JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
On Tuesday, Marcus Coker asked Iowa for his release and it was granted. He will be leaving the program following a season where he rushed for nearly 1,400 yards and scored 15 rushing touchdowns. His 2011 season was one of the best ever for an Iowa running back and he has two years of eligibility remaining.
However, Coker is gone, continuing a disturbing 'trend' of Iowa running backs not making it to 'Senior Day'.
Here is what Coker posted on his facebook page on Tuesday night. It was posted on the HawkeyeNation message boards by one of our users and also verified by several others who have access to Coker's facebook page. In fact, one of them took a screen shot of the post, visible below:
If you cannot see that image, here is the text of Coker's post: Welp so much for that. It was a good 2 years iowa..best 2 I could of asked for. Thanks again for the support. I really wish I could tell u guys wats goin on cuz its really ridiculous to b punished for somethin I didnt do. Id like to think the coaches and athletic staff for everything. Hawk for life
The Iowa City Press-Citizen posted a story on Tuesday night highlighting that Coker was involved in a police investigation in late October of 2011. You can read the details at this link. Here is a snippet from that item:
"According to that report, a woman reported to police that she was the victim of an assault at Coker’s residence, 618 Iowa Ave. The alleged assault took place sometime between 1:15-1:30 p.m. on Oct. 28.
The circumstances surrounding the assault are not detailed in the report, but it does note that the responding officer was dispatched to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for a sexual assault.
Iowa City Police Lt. Doug Hart said Coker was investigated for assault. However, after conferring with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, prosecution was not pursued. Hart said the alleged victim also did not want to prosecute."
In early December, Coralville radio station KCJJ (@kcjj on twitter) reported on their website that Coker was a part of a legal investigation.
OK, we've reached the end of the 'on the record' and 'news' portion of this item...now, we'll transition into more opinion and commentary.
Coker's facebook post shows him thanking the Iowa football coaches and athletic staff. Perhaps that post, and the subsequent article from the Press Citizen, may provide enough information to some Hawkeye fans to slow down and catch their breath a bit.
I'll admit that when the Coker press release came out on Tuesday afternoon, I was quite befuddled. It seemed as though Coker would return to the team and a few newspaper reports hinted to that being the case as well. That linked item comes from Marc Morehouse of The Gazette, and Marc is one of the best in the business.
However on the message boards, things went from serene to meltdown in about 20 minutes. The fact that Iowa is coming of 15 combined wins the past two years and not a 10 win season means that some folks are going to take another opportunity to lob shots at the coaching staff or program as opposed to considering the very plausible alternative that Coker had done something that led to his own departure.
Remember, at the time of Tuesday's press release, the item from the Press-Citizen had not yet been published, so fans didn't have that factual data to fall back on. Still, some of the posts were quite an over reaction. Kirk Ferentz has been very even handed as it relates to discipline in his time in Iowa City, so it was disappointing to see some folks grab the pitchforks and torches so quickly.
I also harken back to something Ferentz said in mid-December, the night of his bowl game radio show, where he said something ot the effect of 'We'll live with it," related to Coker's suspension. At the time, I wrote that it didn't sound like Coker's suspension something that was in his control.
Now, we have Coker is posting on his facebook page that he is being punished for something he didn't do. We have the Press-Citizen report with quotes from a Johnson Country attorney saying Coker has not had any charges brought against him and that he is "innocent of any criminal wrongdoing."
So ends the Iowa career of Marcus Coker. He is the 5th Iowa running back to leave the program early since the end of the 2010 Iowa football season. Brandon Wegher and Jewel Hampton transfered after the 2010 campaign, Adam Robinson was suspended and later removed from the program and Mika'il McCall announced his intention to transfer from Iowa just last week.
The last scholarship running back at Iowa to exhaust his eligibility wearing an Iowa uniform was Albert Young in 2007. Shonn Greene went pro early in 2008, so that's not one in the negative column. Robinson led Iowa in rushing in 2009 & 2010 with Coker leading the Hawkeyes in rushing in 2011.
So much attrition at one position has people asking questions. Some feel something has to be wrong, while others look at each instance in and of itself and chalk it up to the decisions of an individual. I tend to lean towards the latter, but at some point in time the cumulative adds up.
Iowa will enter the 2012 season with very little experience at the position. Jordan Canzeri showed toughness against Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl and will get his chances. Damon Bullock had a few totes, along with DeAndre Johnson. Iowa received a huge verbal commitment last week from four-star running back Greg Garmon. It stands to reason he will see some playing time and Iowa may need to bring another freshman in alongside him.
