So, quarterback?

Just one thing to keep in mind is there are no guarantees for Iowa's 2015 quarterback.

The Hawkeyes will go into 2015 with short resumes in several key areas, and there's nothing junior quarterback C.J. Beathard can do to speed that along between now and September.

In the wake of Wednesday's FOX Sports report that senior and two-year starter Jake Rudock plans to graduate and transfer, Beathard's profile - already kind of towering and, not through his fault, somewhat mythical - shot through the roof.

On one hand, the fan base that pleaded for Rudock to stop with the check-down throws gets its wish. On the other, Beathard has started one game.

His most impressive performance came at Pittsburgh in September. Iowa ended the first half trailing 17-7 and Rudock suffered a hip injury and was knocked out of the game. Beathard led three scoring drives and the defense spurred a surge, landing a 24-20 victory and the first road win after trailing by 10 or more points in the second half during the Kirk Ferentz era.

Beathard started in a 24-10 win at Purdue and then went back to his role as a backup.

Iowa finished the season 7-5. Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis declared the QB competition open during December bowl prep. Beathard played 49 snaps to Rudock's 19 in the TaxSlayer Bowl and was named the starter headed into 2015.

Beathard now has the keys. What is he driving?

Here are a few factlets that will tag along with Iowa's offense going into next season:

- Iowa will have two new offensive tackles. Sophomores Ike Boettger (6-6, 300) and Boone Myers (6-5, 300) look promising and have jumped through enough hoops to put themselves in place to start, but the last time Iowa started two untested tackles was 2007, when Iowa quarterbacks were sacked 46 times.

There's no reason to believe these two won't be solid contributors, but everyone starts somewhere.

- It's been three seasons since Iowa has had a 1,000-yard rusher (Marcus Coker had 1,384 in 2011). Running back Mark Weisman finished on the cusp of 1,000 three consecutive seasons, so maybe this isn't a huge deal. Still, the landscape in the Big Ten West Division last season and likely this season will include top-shelf running backs.

Running back is somewhat of a question mark.

Is senior Jordan Canzeri the Hawkeyes' best chance at that in 2015? Junior LeShun Daniels? Sophomores Akrum Wadley and Jonathan Parker?

It's probably Canzeri, who's averaged 5.3 yards on 207 career carries. A team can live off that. The new season should bring better health for Canzeri, who suffered an array of nagging injuries in 2014, with an ankle being the most consistent problem.

- How does the QB depth chart look after Beathard? Redshirt freshman Tyler Wiegers is the guy. The 6-4, 222-pounder from Lake Orion, Mich., took a redshirt last season and didn't play. After him, incoming freshmen Ryan Boyle and Drew Cook will be the only other scholarship quarterbacks.

So, yes, after Beathard, no Iowa QB has thrown a pass. And, yes, that is a concern.

- After Tevaun Smith, can Iowa's wide receivers produce? That's completely rhetorical here in March, but the numbers do beg the question. After Smith (an explosive senior who's caught 70 passes for 937 yards in three seasons), Iowa's No. 2 returning wide receiver is junior Matt VandeBerg, who caught 14 passes for 256 yards last year. After VandeBerg, it's Jacob Hillyer with 11 catches.

Iowa's latest depth chart came out in January and listed senior walk-on Andrew Stone as a No. 2. He caught three passes last season, the first of his career.

Tight end does offer speedy, experienced senior Jake Duzey, who caught 36 passes for 392 yards and three TDs last season.

Tight end production came in bursts last season. Asked about that going into the Illinois last season, Ferentz said, 'The ball goes where it goes. I don't know what to tell you there. No, we're not trying to conceal them or keep them out of the plan, I'll put it that way. Things haven't changed that way.”

The ball will go where it goes a little more quickly out of Beathard's hand. That was perhaps the one element that Davis clearly gave Beathard the check over Rudock. Davis specifically mentioned a third-down pass as Pittsburgh.

'He made a third-down conversion in that ballgame that was pretty special,” Davis said last fall. 'They brought a blitz and did a nice job with the hot receiver and he reset his feet and found the second receiver. It was a big-time play. There is no denying it. It was a big-time play.”

Still, you know it's going to take more than the quarterback to get the Hawkeyes' 2015 offense up and running.

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