Brandon Wegher is running in front of the Iowa bench with the football tucked under his arm and an Arizona player just levels him, knocks him off his feet, grinds him into the Kinnick Stadium turf. Wegher holds onto the ball, gets up and just goes about his business.
“That’s when I was sold on his toughness,” Ferentz said.
Wegher, a 206-pound freshman from Sioux City Heelan, is going to need to be tougher than ever now. With Adam Robinson sidelined indefinitely by a sprained ankle, Wegher figures to get a majority of the workload at running back beginning with Saturday’s game against Indiana.
Ferentz is notorious for not entrusting true freshmen with much responsibility, but he is at ease with the idea of handing the ball to an 18-year-old 20-plus times a game.
“I’m really impressed with him and based on the limited exposure we have had so far, my guess is he’ll rise to the challenge,” Ferentz said. “I think he’s that kind of football player — very tough-minded.”
As a first-year player, Wegher is off limits to the media, so there’s no way of knowing how he feels about the situation.
But some of his older teammates have been amazed at how smoothly the kid has made the transition from playing against Storm Lake and LeMars to butting heads with Penn State and Wisconsin.
“I know when I was a freshman I was out there running around, just blocking, not knowing what the big picture was,” left tackle Bryan Bulaga said. “He really seems to see the big picture and know what’s going on, which really says a lot about his preparation.”
Robinson, a redshirt freshman, has better stats than Wegher this season. He is fourth in the Big Ten in rushing with 629 yards rushing and has averaged 4.7 yards a carry. Wegher has 321 yards and a 3.7 average as his understudy.
But Wegher didn’t see any action at running back until the second game of the season, when he went for 115 yards against Iowa State.
“He had a little period in camp where he was trying to get his feel,” Ferentz said. “But since that time he’s really done a good job.”
Ferentz said Wegher now “just looks like he belongs out there” and seems “totally unfazed.”
Most importantly, neither Wegher nor Robinson has fumbled in the first eight games.
“When you sit back and think about it, that’s very impressive,” quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. “It goes back to their character. These are young guys almost playing like veterans. Mentally and physically, on and off the field, they’re carrying themselves very well. I guess that leads to what we see on the field. They bring a lot of energy to the team. They’re never down, never having a bad moment in the huddle.”
Ferentz repeatedly has pointed to the emergence of the duo as a key development in the Hawkeyes’ 8-0 start.
With Shonn Greene turning pro, heir apparent Jewel Hampton sidelined for the season with a knee injury, promising redshirt freshman Jeff Brinson also being hurt and junior Paki O’Meara fumbling his chance at the starting job, someone had to step up. Robinson and Wegher did it.
Now Wegher and O’Meara are the only ones left standing. Freshman Brad Rogers, who was being redshirted this season, is poised to play if necessary although Ferentz hopes it doesn’t come to that.
Robinson has been impressed with Rogers’ blocking ability, but he said Wegher is the complete package.
“I know he’s banged up, too, but he’s a warrior,” Robinson said. “He’s going to step in and do a great job for us.”
Brandon Wegher’s high school career
Rushing yards as senior: 3,238 (No. 1 in Iowa history)
Rushing yards in career: 6,823 (No. 3 in Iowa history)
Touchdowns as senior: 54 (No. 3 in Iowa history)
Touchdowns in career: 114 (No. 2 in Iowa history)
