Iowa notes: Newbies making strides; Injuries still hamper Scheel, Wisnieski

IOWA CITY - Iowa's next-man in mantra got a workout Saturday night at Iowa State after injuries claimed two starters and other key role players.

Defensive end Drew Ott (elbow) and running back LeShun Daniels (ankle) left the game in the second quarter and didn't return. Running back Derrick Mitchell was withheld from competition and dime cornerback Sean Draper didn't make the trip. Tight end Jake Duzey remains out after off-season knee surgery and tight end George Kittle played sparingly after his own knee injury in the opener.

Those injuries led to opportunities for three red-shirt freshmen, and for the most part, Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz was happy with their production. Defensive end Parker Hesse replaced Ott and recorded three tackles. Fourth cornerback Josh Jackson - who shifted from wide receiver in training camp - had two tackles and prevented a completion early in the second half. Jameer Outsey moved from linebacker to tight end in August and started Saturday's game in a two-tight end set.

'(Jackson has) done a great job,” Ferentz said. 'He's got a great attitude and for him to compete the way he did the other day, he's still got some things to learn, certainly that's encouraging. Jameer had it going there. George was very limited in what he could do last week, and so I give him a lot of credit there certainly.

'You think about a guy like Parker (Hesse) in that same neighborhood. He got called on early in the game and did a wonderful job competing, too. I'm really proud of those guys. It's part of football, though. It's going to happen more as the season goes on and we'll have more of those situations.”

With Daniels out, senior Jordan Canzeri became the team's primary running back in the second half. Canzeri rushed for 94 of his 124 yards after halftime.

'I'll throw Jordan (Canzeri) in there, from splitting time to the sole honor back there and he did a wonderful job as well,” Ferentz said.

Defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson said he was proud of Hesse's performance.

'He held his own out there,” Johnson said. 'Being a young guy and getting thrown out there, that's what Coach Ferentz talks about, being the next man in. He did his job.”

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Sophomore tight end Jon Wisnieski and red-shirt freshman wide receiver Jay Scheel were expected to challenge for playing time, but injuries have prevented them from cracking Iowa's regular rotation.

Wisnieski, a West Des Moines Dowling product, had a significant knee injury in spring 2014, while Scheel also had knee issues. Scheel played high school ball at La Porte City-Union.

'(Wisnieski) was hurt a little bit during camp and obviously Jay was,” Ferentz said. 'So those guys, the thing to remember about both of them, they are very young players and they are working hard. They are going to factor in at some given point. I can't tell you exactly when. In the meantime, some other guys have gone ahead of them. That's competition. I think both those guys are going to be really good football players for us in the future.”

Draper, a senior cornerback, played in the first game but was seen on the sideline Saturday at Iowa State.

TICKET UPDATE

From midnight through about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Iowa sold about 400 tickets to Saturday's night game at Kinnick Stadium and attendance expects to top 60,000.

The department is selling three-game packs of tickets to the general public. Six-game season tickets are available to students, Iowa staff and the general public as well.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com