Sept. 2, 2004
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Marcus Schnoor has 58 carries for 290 yards in two seasons as a Hawkeye. Albert Young, after a redshirt season following a broken fibula, doesn’t have any experience. Saturday’s Throwback Game against Kent State will give both the chance – in front of a near sell-out crowd – to show what they can do. Schnoor and Young reached the top of the depth chart after the one-game suspension of No. 1 back Jermelle Lewis, a senior with two times the number of carries and more than double the total rushing yards.
It’s widely known that Head Coach Kirk Ferentz doesn’t shed any tears for lost players, and it’s clear that that’s no different going into the season opener. “I think both guys are ready to go, and we’ll need them both,” Ferentz said on Tuesday. “Both Marcus and Albert are doing a great job. With Marcus, we really anticipated that that would be the case. He’s been doing a great job for quite some time. Every time he’s been in the ballgame he’s done a great job, and he will on Saturday. “Albert is a guy we felt good about last spring,” Ferentz added. “He obviously had a setback in the fall with the injury, but he came back from that and did a nice job in the spring.” After three weeks of camp, Ferentz is anxious to see the start of the college football season. And he’s also anxious to see how his two backup running backs are going to perform under the spotlight. “We want to give both of them some work,” Ferentz said, “and it’ll be good for them. Marcus hasn’t played a whole lot and Albert hasn’t played at all. So we’re anxious to see them out there. Our plan is to have them work a lot.” Schnoor joined the team as a walk-on in 2001, after being named Iowa’s Class 3A Player of the Year as a senior at Central High School in DeWitt. And following a redshirt season, Schnoor saw action in nine games in the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Championship season in 2002. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior saw the exact same number of carries but for 36 more yards over 2002 – including his longest run, a 33-yard touchdown against Iowa State. But the fact that he got any time at all, originally coming in behind players like Ladell Betts and Fred Russell, was a surprise for Schnoor. “There were a lot of guys here and I thought, `Man, I’m never going to play here,’ ” he said. “Things went the right way for me, I worked hard and did what I had to do every day and that’s where I am today. “I’ve progressed along the way, coming in as a walk-on.” The opportunity to start at Kinnick and to see considerable action for the first time in his career isn’t lost on the Iowa native. “It means a lot as an Iowa kid,” Schnoor said. “A chance to get a significant amount of carries in Kinnick Stadium is a big opportunity for me. It’s going to be exciting to go out there and get the job done.” But the junior understands that too much emphasis can be a downfall. “It’s exciting,” he said, “but I’ve got to keep my cool or else I’ll beat myself up. I have to go out there and do my thing.”
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“There were a lot of guys here and I thought, `Man, I’m never going to play here.’ Things went the right way for me, I worked hard and did what I had to do every day and that’s where I am today. I’ve progressed along the way, coming in as a walk-on.”
Running back Marcus Schnoor
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Coach Ferentz says he hasn’t seen a change in Schnoor since he earned the starting spot. “He practices the same way all the time,” he said. “He carries himself well. I think he may be a little extra excited about things, but he’ll be ready to play. I’m confident about that.” From Moorestown, NJ, Young won’t have to bother as much with the connotations of playing in an Iowa landmark in front of a hometown crowd. But the chance to comeback from significant injury and finally play Division I football is enough for the redshirt freshman. “It’s just an opportunity to make a mark, because (the coaches) know what I can do in practice and scrimmages. It’s just time to back it up,” he said. “For a while, all I was doing was interviews and dealing with the expectations. There comes a point where you get tired of hearing that, and you just want to show people what you can do. “It’s time to back up the hype.” Young rushed for 2,180 yards and scored 32 touchdowns his senior season. He rushed for 2,007 yards as a sophomore, and he was the first South Jersey player to have had two 2,000-plus-yard seasons. Young’s high school performance led to the title of New Jersey Offensive Player of the Year and the 160th-best player in the country, according to analyst Tom Lemming. “One thing about Albert is that you really saw him do a great job with the passing game in high school, and he’s turned out to be a better running back than I anticipated coming in,” Ferentz said. “It’s nice when you get those pleasant surprises. He does a lot of things well. We think he’s a real good prospect and we’re anxious to see him play.” The expectations have finally caught up to Young, however, and the nerves have begun to set in. “It started (Tuesday) to tell you the truth,” he said. “I’m starting to get the feeling. Last year, I knew I wasn’t going to play. Now, I’m just anxious to get out there and play.” Young’s leg injury during preseason camp sidelined him for what would have been his true freshman year. “During the time, it felt like forever,” he said, “and now things are coming up pretty quick. While you’re going through it, it feels like eternity.”
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“It’s just an opportunity to make a mark, because (the coaches) know what I can do in practice and scrimmages. It’s just time to back it up. For a while, all I was doing was interviews and dealing with the expectations. There comes a point where you get tired of hearing that, and you just want to show people what you can do. It’s time to back up the hype.”
Running back Albert Young
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But the long wait is now over and Young says he’s more ready than ever. “I’ve learned a lot and it’s just the reps,” he said. “It’s helped me out. Now I feel I can get in all the packages and contribute to whatever I need to.” But both Schnoor and Young know that it’s going to be hard to dislodge Lewis from the starting spot when he returns Sept. 11 against Iowa State. “I don’t see anything right now to make me think that Jermelle won’t be back,” Schnoor said. “He’s going to be back and he’s going to be ready to go. He has a great opportunity in front of him this year too to prove himself. Hopefully, he’ll make great strides.” Young agrees. “Jermelle is already there so it’s just making marks so that the coaches know what I can do in a game-time situation,” he said. “I’m not going to knock (Lewis) out because he’s a good back himself.” Ferentz says that he anticipates Lewis returning to starting running back for the second game of the season. “If someone rushes for 400 yards on Saturday, it’s one of those deals,” he said. “We think we have three quality tailbacks going into this season and Jermelle is one of them.” Barry Pump, hawkeyesports.com