Running back Jeff Brinson is leaving the University of Iowa to get closer to home, according to a press release from Iowa received earlier today.

Brinson’s Hawkeye career comes to an end having toted the pigskin just one carry for seven yards in Iowa’s 35-3 win at Iowa State this year. He was hampered by injuries this season and redshirted last season, where he was a true freshman. Had he not been suffering from asmatic reactions in the fall of 2008, he might have been the true freshman to receive reps behind Shonn Greene. Instead, Brinson did not play and Jewel Hampton got the nod.

The Iowa backfield was going to be pretty crowded this spring and summer, something that was underscored last summer when Hampton tore his ACL.

As Iowa entered the 2010 offseason last month, Brinson, Hampton, Brandon Wegher and Adam Robinson were going to be sophomore’s with regards to eligibility, not to mention the players Iowa signed two weeks ago plus the always mentioned Paki O’Meara.

That’s a lot of capable players for 300 or so carries. Someone, or multiple someone’s, were going to be left out.

This is is something that was widely speculated upon during the fall as well, and I think most people felt like Brinson would be the ‘most likely to leave’ candidate of the bunch, because he is the only one that hasn’t really had a true taste of the action, therefore he has not had a chance to prove what he could or could not do.

When you take a look at the head coach, knowing that you have a pair of backs that had one lone lost fumble this season and very few total fumbles in Robinson and Wegher, plus Hampton returning to stick his nose in the mix and his seven touchdowns from his true freshman year, it was going to be tough for Brinson to break through…or even get the chance to break through.

None of this is to say I am glad to see Brinson gone; I doubt anyone is happy about that, but it’s a part of the game and attrition at this position this off season was a near certainty.

Now the question will be more acutely focused on Wegher, Robinson and Hampton. Wegher and Robinson will have the leg up, literally, on Hampton as #27 will not be ready to perform in the spring. Robinson may miss that session as well, as he recently had some shoulder surgery to repair an injury from the fall. However, a shoulder is not an ACL tear, and while Hampton has been progressing at an expected rate, one never knows how close to 100% an athlete is until he gets out there. The schedule for Hampton is to be ready to go at 100%, or whatever that is for him, come August when the Hawks strap the pads on.

Barring any injuries between now and then, Wegher and Robinson will be ready to go as well. Incoming running back Marcus Coker is an intruiging prospect due to his combination of size and running skills, talents more akin to Shonn Greene than anyone else on the roster. Now, that is not to say he is the next Shonn Greene, who had a once in a lifetime season in 2008.

But you can never have enough running backs, something the Iowa coaching staff and its fanbase knows all too well.

Tags: hawkeye football, Hawkeye Nation, Iowa football, Jeff Brinson