QUICK LOOK BACK: How far back do you want to ? For bandwidth purposes, let’s keep it to the field and who’s still here.

Potential No. 1 RB Jordan Canzeri suffered a torn ACL last March. Virtually untested Damon Bullock carried 30 times for 150 yards and the game-winning TD in Iowa’s opener against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field. It was just the ninth time in the last five years that an Iowa running back turned out a 30-carry game. Then, in week three, Bullock suffered a concussion coming down head-first on a defensive back’s knee. He was headed to another 150-yard performance with 77 in the first half against Northern Iowa.

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Iowa runningback Jordan Canzeri (33) runs around a pack of Indiana defenders in the fourth quarter of the Iowa homecoming game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Iowa City. Iowa won 45-24. (Liz Martin/SourceMedia Group News)

True freshman Greg Garmon replaced Bullock for maybe a series before his elbow was bent the wrong way.

Then, it was Mark Weisman. A walk-on. A fullback. A weightroom warrior. Weisman left Air Force because the regimentation was too much. Once he nailed the regulation way to make his bed, he slept on the floor to keep it that way. He lost nearly 20 pounds.

So, of course Weisman was going to work. And he totally did, rushing for a team-high 815 yards and eight TDs. You could argue the the 6-0, 235-pounder lifted Iowa to its only two Big Ten wins of the season. He averaged 8.43 yards a carry with 177 yards and a TD against Minnesota. And then at rainy, stormy East Lansing, Weisman chugged for 116 yards and sent the game into OT on a 5-yard run with 55 seconds left.

He suffered an ankle sprain on the run. Two games later, he suffered a pulled groin. Weisman sat out two games before carrying 29 times for 91 yards in the season finale against Nebraska.

FOURTH DOWN — CONCERNS: Health will always be No. 1 on this list, but Iowa should be able to massage this in ’13.

Of course, Iowa has shown in the past that if it has a clear-cut No. 1 running back and he holds up, he’ll get between 250 and 300 carries. Marcus Coker was the last with 280 carries for 1,384 yards and 15 TDs in 2011. Iowa went RBBC (Running Back By Committee) in ’10 and ’09 and it worked well enough. Shonn Greene carried 307 times in ’08 (most for a running back in the Ferentz era) and won the Doak Walker award in 2008.

Weisman is in the same league as Greene (235) and Coker (230) as far as body type. Think about the leap he took last season. He started August as the No. 2 fullback, won the job and then showed enough burst and running back skill to work into that position the week of practice before Northern Iowa. He went from the fringe to helmets hitting him in the hip every play.

Weisman carried just 14 times during a four-week stretch (ankle vs. MSU; groin vs. Northwestern). Iowa’s O-line also lost two starters and suddenly the offense was without a go-to anything.

Bullock missed four games because of the concussion. The 6-0, 200-pounder rebounded nicely in his return, gaining 107 yards against Northwestern, but suffered a bruised lower back on 23 carries against Purdue and missed the final two games of the season, six total for the season.

Redshirt freshman Barkley Hill (6-0, 210) is on his way back from a torn ACL suffered in August. Canzeri (5-9, 190) almost returned to the lineup during the season and should be engaged this spring.

THIRD DOWN — ADDITIONS/SUBTRACTIONS: Greg Garmon, who rushed 38 times for 122 yards as a true freshman last season, transferred in December. He received an open transfer release from Iowa and enrolled at Butte College (Calif.).

At 6-1, 190, Garmon is a tall, shifty back. Was he a fit in Iowa’s offense? Could Iowa coaches have carved a role for him in the offense? The rhetoricals will pour out until Garmon makes the move back to FBS and does something on the big stage. Bottom line, he’s an athlete you like to have on your roster and now he’s not on Iowa’s.

Fullback Brad Rogers had back surgery in December and has decided to take a medical redshirt. His playing career is over, leaving a hole at fullback. With the graduation of Jacob Reisen, walk-ons Adam Cox and Macon Plewa are the only fullbacks.

