Last year at this time, Jake Christensen was the unquestioned starter for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Even though he had his struggles in 2007, the fact that Iowa missed the postseason wasn't thrown on his shoulders.Little did anyone know that Ricky Stanzi, a sophomore, would parlay a great offseason into an opportunity to rotate with Christensen to start the 2008 season. After just four games, the job was Stanzi's, and he didn't give it up.
Now, Stanzi has entered 2009 spring football practice as the Hawkeyes' unquestioned quarterback. Not only that, but he is the only experienced one on the roster. Christensen will graduate and transfer for his last year of eligibility.
Two redshirt freshmen will compete for the job of backing up Stanzi, and head coach Kirk Ferentz insists there will be competition at quarterback.
"Rick is clearly the favorite but we're hoping both those guys can press him and make him better," Ferentz said. "That's what the thing's all about, good competition out there and those guys both have a lot to learn. They were on the scout team last year, but we tried to give them some work in our offense. Both of them seem to be quick learners, so it's going to be interesting to watch and see what they do and see where they're at after 15 practices."It would take Stanzi falling flat on his face for anyone else to have a chance at the job. Of course, the same could have been said of Christensen a year ago, and we all saw how that turned out once the Hawkeyes returned for preseason camp.
Iowa will practice through April 18, and they open the season September 5.
