Stanzi #1?? Can it be?!?!?

I don't know why this story gets me hopeful for next year, but I'd almost rather roll the dice w/Stanzi than to take my chances with the proven (in)ability of Jake. Sounds like Jake is not the certain #1.

Iowa City, Ia. - To say Iowa has a big-time quarterback controversy is a stretch.

Quarterback dilemma better explains a Jake Christensen-Ricky Stanzi situation after an estimated crowd of 15,352 cold and wet people watched the Hawkeyes' final spring practice Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Who starts Aug. 30 against Maine?

"We're going to keep it open and let everybody compete for a while," said coach Kirk Ferentz after the hour-long controlled scrimmage.

"Jake's No. 1, but outside of (Mitch) King and (Matt) Kroul, I'm not sure anyone's an in-ink No. 1 right now."

Those two defensive linemen are secure in their starting positions, but who becomes the No. 1 quarterback is like asking who's the top tailback or who's the best place-kicker.

"I think what you saw today is probably a slice of the whole spring - some hot and cold, some good and bad," Ferentz said. "I thought in some certain situations, we did some things better (Saturday) than we've been doing them - we hit a couple big plays on third down, which was good to see.

"Other times, we didn't look so good out there."

Christensen's bad showed up on his first scrimmage pass - the one second-team cornerback Chris Rowell returned 53 yards for a touchdown.

He also threw a touchdown pass to Andy Brodell.

"We're going to be all right with the passing game," said Brodell, who competed all spring after missing the last eight games of 2007 with a leg injury. "That year of experience really helped Jake."

Stanzi threw a touchdown pass to Trey Stross and an interception to Diauntae Morrow.

"Stanzi helped his cause this spring," Ferentz said.

Marvin McNutt, who redshirted last season, heaved a 53-yard touchdown pass to Ben Evans.

"We're going to go into (August) with an open mind," Ferentz said.

He meant that about most positions.

"Some guys have made good strides, other guys treaded water a little and some guys have lost some ground," Ferentz said. "Ultimately what's really going to count is what we do in August when we get back together as a team."

While Ferentz's mind is open, Christensen says his is closed.

"In my mind, there's no question," said Christensen, who completed 53.5 percent of his passes last season. "I don't think you can ever doubt yourself or have doubt in your ability.

"In my mind, I'm the guy, but that's not up to me. I can only take care of my job."

Stanzi's mind, at least publicly, is with the coaches.

"It's not my decision who starts," said Stanzi, who played in only two games last season.

When pressed to pick a starting quarterback for the season-opener, Stanzi hedged by saying:

"I'm not the coach. It's just exciting to be in competition."

Recruits James Vandenberg and John Weinke hit campus in the summer but should be a ways from adding to the Christensen-Stanzi dilemma.

"Rick and Jake competed this spring, and we'll let that process continue," Ferentz said. "We'll also see what kind of jumps Marvin can make between now and when we get going in August. "We'll let them all compete, and then we'll go from there."

We have Paki O'Meara (walkon) as our current 1st string RB. I couldn't agree with your statement more. I've still gotta believe that once Greene is re-enrolled he'll have dibs on that starting tailback position.

I like Greene to get the nod at RB as well in the Fall.  Guillory does not appear to have the blocking abilities that we need from our RB's.  O'Meara is a good team member but I don't think he has the talent.  The X factor is of course what kind of shape Greene arrives in.  The two new kids, Hampton and Brinson, will be in the same boat as Guillory if they can't come in and block.  Now, if they can show that they have those skills then we might see them earlier than expected because of their talent.  Who knows though, right? 

As far as Jake is concerned, I gotta say that if the line can't block then whoever is behind center is gonna have a hard time.  That said, I get the sense that Ferentz sees something in McNutt that he doesn't see in either Stanzi or Jake: the ability to make plays with his feet.  I have a feeling that if McNutt can improve then you might see him come in more to give us that ability if the line struggles.  I just get that feeling based on Ferentz's comments on McNutt.  I wouldn't even expect Kirk to talk about a Redshirt freshman when you have a Junior and a Soph in the mix too but that is just what he did.  Hopefully he wasn't just giving lip service to McNutt being in the mix.  We have been blessed with some QB's over the last few years that could make plays with their feet (Banks, Chandler,Tate) and I think Ferentz realizes (at least he should) that Jake and Stanzi aren't exactly dual threats.  Sadly enough, Jake was advertised as a dual threat out of high school but I think the jump to D-1 ball has shown that he doesn't have that in his arsenal.  A lot of the success we have had has come from the QB making something out of nothing on broken plays.  My God, I think Tate was always running for his life.  LOL 

Just my two cents...or maybe that was a dime.  :)