That opens the door to the possibility that Weisman moves to fullback. If he does, he’ll do it probably closer to 250 pounds and with an expanded role in the offense. Iowa fullback has been a statistical non-starter logging just 15 carries for 59 yards the last six seasons.

Without trying to read too much into what “might be” with Greg Davis’ offense, it does seem as though he would like to use running backs as receivers. Last season, Weisman caught 15 passes and Bullock 18. Garmon caught another eight.

Iowa signed a pair of smallish backs — Jonathan Parker and Akrum Wadley — with the idea of motioning them into the slot or lining them up there. Head coach Kirk Ferentz talked this winter about formations that had Weisman and Bullock on the field at the same time, but neither were healthy at the same time, so that never materialized.

Will this concept show up on the field? Iowa won’t back away from the zone running scheme. Could there be modifications?

Along with Parker and Wadley, Iowa signed Ohio RB LeShun Daniels. At 5-11, 220, Daniels is in the big-back mode. Iowa wants to keep

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Caption: Iowa walk-on Michael Malloy during an open practice at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)

the big back presence, but the RB/slot hybrid seems to be on the drawing board.

“With the way our offense is progressing, Damon Bullock had a ton of success with what he did early on before he got injured, and then we can not only play him at running back but also as a slot receiver,” Iowa recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson said. “That’s where you get the next two guys, Jonathan Parker and Akrum Wadley, in the mix. We feel very strongly that those two guys can help spell Damon in that role.

“One thing we felt we needed were guys who had a shot to hit the home run when you handed the ball to them or got the ball out to them in space. That’s where you see part of our recruiting going toward. . . . When you don’t have to pound it 3 or 4 yards a carry every time, if you can find the guy who can make the 30-, 40-, 50-yard run, that helps out your offense.”

SECOND DOWN — BATTLES BREWING: This depends on whether or not Davis is re-drawing the RB position.

If not, then Weisman will carry 200 times and the other backs will split the other 200 or so. And then injuries and AIRBHG and all that.  If the RB/slot hybrid idea sees the field, Iowa seems to have several candidates for that spot (Bullock, Canzeri, Parker, Wadley).

Does Iowa have big back No. 2? No, unless Daniels can fill that role as a freshman. Weisman was a third-year sophomore last season and is a weightroom fanatic.

Then again, Iowa was ready to roll with Bullock and Garmon last season, and, as many of you have pointed out, coaches kind of backed into Weisman (although he practiced at RB prior to the UNI game, so someone knew what they were doing).

If Iowa leans more traditional, the RB spot probably slots this way:

Weisman

Bullock

Canzeri

Malloy

Hill (if healthy)

Andre Dawson (if he’s free from whatever scholarship qualification that kept him off the field last season)

Parker, Wadley, Daniels

If you see two backs, Weisman will be one and the other will come out of what might be August camp’s best competition.

Bullock and Canzeri will be interesting to watch. Bullock showed sparks last season and Ferentz mentioned what Iowa missed with him out of the lineup more than once during news conferences this winter. Canzeri has been a rehab beast and begins next season as Iowa hungriest player.

If Weisman doesn’t play fullback — or a derivative — who does? Davis has maintained that he will use a fullback. Iowa does run some ISO, but it also ran more empty backfield last season.

FIRST DOWN — WHAT COULD HAPPEN: This is nuts.

– Weisman could rush for 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. He averaged 16 carries in 10 games last season, but if you throw out the five and nine carries he got when injured against Penn State and Northwestern, he averaged 18 carries in eight games. He could get plenty of opportunities.

One question that comes up with Weisman is the competition he faced. He did a lot of damage against Northern Iowa (113), Central Michigan (217) and Minnesota (177). CMU was No. 93 in the nation in rush defense; Minnesota was 72nd and UNI is an FCS school. The counter to that is the Michigan State game, running 26 times for 116 yards when the No. 8 rush defense in the nation pretty much knew Weisman was going to get the ball.

