As the kickoff to the 2015 Iowa Football comes closer, during the month of July we will profile a key Hawkeye player each day. We call this series, Key Hawkeyes, as we try to identify and rank the most important players on the roster for the upcoming season.

This will be a ranking based on how important they will be to the Iowa team this season. That ranking is arrived at based on their position on the depth chart, expected and past production, and their importance to the Iowa team.

We move on with our rankings to #12 on our list.

As he heads into his senior season with the Hawkeyes, one has to wonder what might have been for Jordan Canzeri.

Back in 2011, the New York running back was a late find for the Iowa coaches on the recruiting trail and eventually they landed his commitment. It seemed likely that he might end up redshirting in his first year in Iowa City, but not so shockingly, injuries hit the running back position during the season and that opened up an opportunity for Canzeri during the year. He saw limited action at running back and helped on kickoff returns most of the year, but battled a few injuries along the way. Then he ended up starting the bowl game against Oklahoma and given the situation and the opponent, he performed pretty well and seemed to be destined to be Iowa's starter at running back in 2012.

Then during spring practice, he injured his knee and his 2012 season was over before it even started. Mark Weisman emerged as Iowa's lead back during the 2012 season and Canzeri was left to fight for carries in 2013. His best game that season was a breakout performance against Purdue, where he rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown. He started to see more action in the final few games of the season after that performance and ended the year with 481 yards rushing. Last season he played in all but one game and started one contest for the Hawkeyes, rushing for 494 yards and catching 9 passes for 123 yards. Once again, his activity seemed to pick up as the season went along, but it should be noted, that Canzeri battled a foot injury most of the year that really limited his abilities on the field.

You have to wonder what might have happened for Canzeri if he would have stayed healthy in the spring of 2012 and had the starting job heading into that season. Where would his Iowa career have gone?

Now it's one final year for the talented back in an Iowa uniform and a chance to finish strong. Canzeri is already getting some preseason publicity being named to the Doak Walker Watch List, so there's some folks out there that believe he could have a special year. He will certainly have the opportunity this season, but there will be competition for carries, particularly from LeShun Daniels, who also battled injuries last year. Canzeri has a very good feel for Iowa's run game and he is a home run threat with good speed and quickness. Iowa's offense needs guys who can make plays and Canzeri has that working in his favor heading into the 2015 season.

NEXT UP: A tight end coming back from injury