The sacks were the easy part, though. It’s impossible to quantify the beating Christensen took from Hawkeyes fans and in the media while struggling through his first season as a starter.
“I don’t blame people for pointing the finger at me,” Christensen said. “I take all the blame for the way things went. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You can’t say it was unfair. It’s just how it is when you’re a quarterback.”
It, of course, was not all Christensen’s fault that the Iowa offense ranked as the worst in the Big Ten and one of the least productive in the nation as the team went 6-6 and missed a bowl game. The receiving corps was inexperienced, depleted by injury and suspension. The offensive line play was horrendous.
The quarterback, really, never stood a chance.
That’s not to say there weren’t more than a few plays that were there to be made that Christensen failed to make. He completed only 53 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,269 yards and 17 touchdowns. He struggled with his accuracy and hesitated making decisions. He admits as much, and he spent the offseason honing his game, even taking a trip to Florida to work with former NFL quarterback Steve DeBerg.
“He helped my release, changed my grip a little bit, little subtle things that you wouldn’t recognize but pay huge dividends with accuracy,” Christensen said. “It did nothing but help me.”
In the spring, coach Kirk Ferentz opened up the competition for the quarterback job, listing Christensen and sophomore Ricky Stanzi as co-starters on the depth chart. Ferentz still has not named a starter for the Hawkeyes’ Aug. 30 opener against Maine.
“Jake’s the front-runner, but he’s got to earn the job,” Ferentz said. “He’s got to play the position better than he did a year ago.”
Christensen’s confident he can do that.
“The goal when you have a rough season is to look back and realize that you grew from that and learned from that,” Christensen said. “I’m a lot more confident, because I’ve been there and know what to expect. I know what hard work is, and I know the things I have to work on.”
| 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 | |||
| Friday: Running backs STORY I GLANCE | |||
| Today: Quarterbacks STORY I GLANCE |
Contact Eric Page at (563) 383-2277 at epage@qctimes.com.
