You see, as the Hawkeyes struggled, Greene watched on TV while working weekends at McGregors Furniture in Iowa City, forced into the role of observer because he fell behind in his class work and had to spend the year at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.
“That was big motivation,” said Greene, who is slotted to start Iowa’s Aug. 30 opener against Maine. “I love football. That’s my life, right there. Without football, I didn’t know what else I was going to do. That’s all I wanted to do was play football.”
Greene got his grades in order and was re-admitted to Iowa this summer. But he had some work to do on his body, having ballooned to over 250 pounds during his year away from the game.
Enter Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, who whipped Greene into shape. After a drastic change in diet and a whole lot of time spent sweating in the summer sun, Greene, whose playing weight in 2005 and ’06 was 235 pounds, is down to 228.
And, in practice, he has looked every bit of the back who rushed for 378 yards and two scores while playing a reserve role in his first two seasons.
“It’s the same Shonn you saw two years ago,” quarterback Jake Christensen said. “He hasn’t changed a bit.”
Greene’s return to form is critical for the Hawkeyes, who are in desperate need of an experienced back. No one else on the roster has even carried the ball in a Division I game.
“It’s not as tough as I thought it was going to be,” Greene said. “I don’t really think I lost a step. I think I’m good. I’m just happy to be back.”
| Position breakdowns | |||
| Saturday: Special teams STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Sunday: Defensive backs STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Monday: Linebackers STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Tuesday: Defensive line STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Wednesday: Offensive line STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Thursday: Receivers/Ends STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Today: Running backs STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Saturday: Quarterbacks |
Contact Eric Page at (563) 383-2277 or epage@qctimes.com.