– Weisman could play a fullback/running back hybrid and rush for go for 1,200 yards of total offense. This number needs to be weighed against competition, but Weisman did have six of Iowa’s 23 plays that covered 30 to 49 yards. They were all rushes from the line of scrimmage.

– Iowa has to be serious about increasing impact plays on offense. Last season, the offense produced the Hawkeyes longest play in just five of 12 games. In five other games, Jordan Cotton kick returns were Iowa’s longest plays. Iowa won just one (MSU) of those games.

– Bullock could have 1,200 yards total offense and eight TDs. Again, is the RB/slot thing for real? Also, Bullock showed he can play running back in Iowa’s offense.

– Let’s go with 800 yards total offense for Canzeri. He’s No. 3 right now and if he works his way into the rotation, it’ll take some time.

– Malloy was really close to playing last season. That didn’t come out of nowhere. He must’ve opened some eyes in camp.

Weisman:

In Iowa’s Saturday game against Northwestern, news has gone from bad to worse as leading rusher Mark Weisman has left the game with an injury.

Weisman was helped off the field with just over a minute to go in the first half and has yet to return. Iowa City Press-Citizen beat writer Pat Harty is reporting that Weisman is riding a stationary bike on the sideline.

Weisman entered Saturday’s game as the Hawkeyes leading rusher with 640 yards on the ground, but has also dealt with injuries the past two weeks. He sat out the end of the Hawkeyes overtime win against Michigan State after injuring his ankle, and was limited to just five carries last week because of the same injury.

Still, all is not lost for Iowa, as sophomore running back Damon Bullock emerged Saturday afternoon. With Weisman still not at 100 percent, Bullock took many of his carries in the first half, finishing with 43 yards on seven touches at intermission.

Bullock had missed the Hawkeyes’ previous four games before Saturday.

Rogers is out for an “Undisclosed Injury”

Iowa running back Mark Weisman takes the Spartan defense on a 37 yard chase in the fourth quarter of the Hawkeyes contest Michigan State on Saturday, October 13, 2012 in East Lansing. Benjamin Roberts / Iowa City Press-Citizen

Iowa running back Mark Weisman wasn’t listed on the depth chart released Monday for Saturday’s 7 p.m. football game against Penn State at Kinnick Stadium.

Weisman, the Hawkeyes’ top rusher, injured his right foot while scoring the game-tying touchdown with 55 seconds to play during last Saturday’s 19-16 double-overtime victory at Michigan State.

Freshman Greg Garmon is listed as the top running back, and Jordan Canzeri, who underwent ACL surgery in the spring, is the backup.

Damon Bullock is still recovering from a concussion.

Mike Meyer kicked field goals in both overtimes, including a 42-yarder in the second that gave the Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) their first lead of the game. Iowa then won it whenAndrew Maxwell‘s deflected pass was intercepted by Greg Castillo.

Le’Veon Bell ran for 140 yards and a touchdown for Michigan State, but the Spartans (4-3, 1-2) couldn’t hold on late. Iowa drove 68 yards in nine plays and tied it at 13 on Weisman’s 5-yard scoring run with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Hawkeyes appeared to be in trouble late in the fourth when they faced second-and-26 from their own 16, but James Vandenberg foundKeenan Davis single covered along the right sideline for a 35-yard gain.

Weisman’s 37-yard run on third-and-6 gave Iowa the ball at the Michigan State 8 and set up the tying TD, which also came on third down.

The teams traded short field goals in the first overtime. Michigan State could have won it with a touchdown in the second, but Maxwell’s pass appeared to be tipped at the line of scrimmage, then deflected off the hands of wide receiver Keith Mumphery and was intercepted by Castillo.

It was the first interception for Maxwell since he threw three in the season opener against Boise State.

On a rainy day at Spartan Stadium, Vandenberg threw an early interception when his pass was tipped by defensive lineman William Gholston and picked off by Denicos Allen.

Michigan State took over at the Iowa 26 and gave the ball to Bell four straight times. His 14-yard touchdown run made it 7-0.

