No. 7 — OT Boone Myers

No. 7 . . . Boone Myers doesn't seem to be crushed under the weight of the world. His spine isn't an accordion. His eyeballs haven't popped out. His legs aren't bent in weird and horrible S curves.

Nope, Boone Myers lives. The weight of having to be the guy who replaces Brandon Scherff hasn't pulverized him yet. Wait, this isn't totally correct. There is one body part that Myers, a 6-5, 300-pounder from Webster City, says is kind of dented.

'I take it as a chip on my shoulder,' Myers said of the task of replacing an Outland Trophy winner/No. 5 in the NFL draft/probable starter on the Washington Redskins O-line at left offensive tackle (yes, the most important O-line position with a right-handed QB who's probably going to throw the ball a little bit). 'It's trying to prove someone wrong. The more I hear it, the more I see it as trying to prove people wrong and see how good I actually am.'

That will serve as the mission statement, and why not? Why not believe in yourself heart and soul? Why not see yourself as the ultimate underdog? That's kind of the Iowa way, no?

The reality last spring was senior defensive end Drew Ott using every bit of his four years in the weightroom and technical knowledge (and, really, just flat out power) to make Myers look like a speed bump in pass plays during the spring game.

Yeah, Myers knows you saw that. He saw it. In fact, he was there. He doesn't hide from the fact. But hey, he didn't lose every one-on-one battle with Ott this spring, but as far as measuring sticks go, it, if nothing else, woke up Myers.

'Just going against Drew Ott,' Myers said. 'He's a whole other animal, completely, from what I've seen the last two years. He's a really good player and it's making me better. It's just a big eye opener when you go against him.'

During media days in Chicago, in a suit and tie, I asked Ott if in his heart he didn't feel at least a little bit of mercy last spring while making taco cabeza out of Iowa's sophomore left tackle.

The look in Ott's eyes was pure evil. Something out of a horror movie or the shark in 'Jaws.'

'I need to do that for them,' Ott said. 'That's what Scherff did for me. You've got to get thrown into the fire and just adapt to it.'

How does it go when it's over and you've eaten their lunch? Do you feel consciously, as a senior and a leader, to say, 'Guys, I've been through this.'

'No, I don't think they need that,' Ott said. 'They're confident. They know what they want. They know they want to get better. They know they need it. We don't have to have little pep talks like that. They're not sad about it. They know what's going on. They're big boys.'

The one that almost got away . . .

Myers walked on at Iowa from Webster City High School in 2013. Head coach Kirk Ferentz said that was a mistake. He said Iowa should've offered him a scholarship before he paid his own way that first year.

'Both Bo (Bower, a sophomore linebacker from West Branch) and Boone were guys we were thrilled to get,' Ferentz said. 'In retrospect, we should've offered both coming out of high school. We don't get them all right and they are two good examples. Just like there's a fine line in game competition, there's a fine line with players, too. I think what pushed both those guys over the top was their work ethic, persistence.'

Myers was awarded a scholarship during camp last summer. Obviously, Iowa was losing both tackles (Andrew Donnal also was drafted into the NFL) and someone saw that coming and made the move with Myers.

'I just came in with the chip on the shoulder, came to work everyday and didn't back down from anyone,' Myers said. 'I just went all out every play. I wanted to show that I am a football player and I can play here. I want to play here.'

Outlook . . .

Myers won't be as powerful as Scherff. Can he be as athletic? Can he get to the edge on an outside zone and make a seal? That's probably 'playing to the strength.'

Whatever happens, just know this isn't comparing Myers to Scherff. He's the guy who's coming after the guy. Myers hasn't started a game. He's an island unto himself, at least right now. There's virtually no public resume here, so any statements that contain Myers and Scherff are going to get the filibuster answer from O-line coach Brian Ferentz and all you're going to be able to do is nod and agree.

'He's a competitive young guy,' Brian Ferentz said. 'He's a tough guy, and he hates to lose. I think those are three really good traits. He also happens to be pretty athletic. He's done a very nice job putting on some weight, getting stronger, doing some of those things. I think at this point the most important thing that can happen for him, Ike Boettger, Cole Croston, any of those guys, is just to get reps, and to get repetitions against quality players, which we're pretty fortunate that they get a chance to work against quality guys every day.

'I think we probably could have a much more in-depth conversation maybe about what track he's on in a year. I hope it's a good track. I hope you're still asking a similar question to that. I think he does, too.

'Right now, the biggest focus for him is going to be to take some of those tangible athletic things he has, some of those intangible character things he has and put those to use on Saturdays in the fall, and if he does a good job with that, then we can talk a little bit further. But right now I hope he plays well today when we go out to practice, then tomorrow, then perhaps Saturday, next week, and then we can talk about August when we get there.

'But every day right now is just a learning experience for these guys, so I don't think we want to look too far into the future.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com