There’s little question that footballs will be thrown about Jack Trice Stadium this fall at an alarming rate in offensive coordinator Tom Herman’s new spread-attack offense. But the bigger question that remains is, which skilled players will be on the receiving end?

The Cyclones have experience and production returning at both running-back and wide-receiver positions, but the depth at both spots should make for two of the more intriguing position battles heading into the season.

Despite the fact that this new offense will operate exclusively from the shotgun, the Cyclones will still find a way to run the football.

“We’ve got very talented running backs — we’re going to hand them the football,” Herman said. “I’m very pleased with the progress that we’ve made, so we’re going to hand them the ball as much as merited and warranted and as much as the defense will let us. We’ll try and get them the ball in space as well with some screens.”

Last season’s starting running back, Alexander Robinson, returns for his junior season having already rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career. However, two highly-touted newcomers will push for playing time of their own.

Expectations are high for Johnny “Bo” Williams, who saw his legendary status grow last season despite that fact that he was sitting out due to transfer rules. The ex-Florida Gator was one of the highest-rated recruits in the state of Florida coming out of high school, and after two injury-plagued seasons as a Gator he decided to join the Cyclones. Williams now has three years of eligibility left and expects to be in the mix at running back.

Redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Schwartz brings size to the backfield and will be looked upon in goal-line situations.

“Jeremiah Schwartz is a load,” said head coach Paul Rhoads. “When he drops his shoulder and you come up and try and tackle him, you better bring a lunch pail and kitchen sink and everything else that you’ve got with you because he’s going to deliver it to you.”

All three running backs have their own distinct style of running, and it will be interesting to see how the carries are shared among the three.

“We all just bring something a little different to the table — it will be up to the coaches whether they utilize each players abilities,” Robinson said.

Schwartz has the size that the Cyclones so desperately needed last season in short yardage situations; Robinson is the fastest of the group and has already showcased his breakaway speed; and Williams is big enough to run up the middle but still is a threat to break a long one for six.

Although only one running back will most likely be on the field at one time, as many as four or five wide receivers could all be running routes on a given play. The Cyclones’ returning receivers had a combined 125 catches for 1,350 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, but they did lose leading receiver R.J. Sumrall to graduation.

Seniors Marquis Hamilton and Houston Jones, along with sophomores Darius Darks and Sedrick Johnson, all had more than 18 catches last season and figure to have a leg up on the starting spots.

“I think we’ve got a few talented guys and I think some guys have picked it up faster than others, so we have a little bit more trust in those guys than some others, not to say that the ones behind them aren’t talented,” Herman said. “They’ve got to start learning a little bit faster and accelerate the learning curve a little bit to earn our trust.”

Last season’s pleasant surprise at receiver was the true-freshman Darks, who had 49 grabs and found his niche as a possession receiver. After his breakout season, though, Darks was thrown into the spotlight for the wrong reason when he posted a video on Facebook after the Gene Chizik debacle in which he blasted the old coaching staff and brought up questions of a possible transfer.

“When all that happened, I didn’t even think that anybody knew who I was,” Darks said. “That definitely calmed me down when I saw all the feedback that I was getting from the fans and friends around campus.”

Darks stayed true to the program as Rhoads was named head coach, and Rhoads searched the country and landed Herman as offensive coordinator. Herman’s leading receiver at Rice last season was NFL-bound Jarrett Dillard who led the country with 20 touchdowns last season.

“I was smiling from ear to ear when I got that text message. Now that we’re learning the offense and getting all these balls thrown to us in practice, now I’m even more excited to get the season started,” Darks said.

Despite having 49 catches last season, Darks only found the end zone one time.

“You don’t have the success that he did as a freshmen and not have the ability to grow much, much more,” Rhoads said.

Standing at 6 feet 4 inches, both Hamilton and Johnson will be looked at a lot in the red zone. Both receivers were second on the team last year with three touchdowns a piece.

“We’re a pretty good group of tall receivers. We’ve also got smaller guys that possess the quickness skills that we need,” Rhoads said.

Some of those quicker guys include Jones, Jason Carlson, Lonzie Range and Joel Zitek who are all also in the mix for playing time.

With the number of playmakers the Cyclones appear to possess, it will be interesting to see how Herman and company divvy up the football so that everyone is happy.

“The possibilities are endless for all of us — not just at the running back position, but everyone in the offense is going to be involved in every play,” Robinson said.