Iowa football: The curious case of Tyler Goodson’s playing time

True freshman Tyler Goodson has been outstanding in limited time with the Iowa football team this season, but where do they go from here?

The Iowa football team is in a predicament, albeit a good one. They have three junior running backs that they feel comfortable carrying the ball when the game is on the line. But they also have two outstanding freshman running backs, one of which, Tyler Goodson, has been getting noticeable amounts of playing time through three games this season.

As of today, Mekhi Sargent leads the way with 40 carries, 208 yards, and a 5.2 yard per carry average. Behind him is fellow junior Toren Young who has 22 carries for 120 yards and a 5.5 yard per carry average. Checking in at third is Goodson who also has 22 carries for 105 yards and a 4.8 yard per carry average. Ivory Kelly-Martin, last year’s season-opening starter has just 5 carries for 20 yards and a 4.0 yard per carry average.

Statistically speaking and the eye test puts Sargent as the clear leader of the backfield. He’s not the most dynamic, but he does two things that Iowa football coaches absolutely love. He is fantastic at picking up blitzes and handling pass protection duties for Nate Stanley, and he always manages to fall forward when running.

Behind him though, I would argue Goodson has been the second-best back on the team. His explosiveness, compared to Akrum Wadley prior to the season, is just as advertised, and he showed in the Iowa State game that no moment is too big for him.

The Hawkeye’s coaching staff didn’t waste time getting the young man involved as he received his first carry just four minutes into last weekend’s game. That bodes well for his future but is the right course of action for the freshman.

Many Iowa football fans are left wondering, do we redshirt Goodson to save eligibility and move forward with the trio of juniors or do we burn a redshirt and give Goodson 100 carries this year?

I’m here to tell you, there is no answer but burning that redshirt. Not playing Goodson this year would be an absolute waste of his talent, and with how he is playing so far, I think he might finish the year with more carries than even Toren Young. The Iowa football coaching staff is a bit old school in their approach (i.e. like last year when AJ Epenesa didn’t start), but you can’t keep a kid as dynamic as Goodson on the bench.

In regards to eligibility, Sargent, Young and Kelly-Martin are all expected to be back next year, which means the running back room will be even more crowded as three-star back Gavin Williams, from Dowling, is set to join the team. Goodson will likely spend another year of eligibility working in as the 2nd or 3rd back, but that’s okay because as a junior, he would be the lead guy.

And with running backs these days, you honestly don’t want a lot of tread on your tires. Just look at Alabama who does a great job of rotating guys in and out. Heck, Josh Jacobs had 251 career carries at the college level and went in the first round. Now I know the Iowa football team isn’t Alabama, but my point is rotating Goodson in and out right now is arguably more important for the team success now and two years down the road than it is important to save his eligibility so we can possibly get more years of him in a feature role.

As we saw with TJ Hockenson last year, just because they have eligibility, doesn’t mean they’re going to use it.

For now, we should be thankful we’ve got this kid on our team because he’s a big-play threat every time he touches the ball.