The state of running back

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. - The quick roll call of running backs at Iowa's TaxSlayer Bowl practice on Saturday showed a group that's grown by one since the end of the season and that now has its No. 1 in a shoulder harness.

Before the Hawkeyes left for Jacksonville, Ferentz said running back Mark Weisman would have his carries in practice throttled down. Weisman, Iowa's leading rusher with 802 yards and 14 TDs, practiced Saturday with a harness on his left shoulder. This is Weisman's career, a trail of ailments and pain that he's managed enough to become Iowa's sixth-leading rusher (2,592 yards), fourth in career attempts (592) and third in career rushing TDs (30).

'We're trying to guard how many reps Mark gets, trying to get him back and healthy,” Ferentz said last week. 'It's a little bit like last year.”

It should be noted that Weisman was in full pads for the practice and looked ready to play. The goal going into 2014 was to measure Weisman's carries, but because of the lack of health and dependability, that didn't happen. Weisman finished 2013 with 226 carries. He has 202 going into Friday's game against Tennessee (6-6). Last season, he had five games in which he carried the ball 20-plus times. This year he had six.

A lot of that was because of the health of junior Jordan Canzeri. His numbers also are similar to last season, when Canzeri earned his way into the lineup during the last four games. This season, Canzeri has 107 fewer yards (374) on 16 fewer carries (90), but the health issues began in camp and never fully subsided. There was a knee injury in August, a heel in September and then a nasty high-ankle sprain at Maryland on Oct. 18. That kept Canzeri on the bench for a bye week and two games.

The junior showed burst in Saturday's practice. That's a big deal, and not just for Iowa running back. Canzeri caught four passes in the last two games and proved to be an excellent check down outlet. Also, he has become Iowa's primary kick returner, a role he took over after freshman Jonathan Parker struggled catching kicks late in the season (Parker struggled again in practice Saturday).

'He's looked better the last two weeks than he has all season, which is encouraging,” Ferentz said. 'Hopefully, we can get him to the game healthy and give him a chance to run a little bit.”

Sophomore LeShun Daniels will likely play Friday. He's had perhaps the weirdest season of all of Iowa's running backs.

Daniels, a burly 6-0, 230-pounder, scored Iowa's first TD of the season, a nifty 13-yard run against Northern Iowa. Then, after four carries for 20 yards the next week against Ball State, Daniels' carries went away, with the Iowa staff deciding to thin the herd at running back. Daniels had just two more carries the rest of the season before suffering an ankle injury that required surgery during the Oct. 25 bye week.

He walks with a bit of a limp, but also seemed OK on Saturday.

'I think it's fair to say he'll play, based on what we've seen so far,” Ferentz said. 'When he came back, it looked like he hasn't been out a lot.”

The conundrum of the bowl is the outside world wants to spin forward into the next season, but the coaches and players are focused on the game in front of them. So, freshmen Akrum Wadley and Parker are kind of caught in that. They could player a lot or very little. They showed flashes of great potential this season. Wadley snapped Iowa's streak of 10 games without a 100-yard rusher with 106 in a 48-7 rout over Northwestern. Parker has become a threat on the jet sweep and has added explosiveness in the passing and return games.

They also showed serious flaws. Parker's struggles with kickoffs kept Iowa's field position buried in a 51-14 demolition at Minnesota.

'I don't know how many carries you could realistically think of with him,” Ferentz said when asked about Parker's size (5-8, 180). 'Hopefully, we can use him as a utility player like we have been with the jet sweeps and things of that nature.”

Wadley fumbled against Northwestern and Minnesota. That cost him playing time in late November.

'He's a guy who has really good potential,” Ferentz said. 'Ball security is an issue and that's something we've tried to work with him on. He's got to get strong and more mature, too, but I like what he's doing.”

Can Weisman hold up for 20 carries against a Tennessee team that finished ninth in the SEC in rush defense? Will a healthy Canzeri be the difference-maker he was poised to be before injuries took a bite out of his season?

They're probably the 1-2 duo on Friday. Beyond that is another story.

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