The Hawkeyes trailed 10-0 in the second quarter when Jordan Cotton had a kickoff return for a touchdown nullified by an illegal block. Iowa still ended up with the ball near midfield and drove for a field goal.

Michigan State missed a chance to score in the final seconds of the half because of a farcical miscommunication. Maxwell completed a 19-yard pass to Mumphery to the Iowa 32 with 6 seconds left. The clock stopped momentarily because of the first down, but there was mass confusion among the Spartans, who needed only to stop the clock with a spike and bring their field-goal unit out.

Michigan State eventually got lined up — but Maxwell, the quarterback, was nowhere to be seen. Bell went to the line of scrimmage as if to take the snap himself, and Maxwell finally ran over from the sideline to the backfield, but the clock ran out.

Senior cornerback Micah Hyde was arrested early Friday morning for public intoxication and interfering with public acts.

Also showing up on the day’s police report was sophomore tight end Ray Hamilton, who received a ticket for PINTS, which essentially means he was caught in a bar after hours.Drew Clark also was arrested early Saturday morning for a public intoxication charge.

This information was first reported by Marc Morehouse of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

It is anyone’s guess how Iowa head coachKirk Ferentz will handle these two situations.

My best guess is that Hamilton’s incident will not be taken too seriously. He will likely play.

Hyde didn’t get picked up for a DUI, he didn’t commit a felony and his incident is minor in comparison to most situations, but being a senior he should know better. Contrary to what people may think, it is possible to have fun in Iowa City and not get arrested for public intoxication.

The Michigan State passing offense is about as well-oiled right now as the Iowa passing game. So the Hawkeyes could live without having the services of Hyde for that week. If he cannot play, expect senior Greg Castillo to start in his place.

Castillo started last week for the injured B.J. Lowery and had an interception in the win over Minnesota.

Clark is not listed on the two deeps as an offensive lineman. His arrest is news, but moving forward, the team’s performance shouldn’t be affected if he can’t play next week.

In fact, I think I spotted in the front row of the stands at Kinnick Stadium last weekend when Iowa blasted through Minnesota.

Prediction: Hamilton plays against Michigan State, but Hyde misses the game. A player like Hyde has no prior incidents so that may play into his favor, but being a senior, I think Ferentz expects better behavior and will make that known in this case. Clark won’t play anyway so it doesn’t matter what happens with him.

BY SAM LOUWAGIE | OCTOBER 01, 2012 6:30 AM

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Slowly, Kirk Ferentz has come around.

Unlike many Hawkeye fans, the 14-year head coach wasn’t ready to declare Mark Weisman a savior after the sophomore burst onto the scene against Northern Iowa. He wasn’t even totally convinced after a 217-yard follow-up effort in a loss to Central Michigan.

He is now.

“After one game, you’re kind of like, ‘Hmm, hope I’m seeing it right,’ ” Ferentz said. “Then after two, you start thinking this guy might not be bad. After three games, I think a lot of us are starting to think maybe this guy is a running back.”

The story of Mark Weisman has grabbed the attention of Hawkeye Nation — and the rest of the nation, for that matter — over last three weeks. He went from obscurity to superstardom overnight. He literally throws defenders to the ground when they get in his way.

Ferentz said on Sept. 25 that Bullock is “making progress” in recovering from a concussion he suffered against UNI. True freshman Greg Garmon has returned from an elbow injury. And indications are that Jordan Canzeri, who tore his ACL in the spring, will be on the field sooner than expected.

Weisman is only taking carries because of injuries to those players. As they all return to health, Iowa will need to decide how to adjust its backfield rotation. The answer seems pretty obvious: It shouldn’t.

Weisman trucked through Northern Iowa and Central Michigan defenders in his impressive first two starts. The only question left was how much of that was explained by weak tackling from small-school opponents.

Big Ten play started this past weekend, and Weisman had 100 rushing yards after one quarter of it.
Bullock played well before being knocked out of the lineup. He had 150 yards and a game-winning touchdown against Northern Illinois in Iowa’s season-opener. And he had been off to a blistering start against Northern Iowa. It’s terrible luck for him that a promising season was derailed.

