Panther offense looking good so far this spring

CEDAR FALLS - Northern Iowa's football team is entering week three of spring practice, but one thing has become apparent to the Panther coaching staff - the offense is very good.

UNI returns nine starters from an offense that scored 26.2 points per game last season, including running back David Johnson and quarterbacks Sawyer Kollmorgen and Brion Carnes.

'(The returners) are a year older and a year smarter and they're a little bit scarred which gives them more will and desire to play off of,” UNI head coach Mark Farley said. 'I'm excited.

'This team has to go through the journey and if they do, they'll have a story to tell.”

While the offense seems to be ahead of the defense at this point of spring drills, the UNI coaching staff still is deciding on which quarterback will start the Panthers' opening game against Iowa.

'Both of those guys are starters right now,” Farley said. 'Sawyer is really doing well. I'd be really comfortable going into a game tomorrow with (Kollmorgen) as our starting quarterback. Honestly, I can say the same thing about Brion. He's made great strides under center.

'We're running with two quarterbacks all the time right now. They get equal reps. I'm not going to worry about it. They're both doing so well.”

Farley also mentioned there is no timeline on when they will name a starting quarterback.

The Panthers also are still rehabbing at least eight expected starters for the season. All were injured during the fall.

All eight are expected to return to practices by August.

UNI's spring practices will lead up to Friday's spring game at the UNI-Dome. A pregame tailgate will start at 5 p.m. at the Eldon Miller Plaza leading up to the game at 6:30 p.m.

'We try and let the players enjoy (the spring game),” Farley said. 'That's their time to just have fun and yet still be productive.

'We control a lot of the situations during the week at practices, but come game day, I'll let them have fun with it.”