State's 'fab five' hurting as Illini hit town

If Illinois fans are making a list of people to thank for Ron Zook's hiring, then Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz deserves to be high on the list.

Ferentz and his staff did such a thorough job of coming into Illinois and rustling away five-star prospects in the summer and fall of 2004, athletic director Ron Guenther couldn't help but notice Ron Turner's recruiting ability had been irreparably compromised.

Now, just three years later, Illinois rides a Zook-inspired high into sold-out Kinnick Stadium while the Hawkeyes' Land of Lincoln recruits are suffering as much as their team.

Here's how Iowa's "Fab Illini Five" are faring these days:

• Tony Moeaki (Wheaton Warrenville South), a junior tight end and preseason Mackey Award candidate, started out red-hot with 14 catches for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But early in Iowa's Big Ten opener at Wisconsin, Moeaki broke his hand and dislocated his elbow. He might be back in two weeks.

• Dace Richardson (WW South), a junior left tackle who has nine career starts, is scheduled for knee surgery next week that will cost him the rest of the year.

• Dan Doering (Barrington), a redshirt sophomore guard and a five-star recruit, has yet to start a game. He has come off the bench for brief appearances in four games.

• Ryan Bain (Bolingbrook), a defensive lineman, transferred to Akron last summer, which apparently was unrelated to being charged with public intoxication and related offenses during the school year.

That leaves redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Christensen (Lockport) as the only Chicago area native who figures to have a significant impact on today's game.

Christensen, who has started every game as Drew Tate's successor, has completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,152 yards, 10 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. It would be interesting to learn how good his stats might become if he didn't run for his life so often.

A revolving and youthful offensive line has Iowa ranked 118th (out of 119 teams) in sacks allowed (25).

Overall, Iowa has suffered through so many significant injuries (and off-field problems) that Ferentz has trotted out 11 true freshmen. That's four more than any of his previous eight years in Iowa City.

These factors help to explain why the Hawks have dropped eight consecutive Big Ten games -- the program's worst run since Ferentz lost his first nine conference games in 1999-2000.

But Zook doesn't want to hear anything about Iowa's struggles. At least, he doesn't want any of his players to hear about them.

As the Illini bask in national acclaim after back-to-back wins over No. 21 Penn State and No. 5 Wisconsin, Zook tries desperately to steer their focus back to Iowa.

"It's important that we keep in mind, it's Iowa," Zook said. "We told our team, 'That's all we talk about is Iowa. If somebody asks you about something outside of Iowa, it's about Iowa.

"'Because all the things you want to be able to enjoy in January or February or in the offseason, all those things are for nothing if we don't continue to do the things we've done.'"