Iowa Football Notebook: Depth Chart Fluid

Competition Ongoing at Some Positions Entering New Season

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa’s depth chart is so fluid, even coach Kirk Ferentz isn’t sure who’s on it.

Ferentz, in his first in-season press conference on Tuesday, was asked about offensive lineman Gennings Dunker, who wasn’t listed on the two-deep for Saturday’s season opener against South Dakota State.

“He’s on the depth chart,” Ferentz said.

When he was told that Dunker wasn’t, Ferentz laughed and said, “Well, put him on there.”

There are some places where everything is decided.

Ferentz said Spencer Petras would be the starting quarterback over Alex Padilla after a spring and fall of “open competition.”

But there are a few spots where there isn’t a clear No. 1 or No. 2.

Take, for example, kicker, where Aaron Blom was at No. 1 and Drew Stevens was No. 2.

“I'll tell you on Saturday,” Ferentz said. “I don't know right now.”

In fact, both will play. Who handles kickoffs and who handles field goals, though, is undecided.

“We'll see where it all goes,” Ferentz said. “Right now there's no clear plan. We're waiting to see how the week plays out and how they do.”

Injuries have helped jumble the depth chart from what it looked like in fall camp.

​​Wide receiver Nico Ragaini isn’t listed after suffering an undisclosed injury during camp.

“It's going to be at least a couple weeks, so he's not on the depth chart, which means he has no chance to play this week,” Ferentz said. “It's unfortunate because he's really practicing well, he’s a great guy, and another one of our veteran players, so it would be great to have him with us.”

Left off the depth chart were the kick and punt returner spots. There are plenty of candidates at either spot, Ferentz said.

“We've got our group of guys here, and it's kind of like the kicking position, but probably Cooper DeJean, certainly Arland Bruce, Riley Moss, those top three guys,” Ferentz said. “(Alec) Wick is also a punt returner, so he's a possibility. And then the other guys I'd probably add to the kickoff would be maybe Gavin (Williams) and Leshon (Williams); those guys might be in the mix there, too.”

FACING THE JACKRABBITS: South Dakota State is No. 2 in the STATS FCS preseason poll so, yes, they have the Hawkeyes’ attention.

Ferentz knows all too well what FCS teams, especially those from the always-difficult Missouri Valley Football Conference, can do. His teams have struggled in close games against Northern Iowa, and the Hawkeyes lost 23-21 at home to North Dakota State in 2016.

Ferentz recalled the 17-16 win over UNI in 2009, when the Hawkeyes had to block two kicks in the final seconds to secure the victory.

“That's what I'm saying — winning is not easy,” Ferentz said. “That was a miracle that we won in '09 with a good football team. We had a really good football team as it proved out.”

The Jackrabbits are coming off a year in which they played 25 games, reaching the FCS championship game in the abbreviated spring season and then the semifinals in the fall.

“Each and every week is a challenge, and we're playing a team that's got a lot of proven success and they've got a lot of proven players coming back, so they've got our total attention and total respect,” Ferentz said. “The minute you start looking at it differently, that's when you get in trouble, I think, in competition.”

DAVIDKOV OUT FOR SEASON: Ferentz added offensive lineman David Davidkov to the list of players out for the season with injuries, joining offensive lineman Justin Britt and Jackson Ritter.