Iowa could still use Bullock as a change of pace to Weisman. Bullock is faster and shiftier in the open field, and he is a better receiver out of the backfield. Putting the two of them in the backfield together could give the Hawkeyes some interesting options.

But Weisman almost literally couldn’t have done more this month to make his interim job a permanent one. He has carried an otherwise-weak offense on his shoulders for three-consecutive weeks. And in his first two running-back appearances — Iowa gave him only five second-half carries against the Gophers — he seemed stronger and more punishing as the game wears on.

Weisman doesn’t seem to need a complementary back to spell him. He doesn’t need to be part of a running-back committee. You even started to wonder last week why the Hawkeyes would ever do anything but run him off tleft tackle. That will remain the case even when Bullock and Canzeri are available.

Ferentz said last week it “depends what happens” on whether Weisman would move back to fullback. But then he watched Weisman rumble for 155 first-half yards against Minnesota and came to the same conclusion as the rest of us.

“His fullback days may be numbered,” Ferentz said. “He may be retiring from that spot.”

Obviously on our side of the coin, we have got a lot of work to do right now, a lot of things to improve upon and we are going to have to do it fast because we have another game next week.

Q. Could you go over the last few plays?

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, that was a tough sequence obviously. We couldn’t keep them out of the end zone, first of all. Made the stop on the two point play, and then they did a good job on the on side kick; we did a poor job on the flip side of it. Then critical series in there, we thought their guy was over the line on the one pass play and they reviewed it and that was not true.

So tack on a personal foul on top of that, and it gave them pretty good field position. At least good enough for the guy to make a kick on the deal.

So you know, they got the job done there in that last minute of play the way you have to and we didn’t, and some of those things are just kind of reflective of the whole game, especially the penalty thing. We did a terrible job on penalties today and I think we had nine total, seven of those were major penalties. So that’s going to be tough to make that up.

Q. Specifically on on side kick, what, if anything, did you see your team, prior to that play, and what ultimately happened?

COACH FERENTZ: Typically, you have some guys that are assigned to go block the guys that are pursuing, and other guys are assigned to catch. And we just we looked very confused out there, and that’s not a good thing. We were indecisive.

Q. The personal foul, I saw the last personal foul penalty, looked like Central Michigan guy initiated it, but that’s always the second guy that sets caught.

COACH FERENTZ: It is. It’s kind of like that in any sport. At that point in the game, or any point in the game, it’s really where you just have to keep your poise and let the referees officiate. I think every player has to realize if they get involved in a two way, they run the risk of being caught. Sometimes both guys get caught and other times, just one.

In that situation, in particular, we just have to be a smarter team.

Q. Do you think game management was a problem today?

COACH FERENTZ: At times it was. At times it was. We had some communication issues, certainly and then we ended up burning a timeout on the field goal. Our original thoughts, we use the 22 as our line of demarkation and we just felt like went down and asked Mike how he felt and he felt like he could do it. So you know, rather than have him rush, we burned the time out to give him a good shot at it.

Q. Is there any specific thing that upsets you the most about this game as far as like the series of things?

COACH FERENTZ: The first thing I would start with are penalties, nine penalties, seven being major penalties. That’s going to make it tough to overcome.

First half, we turned the ball over on our end of the field and gave them great field position and we also gave up a great play uncontested. Things like that, I think seven penalties in the first half; so you take the seven penalties, the turnover and give up a big play where we don’t really challenge them at all, you know, that’s tough to overcome that. It’s tough to be a winning football team doing that. So I’d start right there. And then second half, we did some things better, but we didn’t finish the game.

Q. How bittersweet is it to have this ending with the game that Mark had?

COACH FERENTZ: You know, how you look at it, Mark had a good game, certainly. James threw for over 200. But the statistics really don’t matter because it still wasn’t good enough to get 34 points and that’s what it took for us today to win.

Offensively, you can look at the numbers and say it was an okay day, but it wasn’t because we didn’t score enough points to win. And obviously defensively, it’s the same way.

