Usually, it's the offensive linemen who open the thank-you notes.

You know, the ones from the overjoyed running back who has benefited from their gripping and grunting up front.

At Iowa the past few years, it's been the other way around. And instead of thank-you notes, running back Ladell Betts could have expected letters of apology.

"About overlooking that 290-pound defensive tackle, Ladell, I just want to say ... "

"I never once saw Ladell display any frustration, any negative body language, anything," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I think in a normal person, that would've been normal behavior.

"It was frustrating. But he was encouraging. He never had a bad word about his teammates."

As the young offensive linemen have learned on the job, Betts has managed to keep his cool, his bendable body parts and some nice stats.

You don't have to squint to see Betts managed to squeeze in a few positives between the linebackers last season. He put up his first 1,000-yard season at Iowa, rushing 232 times for 1,090 yards, which also happened to be Iowa's total net rushing yards. He averaged 4.7 yards a carry and missed just a few downs because of injury.

Betts is comfortable being "the guy." He sets the example with his work ethic. He is maniacal about preparation, hogging every practice rep that the coaches will allow him to have.

"I don't like to be the guy standing on the side watching," Betts said. "I like to do what everybody else is doing.

"Believe it or not, I'm a really nice guy, but on the field, I'm kind of aggressive. I like to go out there and get banged around and bang people up a bit.

"I like to think I'm a tough runner. I like to finish every run. I like to scratch and claw for every yard I can get. I don't like to go down easy. I don't like to let one person take me down. That's the job of being a running back."

Scratching and clawing. Hey, it could come to that.

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