by OL after snap (12 under).

Play 6

- Play-action pass to TE Jon Wisnieski for 3 yards (12 under).

Play 7

- Pass incomplete (S Kevin Ward with breakup, 12 gun).

Play 8

- Mitchell inside zone for 2 yards (21 under).

Play 9

- Play-action pass nearly picked off by CB Sean Draper (21 under).

Play 10

- My notes say 'Sacks.” (11 gun)

And the 3s:

Play 1

- Hilliard inside zone for 4 yards.

Play 2

- Hilliard plus 1.

Play 3

- Joly plus 3.

Play 4

- Joly plus 5.

Play 5

- Pass complete to WR Jonathan Parker for 3 yards.

Play 6

- Pass incomplete (intended for Parker deep).

Play 7

- Joly plus 5.

More live

This session started at the 50. It was near the end of practice and I think maybe the coaches were trying to throw the offense a bone.

Play 1

- Deep attempt to Tevaun Smith. CJB threw with the wind to his back all day. This one hung up and end up spinning Smith around and fell incomplete. Smith was open, but the play disintegrated at the end (11 under).

Play 2

- Wadley inside zone for 5 yards (11 under).

Play 3

- On third-and-5, CJB pass to Kittle for 7 yards (12 under, Mabin also had a hand full of jersey on this one).

Play 4

- Pass incomplete. Duzey was targeted but well covered (OLB Ben Niemann) (12 under).

Play 5

- Wadley left outside zone. Meier made a play for a 4-yard loss (12 under).

Play 6

- Coverage sack (seriously, no one open) (11 gun).

Play 7

- Mitchell inside zone for 3 yards (21 under).

Play 8

- Play-action pass goes incomplete. CJB had to throw the ball away. No one open (21 under).

Play 9

- Lomax blitz and sack. We'll probably never again see him half in on a blitz after learning the hard lesson against Wisconsin last season.

And the No. 2s:

Play 1

- Wadley inside zone for 9 yards (stopped writing down formations, I blame sunburn).

Play 2

- Mitchell plus 8.

Play 3

- Mitchell plus 3.

Play 4

- Mitchell plus 3.

Play 5

- On third-and-6 from the 40, pass fell incomplete after fullback Drake Kulick bobbled a Wiegers' pass.

The No. 3s were loaded with a first down at the defense's 46:

Play 1

- Hilliard for 5 yards.

Play 2

Hilliard for 7 yards to the left.

Play 3

- Pass incomplete (Mends breakup).

Play 4

- Pass incomplete (another tipped pass, didn't see who).

Play 5

- Pass incomplete (S Anthony Gair with the breakup. The defense was partying on the sidelines at this point.)

Play 6

- Hilliard plus 3.

Play 7

- Hilliard plus 5.

Play 8

- Pass from Wiegers to Wisnieski for 9 yards.

Play 9

- Joly plus 2.

Play 10

- Pass Kittle for plus 1.

Play 11

- Pass incomplete.

And the 1s again:

Play 1

- Canzeri for no gain.

Play 2

- Canzeri left for no gain (big hit from Lomax and the defense rubs it in a bit).

Play 3

- Pass to VandeBerg along the right sideline. Mabin strips the ball and Meier finishes a nice day with a recovery.

Play 4

- Daniels for no gain.

And the 2s again:

Play 1

- Hilliard for plus 10.

Play 2

- Fumble.

Play 3

- Joly plus 8.

Play 4

- Joly plus 6.

Play 5

- Pass from Wiegers to TE Peter Pekar for 8 yards.

Play 6

- Joly for 3 yards.

Play 7

- Joly for 2 yards.

Play 8

- Pass incomplete.

Play 9

- Hilliard for no gain.

The No. 1s need a FG in two-minute drill

Play 1

- Beathard to Hillyer for a 15-yard gain from the offense's 45 to the defense's 40. (Example of Hillyer using his body and making a diving catch to the open spot. Just enough separation to make it work.)

Play 2

- Spread 11 formation and CJB takes off for 6 yards.

Play 3

- Clocked.

Play 4

- Kicker Marshall Koehn nails 52 yarder as time runs off the clock.

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