No. 13 — RB Jordan Canzeri

No. 13 ...

No one would ever come out and say this, but the carries show that running back Jordan Canzeri (5-9, 192) was on the outside looking in halfway through 2013.

Canzeri had some courtesy carries in Iowa's first five games. He spiked with 13 carries for 73 yards and a TD against Western Michigan, but before that his production through the first five games was two, three, three, 13 and three carries.

After three carries for 13 yards at Minnesota, Canzeri went three straight games without a carry. Mark Weisman, No. 1 RB, was slowed with injuries during this stretch, which included Michigan State and its No. 1-in-the-nation rush defense, a road game at Ohio State and then a must-win rebound matchup with Northwestern at Kinnick.

Then, in late in the third quarter against Wisconsin (the score at this point was 14-6, so it wasn't mop-up duty), Canzeri broke a 43-yard run, Iowa's longest in 2013, and kind of woke up his career.

After three games with no carries, Canzeri went on to lead Iowa in rushing in two of Iowa's final five games, including a career-high 165 yards and a TD on 20 carries against Purdue. The Hawkeyes broke loose for 313 yards in that game. This was Iowa's best day running the ball since going for 365 yards in a 45-21 win over Minnesota on Nov. 16, 2002. That also was Iowa's only 100-yard performance out of a running back in the final eight games of 2013.

They eventually found Canzeri. Why did it take so long?

'Jordan came back off the knee injury last year, and we thought he was healthy in the spring,” Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis said during Outback Bowl prep. 'We probably should've gotten him in there a little earlier because he's a very dependable back. We had some concerns with ball security early in the season. We feel better about that now.”

Weight is a thing ...

Does Iowa's zone running scheme require a running back to rush through traffic? Yes. That does favor Weisman over Canzeri for what Iowa wants to do with the ball. The outside zone run into the short side of the field? That's power on power. Watch the Northwestern game from last season. Watch left offensive tackle Brandon Scherff. Power is a pretty powerful move for Iowa.

'I've talked with him about things that were concerning with him,” running backs coach Chris White said. 'He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he's strong. He's 190 pounds. We felt that pass protection was a concern, and he's addressed that. But what I've learned from him is that he's a really good running back.”

Canzeri is working the strength thing. He was consistently the leader in a points system for Iowa's summer workouts. Davis talked about installing some gap scheme this spring. That could take advantage of Canzeri's quick feet, but let's not go chasing concepts coaches bring up in the spring. They rarely see the light of day in the fall.

Instinct is the thing ...

Canzeri is the one Iowa running back who has shown instinct to go along with his extremely quick feet. Damon Bullock has good vision; Canzeri blends vision with quickness. It's what gives him a chance to have an impact. It's what gives him a chance to nudge his way into a higher percentage of carries (last year, by the way, that went 41 percent to Weisman, 21 to Bullock and 13 to Canzeri).

'He was instinctually probably the best running back we have in terms of seeing things and making his cuts and having the balance that we want with bursting through a hole,” White said. 'He's a talented kid.”

Outlook ...

Iowa once was set for nine scholarship running backs in fall camp. That has been pared down to seven with Barkley Hill's departure and Markel Smith's trail taking him to prep school. But really, Iowa has four running backs who have a chance to be used extensively - Weisman, Bullock, Canzeri and LeShun Daniels. Each has a different skill set. Weisman has nearly 1,800 yards and 16 TDs in two seasons. Bullock is a senior. Canzeri has a lightning factor. Daniels is a rock ball who's barely had his potential tapped.

How will this work?

'I wish I did,” White said when asked about how the carries might be shared. 'It's a good problem to have, obviously, with the depth that we have ... But you know, we're trying to figure that out right now. That's a great question. Jordan coming in, providing a spark obviously helped. I wish there was one guy that could do it all, I really do. It would make my job easier, but all the other guys in the room would not be happy.”

It might turn out that Iowa found Canzeri just in time for Iowa and for Canzeri.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@sourcemedia.net