Q. You said before the UNI game that you had a great week of practice; was practice how did it go this week?

COACH FERENTZ: I said on the radio just a moment ago, probably the biggest surprise for me today was that we had a good week in my mind. I went to bed last night feeling pretty good about the way we prepared, the way we practiced and where the guys focused and it seems like everybody was on task and doing a good job. Typically, when that happens, the team goes out and it reflects in the play but it didn’t today.

Q. Maybe it was one of those things where that first touchdown came

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, sometimes you go through that I guess. It was a beautiful first drive. That was a positive, certainly. You know, Mark’s statistics were a positive. Keenan for a second straight week I think played better, and Kevonte, the same way. There are some positives in there, but we are not playing well enough to win right now.

Q. Would you use the word “undisciplined” to describe this performance?

COACH FERENTZ: I think anything that has nine penalties, seven of them being majors, that word would probably fit right in there. So I would have to say so; undisciplined, sloppy, however you want to look at it.

Q. Any theories at all behind that?

COACH FERENTZ: You know, I think it’s uncharacteristic. I’m sure we’ve done it before. Just can’t remember a game where we have had seven penalties that were, you know, major penalties. I’m sure it’s happened before; I can’t remember it. You know, and again, if we had had a really sloppy week of practice, I would say, okay, I could see that coming, but I don’t see that.

Q. Were you surprised that you guys were confused on the on side kick coverage when you got a look at what they were doing in that delay?

COACH FERENTZ: Yeah, we typically we have not been in that situation an awful lot but we have coached it and usually execute it very well. I don’t know how many we’ve been involved in, but we just looked like we were frozen out there, and they got the ball or at least it must have looked like that, if that’s what you’re asking.

The NFL star was booked in GwinnettCounty Jail mere hours after rushing for 42 yards and a touchdown against theDenver Broncos, according to Mike Morris of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

UPDATE: Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 10:25 a.m. ET by Alex Kay

D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that the Falcons released a statement concerning Turner’s arrest.

The organization stated:

“We are aware of the situation involving Michael and are in the process of gathering more information. Because this is now a legal matter, the club will have no further comment at this time.”

We’ll keep you updated if the Falcons take any action or have anything further to say on the subject.

—END OF UPDATE—

The 30-year-old RB was released from jail at approximately 7 a.m.—two hours after he arrived—on a $2,179 bond.

Photo Credit: AJC.com

This is the first recorded legal offense in Turner’s eight-year professional football career.

It is currently unknown if the league or the Falcons organization will punish Turner for this infraction.

If Turner is convicted, it’s quite possible that commissioner RogerGoodell will have a few harsh words and potential repercussions in store.

It’s not positive publicity when a player decides to drive under the influence after an NFL game, especially a nationally televisedMonday Night Football contest.

Should the Falcons decide to part ways with the aging running back over this incident, Jason Snelling and Jacquizz Rogers are the two players listed behind Turner on the depth chart. They would both be in line for touches if the organization decides to cut the starter.

Turner has been a stalwart in the Falcons rushing game for the past five seasons, racking up 5,313 yards and 50 touchdowns since coming over from the San Diego Chargers in the summer of 2008.

However, he’s carried the ball 1,445 times during his career and hasn’t been displaying his signature power in 2012. In fact, the plodding back looks a step slow this season and is averaging a paltry 2.6 yards per carry through two contests.

Turner, who played his college ball at Northern Illinois, is set to make $5 million in 2012 and $5.5 million in 2013—the last year of a six-year, $34.5 million contract he signed back in 2008.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Falcons use this incident as a reason to cut ties with Turner, who simply hasn’t been effective in their uptempo offensive system.

Keep it tuned to B/R for the latest news, information and updates on Michael Turner and this developing story concerning his DUI arrest.

He’s a fullback to the bone. The fullback code, apparently, is no smiling. Not even after you replace the top two running backs, rush for 113 yards and score three touchdowns. Not even when you changed the course of a game that your team desperately needed to win.

