Senior Keenan Davis and sophomore Kevonte Martin-Manley are expected to be the top two receivers for the Iowa Hawkeyes this season. Both were held out of Saturday’s open practice and it was a day that Iowa’s thin running back corps may have gotten even thinner.
Freshman Barkley Hill suffered an apparent knee injury after running for an eight yard touchdown and was carted off the field. Davis was asked about the running backs at the start of camp. Davis says whoever they put back there they will trust them.
“If you think about it, we had two freshmen MVP’s in the last few years in the bowl games. If it has to be a freshman, we trust them,”Davis said. Davis says even with the coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball there has not been a complete overhaul.
He says fans will still traditional Iowa football and some things may not be as familiar, but it will be traditional Iowa football.
Martin-Manley caught 30 passes a year ago and says for the Hawkeyes to be successful this season a number of new faces will need to step up.
“Iowa is the type of program to where young guys have had stories from stepping up in big games, as true freshmen, as redshirt freshmen or even sophomores. So I think it will be good for us that we have a lot of young guys on our team,” Martin-Manley says.
The Hawkeyes don’t play in an enemy stadium until the sixth game of the season. Martin-Manley says the schedule gives them a chance to get off to a good start.
Iowa opens September first in Chicago’s Soldier Field against Northern Illinois.