Three Hawkeyes bound for Senior Bowl

PHOENIX -- Three Iowa seniors will wear the Hawkeye helmet in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 29, coach Kirk Ferentz announced Wednesday.

Defensive linemen Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard will be joined by quarterback Ricky Stanzi for the game, which basically amounts to a job interview for the NFL.

"It's a job interview for the players, that's what it is, a job interview," Ferentz said. "I think I'm pretty accurate in saying all of our guys who've gone down have improved their status, but you have to go down with the right attitude. It's not just a way to get a watch or a giftbag."

The game is played in Mobile, Ala., a nice quiet spot where NFL coaches and scouts can give prospects a thorough look. It goes from medical to mental to what they can actually do on the field. The teams also are coached by NFL staffs.

The Senior Bowl has been a showcase for college seniors since the 1950s.

Ferentz has sent 18 players to the Senior Bowl, starting with running back Ladell Betts in 2002 and including linebacker A.J. Edds last year. Seventeen of those players made NFL rosters, 15 were drafted and 14 are still playing in the league.

"It's a week of work, of close scrutiny from the entire league and certainly the staff that coaches those teams," said Ferentz, who coached in one Senior Bowl during his six seasons as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens. "It gives you a nice insight into the players. You learn a lot about them."

Defensive tackle Karl Klug was picked to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 22 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Missouri arrives

The Missouri Tigers landed in Phoenix on Wednesday.

The Tigers finished 10-2 this season and are ranked No. 12. As nice as the 10 wins and No. 12 ranking are, the Tigers probably want to atone for the 35-13 thumping Navy put on them in last season's Texas Bowl.

“I just didn't feel like we were focused well enough," MU coach Gary Pinkel said. "One of the keys to any bowl game is to balance having a good time and then being able to come out and play your best football game. Navy dominated us, so they deserved to win because they did the right things and they're a great football team. But my whole thing is to get our football team to play our best, and bowl games, you've got to be able to focus."

Pinkel was asked if the fact that Iowa has lost a couple players for next Tuesday's Insight Bowl has affected his team's preparations. As you know, wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was kicked off the team after a drug-related arrest and running back Adam Robinson was suspended for the bowl game.

"I think that's kind of old news for us right now," Pinkel said. "You've just got to get prepared for who's going to be in. They have really great football players. This is a football team that's lost four conference games by a total of 11 points."

DJK replacements

Stanzi gave some insight Wednesday into who might pick up the slack at wide receiver, where Iowa will, of course, be missing Johnson-Koulianos, the team's career receiving leader.

Senior Colin Sandeman will likely get the first look, but it doesn't sound as though it's going to be one player.

"A lot of guys have stepped up," Stanzi said. "Donny Nordmann, Don Shumpert, Keenan [Davis], Marvin [McNutt] and Paul [Chaney]. Everyone is kind of moving around the receiver circuit and getting reps at every position, which helps them understand things better."

Hawkeyes in the Senior Bowl

IOWA (44 Hawkeyes have played in the game)

'52 - Bill Reichardt, B

54 - Don Chelf, T and Jerry Hilgenberg, OL

56 - Jim Freeman, OL and Jerry Reichow, B

58 - Jim Gibbons, E, Alex Karras, T, Frank Rigney, T

60 - Bill Lapham, C, Curt Mertz, E, Don Norton, E, Olen Treadway, B

64 - Paul Krause, E

71 - Layne McDowell, DL

72 - Craig Clemons, DB

76 - Jim Jenson, RB

80 - Jim Swift, TE

96 - Scott Slutzker, TE

97 - Sedrick Shaw, RB, Ross Verba, OL

98 - Tim Dwight, WR, Mike Goff, OL

99 - Matt Hughes, LB

02 - Ladell Betts, RB

03 - Colin Cole, DL, Bruce Nelson, OL, Eric Steinbach, OL

04 - Maurice Brown, WR, Nate Kaeding, K, Bob Sanders, DB

05 - Jonathan Babineaux, DL, Sean Considine, DB, Matt Roth, DL

06 - Chad Greenway, LB, Abdul Hodge, LB

07 - Scott Chandler, TE, Marshal Yanda, OL

08 - Charles Godfrey, DB, Bryan Mattison, DL

09 - Mitch King, DL

10 - A.J. Edds, LB

11 - DE Adrian Clayborn, DE Christian Ballard, QB Ricky Stanzi