Weisman powered the Hawkeyes’ 27-16 victory over Northern Iowa with 146 total yards, helping Iowa (2-1) shake off last week’s bitter loss to Iowa State and energizing 70,585 fans Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Yes, it was a cheer for Weisman when the student section chanted “release the beast” in the fourth quarter.

No smile for Weisman, who trotted off the field after a quick TV interview, his face covered in the black rubber shards that make up the FieldTurf surface.

“That’s kind of my personality,” Weisman said. “It’s always work and work.”

That’s the fullback code.

Weisman, the sophomore transfer from the Air Force Academy, knows all about codes. He lost 25 pounds while going through boot camp at Air Force. About the 50th time he didn’t make his bed right and had it flipped on him, he decided the military life wasn’t for him.

“Every morning, he told me, you have to make your bed in a half-inch specification of what the Air Force bed has to be,” quarterback James Vandeberg said. “After the first two months of having his bed flipped over every morning, he thought that was enough of that.”

Now, this is a fun story for today against Northern Iowa (1-2), an FCS level team. The long-term viability of Weisman at running back is a bridge that may need to be crossed. Is he cut out of the mold of Stanford’s Toby Gerhart? Or is this a one-week story?

Sophomore Damon Bullock suffered a head injury in the first quarter after he went helmet-to-knee with a UNI defensive back. He had his helmet taken away immediately, which is the international sign for possible concussion. Bullock was off to the races, too. He had 13 rushes for 77 yards. His 27-yard burst to the UNI 7-yard line set up Iowa’s first TD, a 1-yard grunt by Weisman.

True freshman Greg Garmon took over. His third carry was his last for the day and we’ll see about the future. Garmon tried to catch himself before he hit the turf, but his right elbow bowed the wrong way and he went to the bench, where he sat with a ton of ice and a wrap on that area.

True freshman Michael Malloy, who coach Kirk Ferentz said will play at some point, missed the game with an illness. Sophomore Jordan Canzeri practiced this week and was in uniform and on the sidelines. He doesn’t look far from a return.

There were no specifics from Iowa on Bullock or Garmon.  However, a possible concussion and a hyperextended elbow, respectively, makes them questionable next week against Central Michigan.

“We’ll just see where that goes,” Ferentz said. ‘That was unfortunate, obviously, and then both of them are moving around fine in the locker room, but I don’t know how far away we are there.”

Here’s the thing with Weisman, a 6-0, 235-pound walk-on from Buffalo Grove, Ill.; Iowa didn’t change anything with him at running back.

Offensive coordinator Greg Davis called inside and outside zone running plays. Iowa was aggressive in bursts and ran some play-action passes in the second half.

Weisman practiced at running back this week and, for the most part, much of camp. This wasn’t an emergency, so it’s hard to gauge Weisman’s long-term outlook.

“Juggernaut or the Sherman tank, he’s just got too much muscle on his body,” Vandenberg said. “Bullock and Garmon will bounce back, but Weisman is not a guy we’re afraid to have in there.”

The long-term viability of Iowa’s offense, as a whole, ticked upward. No one is fitting the Kinnick scoreboard for a triple digit, but the offensive line made a walk-on fullback into a potential Big Ten player of the week and Vandenberg found a comfort level with Keenan Davis and Kevonte Martin-Manley, both of whom caught five passes.

Iowa went from eight drops last week to three against UNI. The Hawkeyes scored on their first drive of the game and the second half. They also converted 9 of 14 third downs.

“We felt good about today, but it’s our job,” Davis said. “We’re supposed to do that. We’re not surprised, we’re not overly happy about what we did. We have a lot to work on.”

The takeaway, obviously, was Weisman, who’ll celebrate Rosh Hashanah today with a nasty scrape across his left eye that included a bruised eyelid.

That’s OK, he’s a fullback.

“It’s a fullback style,” Weisman said when asked about his straight-ahead view. “I play fullback, I’m not a running back. I just put my head down.”

Marc Morehouse