Jan. 6, 2011
Editor’s Note: The following first appeared in the University of Iowa’s Hawk Talk Daily, an e-newsletter that offers a daily look at the Iowa Hawkeyes, delivered free each morning to thousands of fans of the Hawkeyes worldwide.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Shonn Greene. Bob Jeter. Marcus Coker. Coker, Iowa’s true freshman running back, put himself in some elite company with his breakout performance in the Hawkeyes’ 27-24 victory over No. 12 Missouri in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28.
Coker bulldozed his way to 219 yards on 33 carries en route to being named the 2010 Insight Bowl Offensive Player of the Game. It was the second time in his young career that he surpassed the 100-yard mark (22-129 at Indiana).
“We hoped to run the football,” said UI head coach Kirk Ferentz in Iowa’s postgame press conference. “I don’t think you ever expect to have your back at 221 yards. I’m looking down, 219 net, I guess. I heard from Gary Dolphin on the radio it puts him in pretty elite company with Bob Jeter and Shonn Greene, two great football players.”
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“We said back in August we thought Marcus would be a great player for us. Unfortunately, he got hurt. He has been playing catch-up throughout the season. When he had opportunities during the fall, he did a really good job.
“Tonight was certainly his best outing, his best performance, and he is a tremendous young man. So I am just really proud of him.” Kirk Ferentz
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Coker’s performance set an Iowa bowl record in both rushing attempts and yardage. Jeter previously held the yardage total with his 194-yard performance on just nine carries in the 1959 Rose Bowl against California. Greene, meanwhile, held the rushing attempts mark with 29 carries in the 2009 Outback Bowl win over South Carolina.
“We said back in August we thought Marcus would be a great player for us,” said Ferentz. “Unfortunately, he got hurt. He has been playing catch-up throughout the season. When he had opportunities during the fall, he did a really good job.
“Tonight was certainly his best outing, his best performance, and he is a tremendous young man. So I am just really proud of him.”
Coker became the first Hawkeye since Greene, the 2008 Doak Walker winner — the first honoree in Iowa history, to surpass the 200-yard mark in a game. Coker’s 219 yard performance also ranks as the sixth best total in a single game in Iowa history, while the 33 carries are tied for the eighth most in a single contest.
“I was pretty comfortable after the first couple of plays,” said Coker, who had a 62-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, the longest run of his career and the longest touchdown run for the Hawkeyes during the 2010 season. “I felt like I was a little bit more comfortable than I was before that.”
Coker’s final game output capped off a strong freshman season in Black and Gold. He finished the season with 622 yards on 114 carries — a total that ranks fifth best for an Iowa freshman.
“We are really proud of what Marcus did tonight and it was a big part of the win,” said Ferentz, who led the Hawkeyes to an 8-5 record to close out the 2010 season. “We felt like we needed him to run the ball for us to have a chance in this one.”
Coker did more than give the Hawkeyes a chance, as he took the team on his back and carried it to its third consecutive bowl victory (2009 Outback, 2010 Orange, 2010 Insight), a school record streak. In the process, he etched his name in the record books along some of the all-time Hawkeye greats.