Iowa running backs Kaleb Johnson, Jaziun Patterson suspended for first half

The Iowa Hawkeyes are going to be a bit shorthanded for the first half at the running back position in their season opener against the Illinois State Redbirds.

It has been reported by Chad Leistikow that running backs Kaleb Johnson and Jaziun Patterson are going to be suspended for the first half of the game due to a violation of team rules.

Our Chad Leistikow is hearing that running backs Kaleb Johnson and Jaz Patterson will both be suspended for the first half of today’s game for team violations. Kamari Moulton was already trending upward entering today and sounds like he’ll lead the workload to start. – Dargan Southard, Hawk Central

The workload in the first half will fall on the shoulders of Kamari Moulton, who has ascended to the top of the depth chart entering his sophomore season, and seasoned veteran Leshon Williams. Kaleb Johnson, a junior, has ran for 1,242 yards and 9 touchdowns on 268 carries in his career with the Hawkeyes. Jaziun Patterson, a sophomore, got time as a freshman last year running for 253 yards and 2 touchdowns on 72 carries. The Hawkeyes should be able to unleash a full stable of backs in the second half and will hopefully lean on the ground game with their advantage up front in size. The silver lining for Iowa is that running back is arguably the deepest position on the roster and two of their top backs, Moulton and Williams, are more than capable of carrying the workload.

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