tiger hawkIowa football coach Kirk Ferentz says the elevation of C.J. Beathard to starting quarterback was more about his improvement than it was about what Jake Rudock did not do.

Ferentz named Beathard the starter just days after the Hawkeyes Taxslayer Bowl loss to Tennessee. “It was a decision that we thought was important to make for the well-being of our football team. We wanted to get that clearly defined and give everybody an opportunity to move forward.

And so I’m not going to say it was an easy decision by any stretch of the imagination, but it was one that we made. And we’ve moved on since that time. Again, very, very happy with the development that C.J. has demonstrated.” Ferentz says.

Ferentz made his comments at Big Ten Football Media Day. Rudock is now battling to become the starter at Michigan and it is a move Ferentz did not try to prevent.

“I’m glad it worked out. A year ago we had Cody Sokol who was another tremendous young guy, played very well for Louisiana Tech last year. I’ll go back to my first point on that entire topic. I think everybody in sports, it’s what’s best for the players,” according to Ferentz.

After last year’s 7-6 record the expectations for this year’s team are very low. Ferentz says outside of his first two seasons the Hawkeyes have fielded very competitive teams and this one should be no different.

“It’s all about the continued development that we show and how we do our jobs as a staff. So I think the great thing, all you can ask for in life is opportunity. We’ve got that in front of us. And it really comes down to what we do. We’re getting great leadership right now from our older players. The guys who have been on the field, I think they’re all determined to really make this a season of opportunity,”‘ Ferentz says. “And the most important thing now is that we take each step along the way. And there are a lot of them in front of us between now and January. But we’re very excited about what’s in front of us.”

Iowa opens the season September 5th at home against Illinois State.