Kamari Moulton

Iowa football pleased with run game replacements vs. Missouri

Minus Kaleb Johnson, Iowa’s running backs did some nice things vs. Missouri.

The Iowa Hawkeyes didn’t have their biggest star against the Missouri Tigers in the Music City Bowl.

After a breakout junior campaign, running back Kaleb Johnson understandably opted out of the bowl game versus the Tigers to focus on the 2025 NFL draft.

With Johnson out of the equation, Iowa turned to a trio of running backs in redshirt freshmen Kamari Moulton and Terrell Washington Jr. and sophomore Jaziun Patterson. The results from that bunch earned a positive postgame review from Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

“Yeah, the three of those guys have all been really good. Obviously TJ has been working at receiver, but he’s a guy we think can do both.

“So I thought all three of them really did a nice job. It doesn’t seem like it’s too big for them at all, and I think they were eager to get a chance to go out there and play. All three of them are different type players, but they’re all really good football players. They’re really outstanding young guys. They’re fun to be around and fun to see at practice and all that type of thing. So, yeah, just happy with the way they stepped in there,” Ferentz said.

Moulton led the way on the ground with 14 carries for 96 yards and a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Patterson added nine carries for 74 yards.

Washington ran once for three yards but he also caught three passes for 26 yards, including his 6-yard touchdown grab to open the game’s scoring.

Ferentz also pointed to senior Tyler Elsbury’s contributions up front. In his final game, Elsbury earned his fifth career start and his second at center for the Hawkeyes with Iowa’s Logan Jones sidelined.

“Tyler Elsbury wasn’t perfect, but yeah, he stepped in with Logan being out and did a lot of good things too,” Ferentz said. “So that’s part of football. Yeah, really proud of those guys especially.”

While Iowa’s 27-24 loss against Missouri left a sour final taste in an 8-5 season overall, the production in the backfield is an encouraging sign as the program transitions toward the 2025 college football season.

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Three Iowa football standouts from Music City Bowl loss vs. Missouri

Three Iowa football standouts vs. Missouri in the Music City Bowl.

The 2024 Iowa football (8-5, 6-3 Big Ten) season came to a disappointing end in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday as the Hawkeyes dropped a 27-24 nail-biter in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl vs. Missouri (10-3, 5-3 SEC).

While Iowa led by as many as 10 points midway through the third quarter, the Tigers’ 13 unanswered points, coupled with an interception and a critical fourth down stop on an attempted quarterback sneak by Brendan Sullivan with 1:04 remaining in the game, was enough to seal an Iowa’s fate.

Missouri outgained Iowa 376 to 297 in all-purpose yards, but the Hawkeyes held the rushing yards advantage 166 to 89. Unfortunately, the lone turnover of the game belonged to Iowa as an interception with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter eventually led to a then-game-tying field goal

Missouri would add a 56-yard field goal at 4:36 remaining in the game that would eventually prove to be the game-winner as Iowa’s last-ditch fourth down effort on the game’s final drive would be denied at the Tigers’ 46-yard line.

While the 2024 TransPerfect Music City Bowl did not end positively for Iowa, here are three Hawkeyes that stood out the most on Monday.

Deontae Craig

Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Deontae Craig ended his Iowa career with a standout performance against the Missouri Tigers. Craig racked up four tackles for loss and had a pair of sacks to lead Iowa’s defensive efforts against Missouri.

Moulton had a consistent game on the ground by rushing for 96 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries, including a game-long 38-yard rush.

Without the services of Kaleb Johnson in the backfield, this game was a clear-cut opportunity for Moulton to show the coaching staff what he is capable of as the No. 1 running back option heading into next season.

Kaden Wetjen

Although Wetjen only recorded 13 yards on two receptions against the Tigers, his spectacular 100-yard kickoff return touchdown skyrocketed himself into the three stars conversation.