Running backs can see that Iowa feeds them the ball...which makes the attrition all the more puzzling.
However, Coker is gone, continuing a disturbing 'trend' of Iowa running backs not making it to 'Senior Day'.
Here is what Coker posted on his facebook page on Tuesday night. It was posted on the HawkeyeNation message boards by one of our users and also verified by several others who have access to Coker's facebook page. In fact, one of them took a screen shot of the post, visible below:
If you cannot see that image, here is the text of Coker's post: Welp so much for that. It was a good 2 years iowa..best 2 I could of asked for. Thanks again for the support. I really wish I could tell u guys wats goin on cuz its really ridiculous to b punished for somethin I didnt do. Id like to think the coaches and athletic staff for everything. Hawk for life
The Iowa City Press-Citizen posted a story on Tuesday night highlighting that Coker was involved in a police investigation in late October of 2011. You can read the details at this link. Here is a snippet from that item:
"According to that report, a woman reported to police that she was the victim of an assault at Coker’s residence, 618 Iowa Ave. The alleged assault took place sometime between 1:15-1:30 p.m. on Oct. 28.
The circumstances surrounding the assault are not detailed in the report, but it does note that the responding officer was dispatched to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for a sexual assault.
Iowa City Police Lt. Doug Hart said Coker was investigated for assault. However, after conferring with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, prosecution was not pursued. Hart said the alleged victim also did not want to prosecute."
In early December, Coralville radio station KCJJ (@kcjj on twitter) reported on their website that Coker was a part of a legal investigation.
OK, we've reached the end of the 'on the record' and 'news' portion of this item...now, we'll transition into more opinion and commentary.
Coker's facebook post shows him thanking the Iowa football coaches and athletic staff. Perhaps that post, and the subsequent article from the Press Citizen, may provide enough information to some Hawkeye fans to slow down and catch their breath a bit.
I'll admit that when the Coker press release came out on Tuesday afternoon, I was quite befuddled. It seemed as though Coker would return to the team and a few newspaper reports hinted to that being the case as well. That linked item comes from Marc Morehouse of The Gazette, and Marc is one of the best in the business.
However on the message boards, things went from serene to meltdown in about 20 minutes. The fact that Iowa is coming of 15 combined wins the past two years and not a 10 win season means that some folks are going to take another opportunity to lob shots at the coaching staff or program as opposed to considering the very plausible alternative that Coker had done something that led to his own departure.
Remember, at the time of Tuesday's press release, the item from the Press-Citizen had not yet been published, so fans didn't have that factual data to fall back on. Still, some of the posts were quite an over reaction. Kirk Ferentz has been very even handed as it relates to discipline in his time in Iowa City, so it was disappointing to see some folks grab the pitchforks and torches so quickly.
I also harken back to something Ferentz said in mid-December, the night of his bowl game radio show, where he said something ot the effect of 'We'll live with it," related to Coker's suspension. At the time, I wrote that it didn't sound like Coker's suspension something that was in his control.
Now, we have Coker is posting on his facebook page that he is being punished for something he didn't do. We have the Press-Citizen report with quotes from a Johnson Country attorney saying Coker has not had any charges brought against him and that he is "innocent of any criminal wrongdoing."
So ends the Iowa career of Marcus Coker. He is the 5th Iowa running back to leave the program early since the end of the 2010 Iowa football season. Brandon Wegher and Jewel Hampton transfered after the 2010 campaign, Adam Robinson was suspended and later removed from the program and Mika'il McCall announced his intention to transfer from Iowa just last week.
The last scholarship running back at Iowa to exhaust his eligibility wearing an Iowa uniform was Albert Young in 2007. Shonn Greene went pro early in 2008, so that's not one in the negative column. Robinson led Iowa in rushing in 2009 & 2010 with Coker leading the Hawkeyes in rushing in 2011.
So much attrition at one position has people asking questions. Some feel something has to be wrong, while others look at each instance in and of itself and chalk it up to the decisions of an individual. I tend to lean towards the latter, but at some point in time the cumulative adds up.
Iowa will enter the 2012 season with very little experience at the position. Jordan Canzeri showed toughness against Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl and will get his chances. Damon Bullock had a few totes, along with DeAndre Johnson. Iowa received a huge verbal commitment last week from four-star running back Greg Garmon. It stands to reason he will see some playing time and Iowa may need to bring another freshman in alongside him.
Running backs can see that Iowa feeds them the ball...which makes the attrition all the more puzzling.
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