Hawkeyes break camp

IOWA CITY — Twelve days out of their season opener, the Hawkeyes have checked out of the Coralville Marriott and into their classes. Kirk Ferentz and coordinators Phil Parker and Greg Davis checked in Monday with some personnel updates.

The Hawkeyes closed out the Marriott portion of preseason camp with a scrimmage Friday. Ferentz's first order of business was to assure everyone that the offense looked much better Friday than it did on Aug. 15, the Kids Days scrimmage/massacre at Kinnick Stadium in which the defense overran the offense with 14 sacks and all kinds of mayhem.

'I'd say it as a lot better, we made some plays,' Ferentz said. 'First and foremost, our tempo was better. I thought we were a little bit more aggressive. Some guys stepped up and made some big plays. First one was (tight end) Henry (Krieger Coble) made a nice catch and run off a nice throw by (quarterback) C.J. Beathard. (Running backs) LeShun (Daniels) and Jordan (Canzeri) ran around a little bit, too.'

Ferentz said left tackle Boone Myers had a much better showing against defensive end Drew Ott. On Aug. 15, Ott beat Myers for at least six sacks.

'The luxury we have is we're watching the players everyday, he's done a lot of good things, too,' Ferentz said. 'He's won a lot of battles. It's ironic, because he made progress that week and it was clear to me that he was really improving. It didn't show up that Saturday, and that's part of the experience. It could happen this fall, too. It's not unrealistic to think that some of our young guys are going to have it hit the fan a little bit.'

Ferentz was asked about flexibility at tackle with sophomore starter Ike Boettger and junior backup Cole Croston able to switch sides. Myers has stuck at left tackle and remains on top of the depth chart.

Don't look for the 'trouble on the offensive line' angle to subside until this relatively inexperienced unit does something in a game. Davis said his son, a longtime football coach himself, wanted to know what was up with the tackles.

'He called me on Thursday night before the (Aug. 15) scrimmage,' Davis said. 'He didn't say 'Hi dad' or anything like that, or how's mom, he said 'Tell me about the tackles, tell me about the tackles.' That was his first question and I said, 'Hey, it doesn't even look like spring. They have really worked hard and they are having a really good camp. He called me Saturday night and I said, 'Well, we need to talk.''

And in Friday night's scrimmage?

'They've both responded,' Davis said. 'There is a process that you go through. There's no question that there's going to be some bumps in the road. There's also no question that both of them are going to be really good players.'

If you're looking for a dramatic depth chart move, maybe Parker has one for you. He did announce Monday that fifth-year senior Cole Fisher has won the weakside linebacker spot over sophomore Bo Bower, who made the move from outside linebacker to weakside this spring.

'He's done a good job this summer,' Parker said. 'We're really pleased with the way he's doing it. He seems more comfortable and the game has slowed down for him a little bit.'

Bower, 38 tackles last season, started all last season at outside linebacker. In the second half of the TaxSlayer Bowl, he was pulled in favor of sophomore Ben Niemann, who's hung onto the position since. Fisher had eight tackles in 2014, with at least a few of those coming on special teams. He saw little time in the regular linebacker rotation.

'I feel pretty good right now (about the linebackers),' Parker said. 'We're picking up our own offense's tendencies right now. That's going to change really quickly here. We'll see how it works out.'

— Ferentz's continues to call wide receiver 'a wide-open book.' junior Riley McCarron, who might be camp MVP listening to Ferentz, has moved up the food chain, however. He's worked his way into the No. 4 spot, behind seniors Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer and junior Matt VandeBerg. Jerminic Smith, Adrian Falconer and Andre Harris are the next wave, Davis said.

— Ferentz said decisions will be made on whether or not true freshmen will play or redshirt by the end of the week. Offensive lineman James Daniels (6-4, 285) might be the best bet. Ferentz said he's too good to run scout team and that he's at least a second-teamer right now.

Wide receivers Falconer, Smith and Emmanuel Ogwo are getting a look. Defensive back Michael Ojemudia (6-2, 190) was mentioned specifically by Ferentz, who also talked about a couple of true freshman linebackers playing right away.

'We're keeping the book open on the wide receivers and James Daniels, certainly,' Ferentz said. 'Defensively, Michael Ojemudia might be in the mix a little bit, we'll see how that goes. And then possibly one or two linebackers. Part of that is playing defense and then a part is fortifying special teams. If they can factor there and we can justify them being good special teams guys . . . we'll make that decision at the end of the week.'

— Ferentz said the staff is really pleased with Daniels and Canzeri and that they remain the No. 1s. Sophomore Derrick Mitchell has seemed to have edged ahead of sophomore Akrum Wadley in the next tier. 'He has a chance to be,' Ferentz said. 'This is a big week for him.'

— The competition between seniors Dillon Kidd and Marshall Koehn for the punters spot continues to rage. 'Both Dillon and Marshall are coming along well,' Ferentz said. 'We worked coming out of the end zone today with the wind, and they did a good job. We'll just let it play out, but right now, we're happy.'

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