Wetjen’s return was also significant in the game, as Missouri had just tied the score at seven with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter. The special teams touchdown allowed the Hawkeyes to keep pace with Missouri and avoid chasing the game for most of the contest.

The sensational play from the senior is the second special teams touchdown and first kickoff return score of his two-year Hawkeyes career and could not be any more memorable.

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Iowa details RB plan vs. Missouri

Who’s carrying the rock against Mizzou?

It will be a different look in the backfield for Iowa (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten) against the Missouri Tigers (9-3, 5-3 SEC) in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

Junior running back and Doak Walker Award finalist Kaleb Johnson declared for the 2025 NFL draft and will not be playing against Missouri.

Johnson rushed 240 times for 1,537 rushing yards and caught 22 passes for 188 receiving yards. The Hamilton, Ohio, product set Iowa single-season records in points (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing scores (21).

With all of that production and star power out of the picture, what’s the plan for Iowa against the Tigers?

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the Hawkeyes’ plan at running back against Missouri.

“It’ll be a committee. I don’t know if it’ll be two guys, four guys, but we’ll play the guys we’ve got. We really like the guys we have. We wish Kaleb was with us, but, again, appreciate what he’s done,” Ferentz said.

Without Johnson, Iowa’s two leading rushers coming into the contest are redshirt freshman running back Kamari Moulton and sophomore Jaziun Patterson.

Moulton has carried 70 times for 377 yards with two scores, while Patterson has rushed 54 times for 235 yards with two rushing touchdowns.

“It’s been fun to watch Kamari this year I think really grow and the same thing with Jaz. Both those guys are playing their best football. Kamari a little bit more understandable. He’s a really young guy right now and still maturing physically, but Jaz I think he was where we want him to be this year. So, happy about that,” Ferentz said.

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ferentz and Iowa are excited to see more of what they’ve got in freshmen running backs Xavier Williams and Brevin Doll, too.

Williams and Doll were each three-star signees in the Hawkeyes’ 2024 class. Doll was an in-state signee via Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School, while Williams inked with the Hawkeyes out of Lake Central High School in Indiana.

Doll, a 6-foot, 200 pound back, was ranked as the nation’s No. 33 running back and as the No. 5 player from Iowa per 247Sports. Williams, a 5-foot-10, 230 pound back, was rated as the nation’s No. 59 running back and as the No. 15 player from Indiana per 247Sports.

“We really are enthused about what we’ve seen of Xavier and Brevin Doll. Both those guys have done a really nice job in practice,” Ferentz said of his young backs.

“I think they’ve grown immensely since August. I made that comment a couple weeks ago to our guys. I said, ‘How do you think these guys would do if we put them in a game?’ And everybody gave the same answer. I think we all are seeing it the same way.”

Kickoff for Iowa against Missouri is set for 1:30 p.m. CT with the game to be televised on ESPN.

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Kirk Ferentz details Kamari Moulton’s ascension to No. 1 RB

Kirk Ferentz detailed how and why Kamari Moulton has ascended to No. 1 on the Iowa football running back depth chart.

The biggest head turner in Iowa’s initial depth chart reveal was redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton as the Hawkeyes’ No. 1 running back.

Moulton carried 27 times for 93 rushing yards with two scores last season. The 5-foot-9, 197 pound running back from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has been one of the Hawkeyes’ fast risers dating back to last December.

On Tuesday, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz discussed Moulton’s rapid ascension and detailed how Moulton has earned the Hawkeyes’ top spot on the running back depth chart.

Senior running back Leshon Williams, Iowa’s leading rusher in 2023, has been dealing with a nagging soft tissue injury throughout fall camp. Meanwhile, Moulton has made the most out of his opportunities.

