In his Media Day press conference, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was asked if any one particular running back has really started to stand out in camp or if the expectation is that the Hawkeyes will feed the hot hand week to week.
Ferentz answered the question, but he also revealed that senior running back Leshon Williams is currently being held out of fall camp as he works his way back from a soft tissue injury.
Though Ferentz didn’t reveal the other names, Williams is one of several Hawkeyes that are temporarily sidelined with soft tissue injuries.
“Yeah, I think they’re all doing a good job right now. How far into this are we right now? Half hour, something like that? Nobody has asked about injuries. I’ll bring it up. I’ll volunteer it. How’s that? So we’ve got four or five guys that have been out with soft tissue injuries and stuff like that, and unfortunately Leshon is one of them, so you triggered a thought there.
“We know who he is, and we’ve got total confidence in him, but he hasn’t been able to go. Hopefully we’ll get him moving here pretty quickly. But he’s working through some stuff. Nothing long-term. A couple receivers out of that. But to that point, the room got reduced by one, and then T.J. (Washington) has been working receiver, and he can do both. As we go along, we’ll figure this stuff out, but it’s a good group of guys. They’re a really good group, and they’re all doing well, and we’ll just see how things play out,” Ferentz said.
It’s encouraging for Iowa that Williams’ soft tissue injury isn’t deemed as a long-term concern. Still, it’s something to monitor throughout the remainder of fall camp as the Aug. 31 opener against Illinois State approaches.
Williams was listed as Iowa’s No. 1 running back in the Hawkeyes’ preseason depth chart. The 5-foot-10, 214 pound senior back from Chicago carried 170 times for a team-leading 821 rushing yards last season. Williams had one rushing touchdown.
Junior Kaleb Johnson was listed as Iowa’s No. 2 running back and redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton as the Hawkeyes’ No. 3 running back on the preseason offensive depth chart.
Johnson rushed 117 times for 463 yards with a team-best three rushing touchdowns in 2023.
Iowa also returns sophomore running back Jaziun Patterson who carried 58 times for 206 yards with two touchdowns last season. The Hawkeyes also signed freshmen Brevin Doll and Xavier Williams in their 2024 signing class.
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