No. 21 — RB LeShun Daniels

No. 21 . . .

Junior LeShun Daniels (6-0, 225) has 191 career rushing yards. You might've thought he had more, especially given the fact that he's been mentioned as a potential No. 1 (or No. 1B alongside senior Jordan Canzeri) by the head coach and the running backs coach for the 2015 season.

'In my mind and in all our minds right now, I think he [Canzeri] and LeShun are kind of co‑starters,' Ferentz said this spring. 'That's how I'd phrase it. They're two different style of runners. Kind of the same in that both of them were injured last year for a majority of the year, so we saw Jordan do some good things in the bowl game certainly, and he had a pretty good month, which was really, I think, helpful for him. But outside of that he never was really right during the year for any prolonged period of time, and then obviously LeShun had surgery I think coming out of that second bye week.

'So, it was just one of those deals, but both those guys did a good job in December, and I think they're going to have to play well, and I'm confident they will.'

In reality, Daniels is a junior who's made just 51 career carries. Last season was sliced by an ankle injury that required surgery in late October. He missed five games before returning for limited carries in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

After carrying 12 times in Iowa's first two games, Daniels logged just two more in the next five games. Iowa tried to juggle three or four running backs, and Daniels wasn't getting much of a look in that time.

Then, the injury. And now Daniels has his best opportunity to see the field, and a healthy amount of carries, as a Hawkeye. It's probably safe to say that Daniels has the best shot to triple his career numbers in one season (OK, QB C.J. Beathard is probably the front-runner there).

Iowa Media Day: Daniels in line for the Weisman workload

Carrying the weight . . .

Daniels has always been a 235-pound (or in that neighborhood, 230-plus) running back while at Iowa. This winter, strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle charted a path to maintain strength and cut some weight. Daniels is now a 225-pounder with the same strength and better quickness (running backs coach Chris White said this spring that Daniels set a shuttle record for Iowa RBs).

'If you look at him right now it's a completely different picture,' White said. 'It had nothing to do with him being in the surgery and just being hurt. It's just we wanted to cut his body bulk. He doesn't look nearly as bulky, and you see it on the practice field. His movement and his pad level are markedly better.'

Here's Daniels on how his new build has responded (this was from early in the summer, when it was just conditioning): 'It's helped me make different cuts that I might not have been able to make before. I've been able to make more people miss, little things like that. It's helped me tremendously. . . . I feel like I'm not going to slow down after maybe 25 or 30 yards. I feel like I can still keep going and maybe pick up more speed. That's where the weight has helped me a lot.'

Technical technique . . .

You look at Daniels and you think how impossibly large he is. He is around 6-0 and just looks like what a running back should look like. How hasn't this career not blasted out of the blocks?

It does take some feel to play running back in a zone blocking scheme. You do need some patience. You do need to make a decision on where the hole is going. That's the 'i' that Daniels is trying to dot.

'The thing that we do is we watch the film, and there are a few things that we pointed out that we are coaching better on the inside and outside zone that the players are executing better on the practice field right now,' White said. 'It's hard to explain to you, but it's more hitting the track, pressing the hole. Getting your shoulders on the inside zone, being more square to the hole, a little tighter to the guards and the tackle, and it's helped us be able to jump back if we need to if there is a hole there.'

Outlook . . .

You saw Iowa hand the football to running back/fullback Mark Weisman 598 times over the last three seasons. Remember in 2008, when Shonn Greene, a 230-plus pounder, rushed 307 times and won the Doak Walker Award? Former Iowa back Marcus Coker, a 235-pounder, was Iowa's last 1,000-yard rusher (1,384 in 2011).

What's the theme? If Iowa has a horse RB, it will ride it like a kid on a Tilt-a-Whirl. If Daniels grabs this job, history says he could put a sleeper hold on it. Does that make sense? I think it does. I think tiptoeing through whose skill set fits what situation gums things up. Do you think Ferentz believes that? He wants to keep things as simple as possible. A one-size-fits-all RB is exactly that.

'They (running backs) come in all shapes and sizes, but I know this: A guy like LeShun is a workhorse type of guy that has a little bit more speed, and jump cut agility,' White said. 'We all know Mark, what he was. He was a fullback playing tailback, and he was pretty good at it. But he had his limitations, and he'll be the first one to let you know that. But I think LeShun is a little bit different. He can hit a little bit longer run, and he can make a guy miss in space a little bit more than Mark can, I think.'

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