Kirk Ferentz on Kamari Moulton ascending to No. 1 on the initial RB depth chart:

“He’s got a tremendous attitude, but he’s got real good vision, a good ability to see things maybe that other guys can’t see and that’s been pretty consistent.” pic.twitter.com/ytmgzTibmf

— Hawkeyes Wire (@HawkeyesWire) August 27, 2024

“Yeah, I figured that might get everybody’s attention, but it’s more a byproduct of what’s going on. Two things really. Leshon’s missed some time. He’s had an injury that nagged pretty much throughout camp, so Kamari got a lot of work this August.

“The other component there is Kamari’s really done a nice job and I think I kind of mentioned that or alluded to that back in December even. He really started to look comfortable and did a lot of good things. Did a good job in the spring and has just been really consistent all the way through August. They’re all going to play, but he’s really done a nice job,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz also touched on where he’s seen the biggest jumps from Moulton.

“Probably confidence. He’s had a great attitude since he’s been here. He’s got good vision. He’s bigger and stronger physically than he was certainly a year ago, a year-plus ago when he got here. All that’s good. That’s one of the benefits of experience, so happy about that.

“He’s got a tremendous attitude, but he’s got real good vision, a good ability to see things maybe that other guys can’t see and that’s been pretty consistent. It really started showing in December when we were doing more work with the guys. He had been on scout team most of the time last year. It seemed like he was maybe a guy who could pop through here a little bit. I think he’s certainly done that in August,” Ferentz said.

Ferentz noted that Williams has been back working with the Hawkeyes for multiple weeks and that he feels Williams is ready for game action.

The Hawkeyes’ 26th-year head coach is anxious to see the entire group get their season underway and knows that Iowa could need all four or five of its top running backs.

“Leshon’s only been back maybe eight, 10 days and it looks like he’s good to go, but it was just, he had a really long, nagging injury that just took a while to get worked through. Happy he’s back. And the other guys have done a good job, too. Really, I feel pretty good about the group. Anxious to see them play and Kamari especially. We haven’t really seen him go in game activity…

“Again, I envision us playing a lot of the guys in the group. Max White’s done a good job, too. So, I feel like it’s a good group that way. We’ll just kind of see how it plays out as we keep going forward and history would say we can never have too many backs. That’s for sure,” Ferentz said.

Williams led Iowa with 821 rushing yards on 170 carries and one rushing touchdown last season. Junior Kaleb Johnson added 463 rushing yards on 117 rushes with three rushing scores and sophomore Jaziun Patterson tallied 206 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 58 totes.

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Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Positional Breakdown: Scouting the running backs

Iowa football is all about running the rock. The next piece of our positional preview series features the Hawkeyes’ running backs.

Iowa football is running the football. While the rest of the Big Ten and college football world may be demonstrating a philosophy change, Iowa’s viewpoint hasn’t wavered. They will continue to play and win the same way they have for years now. They play tough defense and they run the ball at will against you on offense.

Unfortunately, they haven’t been running the ball at will in recent years. They’ve posted some of their lowest rushing numbers over the past two seasons, and have looked outmatched at times against top defenses. Part of this is due to the offensive scheme by Ferentz, partly by the offensive line, and partly by the passing attack having no bite to it. Iowa has asked a lot out of its running game, and there’s only so much it can do given the competition that they face in the Big Ten.

There is absolutely talent in this running back room, though. In particular, Kaleb Johnson. A true freshman last year, Johnson showed star potential for the Hawkeyes. Here is a look at the running backs ahead of the 2023 season.

Top five true freshman running backs in the Big Ten for 2023

Top five true freshman running backs in the Big Ten for 2023 #GoBucks #B1G

It is always fun to look at recruiting rankings. The recruiting landscape receives more coverage every year and is a very important aspect of building a program. Still, it is important to remember these players and prospects are not defined by these rankings.

I was diving into the most recent class and trying to figure out which future Buckeye is going to shine brightest and fastest but noticed that the Big Ten as a whole was pretty interesting recruiting-wise this cycle, and we already looked at the top quarterbacks in the class and I wanted to dive into the running back position next.