I thought it was interesting when Kirk Ferentz said on National Signing Day that he might have “a couple announcements” to make later in the week. Turns out, those announcements were that Shonn Greene and Amari Spievey are returning to Iowa after a year away at community college to get their academics in order.

Greene, a bruising running back who played two seasons at Iowa, is expected to jump in and be the favorite for the starting job, along with sophomore Jevon Pugh. Spievey, who played last season at Iowa Central after redshirting at Iowa in 2006, should start at corner. Now, what does that say to the three running backs and six defensive backs who inked letters of intent last Wednesday, sold on the “immediate opportunity” to earn playing time because of a shallow depth chart at both positions? All of a sudden, guys like Jeff Brinson, Nate Guillory and Jewel Hampton, who all have been quoted at one time or another as saying they were told by the coaching staff during the recruiting process that the Hawkeyes would have no returning scholarship running backs next season (that was before Pugh enrolled late in the classes this spring), are coming in behind two established backs.  

I think it’s a good thing. 

What was a shallow depth chart and an area of need at both running back and linebacker, now will be hotly contested battles during spring ball and fall camp. Competition tends to bring out the best in players and, therefore, improve the product on the field. Whoever emerges as the starter at running back will be solid, and I don’t think there will be much of a drop off when the second and third guys come off the bench. And with Jordan Bernstine and Spievey potentially starting at corners, with some of the incoming freshmen getting in the mix, the defensive backfield could develop into a dominant unit in the next two to three seasons.

I just thought it was interesting that Ferentz waited until after Signing Day to reveal Greene and Spievey were coming back. It was a good move on his part. Had he done it earlier, he might have lost some recruits. And, as I said, a little competition never hurt anybody.    

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Hawkeyes Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.