It’s all in the hip for Beathard

IOWA CITY — It started out as a simple quarterback sneak there in the fourth quarter. Iowa is 100 percent in QB sneaks this season, reaching every first down or touchdown in 14 attempts.

C.J. Beathard got this third-and-1 at Iowa's 45 with around three minutes left against Minnesota. He also got defensive end Theiren Cockran slamming into his right side with a few steps of speed behind him.

And so now the Iowa quarterback has pain and more treatment, something he's become accustomed to this season while dealing with groin, hip and hamstring injuries.

'I got a lot of treatment on the right side of my body pretty much,' Beathard said Tuesday. 'I'm pretty sore.'

Beathard was folded like a clean T-shirt in the scrum. He ended up on his back with two trainers asking questions about his health.

'Right when it happened, it hurt really bad,' Beathard said. 'The trainers were talking to me and asking me how it was feeling. When I got to the sidelines, they asked if I could go back in. I told them I could go back in, but I don't know if I can throw the ball. They said, we're not planning on throwing it at this point. So, I just went in and handed the ball off, that's all I had to do.'

Beathard was down for a while. Kinnick Stadium froze for a second. Certainly, the Iowa sideline did. Beathard handled it like he's handled all of these injury questions all season.

'I was down there and I said, I'm ready to get up, you can help me up,' Beathard said. 'They said, sit here for a second, Tyler (backup QB Tyler Wiegers) still is trying to get warmed up.'

Beathard said Saturday night that this injury is a hip pointer. He said he knew it when it happened, because it's an injury he had last season. Against Indiana, on a QB sneak, Beathard took a helmet to the hip. He didn't play the next week at Maryland, but said he could've.

'It's nothing that will keep me out of a game,' he said. 'It's bothering me, but the medical staff has things it can do to help the pain go away and help the healing process.'

It crashed Saturday night, but there's no arguing that Beathard's health was on the uptick the last two weeks. The groin/hamstring injuries started to heal and Beathard put up 271 and 263 yards of total offense. He also rushed for three TDs the week after Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said no more naked bootlegs would be called. Gamesmanship perhaps, but Beathard said he was feeling much better.

'It's a day-by-day thing,' Beathard said. 'It's not 100 percent since I got hurt in first place. It wasn't bothering me Saturday and I was able to make some runs. It wasn't bothering me too much.'

Ferentz probably was kidding Saturday night when he said the QB sneak was coming out of the playbook. It's probably not, it is 14 of 14 after all.

'I think it's (the naked bootleg) is back in now,' Ferentz said. 'If he can run it, we're going to call it, believe me. But sneaks might be off the board.'

Tuesday, Ferentz said 'Let me think about it. C.J. did point that out to me afterward, 14 of 14.'

In an odd way, really odd and probably much too painfully for Beathard's taste, Beathard said that, sure, the injuries have made him a better QB.

'In the early stages of the injury, especially in practice, it taught me to focus mentally even if I'm not getting all of the reps,' Beathard said. 'I have to maintain my focus and be there mentally in practice. Also, not being able to run the ball as much has helped me know where my check-downs are and know to get the ball out quicker.'

Again, don't think there's not gamesmanship. Beathard is going to do whatever he can do to win, health be damned. The one thing we might've learned this season is don't take any plays out of the playbook as long as Beathard still is upright.

'I think we're 100 percent on quarterback sneaks,' Beathard said. 'It's kind of ironic that of all the plays, the quarterback sneak is the one you get hurt on the worst.'

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