Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis admits he has been surprised by the play of running back Mark Weisman. The sophomore began the season at fullback but was moved to running back after injuries to Damon Bullock and Greg Garmon. He already has more than 500 yards of rushing and seven touchdowns in the Hawkeyes 3-2 start.
“If you’d have asked me in August if I’d knew that Mark Weisman would be as productive, I would like to have said yes, but that would have been less than truth. We did work Mark in camp at tailback some, we had no idea that he would be as productive as he has been since he’s jumped in there,” Davis says.
Davis says they hope to have Bullock back from injury soon but Weisman will not move back to being a fullback exclusively. “We’ll continue to work him at fullback and tailback, and with the return of Damon hopefully we’ll be able to do some things perhaps with both of those guys in the backfield that hopefully can be productive,” according to Davis.
Davis says while senior quarterback James Vandenberg does not have gaudy stats right now he is doing as great job of running the offense. He says Saturday’s 31-13 victory over Minnesota was a good example.
Davis says Vandenberg made at least 5 calls Saturday where he read the blitz and called the right play. He says statistically the quarterback’s numbers are not where he thought they would be, but says Vandenberg is playing well.
Defensive coordinator Phil Parker says linebacker play is making strides for the Hawks. He says junior James Morris has become a leader on defense. He says Morris is like a coach out on the field and does a good job of getting everyone in the right spot.
Fellow junior Anthony Hitchens leads the country in tackles with 63. “Obviously he’s made a lot of plays and the ball has been in his area,” Parker says. He says they knew he was a tough strong kid and that has led to a lot of tackles.
The Hawkeyes are off this week and return to action October 13th with a visit to Michigan State.